Day 77 Into the Desert
SYNOPSIS: The last day of Noruz is celebrated outdoors. I went to a bizarre spot into the Desert. Pagan Beliefs and joy outshine harsh realities.“Now people will be unhappy again”, said Ascar to me at the hotel reception. Noruz is the best time in Iran, he explained, because people forget all of their worries. They visit family, have time off work, travel and celebrate. They smile and are happy. But as of tomorrow, the harsh reality of wages too low to support a family, wide-spread unemployment, worries about the government and the future will set in again. As a visitor, I see very little of the real life in Iran. No matter how much I try to connect with people, at best I get a glimpse of it. There are no jobs in Iran, I hear that everywhere. But there are so many other things which remain hidden from me.If you stay indoors on this last day of Noruz it will bring bad luck; that is the ancient belief. The whole country therefore shut down and went picnicking. I did my computer work in the morning as there was no chance of getting anywhere and hired Ali, the taxi driver for an outing into the desert in the afternoon.Usually, I have to leave the natural wonders aside in order to have enough time for all the historical and archaeological sites of interest; but with my extended visa, I can afford a day. Ali made sure that we stopped at a few places of historical interest along the way: An underground mill, an old adobe caravanserai at Shafi Abad from the Seljuk era – only the towers and the walls as well as a few rooms remain – and two shrines. One of the shrines, the Gonbad-e-Jabiliye, was of great interest as nobody yet has figured out what its origin is. It may be as old as the 2nd Century. It is made of stone – instead of the bricks that is customary in this area. It is an octagonal building which usually indicates some sort of shrine, but nobody is buried there… Our final destination were the Kaluts, an area in the desert at which nature created unexplainable shapes referred to as “desert castles”. Castles is a stretch, but if you think of distinct and varied sand shapes, similar to perhaps Monument Valley in the U.S., you get the idea. It was a picturesque spot as far as I am concerned. Nothing earth shattering. What made the biggest impression on me was actually a crystal clear channel with running water that was cutting through the bone dry desert at the caravanserai at Shafi Abad. This was an example of one of the most ingenious ways of getting to water I read about: A qanat. Some of them are dug as deep as 100 meters. Over long distances they supply far away dry places with water or irrigate fields in the desert. The engineering skills rival that of the Roman aqueducts. I could not believe how clean that water was. This method is ancient and it is impressive to see that it is still in use today.We arrived with the sun still in full power. It was hazy and so bright that colors were washed out almost to a monochrome gray-brown, an interesting effect. But as the sun set, the landscape turned golden and it was quite wonderful to see the shadows grow and the light glow. Too bad, that today, of course, the silence which the desert usually possesses was punctured by kids playing with bee-bee guns, adults listening to music on their car radios, clapping and dancing and loud soccer games. I walked a short distance and most of the noise was swallowed by the vast sand. Ali in my absence made friends with a father and his two sons and hung out quite contently smoking the hookah when I returned and in no hurry to return.I did what Iranians are supposed to do today – be outdoors. I made a wish and all should be well for this coming year.Sale No MoBarak – Happy New Year.Good night.