A walk across Iran

March Kalch's solo 1,700km trek

Failed elections, violence and political instability: our view of Iran in the West is seen through the prism of headlines and breaking news. There is another dimension to life in Iran and explorer Mark Kalch recently journeyed 1,700km to demonstrate this point.

Kalch’s solo trek took him, over the course of 60 days, from the northern boarder on the Caspian Sea to the Southerly boarder in the Persian Gulf. He travelled through subtropical forest, scaled 5,000m mountains, and traversed barren desert landscapes to reach the finish in Bushehr on January 18th.

Reflecting on his adventure, Kalch remarked: "Iran is not simply about demonstrations, nuclear ambitions and politics. Its people are some of the most hospitable on the planet and its geography some of the most extreme and diverse. After travelling across the entire country on foot and living with so many of its people I know this to be true". 

Kalch is an experienced explorer and has, in the past, attempted some much more technically rigorous expeditions. In 2007 and 2008, he paddled from the source of the Amazon, in the Andes of Peru, to the Atlantic Ocean; off the coast of Brazil. The 6,800km epic voyage took 153 days.

The Iranian trip was not as physically difficult as South America but was certainly politically challenging for Kalch. Trying to extend his visa in Yasuj, he was subjected to rigorous questioning in a police station by two men who claimed to be journalists. “I became convinced and am still now certain these two Inspector Clouseau-esque blokes were government intelligence officers,” he says.

This interrogation was a sad reminder of some of the problems that need to be addressed in Iran today. Kalch hopes that happier parts to his expedition will “expose the glaring similarities between Iran and the West to counterbalance everything else we hear.”
 
For more information, visit: www.markkalch.com