Sistan and Baluchestan

A Visual Journey through Iran : Sistan&Baluchistan

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Swarthy is seemingly, this old and everlasting land; yet how it bristles with spirit. Jaggedly meets your eyes, yet how harmonious this terrain, torn apart and tolled by sectarian tilt, sustain its people. Having cultivated a thousand year history - that compelled Ferdowsi to borrow its hero for his Shahname (The Book of Kings) . What turn has it taken now that it is relegated to the back of beyond? The land where the first rise of the morning sun is promised to its people is at the dusk of this nation. 'Sistan and Baluchistan' a south eastern underdeveloped region with vast lands of rugged, mountainous terrain, bordering the neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, where smugglers illicitly enter in and out of the lawless borders through risky routes, surviving from the poverty inflicted by the high rising unemployment. A long-forgotten province, isolated due to its relentless droughts and desolated lands with people repleted with pride and poetry, bonded to their ancestral soil where they endure the harsh climates throughout the dry seasons. This is a brief visual-journey of my overland trip to this long-forgotten land, blotted in the minds of most people with fear and misery. Having travelled for nearly 2 months from Sistan all the way down to Baluchistan, and being enraptured by the majestic and hypnotic landscapes and welcomed by people still fueled with life and honor, I deeply feel these visceral impressions throughout my journey will stay with me forever. Video by : Ebrahim Mirmalek ( http://abimirmalek.com/sis-baluch/ ) Music : Shwan Tavakol ( http://www.shwantavakol.com )

Swarthy is seemingly, this old and everlasting land; yet how it bristles with spirit. Jaggedly meets your eyes, yet how harmonious this terrain, torn apart and tolled by sectarian tilt, sustain its people. Having cultivated a thousand year history - that compelled Ferdowsi to borrow its hero for his Shahname (The Book of Kings) . What turn has it taken now that it is relegated to the back of beyond? The land where the first rise of the morning sun is promised to its people is at the dusk of this nation.

'Sistan and Baluchistan' a south eastern underdeveloped region with vast lands of rugged, mountainous terrain, bordering the neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, where smugglers illicitly enter in and out of the lawless borders through risky routes, surviving from the poverty inflicted by the high rising unemployment. A long-forgotten province, isolated due to its relentless droughts and desolated lands with people repleted with pride and poetry, bonded to their ancestral soil where they endure the harsh climates throughout the dry seasons. This is a brief visual-journey of my overland trip to this long-forgotten land, blotted in the minds of most people with fear and misery. Having travelled for nearly 2 months from Sistan all the way down to Baluchistan, and being enraptured by the majestic and hypnotic landscapes and welcomed by people still fueled with life and honor, I deeply feel these visceral impressions throughout my journey will stay with me forever.