we set off in the morning on a 5 hour drive across the Iranian desert,flat arid scrubland flanked by barren mountains. after a couple of hours we stopped at a renovated 400 year old caravanserais Zein-o-din for coffee. it is one of only two circular ones ( the other has been destroyed) it has reintroduced accommodation for travellers,basic but an authentic experience. they even have some camel tethering points on the exterior walls. after our arrival in Kerman,a city of 1.25 million and provincial capital,we were ushered into the dining room for lunch which consisted of many small local dishes including a walnut stew. the non alcoholic beer was the best so far by virtue of being our first proper one.
in the afternoon we set off for the Ganjali-Khan complex in the city centre . this was built in the 17th century and was a stop on the Silk Road therefore the complex features a mourning place in a square with bazaar, bath houses,tea house,mosques and the caravanserais. there is also a statue of Ganjali-Khan,a rarity in the Islamic world. he was the local governor and his personal mosque is the smallest of all the special mosques in Iran. one bath house has been turned into a museum with static displays of the bathing activities; exfoliating,scraping,cupping,massaging etc. the other bath house has been turned into a tea house as the other has been lost. we were able to enjoy a cup of local tea and figgy biscuits and some iced minty tapioca. a band played local songs and the local teenagers,boys and girls together,were singing and clapping along. it's probably the nearest thing to a disco and as a sign of a more liberal attitude we even saw one couple holding hands in the street.