The Resurrection of Bam

Bam in bits!
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Bam has really been through the mill over the past few years. In December 2003 and earthquake flattened the city killing 40,000 people, half of the population. At the time, there was almost as much regret over the loss of the cities famed 2000 year old arg, a mud brick cidadel and town.

Famously, the owner of the little hotel, Akbar, defied the earthquake and set up some shacks almost straight away. He has rebuilt and welcomes almost all visitor to the town. Walking around, there was construction everywhere. The arc of welders never too far away. Steel skeletons being put together. Cargo containers housing most of the towns smaller shops, everything from butchers to restaurants. People whizzing past on motorbikes waving, glad to see a tourist. Foreigners wouldn't have been a strange sight here over the past couple of years with the relief effort following the quake. There was a very warm feeling from the people. I went to buy some fruit, but wasn't allowed to pay for them when a local stranger stepped in to pay, not expecting anything in return.

Rebuilding Bam
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That night I was surprised to hear gunshots in the distance. Akbar reassured me. "This is Bam. Nobody is getting killed, they are just shooting". Anyone would be optimistic after the ordeal he was through, but I certainly wasn't going for a midnight stroll!

The next morning I had to see the remains of the city's arg. Photos could not prepare for the scale of the ruin that lies flattened. What remains is a sprawl of fallen mud brick walls and houses with very little intact. The mud brick houses topped with what must have been a really fabulous castle. The outline of the castle is very clear as many of the outer walls are still standing, some due to the reconstruction that has started. At the rate that they seem to be going, they will be still there working in a hundred years. Scaffold bars prevented entry outside the main walkway through the site. Being Friday, the place was deserted of workers of any kind which I think added to the deserted feeling that there seemed to be.