During our time in Iran, we were shepherded by an expert tour guide, whom we would recommend to anyone planning a trip to Iran. On our second day in Iran, he asked us if we wanted to hike Sofeh Mountain outside of Isfahan with his hiking club. The name “sofeh” might derive from the Farsi word “safa” meaning purity, pleasantness, or enjoyment (this is what our guide told us and here is a confirming Wikipedia entry).

With that name, why not join the group? We like to hike. So we said yes. Little did  we know.

But first some geography.

Here is Isfahan which is a large city of 1.7 million people. It is about 450 km south of Tehran, which is a 5 hour drive.

Sofeh Mountain Nature Area is to the southwest of Isfahan. Sofeh Mountian is part of the Zagros range of mountains in Iran.

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Here is a rough idea of our hike. The green trail was to the summit and done in the daylight. The black trail was done in the DARK! The entire hike lasted about 5 hours.

Our guide picked us up from our hotel and then picked up his wife. After parking, we four met a large group of of 45 men and women at the base of the nature area. Women were wearing manteaux and head scarves. Everyone wore long pants and long-sleeved shirts despite the heat which was above 90 F!

Most folks carried packpacks which we later learned were chock full of water bottles and snacks. SH carried a 2 liter water bottle which we shared and refilled and I had some snacks. But we really had no idea what was coming.

My young interlocutor and Isfahan in the valley.

After some warm up exercises which were a cross between yoga poses and calisthenics, we were off. The women hiked in front of the men so SH and I were separated. A few of the younger women talked to me, asking questions: where are you from? what is your job? how old are you? what do you think of Iran? I was particularly surprised by the age question since in the USA that is never asked — especially of a woman.

Another person who peppered me with questions was the 11-year-old son of one of the men. He really wanted to show off his English and I went into teacher mode, asking him about his school and favorite subjects. It turns out that his father taught Persian literature: Hafiz, Sumi, etc. When the son or anyone else asked what I taught, I soon realized that the best answer was Shakespeare. Surprise! But they study Shakespeare and everyone seemed to know both Hamlet and Othello. They seemed to prefer Othello which is a bit of a puzzle for me: why that one?

We both enjoyed the hike to the summit immensely, even though the last part involved a scramble with hands and feet. The path was steep with some scree but not at all bad.

Scree but not as bad as some mountains such as Croagh Patrick in Ireland

At the summit, everyone stopped to have a quick meal. Folks shared what they brought. Everyone made a point of offering theirs to SH and me and we always had to take at least one piece!

One enterprising pair brought up charcoal and an espresso pot and made coffee. SH joined them for a cup and he finished that off with a piece of dark chocolate.

Then we all started the hike down. SH and I looked at each other. The light was gloaming and we knew at least part of the hike would be in the dark. Our guide assured us that the way down was easier than the way up. Not so much.

Beginning the descent — the sun is setting!

Before it got full dark, we did see a scorpion. Some of the younger men wanted to kill it with a stick but a couple of the older men prevented them. We later learned that the older men said not to harm it because it was not harming us. And they quoted some line from the Quran about not hurting an insect if it is not stinging you.

Anyway, it got darker and darker. No flashlights. And the way got quite steep. We could see that the line in front of us had come to a hard spot because we stopped walking and waited for folks to make it down a narrow, twisted, steep area with loose rocks. By the time it was our turn, it was pitch black. The most experienced guides and our tour guide (who was always optimistic) realized that they might have gotten the neophyte Americans into a situation, and they all came back to coach us down with words (sometimes unhelpfully in Farsi) and gestures about where to put our feet with each step.

Sculpture at bottom of Sofeh Mountain to memorialize the Isfahan soldiers who died in Iran-Iraq war.

We made it, and when we caught up to everyone else, I impulsively gave SH a kiss which is never done in Iran. Everyone laughed. They understood.

As you can see from the picture to the right, we really did end the hike in dark of night. The stars and moon were dim. But at least near the bottom, there were lights for the path. As we walked to the car, we saw lots of folks outside enjoying the cool night air: having picnics, playing soccer and volleyball, singing songs in circles, and strolling along.

SH’s comment about the descent — and his assertion that this blog understated a few things.