(Daniel) Today we headed out on the road to Shiraz. It was an easy drive on long fast roads, and enabled me to let Gabby drive for a while. We made good time, despite the Wolf’s modest rate of progress, and arrived before sunset. Shiraz in the evening was buzzing, a busy modern town with a university, a park and many attractions.
Our first stop was a nomad restaurant that is open in the winter months while the nomads make their home here. The Lonely Planet simply stated that the restaurant was located 8kms outside the town to the south east, so we headed exactly 8kms along a south east course but found no restaurant. In the end we stopped outside another restaurant and asked for directions. To our surprise the restaurant owner jumped in his car and asked us to follow him. Just as well, as the route to the restaurant was very complicated, along back alleys, and eventually through a park and some very narrow alleys eventually ending at the Yurt restaurant.
The restaurant was amazing, consisting of a huge tent decorated with Persian carpets adorning every inch. We ordered our food, then sat down on a huge recliner, meanwhile a waiter brought over a bucket full of hot coals which kept us warm. When the food arrived, the portions were really huge. We were watched throughout the meal by beautiful Persian cats who clearly were thriving in the nomads company. After dinner we smoked a waterpipe and discussed our options for accommodation. Discounting the idea of a hotel we decided to ask the nomads if we could camp at the restaurant. They were nomads after all and could surely understand people camping! Of course they were happy to let us stay, and we set up outside, much to the amusement of the true nomads!
Climbing into the tent, we felt like a part of the nomad clan, and for a while before we slept, discussed how we’d changed, adapting to life on the road in just a few short weeks.
Distance drive 480kms.