We are headed to Iran!

Friday August 1, 2014

After a sometimes frustrating week back and forth to the Iranian Consulate in Baku and several Skype calls to our agent in Iran we now have our visas! This is indeed a banner moment. We have read many cycle touring blogs and the favorite country of all in most of these blogs is Iran because it is a beautiful country and the people very friendly. Needless to say we are so excited to start our 28 day cycling tour which will include mostly camping.

In the meantime we have stayed in a very comfortable hotel near old town Baku. Our bicycles are well taken care of and we have been exploring this very interesting city. So far we have spent almost an entire month applying for and waiting for visas. But we have made peace with the process and learned that patience and smiles get the job done.

We would like to thank our agents in Iran, Ali and Hamid, for their tireless work in making this overwhelming task happen. We would also like to thank the Baku Islamic Republic of Iran Consulate manager who befriended us and became very interested in our journey and took it upon himself to make this happen. After our visas were issued we were invited into his office where he talked about the tension between our two countries and that someday he hopes there will be peace and free travel between us. We wholeheartedly agree and thanked him for his generous time. He wanted to be among the first to welcome us to Iran and is such a kind and thoughtful gentleman.

After one more business task we will cycle the 120 miles to Bilasuvar which is our point of entry on the Azerbaijan and Iran border. We will then start our Iran cycle tour.

Soviet Union art on an apartment building.
Soviet Union art on an apartment building.
Very clean and interesting city.
Very clean and interesting city.
We found Mexican!
We found Mexican!

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Old City Baku walls.
Old City Baku walls.

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Getting my sandals shined.
Getting my sandals shined.
Interesting architecture and a very imposing mosque minaret.
Interesting architecture and a very imposing mosque minaret.
The bay side is very oily.
The bay side is very oily.
Christmas trees throughout this park.
Christmas trees throughout this park.

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A very cool design on the 10 manat note. Worth about $12 USD.
A very cool design on the 10 manat note. Worth about $12 USD.

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Our bikes are safe and secure locked in the hotel storage room.
Our bikes are safe and secure locked in the hotel storage room.
Big bank behind the President of Azerbaijan billboard.
Big bank behind the President of Azerbaijan billboard.
We celebrated our visas with a very fine Baltica #7. One of my favorite from my Russian days.
We celebrated our visas with a very fine Baltica #7. One of my favorite from my Russian days.
Big smiles with our Iranian visas.
Big smiles with our Iranian visas.
Our visas were placed on a very appropriate passport page that reads, "What a glorious morning for our country." We would like to amend that to say "countries".
Our visas were placed on a very appropriate passport page that reads, “What a glorious morning for our country.” We would like to amend that to say “countries”.

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4 thoughts on “We are headed to Iran!

  1. Thanks for writing Amir. We had a great time with Farshad at his shop and will post a few pictures with him. We are having a great time and it really is special with my daughter Jocelyn. Zanjan was fun.

  2. Dear Michael and Jaclyn,
    I got to know you and your web site through my nephew Farshad Salehian who is a National cyclist of Iran and has a Bike Shop name Abnoos In Zanjan. You had met him in Zanjan Iran he told me and sent some pictures of you together as well. I talked to him yesterday and he told me all about your exciting visit from Zanjan my home town.He told me about your great ambitions and personalities and I read about you two and adventures on your site too. I just wanted to mention I am so proud of you taking a tour around the world and writing about your great experience with all kind of people from different nationalities and cultures and also thank you sharing your beautiful meaningful pictures and sharing with the rest of the world. I also like to mention I am a father my only daughter too and I am proud of you to have such great experience to go together for such a big adventure and feel the life in every breath on the way.
    I live in Houston, Texas please let me know when you come to Houston so we can meet.
    Be well and strong, keep in touch
    Yours truly,
    Amir Salehian

  3. This is a lovely way to start another leg of your tour. I am proud of the manners you have displayed and the kindness of the people who have met you two. They know that you are good people and that our desire is to share your traveling experiences with our family, friends, and others. I know that “Travel with a Mission” has been a welcome resource and that this may be a new way to share your culture and interests with the Iranian people that you meet along the way.
    People may wonder how you can afford this type of traveling and I would like to inform them that you spent most of your adult life supporting your family and parents. Now it is your opportunity to share this time with our daughter, while Cary and I enjoy your posts, pictures, and Skype phone calls. Retirement will not be boring for you! We are fine, and I look forward to the travel reports, pictures and words that will begin to paint a better picture of the people and country of Iran. I hope you have many “cool” days cycling around the Caspian Sea and that the camping is comfortable and safe. Love always, Andee momster
    I remember that beer, too!

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