Leg 125, Theran, Iran to Sulaymaniyah, Iraq
DAY12_25.PLN (4.9 KB)
Merry Christmas! Early morning flight before it was time to unwrap the presents. Don’t mind the rest stop of the day, I only later found out what one of the main landmarks there is, not so much in the holiday spirit. Luckily it’s all in the past (there at least) The rest of today’s flight was pretty epic, for ancient history and battling the elements.
12-25 Doshan Tappeh AB OIID 3:15 AM
12-25 Bishe Kola AB OINJ 3:50 AM
12-25 Noshahr OINN 4:06 AM
12-25 Ramsar OINR 4:30 AM
12-25 Rasht OIGG 4:55 AM
12-25 Zanjan OITZ 5:30 AM
12-25 Nogeh OIHS 6:04 AM
12-25 Hamadan OIHH 6:17 AM
12-25 Shahid Ashrafi OICC 6:48 AM
12-25 Kahriz OIKA 6:57 AM
12-25 Halabjah al Jadidah ORHL 7:31 AM
12-25 Sulaimaniyah Intl ORSU 7:41 AM
Flight time 4:26 11 stops
First it’s time to climb the mountains North of Thehran
Part of the Varjin Protected Area
On top to the East is Lar National Park
Great views high up, no problem climbing up here with the improved Bonanza
However I’m about to run into some trouble
This doesn’t look good
It didn’t take long for the plane to freeze up, descent!
Even if there were no clouds I wouldn’t be able to see outside, window defrost in/op
Made it down safely at Bishe Kola Air Base, where’s that ice scraper
Noshahr Airport at Chalus on the Caspian Sea
Popular holiday destination for the nice weather, not today
Ramsar also known as Sakhtsar in the past
The old concrete runway is still visible
Passing Sarvelat, nice forests here
Rasht, also known as the “City of Rain”, the largest city on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast
Sights include the Eynak Lagoon on the far right
Heading back over the mountains over Gasht Rodkan Protected Area
Approaching Zanjan, all iced up again
Luckily it didn’t last long, the sun is already helping to clear the ice
Popsicle express
Towzlu
Hamadān or Hamedān, believed to among the oldest Iranian cities
Ancient mausoleum thought to contain the bodies of biblical Queen Esther & her cousin Mordecai (left)
And a Hellenistic sculpture of a lion which once stood at the old gateway to the city (right)
Ganjnameh Ancient Inscriptions nearby on the mountain side
Two granite inscriptions, one created on the order of Darius the Great, the other Xerxes, about 2,500 years ago. At the top of the mountain, Alvand peak, is the alleged site of the tomb of Shem, Noah’s son.
Coming down the other side of this historical place
Near Ser Dehlaq, not long until full moon
Anoher steep climb to get to Kermanshah, no icing this time
kermanshah also known as Kermāshān, the largest Kurdish-speaking city in Iran
Taq-e Bostan, 4th century Sasanian rock reliefs at the mountain side of the city
Near Bani Loan, aka Bani Lavan
Coming up on Darbandikhan Lake in Iraq
Sirwan river forming the border between Iraq and Iran
Sulaymaniyah also called Slemani, in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
Amna Suraka, one of Saddam Hussein’s House of Horrors, Red Security complex now museum
Red prison, used to torture political prisoners from 1986 until the prison’s liberation by Kurdish Peshmerga on March 9th 1991.
For a less haunting look at history, visit Slemani Museum
Considered the second largest museum in Iraq, detailing Kurdish history, containing many artifacts dating back to prehistoric times and Islamic and Ottoman eras. Re-opened in 2015 after closures during war times and for maintenance work by Unesco.