11.10.09 Esfahan to Gameh

Left Esfahan in the morning for the drive to Yazd. There were at least 10 parking tickets on the windshield of the car. I gave it to the nice babes at the reception, and they said no problems. The guy from the hotel had also washed my car the day before, but he must have been blind not to notice the parking tickets, anyway it was sad to leave this mirrored, lavishly decorated hotel and the pleasant receptionist. Just as we got out of Esfahan, the 2 tour guides Susanne and Ulrikka, decided that we should go into the desert, to a small homestead. Since Daniel already had fallen asleep, and I only have one vote, and democracy ruled, we drove into the desert, which was very beautiful. The roads are excellent and we could drive stretches of 80 – 100 km, without seeing any other traffic, except a few trucks. Since there were no police on this road, and the roads stretched on for miles into the horizon, we let the car loose. Our only priority was diesel for the car, water and a few beers. The landscape varies from mountains, to very flat sandy and stony land, and not a soul in sight. I take my hats of to Alexander the Great, who marched through this wilderness, to India. We finally reached a small oasis, in the middle of the desert, surrounded by date palms and mud houses.
This village has 260 inhabitants, and 2 camels. ”Shit”, I thought, what have we got into. There are only low mud houses and after a few minutes, we found were we were supposed to stay. We were greeted by the owner, who is an artist, and acts like one. To enter the house, you had to bend low, through a few archways, and then through a lovely court yard. There were a whole bunch of other tourists, gaping at us. Since we were four of us, we were given the best room, which to my surprise was just carpets on the floor and nothing else. There were common toilets and showers. I did not have a shower today. They served a sumptuous lunch, and the meat tasted excellent. I am pretty sure it was camel meat. We pulled out a few mattresses from the next room, and I crashed out for my afternoon siesta. In the evening we went for a walk to se the only water source. There were date palms and pomegranates trees all around us. At the water source, which is in a cave, in the mountains, fresh spring water gushes out, which is directed into channels, which leads into the village. These channels and the pool, where the water gushed out, are full of fish. Since I had a bet with Daniel that he could not catch a fish, the next hour was spent with everybody trying to help him catch a fish. Guess who won the bet? At 8.30 sharp this evening, the owners family arrived and dinner was served. Thank God, it was chicken and not camel meat, which tasted great, with fresh dates and pomegranates. Crashed out for the night and everybody complained that I snore. Drove 450 km today.

Med bilen holdende stille i 3 dage, har de Esfahanske parkeringsvagter holdt fest. Ikke mindre en 8 parkeringsbøder sad der i forruden, men Michael afleverede dem bare til hotellet og receptionisten sagde, det var lige meget. Da vi forlod byen var planen at køre til Yazd, men vi kom hurtigt til at tale om ørken og oaser. Da både Michael og Ulrikka havde læst om en mindre by ude i ørkenen, planlagde vi hurtigt en lille detour til en lille ørken by som hedder Gameh. Turen til Gameh ledte os igennem et ret øde ørkenlandskab, vi kørte mange kilometer uden af møde andre bilister, men heldigvis havde de da tankstationer, hver gang vi nåede til en lille by. På vejen blev vi også stoppet ved en militær check point, de kiggede dog bare lige ind i bilen og vinkede os så igennem. I Gameh er der et lille pensionat som drives af en kunstner og hans familie, (i Lonely Planet står der, at Gameh har 260 indbyggere og 2 kameler) det er et rigtig hyggeligt lille sted, hvor ejeren har istandsat et gammelt ørken hus. Det eneste vi måske ikke var så glade for, var fællestoiletterne og det lidt sovesalsagtige værelse vi blev henvist til. Ejeren havde 2 kameler udenfor, som Daniel synes var vildt søde. Vi fik dejlig hjemmelavet frokost og gik så en lille tur for at se hvor udspringet til oasis kilden var. Vi fandt ud af at der var masser af fisk i alle kanalerne, så Daniel fik den strålende ide at han skulle fange en fisk. Det brugte vi så alle sammen en times tid på at hjælpe ham med og more os over, det blev dog ikke til nogen fisk. I området dyrkes der Granat æbler og Dadler, som de også serverede i stride strømme på hotellet. Men ellers fortalte hotel ejeren at de fleste indbyggere var pensionister som levede af deres børns penge. Om aftenen slappede vi af med kortspil, hvor jeg (Susanne) tabte godt og grundigt. Igen fik vi rigtig god mad, det har vi ellers fundet ud af, er lidt af en mangelvare i Iran. Gameh er i bogstaveligste forstand en by ”derude hvor kragerne har taget madpakke med”. Men stadigvæk er det, det sted i Iran hvor vi har mødt flest vestlige turister.