Na’in, Iran. A wonderful small town in central Iran, on the edge of the Dasht-e Kavir (The Kavir desert).

I visited here as part of my Persia Overland trip, in April and May 2008. 

As well as walking the perimeter of the Narin Ghaleh (the large castle in the center of town), I also got to meet and spend a little time with the weavers of Na’in, in their underground chambers.

It was a wonderful place to visit, and very much off the beaten track. Recently, I read an article, written by Ryszard Antolak and published on the Persian Journal website. The article, ”The Hollow Hills of Na’in” is a well written piece on the fate of the weavers in their underground workshops. It captures the sadness that I felt when I visited, clearly the men weaving that day were the last of a very long line (in fact, my original quote dating the hills to CE1000, is a thousand years out - they are 1,000 years older than that). 

Even though the article is a little sad, it ends with a delightful thought:

I stand and listen, carried away by the tide of his tales. In the music and cadences of his voice, I recognize a serenity and dignity that has all but passed away from the world: a dignity not bestowed by wealth or privilege or birth.