Travel Tips

Had we arrived in Bam without any prior knowledge of its history our initial impression would have been; ‘Oh my god … what a complete dump!’ It looked like the aftermath of a war zone.

In actual fact, it was the aftermath of an earthquake zone.

In 2003 a huge quake hit the town, brining down almost every building, killing more than 31,000 people.

As we cycled through it felt as if the destruction had happened only a few weeks ago. Although new buildings were going up – with some of the shoddiest brickwork I have ever seen – still many remained as piles of rubble.

The huge task of clearing and rebuilding meant construction vehicles had destructed the roads and pavements no longer existed. A dense cloud of dust hung heavy in the air. Most businesses were still operating out of shipping containers, yet for all this superficial misery and the inevitable broken hearts of those who survived, the people of Bam exuded genuine warmth unrivalled in Iran.

We found the Akbar Tourist Guesthouse, still run by the adorable and very witty Mr.Akbar. The budget accommodation had been flattened during the quake, killing two guests and his son’s best friend who had been staying over. But it had at least been partially rebuilt and on greeting us he said, “Ah, cyclists. I like cyclists,” and gave us a discount. Maybe there was a connection to the two foreign touring bicycles in the back yard, twisted and smashed apart by falling debris, lying next to two abandoned relief tents. I didn’t like to ask too many questions.