Iranian deserts

Mesr

Rolling sand dunes all around me. In the distance impressive mountains, bare and dry, which are visible against the horizon and only reveal their beauty when the early or late sunlight shows the whimsical color palette.

Five years ago I also walked here, in the wild emptiness of the Dasht-e Kavir, the Great Salt Desert, one of the two deserts of Iran. The purpose of this trip is to make a journey through these endless voids that connect the Dasht-e Kavir with that other desert, the Dasht-e Lut. Things have changed compared to five years ago. First of all the desert is in bloom, undoubtedly because of the season (spring), but especially because of the unprecedented heavy rainfall in recent days. This rainfall has caused heavy flooding throughout Iran and the always dry landscape has come to life. On our way from Tehran to the desert we drove through valleys, which my Iranian travel companion saw for the first time in her life, and she has been travelling through them every week for almost forty years.

The village of Mesr, where I'm staying, has also changed. Five years ago a rustic desert village, it's no more than a long street. A simple guesthouse was there. Now the village lives on tourism. There are ten atmospheric guesthouses, some restaurants, even a trendy coffee shop. You can rent all kinds of vehicles to travel through the desert, from jeeps and quads to the old-fashioned camel.  The desert has become popular, especially with Iranian tourists. Here they look for freedom, the atmosphere is looser than in the cities, the headscarves go off more easily, young people organize illegal, but tolerated parties in the desert, in short, the desert is hip. There are remarkably many ecolodges, also a new phenomenon in Iran. This has nothing to do with ecologically responsible tourism, but its guesthouses where the atmosphere is relaxed, unmarried couples can share a room and the Islamic dress codes are far away.

The Great Salt Desert

The next day the Dasht-e Kavir shows what it owes its name to. The sand dunes are exchanged for endless salt plains, sometimes it seems as if you are driving through a snow plain. On the way we visit a salt lake with a real salt waterfall at the edge. The salt crystals drip down slowly as works of art. The landscape gradually changes, from salt plains back to sand dunes, to endless emptiness, through rugged mountains, until we reach the Dasht-e Kalut past Tabas. Small oasis villages surrounded by green gardens full of date palms and pomegranate trees. One of the most enchanting villages is Esfehak. A small village where time has stood still. Small alleys full of mud houses, mountains in the background, date palms and gardens where you can cool off. The inhabitants of the village have united in a form of Community Based Tourism. In some of the houses you can spend the night, in another one you can eat. In the late evening light there is an enchanting glow over the village.

Nayband, one of the most beautiful villages in Iran

Perhaps the most beautiful village in the desert, and certainly one of the most beautiful villages in Iran, is also one of the most isolated. Like an impregnable fortress, Nayband towers over the desert. This village is built on a steep hill. The houses on the edge form a fortress wall, on the edge of the village are round watchtowers. At the foot of Nayband beautiful gardens: rice fields, date palms, pomegranate trees and orange trees. Walk a little and you're in the desert. The view from the gardens of the village is reminiscent of the wild mountain villages in Yemen. Walking through the village you will imagine yourself in the kasbahs of Morocco, but without tourists, hotels, souvenir shops or carpet traders. There is only one simple homestay, with an amazing view from the roof.
The area has a lot to offer for the seasoned adventurer. The highest mountain in Khorasan (3000 meters) can be climbed, there is a nature reserve where gazelles live and even the rare Persian leopard wanders around.