It has been a while since we’ve done a blog post, and that is because for the last few days it has been a whirlwind while constantly on the move. For complicated reasons we were stuck at the Turkish-Iranian border for 2 days, but have since been traveling down south to the deserts of Iran. Currently, we are in fact closer to the Persian Gulf than to Turkmenistan, which is our next destination.

Although delayed for quite some time, we have managed to find the time to enjoy the parts of Iran we truly wanted to see. Meeting up with our guide Hamid at the border, we rushed south as fast as possible once the delay was sorted so that we could reach the heart of Persia itself. Having gone through Esfahan and Shiraz, two great and ancient cities, today we explored the ruins of Persepolis, once the centre of the mighty Persian Empire. For me personally this has been a height of the whole journey, to see the great tomb memorials and palaces of power built by one of the mightiest empires in human history. Simon thought it was a nice pile of rocks.

During our travels we have also encountered an array of interesting people, as we always do. Our guide, Hamid, has done a good job making up for lost time here and ensuring we can see as much of the country as possible, as well as as much Iranian cuisine as he can stomach, which apparently is an endless amount. We have also had help from two other Iranians who have helped us make this journey, Taraj and Pegah, and we’d like to send our thanks to them.

We have met people from many different parts of the Islamic world, including nomads, Afghans and Azerbaijanis. Having now met fellow nomads along their own journey, we now must travel north to reach our destination.