Māzandarān

We drove “to the north” today, to spend a day (and the night) at Leyla’s apartment there. For Tehranis, going to the north is really a weekend getaway at the Caspian Sea. Still, the drive is quite long, and so we spent about 4 hours to get there and ~6 hours back in the car (including a breakfast break).

Both days we got up early (6 and 7, respectively), to have the most of the day, and consequently it was quite tiring for us. Particularly if you consider that dinner was had at about 11:30pm and even later on the second day.

We enjoyed looking at the scenery as we drove north from Tehran. Immediately north of the city, the Alborz mountain range begins and the road winds through various canyons and past rivers (yes, we saw our first river with water in it in Iran).

As we discovered, in “the north” there is actually not all that much to do. Swimming in the Caspian Sea was really out of the question - the beach is much too dirty to be inviting and there is no real beach culture given Islamic law. People really just go there to look out onto the water. Well on our visit, it was quite foggy, so instead of looking out, we spent some time having lunch, playing ball games and football with Leyla’s 6-year-old son. Back in the flat we made some attempts at Acro Yoga and also visited the jacuzzi and pool at the top of the apartment. (Each flat tenant can book some time and then the pool area can be used exclusively by them. That way, no female covering is needed.)

We finished the evening with corn 🌽 barbecue and after another short night, we drove back to Tehran for our final day in Iran.Read more