We had only one full day in Tabriz and spent it looking around the huge Tabriz Bazaar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site – the biggest covered bazaar in the world. We were stopped and chatted to five times by people who overheard us talking English and wanted to speak. A guy who ran a tourist info, an English teacher, an Iran guy who lived mostly in London and ran a tourism company, an old man in a tiny shop in the bazaar and a young guy and his buddy who saw us with our bikes and like cycling too.

approach to the Bazaar, I didnt take any photos of the bazaar these are from google

The latter we met up with in the evening and eh showed us around city. They took us to eat a local winter speciality – boiled beans that you covered in vinegar and paprika.

with our evening guides

The next day we rode out of the city. Late in the event by the time we left, we had spent most of the day cleaning and tuning the bikes. See short winter days meant we only just made it out of the city limits by the time it got dark. Pulling off the main highway out of town we found a small field walled off on three sides to set up camp in.

A small amount of snow had come down last night, we were well sheltered from it under the overpass, but we were a little worried that the pass into Tabriz higher up would be covered with snow. The sun came out early in the morning though, and the pass, by the time we got up there, was clear.

aproaching the pass

Up at the pass it was quite cold but exhilarating being right in the snowy peaks now. The climb had been relatively easy, with a stiff headwind to make things interesting. At the top while stopping for photos a truck driver pulled over and handed us some oranges. 

taking it all in near the top

bikes need some attention too

The descent was short out into a wide plateau. It was early afternoon now and we pulled into the first rest stop we saw, standing alone by the road in the windswept landscape. There was a small market there with a little stove warming the room and the young guy who ran it ushered us in and sat us by the stove to warm up. A couple of rounds of tea and a wrap of eggs, potato and cheese and we were well warmed up and ready to go. The shopkeeper chatted away to us all the while.

not pictured here: a really strong headwind

 From where we were to Tabriz was about 60km, not all that far and over flat ground for the most part but a stiff headwind made the going slow. We passed through desert type terrain, arid stoney landscapes but all covered with a light dusting of snow. At one point we passed a small heard of camels off in the distance. 

the black dots out in the distsnce are camels

approach to the last pass

Tabriz is just over that crest…and then another 10km east

Over the peak and down the other side, first into the wide valley that held the main road into Tabriz and then a night cycle into the city itself. Cycling into a new city at night is always exciting, and this our first big Iranian city made it all the more so. Huge neon signs in Farsi and yelling out their window to us as they passed us in the highway ‘Hello sir’ ‘Welcome to Iran!’.
We wound our way through the traffic choked streets to the center of town by the big historic bazaar (a UNESCO site, biggest covered bazaar in the world). On our way to a cheap hotel recommended by the guidebook (no internet to checkout the usual accommodation websites, a refreshing release in its own way) we gottalkjgnto two local lads with bikes of their own.
They were pretty pleased to meet two foreigners in the first place, but that we were travelling by bike really excited them and they were very helpful, showing us to where we were going to stay and arranging to meet up with us tomorrow and show us around.
It had been a hard last few days on the bike. checking in with the front desk, manned by a amicable guy with a masters in English. He was happy to find out we were Irish having studied a lot of Irish writers in University (‘ah Ireland! Land of the writer poet’ he said as we gave him our passport) and even done his thesis on James Joyce, specifically Ulysses. When we got into the room we collapsed on the beds, tuckered out from this cold but rewarding leg.

Finn modelling his new Kurdish oants in the hotel room in Tabriz

In the morning we packed up quickly and rode into Meshgin Shahr to have a quick breakfast. With the amount daylight each day decreasing rapidly as we approached midwinter we were eager to get as much cycling done in the morning as possible. We found a place in Meshgin Shahr to eat pretty soon, and the owner was delighted to see us. He was learning English and was chuffed to have some people to practice with. As we left he insisted on us not paying – actually, not just to be polite as is often the case.

the mountains near Meshgin Shahr

This is something that been a bit confusing to get our heads around in Iran, the concept of ta’rof; a ritualised politeness as our guidebooks tells it. Most vendors, shopkeepers, restaurant owner etc. will offer your meal or shopping for free when you first try to pay but mostly only as a gesture of politeness. You have to insists on paying two or three times before they accept. But occasionally, as with the guy this morning, they really do want to give for free as you are their guest.

After this we started to make our way out of town. We stopped at a shop to grab some food for the day and naturally attracted a small crowd of guys around us and our bikes. Before we knew it we had been invited into a office type building next door And given tea and bread and cheese while more and more guys arrived as we explained to each of them in turn where we were from and what we were doing.
So it was a very eventful morning and we had barely even begun to cycle. We were riding down a lot today, first to some more populated lowland areas, where towns and villages popped up more frequently. We stopped for some food at the last town on our map and then descended a long way into a deep gorge with a lot less snow around than before.

down (almost) out if the snow

Climbing gradually out of the gorge we found ourselves very close to Ahar, the last big town before Tabriz. Before arriving the police passed us and asked to see our visas, but it was all very friendly and didn’t take all that long. I think they just wanted to find something to do, it must be a pretty quiet job most of the time.

only circular signs in Iran

We didn’t go right into Ahar, there wasn’t really the need or the time. We took the ring road out around it and found a place to camp as the road passed over a wide flood plain underneath it.

It had been our first night through freezing temperatures and we spent the morning laughing at the novelty of all our stuff being frozen – the tarp, the bivvys, the water even the eggs we were going to have for breakfast. It was all a novelty still, but that wouldn’t last long

clearing frozen mud out of the cleats

still cleaning frozen mud out of the cleats

A lovely sunny, crisp morning cycling up in the snow. We pulled into a field to get a nice shot of us and the mountain. Finn had a bit of trouble getting his bike back out of the field.

struggling to get out of the ditch

pretty easy, eh Finn?

We were riding along a tertiary route southeast until we hit the main road to Tabriz out of Ardabil which we would then ride west on. A headwind in the morning turned into a tailwind as we turned off onto this main road and we celebrated by pulling for something to eat at a rest stop. 

how about them mountains

We were greeted by a nice attendant who led us over to the shop across the lot. ‘This man’ he said, pointing at the shop ‘is a bit…angry?’ ‘Crazy?’ I suggested. ‘Yes, crazy.’ The shop owner was a bit surly, but not really that bad. We ate our lunch in the station office. Another attendant say there and talked to us through gesture.

‘Iran, Iraq, Irland’ he mimed shooting a rifle. Then ‘No!’ Stopped shooting ‘brothers’ with a big smile on his face. Once he was sure he got the point across he left to go outside.

We rode along the rest of day in semi-covered fields of snow. The headwind was reasonable strong so we were pooped by the time we finished for the day. Found some shelter from the wind under a long bridge spanning a gorge and set up camp. 

cant photo the wind but it was pretty strong here

the bridge we camped under

yes, on top of the tarp and bivvy we brought a tent. We thought we might need it for winter. we did.

We got going at a reasonable enough time given that we had to haul ourselves out of a comfortable bed and out into the cold to start cycling uphill again.
Leaving Germi was easy enough, a small kick that brought us out cycling along flat plateau land for a bit. We started climbing gradually and would end up climbing most of the day. It was a ride up to about 1800m, but gradual enough so really very enjoyable for the most part.

There was very little built up around the road, it was entirely a solitary road cutting up over the mountains. We passed one petrol station but otherwise we were surrounded by the long stretched hills that bunches up into peaks on the horizon. 

We had a couple of very friendly greetings by locals. More than once a car would pass us by and then the pull in ahead of us and the whole family would get out and form an impromptu welcoming party with one of the kids acting as translator. Our first encounter like this had us greeting farther, daughter and grandfather and ended with them handing over a loaf of bread saying ‘this is our bread. We love it.’
For lunch we pulled just off the road and ate some food we had brought from Germi. Dozed off in the grass for a bit and woke up just in time for Nima’s older brother from yesterday to pull up and say hi. He was driving to the next city over (Ardabil) and then onto Tabriz.

Two more hours of climbing up to the summit followed. We climbed up to snow cover hills right next to us and white peaks very close by now. Another greeting party pulled up as we reached the top and after another incredibly friendly greeting and welcome to Iran from them we were offered hot tea from a thermos. Fantastic, we were quite frozen from the climb by the snow in the wind, a very fortunate encounter very much appreciated. Thanks Iran!

approaching the pass

getting closer, more snow near the road

at the top after tea from our impromptu support car

Afterwards though we were rewarded with a peaceful and drawn out descent for 25km to Razi, with the snow catching the evening light and some really impressive mountains off to the west. We sped through Razi, the biggest town since Germi, stopping only long enough to pick up supplies. 

sunset up over the pass

Found camping in a low field next to the road where some trees had caught the snow and left a clearing on the ground for us to set up the tarp. It was pretty cold that night but the big winter sleeping bags we picked up in Istanbul worked wonders.

We woke up and said goodbye to our impromptu host and rode back in through town. We stopped to grab some breakfast and by the time we were leaving a small group of men had assembled to say hello and to see us off. 
We were still down at just about sea level and today would be climbing gradually until we reached 900m. Actually we would be climbing all day tomorrow too pretty much, judging by the profile from Topoprofile of our route.

The land though was more rolling hills and green then the flat brown of the days before. We passed through small villages very occasionally and for the most part the road ran through isolated countryside.

Then hills gradually spread out and got larger, less steep and rolling and more undulating as we got up away from the lowlands and into the plateau. We were feeling quite hungry and taking a break at the bottom of another climb when a man stopped, got out of his car, talked for a while and handed over some apples. Very friendly indeed these Iranians.
With apple in belly we made the last climb up into the town Germi, a climb that lasted a lot longer than we expected and we were both wrecked by the time we got there, having not had any real lunch and it now being three o’clock. We were up around snow now and pulled up to the first market we saw to get something in the stomachs.

Finn catching up. He was a bit under the weather today poor guy

looking back over what we climbed

Proceeding through Germi we found it was a lot bigger than we anticipated. It was built along the slopes of three or four different hills or mountains, so it was hard to see the whole place at one. We passed a kebab place that looked good so we pulled in there to eat a proper lunch.
It was a small place and while we were standing around trying to order the son of the owner, a kid about 11 years old came up and in almost perfect English asked what we wanted. He then talked to us for a while and translated the questions of the owner and his older brother. His father asked if we wanted to know some place so stay in town, and though we normally don’t spring for hotels we were both dog tired, Finn under the weather the last couple of days so we went for it this time.
Nima (the name of the boy) then offered to show us around town. We walked with him to the big mosque in the center of town, picking up a few of his friends along the way, Nima telling us this or that about his town, us telling him some things about Ireland.

The golden domed mosque of Germi

He then took us to the hotel, more of a guesthouse really. One of his friends piped up as we arrived ‘this is your hotel. Zero stars’. Which we both thought was pretty funny, especially since the kid hadn’t said much else all afternoon. Nima helped us talk to the manager, an ancient Iranian man who had not a lick of English but we soon got sorted.
We then took a short taxi ride with Nima back to his families kebab place and said goodbye to his father and older brother, his father clearly very proud of his son and rightly so. Rode back up hill to the hotel and garnered a small audience as we unloaded our bikes. Someone would ask us where we our and then you could make out the answer ‘Irland’ rippling back through the crowd.

with Nima, our friendly guide for the day

Finn giving Nima our card

We got into the room and collapsed, suddenly quite exhausted. We ventured out briefly in the evening to grab some food but we were more than content to just lay on the beds all evening.

all tuckered out