The Bicycle Journey from Yazd to Arak (Part Two)

At around 2 o’clock, we arrived at SuruK village on a Friday night. People were gathered in the graveyard, giving their charity. We were offered to eat “Shuli Yazdi,” and as always, we were excited about delicious food. However, we still had to bike 25 kilometers to get to our final destination, the Rabbit Castle. The road ahead was dirt and steep, but the scenery was quiet, beautiful, and vast. We rode on the dirt road until dusk set in. When we arrived at the Rabbit Castle, we were greeted with a semi-ruined old caravanserai in the middle of a vast desert. A water storage facility was located in the center of the courtyard, and around the castle consisted of booths that were all ruined.

It appeared to be a scary place at first, and there were no phone signals or drinking water. We quickly set up our tents and camped for the night. As darkness fell, the sky was filled with stars, a sight that was indescribable. We ate bread and dates for dinner while chatting about the genies. The atmosphere of the castle was terrifying and mysterious. We crawled into our tents early, and the sound of the wind blowing and strange noises outside made it difficult to sleep. At three o’clock in the morning, I woke up to a screaming sound, which was probably a lonely owl in one of the booths. However, there were other sounds, like walking and dragging, that seemed to be coming from outside the tent. Although some of this may have been the result of hallucinations, I couldn’t fall asleep and stayed awake till the morning.

The next morning, three people with weapons and personal clothes entered the castle. They were from the DEA headquarters and were investigating the area for traffickers and smugglers. The officers were surprised that we had stayed at the old castle the whole night.

After breakfast, we left the castle and continued our journey on bikes. The road was still dirt and full of potholes and bumps. Ten kilometers later, we reached an asphalt road that was in poor condition. Despite the lack of trees and greenery, the scenery was still breathtaking. Finally, we reached Gavkhouni wetland. Although I had heard about this place in middle school, I had no idea of its location or current status. At first glance, the Gavkhouni wetland appears as a wide expanse of mud and salt. Some areas have some water, and a small number of birds can be seen hopping about.