Iran - Andrew Burke [262]
There are no official lodgings in Shahdad, but a desert camp has been set up at the edge of the Kaluts. This is where most people stay, but the bright lights and paved spaces are rather less appealing than real desert camping, which can be arranged (in advance) on a tour with Hossein Vatani. Note that midday temperatures rise to an almost unimaginable 65°C in summer.
Semi-regular minibuses and savaris (IR15,000 per seat) travel between Shahdad and Imam Khomeini St, just south of Shohada Sq in Kerman, but there is no public transport to Kaluts. You can, however, charter your savari to take you to the Kaluts and back to Kerman for about IR120,000 (return), or, as one enterprising traveller did, just go by minibus to Shahdad and put yourself in the care of the locals. Take your passport as there is a checkpoint in Shahdad.
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RAYEN
0342
The demise of Bam has been the rebirth of the Arg-e Rayen (admission IR5000; 7am-sunset), an ancient adobe ‘citadel’ in Rayen, a small town sitting in the lee of Mt Hezar (4420m) 111km from Kerman. On a hill overlooking the town, the Arg’s hotchpotch of architectural styles suggests it is well over 1000 years old, though its exact age is unknown. It had been abandoned for about 150 years before restoration began in 1996.
The structure itself is a story of muscles made of mud, with outer walls 3m thick at the base and 1m thick at the top supporting most of the Arg’s 15 towers. The entrance leads straight onto the bazaar and from the gatehouse you can climb a narrow staircase to the ramparts for spectacular views. Coming back down, turn right and you’ll come to the ‘main walkway’. About halfway along a door on the left leads to the remains of public houses (the sign says ‘kommon people’), some of which stood three storeys high and would have been home to several families.
The governor’s complex, entered from the square, is the highlight. The four separate houses here have been restored (and labelled) and reflect the relative luxury the governor and his family enjoyed; note the subtly different shades of the mud and straw render, reflecting different earth used for each khan (home). Climb to the roof for views over the Arg and the mountains beyond. Covered kuches (lanes) weave their way through the rest of the Arg, look for the small zurkhaneh (literally ‘house of strength’; Click here).
Hamid Reza ( 662 3644) is the caretaker of the Arg and if you find the doors closed, call him. He is also a sword maker and has a simple workshop just inside the main gate.
Sleeping & Eating
Options are limited.
Rayen Arg Tourist Hotel ( 662 3578; s/tw IR60,000/80,000; ) This small, new hotel has nine compact but clean rooms above a restaurant, each with bathroom and squat toilet. As you enter town, turn right (west) at the roundabout and it’s about 300m along on the right – look for the green façade.
Restaurant Arg ( 662 3931; meals IR25,000-35,000) The tasty food here comes in typically large portions. It’s about 50m down the hill from the Arg, opposite a park.
Getting there & away
Rayen is 23km south of the Kerman–Bam road, the turn-off being 88km from Kerman. Buses (IR5000) leave Kerman bus terminal every hour or so; Taavonis 3 and 16 are your best bet. Savaris (IR15,000) are more frequent, leaving from Kerman’s Sarasiyab Sq and stopping at a square in Rayen about 1km from the Arg, from where they also return to Kerman.
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BAM
0344
Having been all but flattened by a massive earthquake in 2003, Bam is not the tourist attraction it once was. A few years later much of the rebuilding is complete, but the city has undoubtedly changed. Mud-brick homes have been replaced by steel-framed two-storey buildings that are safe but boring. The main attraction, the Arg-e Bam, is obviously a less evocative