Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You can walk out into the surrounding hills and visit an interesting cave museum and
also the restored village
hammam
(bathhouse).
Sleeping & Eating
Meymand Guesthouse$
( 439 2003;
www.maymand.ir
;
dm US$11)
On the west side of the valley near the en-
trance to town, eight very old cave rooms have been converted into this guesthouse. With
namad
carpets on the floors, beds carved into the walls and warm lighting, it's easy to be
transported to another time. Bathrooms are shared but clean, with steaming showers. The
three meals (not included in the price) are prepared by village women and usually involve
ingredients grown locally. All good, but given how quiet it is and that there is not always
an English-speaker around, consider bringing a friend.
GUESTHOUSE
Getting There & Away
To get to Meymand you first have to get to Shahr-e Babak. Buses leave Shahr-e Babak
every day for Yazd (US$3.50, 4½ hours) at 6.30am and 7.30am, returning about 1pm and
2pm; savaris (US$8, three hours) leave from Abuzar Sq in Yazd. Several buses leave
every day from Shiraz and Kerman. Savaris from Kerman go first to Rafsanjan (US$3, 1½
hours) where you get another to Shahr-e Babak (US$5, 2½ hours). A taxi
dar baste
(closed door, used to indicate you want private hire) is about US$75 from Yazd, Shiraz or
Kerman.
You'll probably need to hire a taxi
dar baste
(US$6) for the 35km trip from Shahr-e
Babak to Meymand.
Kermanنامرک
0341 / POP 515,000 / ELEV 1754M
The desert trading city of Kerman has long been a staging point for travelling between
Persia and the Indian subcontinent and today it remains the best place from which to ex-
plore southeastern Iran. The city has a mud-brick core centred around the historic and
very lively bazaar. This is surrounded by ever-expanding low-rise, blond-brick suburbs
punctuated by
qanat
-fed parks.
