Monday, November 29, 2010

Windy Town of Manjil...

Salaam,

Half way through our trip to Masouleh on Friday (between Qazvin and Rasht), our bus stopped at a small town called Manjil. Once a city, Manjil was destroyed by a devastating earthquake in June 1990. Along with other small towns and cities such as Rudbar and Tutkabon which we later travelled through, nowadays appeared to consist of a few stalls clinging to the roadside.

However , due to its geographical position in the Alborz mountain range, Manjil is also reputably known as the windy city of Iran. Its location at a small cleft in the mountain helps to funnel wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau. Hence we could see numerous wind turbines erected around the area to take advantage of this natural power.

The river Sefid-Rud (or white river) passes by the town and flows into the lake and dam, adding to the beauty of this historical town.

Apart from its natural beauty and windy atmosphere, Manjil is also well-known for its olive garden. We were informed that the town produces the best olive in the whole of Iran. Later, on our return journey back to Tehran, we stopped at Rudbar, a few kilometers from Manjil, to help ourselves with Manjil olives, fresh, preserved and made into tasty pickles at the numerous roadside shops all along the way.

Wassalam.

a welcome and reminder for all travellers...perhaps
beauty of Manjil lake behind the Sefid-Rud...
with some of its olives trees...
fresh n pollution-free...
pickled olives we bought at Rudbar...
wind turbines...natural power
fresh olives oil extracts...
and fresh pickled garlics...
serene blue water n blue sky...
the Alborz range...
olives gardens...

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