To Iran by Train

I've had the great pleasure of making three trips to Iran to speak at conferences. 

Each time in addition to visiting Tehran I've been able to visit other parts of the country. 

Following trips to Esfahan, Shiraz and the desert city of Yazd, this time I made the road trip to Hamadan and Kermanshah. 

I travelled with my Iranian Friend Hesam Aref Kashfi on a delightful trip, made all the more so because we travelled by land - a distance of a little under 600km.

To make my flight back home we returned to Tehran by plane which highlighted the contrast between driving through and flying over a country.

The trip resurrected an idea I'd had some time ago, to travel from the UK to Tehran overland. 

The plan, though that's too grand a name for it at the moment, would be to travel via Istanbul.

The marvel of the Internet is that there is a web site dedicated to just such journeys.

At www.seat61.com there are details of train journeys to most places you could imagine, and many that you'd never imagine. 

There's a section devoted to the trip from London to Tehran. http://www.seat61.com/Iran.htm

What's really great is that it includes travel diaries from people who've made the trips with real on-the-ground hints and tips that really whet your appetite to give it a go.

It's certainly got me thinking.

By the way the photograph is of rock carvings at Bisoton, Kermanshah one of hundreds of amazing spectacles to be seen and largely unknown to most in the West.