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  Wednesday 2004-05-26 - Kandovān, Iran

Delays

We’re headed for Takāb today but we’re making a side trip to Kandovān first. Unfortunately, we leave much too late, and in Osku, a little before we reach Kandovān, we get another delay: there’s a big hole in the road and our “best bus in Iran” is much too large to be able to pass the hole in a bend, with the hole at one side and a steep channel at the other side. There’s nothing for it: the hole has to be filled first! The hole is part of a lot of digging going on all through the village; they’re building a natural gas pipeline here.

Kandovān is a bit touristy, but most of the tourists are from inside Iran: Kandovān is famous for its water which is supposed to have healing properties. Young couples often come here for that reason: the water is supposed to help with fertility problems.

Also interesting are the houses on the mountainside, many of them hewn into the rock so it’s always cool inside — much like similar houses in Cappadocia in Turkey. We drink tea in one of the houses and get a taste of local produce: dried apricots, plums, walnuts, almonds, and a delicious honey of which I would have liked to bring a pot home… not possible on this trip.

On the way back we see what we already feared: the hole in the road is not only back - it’s much bigger now! And of course has to be filled yet again. We’re running late…

posted: Wednesday 2004-06-02 13:10 UTC architecture, local economy, travel