Iran - South Azerbaijan
rest: April 2016
We got from Baku to the border by car in 3 hours. the border town of Bilasuvar, as it were, is divided into two. there is Azerbaijani Bilasuvar and Iranian Bilya Suvar. a broken gazelle carries 600 meters. walking is not allowed. shuttles stand in line for hours. tourists and those who are on business or for treatment pass separately through the main customs building. further scanner print in the passport. the same thing in iran scanner, printing a couple of questions about the contents of the suitcase. and we are in Iran. then money changers with a completely unfavorable exchange rate 1man - 2100 foga or 21000 rials 1 dollar - 3300 foga - 33000rials
Taxi drivers are attacking, but the driver was already waiting for me 200 meters from the taxi drivers. 3 hours of racing without rules and we are in Ardabil. It should be noted that driving in Iran is very risky. no one pays attention to signs and markings at all. but the police stop for talking on the phone or for not wearing a seat belt in the back seat. speed 80-150. road quality is average.
a strong rain went down, the temperature from + 5 to + 8.
The driver suggested the Negin Hotel. looked like arranged. 1300000rial, 4 beds + breakfast. internet only in the lobby. opposite a normal exchanger
the rate of 1man - 2230 fog or 22300 rial 1 dollar - 3450 fog - 34500 rial. but there are no grocery stores nearby. In general, the city looks like a big market. with small shops looking for a place to dine. the driver suggested a basement diner. kebabs, pearl barley soup, etc. - I didn’t like it, it didn’t taste good at all. except for the soup and the bill by Iranian standards is large $ 22, it’s good that they didn’t get poisoned. Wandered around the market and shops. bought T-shirts, nothing more interesting was found. there were no souvenirs. not far from the hotel was the mausoleum of Sheikh Safi and Shah Ismail I, the full name of Abu l-Muzaffar bin Haydar as-Safavi or Ismail Khatai, he is also a classic of Azerbaijani literature. But unfortunately the entrance cost 200.000 per person and it did not fit into my budget.
In general, there was nothing particularly historical. Poor, not very well maintained city. despite the ancient history. the downpour again drove into the hotel to drink tea with sweets bought in the shop.
In the morning there was a road to the city of Sarein, 30 km from Ardabil.
Breakfast at the hotel is modest. some omelette tea bread pita butter honey cream and cheese. At 11:00 the car was already waiting. 40 minutes and we are in Sarain
is considered a spa town with thermal waters. many different hotels. the city is quite small and more modern. they chose the Sapid Grand Hotel in advance, they bargained for a long time, they were already going to go to another hotel, but in the end they gave in for 120.000 rials. the room consisted of a kitchen-studio and two separate rooms with bathrooms. one European one Asian. The furniture is a bit worn but ok. there is a gas stove, internet in the room
We walked through the restaurants and chose one standard set of 2 ramrods of lula kebab, 1 ramrod of lamb meat and 2 chicken + lavash.
but they took it with them to the room. bought more lavash. then shopping at the nearest shopping center in search of souvenirs. fridge magnets in iran are tight, i haven't found any
There are many restaurants and spas nearby. though not everything is perfect. I chose the one in the basement of the hotel. 3$ per person. quite ok, sauna hot pools. warm water, cold shower, etc.
a kilometer from the hotel there was an amusement park with several attractions, but there was no time and energy to go there.
breakfast is more than modest with a little bit of cream and a spoonful of honey with bread and tea. At 9:00 a. m. , the driver was already waiting at the door.
3 hours between the hills and we are in Tabriz. landscape - dull on the road. in general, with rare exceptions, in this part of Iran, nature is scarce - rocky hills. mixed with wheat fields.
Tabriz is a big city. but to say that it is modern, I will not say. architecture is almost no square boxes with flat roofs.
Yet Iran lags behind in development. traffic in the city is erratic. who can ride like that. There are a lot of police but they don't interfere. I refused the offer to stay at the Azerbaijan hotel after reading reviews on the Internet. The driver suggested the Aras hotel. having looked at the number, I had to agree to a price of 2.000, 000 rials = 60$
There was simply no time to look for something cheaper. the hotel is a good internet kitchen 6 beds and 3 rooms with a fresh renovation. the bathroom is really asian. taxi from the hotel to the blue mosque 40.000 rials = $ 1.2 - not expensive.
the first was looking for exchangers, did not find. only money changers are swindlers near the bazaar. they say a good rate but do not give the required amount. thinking that everyone will get confused in Iranian money. even if you protest, they will add a little bit of sense, but not what they say at the beginning. generally scammers. but there was no way out lost 2-3$ but there was nothing to do. a walk around the bazaar took 3-4 hours
golden ranks. rows with carpets, shoes and all sorts of Chinese nonsense.
I bought some Iranian shoes - not expensive and look tolerable. certainly not Italian, but for 15-25 dollars it is quite normal. During this time, I was pretty hungry. was in the mind of the Haji Ali kebab restaurant in the bazaar. But it turned out they are open only until 15-00. did the work the next day. agreed to serve but for a portion of barbecue they asked for $12
which does not correspond to the level of this eatery. In general, of course, I refused. And went looking for a place to eat. found nothing in the bazaar area. I had to take a taxi and drive 1 km. but even there, apart from the pie, he could not find anything. in the end, one merchant from whom they bought rice and honey sent me to the eatery opposite across the road. there was a barbecue with a huge cauldron of rice in the middle. the area is only 10 square meters. at other times, I would not even go there, but hunger won. three tables on the second floor with a height of 1.6m where you can’t stand up to your weight. respectable place can not be called.
The kebab man was friendly and the food was quite tolerable or were very hungry. the place was called Kebabchi-Tek.
In the evening we took a taxi and went to El Golu Park. this is an artificial lake with attractions and a bunch of restaurants. we walked there until 11-00 and again by taxi to the hotel. sleep. but I couldn't sleep well at night. some kind of psycho was yelling something all night with short breaks. tomorrow was a march to the border, back home. After having breakfast in the room, we went for a walk around the city center. to the border 350 km. 4 hours of racing and we are already at the customs chauffeur service 130$
customs closes at 18:00. There were a lot of people but it went by pretty quickly. The Iranians did not particularly check, they wanted to open the suitcase, but changed their minds. You are not allowed to bring cigarettes with you. on the Azerbaijani side, they only took them through the scanner and asked where we were going from and that’s all. again a broken gazelle and after 3 minutes by car we go to Baku
