The Great Iranian Road Trip

March 6, 2008 &#151 -- Think of it as the great American road trip -- in Iran.

The Islamic Republic may not make the shortlist for your next vacation, but should you end up in Tehran with a taste for something different you might consider a road trip to the northern province of Golestan.

The drive takes roughly eight hours each way, but leads you through some of the most beautiful scenery in Iran. In a country known mostly for its architectural gems like Perspepolis and Isfahan, Golestan is a natural wonderland home to wildlife, wheat fields and a fair part of the Caspian Sea coastline.

One of the first things you'll notice along the drive is the clean air -- in contrast to the smog of Tehran, the air in Golestan is a joy to breathe. What will take your breath away, though, is the scenery, starting at a view of the Alborz mountains and Damavand peak, Iran's tallest at more than 18,600 feet.

After a few hours on the road I stopped with my travel companions at a casual restaurant Akbar Joojeh (Akbar's Chicken), which serves rice and chicken with pomegranate sauce.

It's apparently a local specialty, as are other dishes featuring pomegranate, a favorite native fruit in the Near East. Appetizers included yogurt and pickled garlic. The local thinking is that this is a good place to eat garlic because the humid weather makes bad breath less likely to carry and offend your neighbor. The meal came to $18 for three people.

On the way north some of the roads suffer from Iran's chronic litter problem and buildings are plenty rundown. But once you're cruising in Golestan those all melt into majestic surroundings. That province, like much of Iran, is safe and welcoming to tourists, a mark of the famed Iranian hospitality.

The place has an untouched quality, a feeling as though you are the first foreigners to roll through. Driving through that panorama is relatively easy, as long as you map out in advance -- few people in the towns en route could give directions in English.

On the very bright side gasoline is subsidized by the state, so at least for now you can fill up for roughly 50 cents a gallon.