Iran - Andrew Burke [265]
Soot-e Delan (Park-e Bisto-do Bahman; 9am-noon & 4-10.30pm) This indoor/outdoor chaykhaneh (teahouse) is a fun place to sit and socialise over chay (tea) and qalyan (water pipe) with the young men of Bam. The location deep in a park is not great for solo women.
Getting There & Away
Iran Aseman flies daily between Tehran and Bam’s small airport east of town.
Bam’s bus terminal is just south of Arg Sq but Arg Sq itself is where most services stop en route to or from Zahedan. Buses to Kerman (mahmooly/Volvo IR12,000/18,000, three hours, 204km) leave frequently. The few regular services from Bam include Esfahan (IR70,000, 11 hours, 703km) at 2.30pm and Tehran (IR100,000, 21 hours, 1258km) at 3.30pm. For Zahedan (IR16,000/25,000, four hours, 321km) buses pass intermittently, including one soon after 6am – ask at Akbar Tourist Guest House (left) for schedules.
Savaris for Kerman (IR30,000, two hours), Mahan (IR30,000, 1¼ hours) and Jiroft (IR25,000, 90 minutes) leave Arg Sq when they fill.
Return to beginning of chapter
BAM TO MINAB
To avoid backtracking, a growing number of travellers are taking the road between Bam or Kerman and the Persian Gulf town of Minab. The major stop along the way is Jiroft, which is surrounded by some of the most fertile land in Iran. The nearby Halil Rud Basin has been settled since at least 4000 BC, and two archaeological sites discovered in 2002 have given up thousands of artefacts (many smuggled out to Britain) from this little-understood period. The ziggurat-shaped mounds are 28km from Jiroft but for now it’s not really worth the trip. Instead, the Jiroft Archaeological Museum ( 0348-221 7553; Halil St; admission IR2000; 9am-noon & 4-6pm), on the north bank of the river, houses several of the finds and has interesting explanations.
If you stay in Jiroft, the Mosaferkhaneh Valiasr (Halil St; per person IR40,000; ) is the very simple budget option about 100m east of the museum. On the main street, the Hotel Jaam-e Jam ( 0348-221 0340; Dowlat St, near Setat Sq; r IR180,000; ) is a more comfortable, midrange-style place with a restaurant in the lobby.
Savaris to/from Bam (IR25,000, 90 minutes) stop at the central Farmondari Sq, one block south of Hotel Jaam-e Jam. Less-frequent buses to Bam cost IR15,000. Heading south, savaris and minibuses leave the Eskaa Khanuj (Khanuj Terminal) about 2.5km southeast of town. You go first to Khanuj (minibus/savari IR6000/20,000, 1½/one hour) then change for Minab (IR30,000, two hours) or Bandar Abbas via Rudan.
* * *
EXTREMISTS & DRUG SMUGGLERS: TRAVEL ANNOYANCES
Sunni extremists operating from Pakistan and drug smugglers who kidnap tourists to use as leverage have added a large degree of annoyance and some danger to travelling in the southeast. The danger is tempered by the fact no tourists have yet been harmed, though that is little comfort to those who have been held.
The Extremists
In 2005 the Jundollah group of Sunni extremists emerged in Sistan va Baluchestan province and in the following years carried out several major terror attacks. First 22 Iranians were shot dead and several taken hostage after the group stopped traffic on the road between Zahedan and Zabol. Then 12 people were killed in a similar operation on the Kerman to Bam road. And in 2007 a Republican Guard bus was blown up in Zahedan, with at least 11 people killed.
So far, the extremists have not targeted tourists, but the government is worried they will and has tightened security in all areas east of Kerman. In Zahedan foreigners are forbidden from staying in cheap hotels and, as we found, are supposed to have a police escort whenever they leave the hotel. An armed police shadow is annoying. We were allowed out unaccompanied if we weren’t going too far from the hotel, and even managed to sneak up to Zabol without an escort. The police, however, weren’t happy when they found out. Though