Standing tall as Asia's highest volcano, Mount Damavand offers an unforgettable hiking challenge for intrepid adventurers in northern Iran.

This photo is not taken by me, but by my beloved brother Peyman, who always sends me photos of the beautiful Alborz mountains whenever he goes skiing. This is a breathtaking picture of Damavand, wearing a fluffy hat of clouds (or is it a halo?), taken from Dizin ski resort. Apart from the photos I feature in (and I don’t take selfies), I only put the ones I have taken them myself – but this picture has a very special meaning to me. In the old days, when the pollution wasn’t as bad as it is now in Tehran, I could often see Damavad, especially during my university days as I was sitting in a taxi going Eastbound every morning. Damavand was always magnificent and I felt my heart beating faster and I could feel warm blood running through my veins whenever I greeted it. Around 21-22 years ago, as I was preparing to leave Iran for good I had one of my most beautiful dreams – that dream has kept me alive throughout all the hardships of being a migrant and a human. In my dream I was standing next to my brother holding hands and we were both little (regardless of our age gap in reality), and there was a worldly and gracious old lady sitting on an old fashioned comfortable high armchair looking out of the window. It was similar to those 19th century Persian tall windows. At first I was mesmerised just looking at her and her gaze, and couldn’t see what was beyond the window. The lady told us, look at Damavand and remember it. Be as solid as Damavand! ‎‏‎!همچون دماوند استوار باش ‎‏What I saw in my dream was very much like this image. Then in the blinking of an eye I was sitting on that armchair and I was that old lady. ‎‏It has been a hell of a time for me and many of my countrymen, as Iran is going through a lot, but I soothe myself to remember it’s volatile history that hasn’t seen peaceful days for thousands of years. In these hopeless times, in which my fear of war keeps me awake at night, I console myself with the real beauties of Iran’s culture and nature beyond its ugly politics. This keeps me sane and alive. If you haven’t seen Damavand, I hope you will – words are not enough to describe its glory. ‎‏#Damavand #DamavandMountain #Dizin #DizinSkiResort ‎#دماوند (at Dizin, Tehran, Iran) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7uKpnOgCfr/?igshid=1m75cggy9km10

تار گیسوی تو دیدم سمت او آمده ام... . مرا مستم کن و نعره زنان گو کوه به کوه آمده ام مو به مو آمده ام تار گیسوی تو دیدم سمت او آمده ام... . 🎼مستم کن. #حمید_هیراد 🎥تایم لپس: #اشکان_بروج . #بلاگرسفر #طبیعتگردی #دماوند #قله_دماوند. #تایم_لپس #بپاجانمونی #سفرباLGG6 #سفر_با_lgg6 #ویدیوگردشکری #اینفلونسرسفر #گردشگری #ایرانگردی Damavand peak timelaps from Rine plain. #travelvblogger #irantravelblogger #damavandmountain #timelapse #ecotourism #AshkanBorouj #travelvideo #vblogger #travelvblogger (at Reyneh Larijan رینه لاریجان)

#Repost @mymysteriousiran with @repostapp ・・・ Mount Damavand, a potentially active volcano, is a stratovolcano which is the highest peak in Iran and the Middle East as well as the highest volcano in Asia. It has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore. Mount Damavand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world, and the second most prominent in Asia after Mount Everest. It is the highest volcanic mountain in Asia, and part of the Volcanic Seven Summits mountaineering challenge. Picture from @thisisiran.official #damavand #mountdamavand #damavandmountain #irannature #mustseeiran #tourismiran #irantourism #visitiran #iranvisit #irantravel #traveliran #iran #persia #mymysteriousiran (at Mount Damavand)