Despite the road being really good in Iran, the bus we took in Tonekabon was very slow! It was heading to Mashhad and our plan was to stop in Golestan Province. We arrived at 2 AM in Galikesh, and at this time it's not really easy to find a place to sleep (yes, because booking a hotel for foreigners in Iran can be challenging). However, I think we became really not stressed about those events after our previous month traveling around the world. We found a small park where we saw people sleeping in their tents. So, we did the same!
The Morning Hitchhike
After 5 hours sleeping, let's say we were a bit tired… We ate some cookies and started to hitchhike. A really nice man helped us stop a car, but we had to pay for it (really cheap). It was good because we reached the city of Kalaleh directly. Less than 10 seconds after getting out of the car, we found another person who took us for a few kilometers — really nice, and he dropped us at a strategic intersection.
And after a few minutes, a young man who had just gotten married took us and spent all his time with us up to Khaled Nabi Cemetery, our final destination! He was really kind because he was going back home initially. One of the posts from Against the Compass motivated us more to go there.
Khaled Nabi Cemetery
Khaled Nabi is a cemetery near the border with Turkmenistan, positioned in the Gokchech Dagh hills of Turmen Sahra — we had never been so close to Turkmenistan! It was one of the best views we had in Iran. This place is very interesting…
Before World War 2, this area of Iran belonged to Turkmenistan, and this cemetery is a unique one. There are two types of tomb, but both represent the sex of the person — for instance, we could see a lot of male phalli tombs which is quite intriguing. Have a look at our pics!
Lunch with the Newlyweds
We were really happy to be there, even if it's a remote place and not easy to reach without your own car. But again, hitchhiking is super easy in Iran. The young man who took us invited us for lunch. We met his mother and his wife (so beautiful!). We tried to give him a few hundred Rials to thank him, but obviously, it's really hard to invite an Iranian or pay for something in this country!
Then, he dropped us on the highway to take a bus for Mashhad. This is how we ended up hitchhiking again!
July 17, 2018