Darreh-ye Lag Lūgeh

We cycled as close as a few hundred meters to the sea until we could see the Persian Gulf for the first time - tension till the end, and still 1 hour till sunset. It was perfect timing, wasn't it? The feet of the mountains reach all the way down to sea, but we could easily find a spot for the night and then there was this unspeakable feeling: The summer is back!

From now on, we could sit outside as long as we want, the beauty of the coastline ahead, no more mountains to climb. But first, we had to pass Asaluyeh.

The area around it is pure madness, refineries and burning waste gas as far as we could see. The engineering achievement is certainly striking as the oil pipes are coming straight through the towering mountains and the region employs tens of thousands. But what about the consequences for the environment and the people living there around the chimneys and under an ever-present ochre grey smog cloud? What comes after the oil and gas?Read more