Persepolis to Sirjan
Dariuses tomb is only 5kms from Persepolis, the imposing site of Naqsh-i-Rustam is in the mountain range of Husain Kuh, where Darius the Great and his successors had their monumental tombs carved into the cliff. Here in 1933 a survey made soundings, but it was not until 1936 that work was started to clear and document the royal tombs. Along with Darius were two other tombs of Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Darius, following the law of his country had been requested to name his successor and he choose the first of his sons Xerxes born after he became king, from a second wife, Atossa, Cyrus the Greats' daughter, who had already been married to her brothers Cambyses and Smerdis, and which he had married soon after reaching power.

We camped at the foot of the tombs which gives you a strange feeling like standing on some ones grave. You can feel the history and though the place is deserted now you can imagine crowds of people coming here to watch the burial of their king so many centuries ago.

Tomb of Cyrus the Great

Tombs of Xerxes, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II.
We have been in Muslim country for several days now and the girls are already sick of long skirts and scarfs. Tonight we are alone and they are wandering around in shorts and bikinis enjoying the freedom from heavy clothing. We got a surprise at our last mail pick up in Tehran, one of the letters addressed to Sahara was to "The Right Honorable Lady Sahara Ashley" which means we have a member of the perage in our midst. Sahara Duke as we knew her was well spoken but this was unexpected. She was a little miffed as she had hoped to get through without anybody knowing. She then decided that she may as well get it all over with and told us her other secret. She was pregnant!
It was planned and the father only donated his contribution as this was Sahara's idea and she was happy to be a single mum. The trip was to get her away from the family so she could enjoy the experience without them giving her a hard time. She had planned on having the baby in Kathmandu and getting work there to support herself, in 1973 this was most unusual. The camp was a buzz with conversation and Sahara handled it in her usual lay back style. Her and Ian (on of our drivers) had been getting on well together and he stayed with her until after the baby was born. They were like chalk and cheese, her, English gentry and Ian down to earth New Zealander, life has some funny turns.

We set off early next morning for the 50 km run into Shiraz. This is the city of roses, it was in this part of the world that roses were first discovered and the city streets are lined with great displays. Not only roses but the grape Shiraz came from here, they were both desert plants. Like most Iranian cities it has beautiful buildings and the ever present bazaar. We need to stock up on food here as we are about to cross the desert to Kerman. The idea is to go overland not via the road, it will be rough country and nothing in the way of signs so we must go by line of sight plus a little help from a compass.
Our day in Shiraz is very pleasent , while the troops go sightseeing we spend some time checking over the buses ready for the desert crossing. The low oil pressure in Ian's bus is worrying, the engine has a low grumbling sound that makes me think the main bearings are worn. They could go on for months but they could just as easily let go at anytime. I check the oil pump and pressure control valve which I can tweak a bit but I'm not expecting it to do much. We hunt round and find some thicker oil that might improve things, so do a quick oil change at a garage. Its time to pick up the troops and head out of town for an overnight camp.
We camped several kms short of Kherameh near a river. Not a common sight in this part of the world and the water sure looked inviting but we can't go swimming. In this part of the world the water is likely to contain the Bilharzia parasite which is not to be recommended. It can be very damaging to the body and although curable, better not to get it in the first place. The countryside is getting very dry and apart for some groves of very old olive trees there is very little vegetation.

One of the passengers has some concern about a girl on Ian's bus she has been unwell for a couple of days and is crying a lot but no one can find out what is wrong with her. I get our nurse to talk to her and after awhile she shows her a large lump high up on her inner thigh which is very inflamed. The nurse is not sure what it is and finally convinces the girl to let me have a look. It turns out to be the biggest tick I have ever seen. We have no way of knowing what type it is but it has to come out, she is sick and I suspect poison from the tick is causing it.

The tick is deep in and we need to make sure it all comes out, just pulling the bit you can see is risky as it may snap off leaving the head still imbedded. I am beginning to realise that nurses are very reluctant to do anything for fear they may make a mistake and lose their accreditation. This tick needs to be cut out which mean cutting into her leg, the nurse suggests a doctor or hospital. Having spent some time in Morocco I know what to expect, the doctors here would be unlikely to want to touch a women where this tick is located and finding a female doctor would be a needle in a haystack job. I will do it. We have liquid anesthetic to apply to the area and sterile scalpel blades. It must have hurt but in less than 5 minutes it was out, sterilized and a big plaster in place. It should have had a stitch but being inflamed it would hurt, so we settled for a plaster and see how it is in the morning.

The next morning she looks much happier and wants to leave the plaster in place until the evening.

Tick
Today we are heading to Neyriz then on to Sirjan. Neyriz is situated close to the shore of a vast inland salt lake, your eye tells you it is snow but with the temperature at over 35c (100f) you know it can't be. Along the shores of the lake black tented Arabs harvest the salt to sell in the bazaars of Shiraz and Kerman. By night fall we have reached the outskirts of Sirjan and decide to stop here for the night. A nice town with paved streets well tended gardens and home to one of my favorites, pistachios. I love them and as we were going into harsh country what better emergency rations than a large bag of pistachio nuts. We stocked up on food and refilled our eskie with as much ice as it would hold.

The night was spent in a small park that had soft green grass a real luxury in the desert. We made the most of running water and made up a shelter so everyone could have a proper shower in private. It was great to get all the sand and dust out of you skin and hair, at least we would be clean to start our desert trip. We were treated to the sounds of the Koran coming from the local Mosque. (Sound Bite)

Salt lake

Desert Arabs in southern Iran

 It was an early morning start from Sirjan and we were soon in very rough country with narrow rutted roads nothing in the way of signs and no other traffic. We were trying to find a place called Hassanbad which is on the shore of a large inland mud lake. We made a few wrong turns but finally we seemed to be on the right road. We were supposed to go over a range of low hills then descend into a valley that housed the lake. After about 3 hours we were still in the hills and our road was getting almost no existent We had not seen any signs of life for over two hours when we crested a hill to reveal a small village of some 40 mud houses about 500 meters ahead. We approached very slowly so as not to make too much dust and stopped in the village center. People began to slowly appear, standing well back and just watching. The crowd moved a little closer and then I noticed something that was quite unexpected and to this day I have never been able to explain.
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An overland journey to India following the India overland trail through Belgium, Germany, Austria Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, & Nepal. Visting sites of Dubrovnic, Split, Kotor, Athens, Kerimoti, Istanbul, Galipolli, Troy, Delphi, Efes, Goreme, Nemrut, Tehran, Esphan, Persepolis, Shiraz, Kerman, Bam, Quetta, Kandahar, Kabul, Bamian Valley, Kyhber Pass, Indus river, Lahore, Punjab, Amritsar, Kashmir, Delhi, Agra, Taj Mahal, Vanaris, Patna, Raj Path, Kathmandu, Himalyas. All this undertaken in a 20 year old Asian Greyhound, Swagman Tours, LS Bristol bus. This Indiaoverland company was held together by Norm Harris an expatriate Aussie living in Windsor. With drivers like Bob Ashford, Geoff Lawrence, Clive Parker, Dave Watt, Ronnie Martin, John Witchard, Ken Mcdonald, Derek Amey & couriers Fred Fisher, Jos Livingstone, Peter Swift, Kieren Smith & mechanics Gordon Hammond, Graham Libby, Pomme John & Rastas just to name a few.