Z

Saturday morning, a new week has started in Tehran. Saturday morning here is like Monday morning for us. The weekend has come to an end, people put on their working cloths and go to work.

I have put on my cycle cloths and will continue my journey today. The two weeks in Tehran have been really good, and if I am honest I don't feel like leaving. Contrary to all expectations. I came here for a Pakistani visa and a Iranian visa extension, but by the time I managed to get both, Tehran had grown on me and made me want to stay. This was mainly the case because of all the people I described below, but also because I like this place for what it is. A no-nonsense hulk of a city. 15 million inhabitants, going up to 16 during the day. Almost as much as there are people in the Netherlands. Buildings as far as the eye can see. Some sights that are worth visiting (most of them were closed when I wanted to), and a fantastic mountain range north, and northwest of the city. If it wasn't for those mountains, Tehran's northern border would have been defined by the Caspian Sea by now.

My plan is to stay another month in Iran, and go to Pakistan after that. In so doing I will start the _ part of the giant Z that I am signing on our continent. The name 'cyclezorro' crossed my mind, but I want to make this blog less about me, and more about the detail that catches my eye. The small things, that make you remember a certain place or person. Like the bicycle in Bastam, the clown in the play. Perhaps it is these trivialities that make this trip special. Hence the new title.

Half a year away, roughly 12000 kilometres on the counter. It is a clear day in Tehran, and people go to work. I am going to press 'publish' and join the masses of traffic on the black slope. Finding that little space that is meant to be filled by my cycle.