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For the Iranian shepherd, wolves, bears and angry donkeys are never as bad as the bad economy. And now global warming threatens what's left. Here's an interview with someone we met on our Iran travels who experiences all this on daily basis.

This entry is part 14 of 14 in the series Iran Road Tour: Tehran to Mashhad via the Caspian Coast

Our Iran road trip through north Iran’s Caspian Coast region included plenty of sightings of shepherds and their herds.

I romanticize the job of a shepherd. What could be better than spending the entire day outdoors? I’ve photographed dozens of Iranian shepherds I’ve encountered on the roads in Iran.

The shepherds, though, don’t see the job anywhere near as romantic. Seyyed Mahmud Abolghasemi of the village of Ghaleh Sar owns a herd of 200 sheep and goats in southeastern Mazandaran Province. He is on the village’s governing body. We met him on the sixth day of our escape from Tehran, near the Badap Soort Springs.

In his own words:

“The price of the sheep remains still while everything else goes up. Even for this land I pay ever-increasing rent.

“The good money is with the brokers. If I sell a sheep for 500,000, he sells it for 1M. But he makes his money in a single day. I have to suffer in the sun and the cold for a whole year for my share.

mazandaran shephard seyyed mahmud abolghasemi iran from village of ghaleh sar
Iran road trip: “The good money is with the brokers, not the shepherd, who toils in the sun and cold,” says Seyyed Mahmud Abolghasemi of the village of Ghaleh Sar, southeastern Mazandaran, Iran Copyright © Ali Torkzadeh, EscapefromTehran.com

“There are wolves everywhere and the bears are in the mountains. The dogs do a good job of keeping them away.

mazandaran shephard seyyed mahmud abolghasemi iran from village of ghaleh sar
Iran road trip: The dog is the shepherd’s most important assistant in Iran. No one, including visiting tourists, should dream of messing with them!

Our Iran Road Trip > “The job that makes you old quick”

“This job makes you old quick. It’s tough. Your skin turns into leather in the sun. I inherited this work from my father. But I don’t want any of it for my kids. And for myself, I’m wishing for the opportunity to cash and in and move into the city.

“I have three sons. One is the military. He’s gone. Thank God. The youngest is in the seventh grade. He wants to be a teacher. I’m happy about that.

“But the middle son likes this lifestyle. He wants to be outdoors. He worries me.

Our Iran Road Trip > The effects of global warming in rural Iran

“The land is changing quickly. My father told me all these hills used to be covered with green. Not anymore. Now rivers and springs are drying up one after another. Right here used to be a flowing river.

mazandaran shephard seyyed mahmud abolghasemi iran from village of ghaleh sar
Iran road trip: “This used to be flowing river,” says shepherd Seyyed Mahmud Abolghasemi of the village of Ghaleh Sar, southeastern Mazandaran, Iran Copyright © Ali Torkzadeh, EscapefromTehran.com

“In the summer, the entire family moves to the yehlāgh (highland pasture) in the Alborz Mountains over there, in the clouds, where it is cooler. We walk the entire way.

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