{"id":222379,"date":"2025-05-04T07:17:51","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T07:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/spending-the-night-in-a-qashqai-homestay-in-iran\/"},"modified":"2025-05-04T07:17:51","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T07:17:51","slug":"spending-the-night-in-a-qashqai-homestay-in-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=222379","title":{"rendered":"Spending The Night In A Qashqai Homestay in Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

The small bus judders across a dirt road, and our driver pulls over. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to walk from here,\u201d our leader Maryam explains. The road is covered in ice and there\u2019s no way the bus can make it to the top of the hill with us weighing it down.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As we pick our way past frozen puddles, the village around us is quiet. There\u2019s a man and his sons working on the roof of one of the mud houses, but few other people to be seen.<\/p>\n

After the hustle and bustle of Tehran and the cities around the Fars Province<\/a>, where we\u2019ve already spent almost two weeks on Intrepid\u2019s 12-day\u00a0Iran Women\u2019s Expedition, the tiny village of Kahkaran is a silent wonder.<\/p>\n

The quiet life<\/h3>\n

\"A\"AWe\u2019re on our way to the home of Mehdi and Nazila, who are to be our hosts for the evening. They and another friend, Amin, greet us at their gate. The house is surrounded by an orchard, apple trees bearing the last of the season\u2019s fruit.<\/p>\n

After introductions are made, we\u2019re bustled into the house, gather in the living room, sit on the floor and tea is poured.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a common theme in Iran. Whether you\u2019re talking to artists in the markets of Esfahan or being welcomed into a family home in Shiraz, tea and sweets are always offered. And you accept them \u2013 it would be rude not to.<\/p>\n

It takes a few moments for the ice to be broken, but soon our group is peppering Mehdi with questions about his life. His family are Qashqai nomads. Until about a century ago, they would move their homes and livestock from the south of the country near the Persian Gulf after winter to the cooler climes of the highland region near the small city of Eghlid. Their travels would take them up to 1000 kilometres as the seasons changed. They owned the land everywhere they stopped to graze their animals.<\/p>\n

\"A\"AEXPLORE OUR RANGE OF IRAN TRIPS HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The introduction of identity cards about 100 years ago changed all that. Authorities wanted tribal people to cease moving around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey asked the Qashqai people to give their land back to make it national land,\u201d Mehdi tells us. \u201cThe government then sold it and people built walls and fences so the Qashqai couldn\u2019t move any more.\u201d Now, about 60 per cent of Qashqui are permanently settled.<\/p>\n

Mehdi\u2019s father chose Kahkaran about 50 years ago, built this house and the family has lived here ever since. \u201cI was born by that fireplace,\u201d Mehdi says, pointing to the exact spot some of the group are sipping their tea.<\/p>\n

RELATED: TRAVELLING TO IRAN? CHECK OUT OUR PACKING GUIDE FOR WOMEN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A village stroll<\/h3>\n

After lunch of roasted chicken stuffed with dried plums \u00ad\u2013 just about everything you eat here is grown locally, and a barter system ensures shortfalls and excesses are simple to correct \u2013 we decide to take a stroll around the village.<\/p>\n

At the front gate, a donkey trots past leading a flock of sheep up the dirt road, followed by the shepherd. At the top of the hill, we hear bells from an orchard \u2013 more sheep are grazing between the trees. A sheep dog, tail wagging and tongue lolling, gambols toward us before heading back to his charges. It really is peaceful, with the snow-capped Zagros Mountains acting as a backdrop and an absence of the sounds of modern life \u2013 there are no honking cars or revving trucks.<\/p>\n

\"A\"A<\/p>\n

RELATED: WHAT I WISH I KNEW BEFORE MY INTREPID TRIP TO IRAN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

As we drop back down the hill into the village, one of Mehdi\u2019s students \u2013 he teaches English to the local kids aged anywhere from about five years old to their late teens \u2013 stops us. After a chat about kangaroos (a former guest had sent a copy of Mem Fox and Ronojoy Ghosh\u2019s I\u2019m Australian Too<\/em> for them to read), she tells us her family is having a party and they\u2019d love if we would come along. Her mum hangs out the window and gives Mehdi some details. The deal is done.<\/p>\n

Time to party<\/h3>\n

\"A\"ASUBSCRIBE TO INTREPID\u2019S NEWSLETTER FOR TRAVEL STORIES, COMPETITIONS & MORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Back at the house, Mehdi brings a couple of fully stuffed garbage bags into the front room. \u201cThese are my mother\u2019s,\u201d he says, emptying the bags\u2019 contents on to the floor. Before us are piles of beautifully coloured, embroidered and sequinned outfits. We begin pulling them on \u2013 petticoats, full skirts and long tunic tops. His mum, he assures us, wouldn\u2019t mind.<\/p>\n

Dressed in our Qashqai best, we walk down the dark street to be welcomed into another home. A blind man is playing an electric keyboard and another is singing. Soon, Mehdi has everyone on their feet in the middle of the room, waving scarves and performing (well, trying to perform) traditional dances. We spin around the crowded room with the other guests before taking a seat on the floor and absorb the action.<\/p>\n

\"Women\"Women<\/p>\n

RELATED: MEET NADIA, THE INTREPID LEADER WHO WILL CHALLENGE YOUR PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS ABOUT IRAN<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

After an hour or so chatting to the other partygoers and clapping along to the music, we leave to a round of hugs and goodbyes. Back at Mehdi and Nazila\u2019s home, we roll out mattresses on the floor of the room and settle in for the night, but not before reminiscing about an amazing night in Kahkaran.<\/p>\n

Interested in exploring Iran on a women only expedition? Our 12-day Iran expedition has been designed to allow travellers a unique opportunity to discover the customs, food, challenges and lives of local women of Iran through a range of experiences otherwise off limits to our normal mixed gender groups.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The small bus judders across a dirt road, and our driver pulls over. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to walk from here,\u201d our leader Maryam explains. The road is covered in ice and there\u2019s no way the bus can make it to the top of the hill with us weighing it down. As we pick our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":222380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11760],"tags":[61354,14970,1806,83293,10963],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-222379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","tag-homestay","tag-iran","tag-night","tag-qashqai","tag-spending"],"yoast_head":"\nSpending The Night In A Qashqai Homestay in Iran - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=222379\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spending The Night In A Qashqai Homestay in Iran - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The small bus judders across a dirt road, and our driver pulls over. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to walk from here,\u201d our leader Maryam explains. 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