After a night in Saveh, a lunch break near a small mausoleum at the top of its hill, and passing through the second holy city of Iran, Qom (with in the distance, the magnificent golden dome of what appears to be the mausoleum of Fatima), we reach Kashan in the early evening.

A small challenge to find a place in the center, but we are lucky and can park near a mosque without disturbing. After the bustle of Tehran, we are ready to discover our first oasis city, at the entrance to the Dasht-e Kavir desert.

Sun and mildness will be at the rendezvous (we switch to lighter jackets and vests, it smells like spring) for the walking tour of the historic center, with its narrow and winding streets, its typical houses (some of which seem almost in ruins), with cob walls and sand-colored bricks.

We will take the pass that allows access to three sites, and start with the Kahn-e Tabatabaei: behind an almost ordinary entrance, it’s a maze of openings, corridors, nooks, finely decorated domes, beautiful patios with their basins, ingeniously built on several levels, with the famous badgirs (wind towers), natural cooling perfect for the hot sands of the desert. And simultaneously, an exposure, allowing certain parts of the building to make the most of the sunshine in winter.

The Hammam-e Sultan Mir Hammad, converted into a museum, and its roof with almost futuristic domes (or lunar depending on the viewpoints) will close this little touristic session.

We then head for the bus station for Loïc who’s about to leave for 24h on a mission to recover our passports and Indian visas in Tehran (a 4h journey for less than 3 €, unbeatable), and back to the truck for the rest of the troop.

A small stroll in the bazaar, not very busy on this thursday afternoon, to buy a shawl a little less hot and that does not keep slipping (the choice is not lacking including for the youngest, but everything is about taste…).

Meanwhile, in Tehran…

Yess! Indian visas in hand on schedule, no more constraints now to continue our journey! Next administrative steps: extend our Iranian visas and find a boat that takes Arty to India without breaking the bank. It looks a little touchy, especially as the holiday of Norouz, and the closures that go with it, are approaching…

Visit of the last site with the pass: Kahn-e Abbasian, smaller than the previous one, but no less pleasant, after a short walk near the pretty ramparts, and before a break at the Abbasi tea house.

Radical change of weather for the next day: it’s snowing! Frankly, not ideal for visiting Bagh-e Fin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bye bye, nice and quiet Kashan, we head for Isfahan.

The weather continues to be very gray and cool, and the snow on the edge accompanies us a good part of the road that climbs slowly but surely, leading us to give up venturing to Abyaneh, a village perched at 2200 m and which is probably worth a visit in the heart of spring or summer. No stop either in Natanz and its funerary tombs and where is the largest uranium enrichment plant in the country.

We push to the northeast of Isfahan to camp in a rather industrial area, just to be sure to find a mechanic the next day to take a look at Arty and his funny noises.