Calendar Shoot Diaries

Iran Day 5

Up very early again.  We are moving out of the hotel so packing all the camera gear and dash down to breakfast. Soon after, our heroes, Arash and

Navid arrive. We just about squeeze our luggage and all the camera gear in their cars and head for the hills in the bright morning sun. I go with Navid. Soon we leave Rasht and begin to climb the hills. He tells me that as arranged Haj Agha is driving Cyrus up to the hills in the horse trailer. We begin to climb. The scenery changes rapidly. After an hours driving we get to the really tricky stuff. Navid's car just about manages to climb the hill. We stop to have a look. We are now in a deep lush country with rolling green hills for as far as the eye can see. Arash is right behind us. I begin to worry about Haj Agh and Cyrus. How are they going to make it up here? Walk, comes the reply from Navid. 

Colin is clearly taken aback by the magnificence of the view. I am not far behind. We are now in the middle of the tea growing region. Every hill is covered with tea plants right up to the distant horizon. We find a south facing hill and stand and listen to the sound of the birds and insects singing for us. Colin mentions the term utopia...

We walk around for about 40 minutes and decide that we need to be on the other side of the valley to get the best light. Back down to the cars and head down before we climb up the next hill. Eventually we find the right spot . We are in a tiny hamlet with a few houses and a very old barn (Tavileh).  Arash volunteers to go and find the owner to get permission and Navid heads down the hill to find  Haj Agh and Cyrus. 

Ateshe in the mean time is busy taking photographs of all of us at work. Soon, permission is obtained and Cyrus appears being ridden bareback by Navid. I am astonished. Navid Is a good six foot tall. His feet are dragging on the ground. Is Cyrus ok with this. He sure is and has not even broken sweat... He is still all full of himself and ready to go. We set about putting up the lights and getting Cyrus in position. Navid and Arash are in charge of handling Cyrus and positioning him in the right place in the dappled light just by the barn. Colin invites me to look through the view finder. I find myself looking at what seems like a painting. Yes we will go with this. The shoot takes a further hour. We are very happy either the result.

Having packed up we head down the hill to find that Arash's car in stuck in a dusty dip in the side of the road. The usual wheel spins and pushing yields no result. Eventually Colin offers to try. To everyone's amazement he manages to manouver the car out with ease. He feels very proud of his achievement. At the bottom of the hill, we say our good bye to Haj Agh and Cyrus. We have brought some specially made monogrammed mugs and coasters which we offer Haj Agha, Arash and Navid. 

We ask Arash and Navid to find us a hired car to take us to Tonekaboon (old Shahsavar) which is where we are scheduled to meet Leia Firouz and her children. They are spending a few days in their summer villa in the hills. Arash and Navid will not hear of this. They are determined to drive us all they way there. We are truly touched by their dedication and generosity. So back  in the car and head down the hill. Soon we arrive at a small town where we are driven to the Tea Museum. Inside we find a lone attendant and no visitors. He is clearly pleased to see us. The museum is quite well  set up with  lots of very interesting artefacts going back a the 1600s when tea arrived in Iran from China. All very interesting and informative.

It is mid day now and we must think of lunch. Navid knows a very good restaurant belonging to the parents of one of his riding pupils. This seems like a good idea. We arrive at the restaurant and are greeted by a nice young lady who introduces us to her parents. We are soon ushered upstairs to a private air conditioned room. The usual flow of spectacular Persian cuisine follows. At regular intervals we are visited by the owner to check if all is well and to our satisfaction. Navid's pupil also joins us at the table. She tells us that she is a university graduate and is helping her parents during the summer holidays.  The conversation flows easily as do the extra dishes of delicious local food... I choose my moment and slip downstairs to the till and try and settle the bill while Arash and Navid are otherwise engaged. Oh no... the owners will not hear of it. We are guests and that is that. How can this be? I use up all my knowledge of Farsi to try and pay the bill but I am roundly defeated. Embarrassed and humbled I return to the table to be greeted by knowing looks from Arash and Navid.  More of the Iranian generosity and hospitality.

Back in the car we drive to Tonekabbon. After much hill climbing we eventually arrive at the villa. We say our good-byes to Arash and Navid. Two of the most dedicated and kind individuals that we met on our trip. They truly deserve the title of Caspian heroes.  

The villa is a large house built on the side of a hill. We are  greeted by Leila who is married to Caren. Caren, Ateshe's brother, is a photographer for Reuters and is right now on a posting in Pakistan. We are offered tea and cake on the terrace which overlooks the green lush hills of Tonekaboon.

Leila is there with her young  son and her teenage daughter. They inform us that the horses had set off from Kurdan ( Louise's old house ) that morning and will meet us on the hills later. Phone calls are then made to find us taxis prepared to drive us all the way up to the mountains to the village of Marjon Lot which was recommended to us by our guide Abol. He has been accompanying the horses in his amazing touring  SUV and will be waiting for us on the roadside outside Tonekaboon. 

Most cab drivers refuse to go that far or that high. This does not sound good. Eventually Leila informs us that she has found two cabs which will be around shortly. We quickly drink our teas and get ready. The cabs arrive and are nothing like we expected. The old problem of a big gas cylinder in the trunk of the car is with us again. Luckily one of the taxis is fitted with a roof rack. Somehow we manage to fit all the luggage for seven persons and all the camera equipment in two cars and set off to find Abol and the horses. 

Eventually we find them on the roadside. The horses are also there in a big truck. Abol is there and very busy running the show. This amazing and larger than life man is a cousin of Ateshe's. He is an intrepid traveller and knows Iran like the back of his hand. He is the proud owner of a giant Toyota Land Cruiser which he has has adapted for himself and to his own specification. More of this vehicle later. Greetings are exchanged on the road. 

Leila's son Cameron, who is about 10 years old, climbs in the back of the truck to say hi to his  horses who have been travelling for most of the day. We also meet Abol's daughter who is studying at university in Paris.

Abol is busy talking to a  roadside mechanic about replacing the wind screen on his SUV. It appears that he has a small crack due to a flying stone chip on the journey. He is informed that a replacement screen will take a week to order. 

To make matters worst we are the informed by one of our cab drivers that his car is not up to going  to our destination (which he has not heard of) so we wait for another cab driver to drive up and take up his place. This gives us a chance to get to know the new crew and the grooms who have come from Kurdan. 

We also do a bit of shopping for food and refreshments .

Eventually the convoy sets off for the mountains. We climb slowly into what can only be described as a forest in the mountains. 

It is now late in the afternoon. We enter the cloudscape on a number of occasions. This is a continuous climb for some three hours. Around one of the corners we encounter several cows ambling along in the middle of the road. The taxi driver does not seem to be too concerned. He explains that the cows belong to locals whose houses are on the roadside. Every morning the cows are let out to go into the forest to graze. They all return home at dusk.  I had never seen anything like it. You can actually watch several cows walking along the roadside and one by one they peel off and go their respective homes. Some with calves at foot. Absolutely astonishing. 

After much climbing and just before it gets dark we arrive in Marjon Lot. This place really does look like a dream. It is as if time has stopped . We have been offered an old chalet by a friend of Abol's. There is a very large front room, one bedroom, kitchen and bathroom. All simply furnished but looking very very comfortable. Upon arrival we meet the owner's niece who is staying there: I go with a friend of hers. 

Greetings are exchanged. The grooms have driven up the road to find somewhere where they can unload the horses as the ramp seems to have been left behind in Kurdan! Eventually they return with the horses. They have brought a grey stallion and two mares, one with a foal at foot. They look great. Their first task is to settle the horses for the night. Everyone seems to know what to do. 

Suddenly I smell the most fantastic aroma of hot bread. It turns out that the housekeeper, the one and only Soraya Khanoom,  has baked us a basket full of fresh local bread. In the meantime Abol has unloaded a travelling BBQ for the back of his magic SUV  and is busy getting the fire going. Colin and I go out to offer to help. There seems to be some trouble with tethering the horses for the night. The grooms are reluctant to tether the horses with ordinary rope. The local technique  is to feed the rope through ordinary garden hoses to stop it getting wound around the horse's legs and causing rope burns . How nice and considerate but where do we find hoses in this remote place? Much head scratching follows. Unsurprisingly the solution is found at the back of Abol's  magic SUV. Yes he did actually produce a large coil of hopes pipes from the beck of his car! Dinner is followed by discussions about sleeping arrangements. Acting on Abol's advice I had bought a couple of travelling sleeping bags for Colin and I back in London.

Everyone was offered a simple mattress and told to find a floor to bed down. I chose to sleep outside on the verandah. I had  not done that for some forty years! So I grabbed a mattress and made  my way the to the verandah only to see that Abol was already camped out there  in his one man tent.

Very impressive. Before long all lights went out and calm was restored. I gazed at the sky and reflected on the incredible day we had had. The  thrill of sleeping outdoors only metres from the forest was indescribable. Soon after the wildlife awoke and the night forest symphony began. At items it was deafening yet it felt like a strange kind of silence. I was told that these forests are still home to bears, wolves, hyenas , wild boar and a few leopards. What if one of them visits us tonight?

Time to get some sleep. 

Some time later I wake up to a terrifying growling sound. Frightened rigid, I remind myself that I must not panic. I have been in close proximity of big cats and other dangerous animals in my day to day work (I am an Film Animal Action Director). But this is different. The growling is only metres away.

It is not long until I realise that there is no leopard out there but Abol is sound asleep... deep sleep...!

More star gazing...tough day ahead.

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