....more time around Kerman.....
Another trip from
Kerman was to
Meymand, a very small and fascinating village, where the population lives in caves in the hillside, and has done for thousands of years. Some say 2000, others say 8000 years. They have cultivated gardens all around the village, with many picturesque stone walls, goats and sheep, small streams, twisted old walnut trees, and many other fruit and nut varieties. The locals here are semi-nomadic, spending Spring with their sheep in grazing areas, Summer in their gardens and only Winter in the
Meymand caves, which are apparently the same temperature inside all year round. Although there are about 100 inhabitants, at this time of year, only a few old folk who couldn’t make the journey to the pastures remain.
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| On the road to nowhere |
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| Baby goats! |
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| Stunning scenery, Meymand |
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| Old village from a distance, Meymand |
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| Lovely ancient walnut trees, Meymand |
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| Man and his sheep, Meymand |
The village has been recognized as having historical significance, and is protected and has been restored, although it’s nearly impossible to tell with no modern elements in sight outside (except electric wires), and all natural materials being used. It’s quite popular with Iranian tourists on the weekends, but when we arrived there wasn’t a soul about.
Our taxi driver left us in the care of the cranky old mother of the owner, and we were shown a cave to sleep in. It was very comfortable with electric lights, heater, rugs on the floor, three cosy beds and bags of character. Unfortunately, her cooking left a lot to be desired and we suffered our first bad meals in Iran. Stale hard bread, stew filled with yellow lumps of fat, rancid cheese and yogurt.... it wasn’t a highlight!
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| Our cave! |
Of course, the best part was exploring the charming place, its character a cross between The Flintstones and Lord of the Rings! One main “road” led off to many small paths leading up to a multitude of small doorways built into the hill, stone bathrooms, stick–rooved livestock enclosures.
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| Cave dwellings, Meymand |
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| Cute little doorway, Meymand |
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| Old cave dwellings, Meymand |
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| Old vase, Meymand |
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| Hobbit door! |
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| Rock doorway, Meymand |
The handful of oldies left behind were quite a pathetic lot, and we felt sorry for them left to make a living from selling a handful of crafts to the few tourists who came there.
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| Old man sleeping, Meymand |
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| Old women chatting, Meymand |
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| Old timer, Meymand |
On our second day in Meymand, we were walking around feeling hungry, when a miraculous group on Kermani day trippers adopted us, and fed us from the masses of food they had brought with them. They were an interesting bunch, very liberal, and mostly speaking English very well. The cause for the get-together was a returning family member from overseas. The lovely woman and her English husband had left Iran after the Revolution, and now lived in Dubai, visiting Iran regularly. Every time she came, she said, her big family generously hosted lunches and activities, like the one at Meymand. The family were Sufi Muslims; a branch of Islam sometimes know as the mystical side of Islam. After chatting for some time, they decided we would come back to Kerman with them, as a big family party was planned the next day, and we were to be guests!! We were a bit unsure, as we didn’t fancy going back to Kerman again, and we had already made plans for our next destination, but they were so hilariously over-the-top enthusiastic about us coming, we changed our plans.
This is SO common in Iran- we make a plan for the day and something else completely different happens. We love it most of the time, and it’s the reason we are travelling so slowly here- even for us!
We stayed with Norozan and Reza and their fantastic kids for two nights, and once again found it hard to believe people whose wage (it slipped out) was about US$266 per month each, would take in two strangers such as us, feed us with scrumptious food, do our laundry, drive us around to family parties and local sights, and only want in return to talk with us find out our opinions about things, and learn more about us. So unbelievably generous, especially as our repeated offers to help and to pay for things were always refused.
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