Iran - Andrew Burke [254]
Meymand is 35km from Shahr-e Babak and unless you get very lucky with a hitch or rare savari, you’ll have to hire a taxi dar baste (IR35,000).
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SIRJAN
0345 / elev 1730m
Sirjan is not really worth a detour, but it’s a useful place to break a journey from Kerman to Bandar Abbas or Shiraz, or a staging point en route to Meymand. Sights are few, but if you do stay you might want to see the Mir-e Zobair mausoleum, which contains some ancient calligraphy, and the ancient Firuz Fire Temple.
For accommodation, the basic Hotel-e Kasra ( 422 5172; s/tw IR70,000/80,000), down a lane between the main branches of Bank Mellat and Bank Melli, is in the centre of town. Alternatively, the midrange Sirjan Tourist Inn (Mehmansara Jahangardi; 322 7878; sirjan@ittic.com; Khayyam St; d US$25; ) offers a little more comfort.
Savaris run to Kerman (IR30,000) and back, most frequently before about 2pm, or take a direct bus to or from Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz or Bandar Abbas.
There is no bus terminal, and the individual bus companies are spread all over town. It is best to take a private taxi and ask, for example, for the terminal-e Yazd (or wherever you want to go). Trains between Yazd and Bandar Abbas stop here. Trains between Bandar Abbas and Tehran also pass through.
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KERMAN
0341 / pop 508,000 / elev 1754m
The desert trading city of Kerman has long been a staging point for people passing between Persia and the Indian subcontinent and today it remains the best place from which to explore southeastern region of the country. Sheltered from the vast Dasht-e Lut by the barren Payeh Mountains to the north, its position and elevation make the weather relatively mild in summer, but cold in winter. The city is something of a melting pot, blending Persians with the more subcontinental way of life of the Baluchis (for details Click here). This mixing is most evident in the historic and very lively bazaar, which is the highlight of any visit. There are enough other sights to keep you for a day or two.
Kerman’s environs are extremely dry and the city – and province to which it gives its name – are highly dependent on qanats (underground water channels; see the boxed text).
History
Kerman is one of Iran’s oldest cities and has always been an important centre on the trans-Asian trade routes. Believed to have been founded in the early-3rd-century AD by Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanian dynasty, its history is a tale of prosperity and plunder, but not that much in the way of peace. From the 7th century Kerman was ruled in turn by the Arabs, Buyids, Seljuks, Turkmen and Mongols, and then until the Qajar dynasty by a further succession of invaders and regional despots. Kerman only gained security under the central government in Tehran during the 19th century.
Kerman’s continuity was its commerce, the evidence of which can still be seen in the many caravanserais around the bazaar. As trade moved more to the sea in the 16th century, so Kerman relied more on the production of carpets, a trade that remains important today.
Orientation
The two main squares in Kerman are Azadi Sq to the west and Shohada Sq to the east. Most important offices and sights are on or close to the road between these two squares, or in the bazaar near Shohada Sq. Be on the lookout for that Iranian traffic hazard, the contraflow bus lane along which buses hurtle in the opposite direction to the rest of the traffic, particularly along Dr Beheshti St.
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DRUG-RUNNING DROMEDARIES
Camels. They’re unassuming, a bit thick and no-one seems to