INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
everywhere, hiding in the ancient sight.In the 1930s, British-Italian explorer and travel writer Freya Stark described her exploration of
bizarre, much-feared mercenary organization whose members were dispatched to murder or kidnap leading political and religious figures of the
landing amid its rugged lofty crags and was inspired to build an impregnable fortress.The ruined structure, better known as Alamut Castle,
is now a top travel destination for both domestic and international sightseers
barren plain of Qazvin in the south and the densely forested slopes of the Mazandaran province in the north, the site, also known as Alamut,
draws many travelers with particular objectives in mind: to find the past in the present, to learn about other cultures, to have a breath of
fresh air, or simply to get some distance from work, to cite a few.To reach the castle, you should pass for nearly half along a narrow road
surrounded by cherry and pomegranate orchards, until a mass of gray-brown rock looms from the distance with fortifications perched atop a
summit.Assassins believed their actions would transport them to paradise
Supposedly, Sabbah cunningly cultivated such beliefs by getting his followers stoned on hashish (unbeknown to them) and then showing them
pro-science Islamic tradition and suggesting that the hashish tales were exaggerations designed to denigrate Ismaili Islam.The castle was
This is partly because most Ismaili records of the era were destroyed by the invading Mongols while the writings of their detractors
travel diary, Valleys of the Assassins
A copy of that recently reprinted volume makes a great companion for the trip.AM
