Iran - Andrew Burke [175]
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AROUND SHUSHTAR
Masjid-i Soleiman
0481 / pop 108,000
At 4am on 26 May 1908, British oil-prospectors finally hit a ‘gusher’ at Masjid-i Soleiman, nicknamed MiS (‘em-ai-ess’). It was the first commercially viable Iranian oil strike and came just in the nick of time for the exploration company, forerunners of BP, who were on the verge of financial collapse. The result was ultimately to transform Iran’s history and provide Britain’s navy with a crucial edge in looming WWI: having switched their ships to petrol-power, finding a plentiful fuel source had become essential. The whole thrilling history is brilliantly retold in Daniel Yergin’s book, The Prize. The original first oil well, Naftom Yek, is 200m up an alley just east of MiS’s central post office, visible through locked railings along with an antiquated steam-engine.
On a hill overlooking town (IR10,000 by taxi), Sar Masjid is the stone terrace on which some believe a 6th-century BC fire temple once stood. Others claim this was the birthplace of Cyrus. It seems to have later housed a Seleucid sanctuary: several statues found here and on nearby hills suggest a Hercules cult. Masjid-i Soleiman’s apparently ultra-Muslim name (Solomon’s Mosque) was probably conceived as a ‘cover’ to protect the site at the time of the Muslim-Arab invasions as happened at Takht-e Soleiman.
Bardnashandar (Bardneshandeh) is a similarly enigmatic stairway and stone platform close to the Andika road. There’s a single, spindly 3.5m-high ‘column’ but the main attraction is the 40-minute drive from MiS passing through Bakhtiyari spring pasturelands where the nomads’ traditional black tent-camps are easy to spot in April/May. If invited in, a handy greeting is che-khoni? (reply khubam). Thank you is beoumi.
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DEZFUL
0641 / pop 208,000
Sometimes pronounced dez-bil, Dezful makes an interesting brief stop between Shushtar and Andimeshk. Its 12-span Pol-e Qadim is supposedly ‘the world’s oldest bridge still in use’. That’s rather misleading. While the bridge’s stone foundation pillars date back to the reign of Sassanian king Shapur I (AD 241–272), today’s arches are a mix of Safavid brick and modern ferro-concrete. A series of ‘grinds’ (rather indistinct ancient ‘mill’ remnants) stretch along the river towards a newer bridge above which the historic Tiznoo House ( 223 1033; 7am-2pm) hosts a tourist information centre. Behind this stretches Dezful’s extensive ‘old’ bazaar. It’s very lively, but after sustaining 900 bomb-hits during the Iran–Iraq War, doesn’t really look ‘old’ any more. Set on a more distant cliff-top, Pir-e-Ruband is an attractive 1609 mausoleum with a lopsided Khuzestani pinecone tower.
Kornasiyun Hamam (admission IR2000; 9am-1pm & 3-8pm) houses a museum of local life in an old bathhouse near the somewhat overpriced riverside Ronash Hotel ( 223 7907; Saheli St; d/ste IR250,000/1,500,000; ).
With three weekly Iran Aseman flights to Tehran (IR255,000), the airport is virtually all that stops Dezful merging with Andimeshk to the northwest. Andimeshk-bound savaris leave from the east end of the new bridge. Minibuses from Shushtar drop off at Moghavemat Yakoub Lays Sq, 600m northwest of the long-distance bus terminal (Payam Noor Blvd) at the southeast edge of town.
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AHVAZ
0611 / pop 1,005,000
Abu Nuwas (‘Father of Curls’) is perhaps the only Muslim poet celebrated for writing homoerotic drinking songs. He was born in AD 756 in Ahvaz, but got out as soon as he could. You’ll probably want to do the same. But hopefully not (as Abu was) sold as a sex slave to a Yemeni drug dealer.
Using the well-served airport is the only likely reason you’d choose to transit this vast, featureless, industrial city where summer temperatures regularly top 50°C. Acceptable central accommodation options include the quiet if basic