In some countries it's unusual to stop a bus in the middle of the highway, but not in Iran. We found a nice shadow of a big tree to wait for buses, but none came. Lots of cars stopped to see if they could help, but we were looking for a bus. After one hour, we decided to hitchhike a car going far on the way to Mashhad. This is how we saw many people walking to Mashhad — on pilgrimage.
Getting to Mashhad
The communication in Farsi was difficult, but our driver was really nice. And you know, the Google Translate app works really well — you can even download languages and use it offline! Anyway, we stopped in Shirvan and our nice driver brought us to some Safari guys (shared taxis). We could have taken a bus, but the Safari was much faster. In 2 hours, we reached Mashhad — the second biggest city in Iran after Tehran.
The Imam Reza Shrine
So, we had only one day in this city. We visited the famous Imam Reza shrine, which is the biggest shrine in the world. Inside you will even find a library, university, hospital, mosque, etc. It's really huge! Everything is handmade — lots of marble, carpets, thousands of mirrors…
We were welcomed by two men. They offered us drinks and food, even two books and a Chador for Augustina (traditional clothing for women). We also got a speech from one of them — an important one, I guess. We appreciated it because it was neutral. Augustina is Catholic and I'm not a religious person at all.
The Camera Crew
The funny story is that they asked if they could make a small video of us… We accepted, it was funny. So, three men followed us with a camera. We even did an interview! It's a bit sad, because they didn't really take care of Augustina. I was the one with whom they asked questions. The woman is clearly in the background… Anyway, it was an interesting adventure and it was good to learn from them about this majestic place!
Kebabs, Flags, and Farewell
Then, we found our homestay owner by chance. She dropped us in a good restaurant where we tried the famous Shashlik Kebab of Mashhad — really delicious! The restaurant was also looking for the flag of Lithuania… they didn't find it. The funniest part is that they brought the Russian flag instead of the French one!
Next morning, we woke up really early to take a taxi to the airport — and our Snapp (Uber-like) driver refused to take our money, and the coffee shop inside the airport gave us a Bounty for half price. What can we say…?
This is by far the best country as a backpacker we visited in our life. One of the safest countries we've been to (safer than France… by far), the Iranians are just incredible: smart, curious, so hospitable, cultivated and friendly. We will come back for sure!
And now we are already in Tajikistan, getting ready to discover the Fann Mountains!
July 17–18, 2018