Masuleh: Middle Eastern Paddy Fields ........and much more

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Arrival in Rasht

I departed Zanjan for what I'm first told is a 2 hour journey, turned out to be 5 hours, so I didn't get there until about 20:30.

I went to the internet and amused that for the second time that day I hear blaring the music of Tatu, the infamous Russian female duo. A taxi driver was playing them earlier in the day in Zanjan. In a country where you could be put to death for being a lesbian, surely the Mullahs are not up with the music scene if they allow these hussies to corrupt to minds of their peoples!

The Route to Masuleh

Masuleh is a couple of hours from Rasht so I got on the move good and early to get the day there. I'm disappointed to find that the day is clouded over, this was a day for enjoying scenery, not thousand year old bricks in a heap.

The taxi in Iran is slightly different to everywhere else. You hire a taxi, but as it goes down the street, three others jump in randomly to fill the car. Not just for tourists, but shared taxi's are just the way it's done. So in the car we drop off an old man at his house, he wants me to come in for breakfast! In the end, maybe because I was good for business, the taxi driver dropped me to the minibus for free.

The minibus gets me to Fuman and from there my minder that appointed himself on the minibus chartered me a taxi to get me the final 30 minutes to Masuleh. There is a minibus on the route, but with the stories of the scenery, it seemed like a good idea to shell out Eu2.50 for the 30 minute journey, and at that I think he took me!

Fortunately, the clouds had disappeared and the sky was totally clear. Straight out of Fuman along the road the paddy fields started. The waterlogged fields are divided by mud walls and it seems that it is the season for planting. Some fields are planted, with the rice plants being started elsewhere and transplanted to the paddy under water. The paddy needs to be rotovated once or twice before planting, and there are men trudging along behind rotovators. The men and women are busy together sowing the rice plants. Beside the rice paddies are tea plantations.

This provence supplies almost all of the Iranian tea. It is the season for harvest and the women are out among the perfectly maintained hedges of tea trees collecting the leaves.

The road left the rice growing lowlands and winded into the mountain valley towards Masuleh.

Arrival in Masuleh

There was no doubt that I have arrived in the right place. The houses appeared as if they were hanging on the mountain like a picture on a wall. I deposited my backpack in the corner shop for safekeeping and went to explore. I climbed into the mountain further down the valley to explore what lies beyond. Sitting looking back into the valley with the village along the mountain on the left, the view is fairytale like, with blue sky filling the end of the valley. I could have sat and relaxed there for quite a while under the shade of a tree.

I headed to explore the village itself, starting from the very top. The lane in front of one house was level with the roof of the house in front, almost without exception. I slowly weaved my way down through the terraces. Again, it was a joy not to experience the hassles that a village like this would bring in most other countries. The only offer I was made was a woman selling socks! Nice wooly ones at that. I politely declined her offer.

The Road to Qazvin

The evening held in store a trip to Qazvin, if I could make it that far before evening. I jumped in a shared taxi (savari) that was getting ready to head back to Fuman. At the end of the journey I met one of the other passengers that was heading to Rasht also, so we got a savari together for that leg. Only when approaching Rasht, did I realise that his journey was bringing him to Qazvin. He prefers the taxi to the bus, so I tag along. Almost continuous by car, the three legged journey cost a total of Eu4.50 for the four hours.

It turned out that Amir was also on holidays in the area. He is from Esfahan, but used to work in Qazvin and was staying there with friends. When Amir called his friends and told them that I was also in the taxi, they invited me back to their home to stay. They are all engineers, so I feel like I am in good company! Amir is a materials engineer, but has since done a masters in his passion: arts (restoration for cultural sites). They welcomed me like I had known them for years and treated me very well. The average workers wage is $250 dollars a month, with an engineer getting $350 to $400 a month, they told me. Iran is expensive, they said, when you earn this kind of money.