Iran - Andrew Burke [267]
Diba Coffeenet (Motahhari Blvd, near Azadi Sq; per hr IR10,000; 8am-2.30pm & 3-9pm) Not desperately fast.
Esteghlal Grand Hotel Internet Café (Motahhari Blvd, near Azadi Sq; per hr IR15,000) Open on request, maybe.
MONEY
After hours head to the bazaar, where you can also buy Pakistani and Afghan currencies. The Taftan terminal on the Pakistani side of the border offers the best rates for Pakistani currency.
Bank Melli Central Branch (Bank Melli Markazi; Azadi St) Changes US dollars and euros without much fuss.
Bank Saderat (Motahhari Blvd, near Azadi Sq) US dollars and euros changed only between 8am and 1.30pm.
POST & TELEPHONE
International telephone office (Metri-e Kamarbandi St, off Taleqani Sq; 7.30am-9.30pm) Under the Abuzar Hotel.
Main post office (Emdad St) Better to use the post office in Kerman.
TRAVEL AGENCIES
Khaterat Zahedan Travel ( 322 9113; Azadi St)
VISA EXTENSIONS
Some travellers have reported getting help here with recently expired transit visas, but do not rely on this. See the boxed text for details on extending visas.
Police Department of Alien Affairs (Motahhari Blvd; 7am-2pm, closed Fri) Just outside the entrance to the airport, the urbane English-speaking officer of years past has moved on and this office is back to being a bureaucratic event. The middle office will process your application, and extensions should be sorted the same day, or the next. You must deposit your fee at the Bank Melli Central Branch on Azadi St.
Dangers & Annoyances
Zahedan can be dangerous and when we visited it was definitely annoying because almost everywhere we went required a police escort (see the boxed text). At any time it can be a little unsafe at night, and away from the main squares the streets are pretty lonely after dark. Car theft is a problem so if you have a vehicle find a secure place to leave it overnight. Do not venture west of Zahedan in the jagged-looking area known as the Black Mountains, unaccompanied or on foot – they’re not known as the Black Mountains for their colour alone.
Sleeping
If you’re on a budget, forget Zahedan and head straight through to much-more-pleasant Bam, or Pakistan. When we stayed, foreign guests were banned from Zahedan’s cheap hotels (see the boxed text); the first three places wouldn’t take foreigners, but this might change. Until it does, your overpriced options are all near Azadi Sq.
Hotel Momtzahirmand ( 322 2313; Bazar-e Ruz; s/tw IR45,000/60,000; ) Right in the bazaar, this ultrabasic place is friendly but the plumbing isn’t great. To find it, head north along Dr Shariati St from the corner with Imam Khomeini St; take the first left at the edge of the bazaar and it’s about 80m along behind a coloured glass door.
Abuzar Hotel ( 451 2132; 40 Metri-e Kamarbandi St, off Taleqani Sq; r IR90,000; ) This well-managed cheapie near the Garazh area, in the west of town, has clean rooms and shared bathrooms and a decent restaurant downstairs.
Kavir Hotel & Restaurant ( 326 0137; Motahhari Blvd; s/d IR170,000/250,000; ) Worn almost to the point of being worn out, and none too clean, avoid the Kavir unless you’re an overlander looking for lock-up parking.
Zahedan Tourist Inn (Hotel Jahangardi; 322 4898; Montazeri St, off Forudgah Sq; r US$47; ) Away from town but handy if you’re en route to or from Pakistan, rooms here are a good size and clean.
Esteghlal Grand Hotel ( 323 8068; www.hoteles teghlal.ir; Azadi Sq; s/d/ste IR693,000/988,000/1,386,000 with breakfast; ) The best place in town by a desert mile, the big Esteghlal has nice-enough three-star rooms with satellite TV, fridge and spotless bathroom.
Eating
There are several good barbecue chicken places around the corner of Dr Shariati and Imam Khomeini streets, and a few kababis. Other than that, all the hotels have restaurants, with prices reflecting room rates.
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FROM ‘THIEVES’ TO ‘ASCETICS’… & BACK
Not so long ago Zahedan (meaning ‘Ascetics’) went under the far-less-inviting name of Dozda (Thieves). The locals offer several explanations for the original name. The more