Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
men if they're suitably polite. Access is down steps marked with a restaurant sign featur-
ing a chicken (beside the Pirayshfoad barber shop).
By far the nicest dining option in Paveh is
Kapr
( 722 1112; Shohoda Sq; meals
US$1-5; 8am-10pm)
at the top of the town's little blue-glass shopping centre.
Getting There & Away
From the main terminal 3km east of central Paveh, Kermanshah minibuses (US$1) and
savaris (US$3, 1¾ hours) fill slowly. It might prove quicker to go in hops via Javanrud
(US$1, 45 minutes) or Ravansar (US$1, one hour).
For Marivan and Howraman shared Toyota (pronounced 'tweeter') pick-ups gather out-
side a trio of orange container huts, 1km west of Shohoda Sq. Departure times are highly
unpredictable, typically before dawn to Howraman-at-Takht (US$10, five hours) if at all.
To allow plenty of photo stops consider renting a taxi
dar baste
to Marivan from the de-
lightful folks at
Kurd Taxi Agency
( 722 777; Blvd Janbazan)
either via Nosud
(US$35) or in perfect dry weather via Howraman-at-Takht (US$80, a very rough road).
Kermanshahهاشنامرك
0831 / POP 765,000 / ELEV 1330M
Gateway to the sweltering cities of the Iraqi plains, Kermanshah developed in the 4th cen-
tury AD under the patronage of Sassanian kings and squats astride the former Royal Road
to Baghdad - such strategic positioning has brought both prosperity and attack, and Ker-
manshah suffered brutal damage during the Iran-Iraq War. Briefly renamed Bakhtaran in
the 1980s, the city is a melting pot of Kurds, Lori and other Iranians, many on pilgrimage
west to the holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala. Though not a yet a major tourist draw, the
backdrop of glowing red-rock mountains is impressive enough and Taq-e Bustan stands as
one of the most peculiar monuments in all of Iran.
Kermanshah is bewilderingly vast. The main street changes names (Kashani-Modarres-
Beheshti-Sheikh Shiroodi) as it stretches over 10km from the busy commercial centre (the
southern third) to the foot of the magnificent rocky Parom Mountain massif. Here the Taq-
e Bustan carvings, ringed by parks and outdoor restaurants, form the city's foremost at-
traction.
