Iran - Andrew Burke [215]
Sito Coffee Shop & Pizza ( 622 0888; Amir Chakhmaq Sq; pizzas IR30,000; 11am-11pm) The modern Iranian mix of pizza and miscellaneous other dishes won’t have you writing home, but the views from the rooftop (in summer) just might.
Shopping
The old city bazaars are probably the best places in Iran to buy silk (known locally as tirma), brocade, glassware and cloth – products that brought the town its prosperity in centuries past. If you have a sweet tooth, don’t forget to try pashmak (Iranian fairy floss), available in many shops around Beheshti Sq.
Getting There & Away
AIR
Yazd airport ( 199) is not the busiest in Iran. Iran Air ( 622 2080; Motahhari St) flies to Tehran (IR316,000, 70 minutes, twice daily).
BUS & MINIBUS
All buses leave from the main bus terminal (Rah Ahan Blvd), about 3km southwest of the centre, and accessible by shuttle taxi from Beheshti and Azadi Sqs.
Fares are for mahmooly/Volvo buses, though Volvos are more frequent:
The 4pm Zahedan service gets you there with time to continue to the border for a morning crossing. Any bus to Zahedan will drop you in Bam. For Garmeh, Click here.
TRAIN
There are three trains daily from Yazd to Tehran (though berths can be hard to come by): two with six-berth couchettes (IR48,550, eight hours), via Kashan and Qom, departing at 9pm and 10.10pm; and a four-berth couchette at about 2am en route from Bandar Abbas. From Tehran, trains leave at 8.35pm and 10.20pm. For Kerman the train from Tehran stops at about 2.20am, but the 2nd-class train (IR15,950, five hours) departing at 6.10am is a better choice. For Bandar Abbas (1st class only, IR53,000, nine hours) there is a daily train at midnight, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7.10pm. Trains to Mashhad (Ghazal 1st class IR149,000) leave at 4.50pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday, arriving at 6.10am.
The train station ( 139; 8am-1.30pm & 7-11pm) is next to the main bus terminal. Get here by shuttle taxi from Beheshti or Azadi Sqs, or charter a taxi for about IR10,000. Oddly, train tickets are much easier to buy from agencies Click here than at the station.
Getting Around
To the airport take a shuttle taxi from Enqelab-e Eslami Sq for about IR2000, or a private taxi for IR20,000. Taxis dar baste start at about IR6000 for short trips, and cost IR10,000 to the terminals.
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AROUND YAZD
Kharanaq, Chak Chak, Meybod and Ardakan are best seen as part of a looping day trip from Yazd. It’s a long day (about 7am to 6pm) and you can either hire a taxi from the street (about IR250,000) or take a guided tour Click here, which is much more rewarding but more costly. Minibuses run to Meybod or Ardakan from the main bus terminal in Yazd, but there’s no public transport at all to Chak Chak. The irregular bus to Garmeh passes Kharanaq, and you can sleep there – either en route to/from Garmeh or as a destination in itself.
Kharanaq
The virtually deserted and crumbling mud-brick village of Kharanaq, in a valley about 70km north of Yazd, is believed to be more than 1000 years old and the site occupied in some form for more than 4000 years. The Qajar-era mosque, 17th-century shaking minaret and caravanserai on the edge of town have all been restored. You’ll need a key to get into these, however, and you’ll need a guide (or the folks at Silk Road Kharanaq) to arrange that.
Many of the buildings are falling down and we’ve seen at least one tourist fall through the roof, so watch your step. Walk into the valley below to see an ancient aqueduct, built to irrigate the surrounding fields. Photographers will love it mid-afternoon. Silk Road Kharanaq (dm/s/d €5/10/15) is run by the Silk Road guys in Yazd, and all bookings should be made through them. The modest adobe building has been extensively renovated but remains as simple – and appropriate – as you’d expect in a virtual ghost town. Rates include breakfast