Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Karun (890km) in the southwest, and it's no Nile. Rather, settled areas are almost en-
tirely confined to the foothills of mountains, where natural springs and melting snow
provide sufficient water, with melted snow often channelled through ingenious under-
ground canals called
qanats
(
Click here
)
.
Without river connections these communit-
ies lived in relative isolation. Large towns
would be the focus of trade for hundreds of
surrounding villages otherwise hemmed in by
mountains or desert. Further trade was done by
camel caravans, which linked these population
basins to each other and beyond via the silk
Only about 11% of Iran is arable land, 8% is forest,
47% is natural (ie nonarable) pastures, and 34% is
infertile land, including desert.
routes and the coasts.
These environs also dictated the Iranian cuisine. With fresh vegetables hard to find,
people of the deserts ate a menu heavy with protein (camel and goat meat) and hardy
fruits (dates, oranges and pomegranate), while those from the wet, fertile, Alborz
provinces in the north ate more vegetables (hello eggplant) and a wider variety of fruit.
For a taste of these contrasting lifestyles, spend a night each in Garmeh (desert,
Click
here
)
and Masuleh (mountain,
Click here
)
.
