6,419 km in 36 days: At the border crossing we actually scratch our branch deflectors at the roof because of narrow construction work and a sloping sun roof. Otherwise everything works wonderfully – despite tourist visa still not being issued and us travelling with medical visa instead. Our first bazar in Tabris is very authentic. Here you find the most beautiful carpets of the country, which we still have to see… The Urmia salt lake, which originally measured the tenfold of the Lake Constance, is now no longer a lake because the fueling rivers are detoured, but the salt deposits are very picturesque. In the Elburs Mountains, we drive down the Alamut Valley via a breakneck street to the Caspian Sea and are completely excited about the magical and rugged Mountains. On the disappointing Caspian coast we see houses of the old splendid areas and endless highly congested areas. The return trip through the Elburs Mountains to Tehran is also spectacular. The capital Tehran is murderous with a truck. The traffic is pure stress, yet we look at the palaces and are excited about the fine ornamentation and mirrors. The grave of Fatima in Qom is an important pilgrim destination for Muslims and is impressive, especially on a Friday, when many locals come to pray. We continue to the enchanting small town of Kashan where we spend two inspiring days with friends and enjoy the local life, the beautiful houses, art and culture. Isfahan holds what it promises. Here we experience breathtaking architecture and overwhelming mosques. A highlight is the ancient city of Persepolis, which delights us through their unsurpassable paintings and ornaments. The gardens in Shiraz and the mountains around the city are absolutely worth seeing. Unfortunately, we have a small accident in the city, but that was not a surprise because of the crazy way Iranians drive. Our climax is a lonely tour through the desert Lut with all its shades of stone, sand and rock formations… the famous “Caluts”. In Bandar Abbas we ship our Shujaa to UAE. The tons of beautiful mosques and mausoleums, the breathtaking and wild nature, which sometimes looks like out of a fairy tale, but above all the incredibly helpful and loving people make this country incomparable. Unfortunately, there is the secret police that knocks on the door from time to time and to make you understand that they have an eye on us. But a good compensation for this is that the liter of diesel costs only 0.6 €.
