We travel overnight from Mashhad, the 700 km or so south to Kerman in the desert area of southeastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan. Not a particularly restful night though! The train itself is pretty comfortable, but Iran's railways are a narrower gauge than our Russian train is used to and although we roll along at a decent clip, we rattle and shake vigorously punctuated by what appear to be sudden stops. Sandra describes it as the "kangaroo train" to some of our fellow passengers, most of whom are Australian anyway!

We use Kerman as a base to visit the the Lut Desert and the small towns of Mahan and Rayen. The Lut Desert which in this area separates Iran from Afghanistan is reputably the world's hottest desert. Areas of the desert are dominated by fortress-like vertical towers, often described as "sandcastles", massive sand dunes and other formations created by windblown sand.

In stark contrast, Bagh-e Shahzde, Shah Zadeh Garden in the desert town of Mahan is a veritable oasis. Many centuries ago, Persians developed the skill of bringing water through artificially created underground channels from the mountains down into towns which had grown up in the desert area. Using this skill, one of the last princes of the Qajar dynasty in the late 19th century created a classical Persian garden meant to represent the garden awaiting the faithful on their arrival in paradise.

We're there on a Friday, the equivalent of Sunday in Iran and the garden and its delightful restaurant are packed with families enjoying the peace and serenity of this little piece of paradise on this side of the hereafter....