Iran - Andrew Burke [264]
The scene was repeated across Bam. Women wailing and beating themselves; men scrambling through broken concrete in an effort to extract the dead – even then few held out hope of finding anyone alive. That day, and the next, Bam buried most of the 31,000 people who died when their homes had collapsed atop them at 5.30am that bitterly cold morning. With the burying done, the grieving began amid freezing nights spent under Red Crescent canvas.
During several visits since then I’ve seen Bam deal with an event whose magnitude would have been barely imaginable before it actually happened. Progress has been frustratingly slow, but several years later Bam continues to emerge from the dust and death and depression. Physically, at least.
Bam’s progress can be summed up in the progress of the Akbar Tourist Guest House. Manager Panjalizadeh Akbar saw his business flattened and his son’s best friend and two guests die in the earthquake, but has rebuilt bit by bit. From the tent on the street I stayed in a few weeks after the quake, to demountable buildings and, as money has become available, a new, two-storey and heavily engineered concrete and brick hotel. As in the rest of Bam, the only constants have been the date palms.
The emotional scars will take longer to heal. When I interviewed a grandmother who had lost all but 11 of her 96-member extended family, I couldn’t even imagine such a loss, let alone begin to come to terms with it. For many Bamis, who don’t have the luxury of getting on the next bus out of town, solace has come through an opium pipe and addiction has become a serious problem.
Bam is far from perfect, but most people have had their homes rebuilt in some fashion and have their lives back on some sort of track. The loss of tourism has had an impact on the local economy and the loss of the Arg has had an impact on the local identity. But even that is slowly being attended to. As the head of the Arg-e Bam reconstruction project, Nima Naderi, told me: ‘What we have here is not just an industrial workshop, re-creating bricks and buildings. This is a psychological workshop for the people of Bam. For them, the Arg is the symbol of their town and as they see us rebuilding it brick by brick, we are also rebuilding their pride.’
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For the visitor, it’s possible to walk a dusty brown lane from the entrance to the foot of the citadel itself. It’s a haunting walk, but even after the zelzele (earthquake) the sheer scale of the Arg and the remaining ramparts, arches and supporting walls mean it’s not too difficult to imagine its majesty.
There is no shade available, so go early morning or late afternoon.
Sleeping & Eating
The earthquake claimed most of Bam’s hotels and restaurants and few have been rebuilt.
Akbar Tourist Guest House ( 231 4843; mr_panjali@yahoo.com; Sayyeh Jamal od-Din St; dm €5, r with/without bathroom €15/10; ) Akbar’s has long been the meeting place for overlanders heading to or from Pakistan. And after four years of struggle in tents and prefabricated buildings following the earthquake, a new, earthquake-proof 15-room affair is due to open in 2008. Dorms and a range of rooms with and without bathroom will be available. The easy, social ambience is the main attraction, while laundry, phone and tours to nearby desert and mountain locales often keep people longer than they expect. It’s a good place to just hang out and recharge. A restaurant is anticipated during the life of this book.
Hotel Azadi Bam ( 221 0095; argbam.2005@yahoo.com; Jahad Blvd; s/d/ste €40/50/70; ) The earthquake damage is fixed and you’ll find spacious, clean and comfortable rooms that are fair value, even if the location of about 6km from the Arg means you’ll need a taxi to go anywhere. It’s off the left of the main road into Bam from Kerman. The restaurant (meals IR40,000 to IR70,000; open breakfast, lunch and dinner) is one of the best in town.
Hezar-o Yek Shab (meals IR15,000-40,000; 4-10pm) The name means ‘1001 nights’, and eating