We visited Shams tower for morning tea and heard about the horns covering the tower which were supposed to be the animal this man had hunted in one day.

The Black church in Chaldoran (a UNESCO World Heritage site) was so called because of the black bricks used originally. An interesting explore and the original part of the church made up the altar area of the later church.

We drove on with  Hassam, our guide, having planned a barbecue for lunch. We had no idea what to expect as we pulled off the road and walked across some fields with the farmers working in them. I think each of us were a little questioning as to how this would come off. However to our surprise the barbecue was delightful.
A charcoal fire was started and the chicken threaded onto metal kebabs. These were laid over the coals and together with local bread, yogurt a feast was had. Finished with some fresh fruit and we had a wonderful lunch.

Arriving in Maku, our last night in Iran, we had a group dinner. We farewelled  Pat and David (Gingers owners) who were driving back to Tehran and flying back to Melbourne. Ginger is being shipped back to hopefully be repaired there.

Kandovan was such a stunning location it was a shame to have to pack the cars and head on off. We had decided to have a packed breakfast so we dined on this in a park in Osku where we later were fortunate to see a local silk printing workshop. The patterns on the silk before dying were done with stamps dipped in tar (similar to the wax process in other areas of the world) We asked how the tar was removed and were told this was done with oil. A very small local industry with age old tecniques, lovely to see.

We drove along the shores of Lake Urmeih and viewed the salt rocks sticking up that looked like icebergs!  Kalantari bridge took us across the lake and from the paddlboats on the salty shore it was obvious this was a popular destination.

After arriving in Urmieh we visited the local bazaar which was in a similar location to the one in Tabriz…long alleyways with high domed centre locations. Every possible product could be found here from carpets to shoes. A department store in the Iranian style.

We left our hotel and drove to a lovely morning tea stop on a lake. Although our morning tea breaks are only short, it is still good to have a scenic spot for the relax

We arrived in Tabriz and had several options for sightseeing. We chose to spend several hours at the Tabriz bazaar. This area covered 7 kilometres and one could easily get lost in the alleyways and archways. It was an amazing shopping area as it was a bazaar more for the local than the tourists. Clothing, jewellery, hardware etc all had their sections and the bazaar covered 7 kilometres. You could imagine the caravaners stopping there. We were really window shoppers buying only small items but was incredible to view the merchandise.

At Kandovan, our destination for the night was a 5 star hotel and by the time we had walked to the top of the hill to our room we found out why. It was a room cut out of the rock and  with all the modern amenities was nestled at the top of the resort. It was incredible. We walked to the town and by walking up the stairs in different directions we were able to view the small shops and homes nestled in the hillside. Most of the homes were also carved out of the rock.

We drove along the Caspian sea for a while today and reached -30metres. Of course I had to record that with a photo. Then we drove up over the hills which was lovely and as we reached the top the road was covered in mist. The most incredible thing though was as we drove out the tunnel through the mountain…mist/fog one side and clear sky and sunshine on the other. Quite incredible. A stop at an old fort for morning tea lent itself well for photos. This was lovely as we walked up a dirt path and had our tea overlooking the valley.

Lunch was in a picnic area with some shade which was great and then a visit to the Shikh Safi Addin Mausoleum in Ardebil.

The drive was interesting and made more so by some exploring on the way.