Yazd Iran 伊朗亚兹德（A）- 3/2018 (6)

17-19/3/2018. After seven hours of an overnight bus ride, I arrived at 7 a.m. in the desert town of Yazd and proceeded to the hotel. The hotel manager invited me for a free breakfast, the best so far, even before I checked into my room, at 8 a.m. While having breakfast, out of nowhere came the sound of quick raindrops on the canvas roof. We were stunned, perking up our ears like meerkats, staring at each other, wondering, “Is this rain we are hearing in the middle of the desert?” An auspicious start, indeed.

17-19/3/2018 经过七小时，夜巴凌晨7点抵达亚兹德（Yazd）沙漠小城。这酒店住了不少欧洲客人。酒店也爽快，请我先了吃早餐，也是目前为止最好免费早餐，八点多就入住，每晚也只二十五美元，地点最适中。早餐时忽然听到雨敲屋顶，邻桌吃早餐的瑞士人跟我如狐獴般的停了嘴，竖起耳朵，惊讶对视，下雨了？这可是伊朗著名沙漠小城，且还是冬天。好开头。

Breakfast 早餐 — My hotel in Yazd 我住的亚兹德小酒店

The hotel was right in the old part of Yazd, known for its many old houses. The first to catch my eyes was the Jameh Mosque, with two tall minarets reaching for the sky, with high, carved-out ceilings, walls populated with intricate designs from tile to tile. With the blue sky acting as the backdrop, the night light providing the surreal lighting, this mosque became an optical illusion, a made-up and not man-make; a figment of my imagination.

I wandered around the old part of Yazd again and again. I saw more chimney-like minarets, countless narrow alleys, and the old mud-brick houses. It was almost like walking back into ancient times.

酒店外面就是亚兹德老区，走出来第一眼就是这杰米清真寺（Jameh Mosque）。两根大大的冲天柱，高高的内凹天花板，墙体佈满细致的图案，以蓝天为背景，夜幕后加神幻采光，这教堂这时看来就不像人造的。

我在老区来回不停的转，又逢如烟囱般的大柱子，无数狭窄小巷和草浑土砌成的老房子，仿佛进入一个滞留在几百几十年前时代。

Restaurant converted from old bath house in the basement 地下室古老澡堂改装的餐厅 — Old part of Yazd 亚兹德的老城区

Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice 亚兹德午餐 - 肌肉配饭，鲜榨番石榴汁 — Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice 亚兹德午餐 – 肌肉配饭，鲜榨番石榴汁

Rooftop view of old part of Yazd 屋顶观亚兹德老城区 — Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice Chicken and rice, fresh pomegranate juice 亚兹德午餐 – 肌肉配饭，鲜榨番石榴汁

When I come out to play, I play until I drop. After a few hours of bouncing around the old city, my desire remained insatiable. But dusk eventually descended and enveloped. So I asked a travel agency to take me out to the desert to indulge in some stargazing. This young man then took me on his bike, parading me in all the busy traffic, to get me to my tour car. This was the third time I was taken for a ride in Iran. After driving for an hour, I was in Zein o din Caravansary, an old motel-like structure that provided accommodation and protection to traders plying the desert routes in old times. Round-shaped, with the center court facing the desert sky, it was now converted into a small hotel for tourists looking for a novel experience. I had come to see a star-studded sky, of countless twinkle-twinkle little stars, to recapture my lost childhood. But I counted no more than 50 tonight.

在老房区团团转几小时后，夜幕已垂，即兴到酒店附近约司机出游。等了阵子，司机说堵车，就请小伙用电动车在小巷和车水马龙中穿梭把我送到他所在。我又第三次被牵着鼻子兜。开车一小时后到扎因奥丁古商队客栈（Zein o din Caravansary）, 古时给商人在沙漠供住宿和保护的客栈。圆形的，中庭面对星星点缀的天空，现改为寻找新奇体验的旅客当住宿。到这主要是在沙漠看满天星斗, 今晚我只数到五十。

Pillion ride through Yazd center behind an Iranian 在亚兹德伊朗导游市内电动车载送 — Pillion ride through Yadz center behind an Iranian 在亚兹德伊朗导游市内电动车载送

Center courtyard of Zein o din caravanserai 扎因奥丁古商队客栈中央庭院 — Pillion ride through Yadz center behind an Iranian 在亚兹德伊朗导游市内电动车载送

I set out with five Poles in two cars for a day tour of a few neighboring sites. The first of these was Kharanagh—a little village of old mud houses inhabited by the original Persian people, now abandoned. These were bare mud houses, of one monotonous earthy color, from the ground up, wall to wall, as though they were freshly molded by maverick potters. They look so fragile and vulnerable. In the desert, they looked ever so deserted. I felt sorry they are in such a sorry state. But this village was so also original, so unostentatious, it remains an indelible memory of Iran.

一早跟五个波兰人两车往周围三个小镇景点出发。第一站，哈拉纳克（Kharanagh）, 以前古居民住的古老泥房子。房子浑身是泥，没上色，没挂彩，由上到下赤裸裸的泥身，好像陶艺师房子设计不按套路任性发挥，将成型陶泥索性摆在土上。我在这里爬上爬下，钻小巷，探小房，一切那么原始，没装扮，没咖啡馆，没商铺，甚至没人迹，时光又倒流到古代，无穷回味。