Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mashhad to Sarakhs
In spring, a miraculous green-grass fuzz dappled with red poppies enlivens the dusty bad-
lands of the Mashhad-Sarakhs road (185km), providing April grazing for herds of sheep.
Nomad shepherds
' tent-camps are easiest to spot after
Mazdavand
, where the road
climbs an escarpment, then follows a crag-sided valley of saw-toothed geological uplifts.
In several rural villages,
old mud houses
consist of three or four adobe domes. A few
such structures still exist in Sarakhs, but a more impressive collection at
Abravan
is eas-
ily spied north of the main road.
A 7km side trip from tiny
Sholoq
village (130km from Mashhad) reveals the evocat-
ively lonely 1128
Robat Sharaf Caravanserai
with twin courtyards and a far
iwan
re-
taining some fine stucco patterning and calligraphy. Deep pits in chambers on either side
once held the water supply. Note that Sholoq has no taxis. You could try to engage a
cranky old
motor
(motorcycle) but while US$1 might be the 'fair price' it's a seller's mar-
ket and drivers ask a whopping US$12.
Renting a one-way Mashhad-Sarakhs savari
dar baste
(US$17) and paying a little extra
for stops and side trips makes sense.
Sarakhsسخرس
0512 / POP 36,000 / ELEV 287M
If heading for Merv and Mary, you can cross the Turkmenistan border in this strange, flat
town where several redundantly large boulevards don't seem to lead anywhere. A useful
landmark west of the town centre is the dolphin-fronted
Hotel Doosty
( 522 5518;
Ghadir Sq; s/d/tr US$20/24/28; )
. Its best rooms are a decent midrange deal and its
restaurant is excellent value (meals US$3). From here, Customs Blvd forks right (south-
east) off the main road and leads after 800m to the
border gate
.
The main road passes the bus terminal (150m beyond the Hotel Doosty) and savari
stand (400m) before reaching Pasdaran St (800m). Turn left and follow that street northw-
est then north for 3km to see the 1356
Gonbad Sheikh Loghman Baba
(donation appre-
ciated; 5.30am-4.30pm)
in a wheat-field to your right. That domed brick tomb-tower
has a massive, shattered arch support tower and an impressively vast three-storey interior
with sections of disintegrating stalactite vaulting held in place by wooden staves.
