we set off through the chaos that is rush hour in Iran.there do not appear to be many rules but somehow we found ourselves on the open road driving along the edge of the desert flanked by high inhospitable mountains still speckled with snow in the crags and crevasses. our first stop was Nantaz,a reasonably sized town famed for its pottery and proximity to a nuclear power plant. we passed an anti aircraft gun battery ready manned and our guide said there were underground missile sites about too in the mountains. we visited one of the potters and purchased a hand painted dervish. the pottery was across the road from a pre Islamic fire temple,at least 1500 years old, with its rounded arches instead of pointy. for many years it has been hidden by other buildings forming part of their structure but these have now been removed and it awaits further renovation. the nearby mosque had some nice tiled decoration and minaret. it's dome was just very plane but it also had a decorated spire for its dervish community.
we reached our destination of Abyaneh at lunchtime and after our final picnic of the tour we set off to explore this 2500 year old village . it's like a living museum and the locals cling to their dress,language and culture as best they can. they are actually nomadic as a people and the population drops to 100 in winter. it is one of the highest villages in Iran and the red mud brick buildings cling to a steep hillside piled on top of each other. a few old men in costume amble about with their donkeys and the old ladies sit in their flowered scarves and dresses eking out a small living selling local handicrafts. our guide took us down some steps to an open air tea room. the owner heats the water in ancient kettles over a wood fire and to greet us some incense was thrown into a little open oven. we tasted his own dried apple and bought a leather purse that his daughter had made. we were not the only visitors,there was a school party of girls who chatted to us and wanted their photos with Caroline,a Chinese Canadian on the tour with us. this happens every day,people have just been coming up to us,welcoming us to Iran,thanking us for coming and how do we like it. it's really charming. there was also a French couple with a couple of kids who were taking 2 years to drive round the world and another chap on a cycle who was cycling from Iran to Germany(he'd already circumnavigated the world!)