9950 km: Iran, West Azerbaijan, Orumieh Lake

13 September 2019

Sahoulan Cave - Hasanlu - Orumieh Lake 

Orux map screenshot: 
BLUE line is the planned route 
RED line is the actual route we drove

We visit Sahoulan cave in the morning, when there are only few visitors. The cave, which sits on a small hill of limestone, has two entrances and has been created by the corrosive effect of water.

Geomorphological evidence collected from within the cave suggests that it has been formed under phreatic conditions by still water and not running water. Throughout the cave there are horizontal ledges of calcite deposits along the walls that are indicative of higher water levels in the past.

Meanwhile Tara is waiting in the car...

... and he is waiting to be eaten 

Time to say good bye to our friends Zari and Hamid, who will return to Tehran while we continue our RoadTrip. We enjoyed the 5 day trip with them very much.

Teppe Hasanlu is an archeological site of an ancient Iron Age city located in northwest Iran (in the province of West Azerbaijan), a short distance south of Lake Urmia. The site consists of a 25m high central "citadel" mound, with massive fortifications and paved streets, surrounded by a low outer town, with houses, stables, treasuries, and temples. The entire site, once much larger but reduced in size by local agricultural and building activities, now measures about 600m across, with the citadel having a diameter of about 200 m. It is here, in 1958, that archaeologists came across a layer of the city that had been frozen in time - a "burn layer" containing more than 200 bodies preserved in ash and rubble. The preserved layer enabled researchers to unravel a gruesome tale of destruction, which had taken place at the end of the 9th century BC.

This Family is interested in Iranian culture and interested to talk with us

This cute teenager assumes, that the most important language to learn is English, followed by Arabic, German and Kurdish. 

Orumieh Salt Lake....

...the perfect place to spend our last evening in Iran, camping on the salt surface

 No way to swim, it is too shallow

The water is full with these little red brine shrimps

We celebrate our last evening in Iran with our last bottle of red wine from Georgia in incognito glasses with a fantastic fullmoon rise ... life is wonderful