The most amazing point of the desert of Iran is called Marnjab desert. The existence of arched forests and sand dunes with a height has given a special spectacular effect to this desert, which will surely amaze any viewer. The diversity of tourist attractions, security, diversity of animal species, vegetation of this region and the suitable conditions for each tourist, cause many tourists to be attracted to this beautiful desert area.
The location of Maranjab Aran and Bidgol desert is in Isfahan province and north of Aran and Bidgol city. This desert is limited from the east to Bandar Rig desert and Kavir National Park, and from the west to Masileh desert to the salt lakes of Howz e Sultan and Howz Marah, and from the north to Aran and Bidgol Salt Lake, and finally from the south to Aran and Bidgol city. This desert is about 850 meters above sea level and its highest point is about 880 meters above sea level.
Maranjab desert is very rich in vegetation and the vegetation of this region includes saline plants such as turmeric trees and arches and shrubs with turmeric trees. Due to the abundance of water and food, the animal cover in this area is very rich and animals such as sand cats, jackals, eagles, snakes, sand foxes, wolves, hyenas, scorpions, chameleons, lizards and hawks can be found there. To be. A pair of cheetahs has been seen in the area in recent years. According to local residents, there are currently 21 cheetahs there.
Marnjab Caravanserai is located in the heart of the desert and is 810 meters above sea level on the southern shore of Qom Lake. Shah Abbas chose the name of Marnjab Desert, but he himself did not know that one day he was going to build a castle for this headless desert of Marnjab, because he was building a caravanserai in every city and route.
There is a castle on the Silk Road, which is a caravanserai for caravans that used to travel to Khorasan, Rey, Isfahan and vice versa. The reason for building this caravanserai and castle next to the salt lake is as follows and it is narrated that:
Due to the presence of the desert and the salt lake from this side, the enemies could not attack the capital from this side, so Shah Abbas did not explain the defense facilities in this area. Until the invasion of Kashan by Afghans and Uzbeks through the Salt Lake led Shah Abbas to think of establishing a military base in the region in 1012 AH and to confront the enemy. It was on a route called the Silk Road, which traveled between Europe and China.
In the upper part of the caravanserai, which was built in the form of watchtowers, 500 armed guards were always present inside the castle, ensuring the passage of goods from Europe to China and vice versa in this area. Next to the caravanserai, there is a water basin with an area of 45 by 15 meters, which is surrounded by willow trees and turmeric. The large pond created by the aqueduct next to the caravanserai has fresh water. The source of water for the pond is freshwater and salt water, and these two springs reach the ground level together. The existence of a fresh water spring in a desert full of salt has led to the astonishment of most geologists. To the north of the pond are 2 old ovens for baking bread. The pond area is paved with bricks to set up the tent.
As mentioned before, one of the most beautiful desert spots in Iran is the Marnjab Desert, which is doubly beautiful with its arched forests and high sand dunes. The high sand dunes and the arched trees at the bottom of these dunes have given a beautiful effect to this area that you can not understand until you have not walked on them. Aran and Bidgol salt lake is another beautiful and touristic place in this region. The lake is dry and covered with salt deposits on most days of the year, and on days when it rains a lot, the water level of the lake reaches about 2 cm, which evaporates quickly after sunlight. With each rainfall and evaporation of water in this lake, salt deposits form beautiful polygonal shapes that are very eye-catching. The salt depth of this lake is between 5 and 54 meters.
There is a low mountain in the northeast of the salt lake, which is surrounded by a white salt crust. This mountain is called the Wandering Island. The reason for naming the Wandering island was that in the eyes of its predecessors, the island was constantly moving and moving from one place to another, but today it has been found that the two ends of the horizon line disappear due to extreme heat and resulting in visual error and it is the refraction of light that leads to a show of wandering the island. The island, whose highest point is 808 meters above sea level, is made of porous volcanic rocks. Seeing the salt lake from the height of the island attracts many tourists. In the eastern part of the desert, there was a place for camels to drink water, which is called the historical well of Dastkan.
First, pass the route of Aran and Bidgol citiy towards the army barracks, and then cross the Marnjab dirt road and reach Marnjab by traveling a distance of approximately 45 km. The second route is the route of Kavir National Park, which started from Pishva, and then Mubarakieh (15 km) – Bahram Palace (60 km) – Sefid Ab Caravanserai (80 km) – and then Maranjab (500 km). It should be noted that in order to travel on this road up to Sefid Ab, you need to have a permit from the Environmental Protection Organization of Semnan province. The third route is Aran and Bidgol route to Abuzidabad and then Sefid Ab and Maranjab caravanserai.
