Day 111. 60km (63798kms)
A sweaty but manageable night in the tent. I woke with the sunrise so was up and on my way by 07:30, the temperature at this time absolutely fine for cycling.
A truck stop midway fuelled me with a huge plate of eggs and bread for less than a dollar. They also offered to fill my bottles and sent my off with an additional 1.5 litre ice brick. I arrived.
Qom is Iran’s second holiest city on account of Hazurat-e-Masumeh the shrine to Imam Reza’s sister Fatemeh. Because it’s such a deeply religious place some people had expressed concerns about my visiting, and certainly it could feel like an intimidating place. On the streets you can see many clerics in robes and almost every woman wears a chador. The air is heavy with the smell of Sohan, Qom’s signature saffron brittle, like an extremely fancy and delicious Dime Bar.
And so I gratefully accepted the invitation I had received last night at the mosque. Thanks to my guides and with a loaned chador I was able to visit the city accompanied by my hosts who smoothed the way for me to enter otherwise restricted sites. And so my presence was even more of a novelty than usual in Iran. After the event my guide relayed a conversation he’d had with a mullah who’d flatly refused to accept I had cycled here; “It’s not possible”.
The shrine is indeed magnificent, mirrored, and moving. But on top of this we also visited the bazaar, carpet workshops, and a local restaurant. I feel exceptionally grateful to have had the opportunity to learn about life in Qom in this way.
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