Sleepless in Iran

Friday, 30.03.2018 / Alamut - Tehran

We wake up at sunrise and hike up to the fortress. Or rather, what's left of it. There is no one here except us, it's not even officially open yet. But since the gate is not locked, we enter. On the internet, there are pictures of how spectacular this castle used to be. Today, it's mainly the view of the mountains and valley that impresses.

We reach our hostel just before two o'clock. We apologize several times because we feel very uncomfortable about the whole situation. But Mohammed is totally relaxed and says it's not a problem. We give him Milka chocolate as a thank you and leave our accommodation with all our belongings and a watermelon.

We spend the rest of the day with Milad and Ali. In the evening, Vali and his nephew join us. We have dinner together and take a walk through two adjacent parks. One is modern, full of lights and entertainment, and the other is natural, with paths that lead us along trees and bushes. Ali asks me which part I prefer. My answer surprises him, as I prefer the so-called "jungle park". In general, the modern part seems to be more popular.

Aga and I have decided to leave Tehran again and head south. Since Milad is going home tonight - he lives in Tiran, about six hours away from Tehran - he can drop us off in Kashan, which is halfway. Aga quickly wrote to the first host who appeared on the Couchsurfing website, and he quickly replied that he loves Poland and is looking forward to the Polish visit. I prefer to take a closer look at the host's profile before contacting them, so that we don't have any strange encounters like we did in Italy and Slovenia back then. I'm curious. But at least now we'll be staying in an apartment and not hanging out on the street in Kashan in the early morning hours without sleep.

Saturday, 31.03.2018 / Tehran - Kashan - Isfahan

We leave around three o'clock in the morning and drop off Ali at the airport. He spontaneously visits his parents in Urmia.
Aga and I try in vain to stay awake out of politeness. Instead, we take turns sleeping on each other's laps. Milad's strategy for long night drives is sunflower seeds. The cracking and eating of the seeds keep him awake.
When we arrive in Kashan at around 6:30, it is still dark. Mohammed, our host, is waiting for us at an agreed intersection. We only take our small backpacks with us. We leave the big ones with Milad, whom we want to visit afterwards. After saying goodbye to Milad, Mohammed asks us if we also want to do a desert tour. Sounds good, but Milad has our sleeping bags. So we call him and get our big backpacks out of his car.

Mohammed asks us to wait in the car. His neighbors must not know that he has guests, and he needs to make sure the coast is clear. Meanwhile, the sun has risen.
The apartment doesn't give any hint of this though. Although it is on the first floor, it has a basement-like character due to the lack of windows or the ones that are covered. It smells strange, somehow like gas. Mohammed also gives me an uneasy feeling. I definitely won't spend the night here and I'm glad to have Aga by my side.

We drink tea. Mohammed is crazy about Poland and keeps throwing Polish words into the conversation. He tells me to learn Polish. I say I would rather learn Farsi in Iran. Luckily, the attention is more on my girlfriend from the "promised land". I mentally check out and think about how we can make a timely getaway. Since it's still early, it is decided that we will sleep for another hour. Although the apartment has two rooms with two beds each, Mohammed lies down on the floor at our feet. I am extremely tense. The situation makes me uneasy and it is difficult for me to fall asleep. Eventually, my exhausted body gives in. I dream of escape.