The prince who built this garden did not live to see it grow up. Bagh-e Shahzadeh, the Prince's Garden, lies near the town of Mahan, at the foot of the mountains south-east of Kerman, in a country of salt desert, gravel plains and orchards that depend entirely on water brought underground from the hills. It was laid out in the late nineteenth century for a Qajar governor of Kerman, and it is one of the nine Persian gardens that UNESCO listed together in 2011. The design is simple and strong: a long, straight axis runs up a slope from a gateway to a pavilion, with a water channel down the middle and rows of cypress and fruit trees on either side. Fountains, one after another, play in the channel, and the sound of falling water, so precious in a dry land, is the point of the whole thing.
The sloping site gives the garden its drama. As you climb, a series of terraces rises towards a pavilion at the top, with views back down the vista to the desert. Water arrives from the mountains in a qanat, a tunnel dug by hand, and the gardeners control the flow carefully. In the evening, local families come to picnic on the carpets, and the garden is full of children and chatter.
Mahan itself is best known for the shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali, a Sufi master, with turquoise domes and a quiet courtyard. Kerman, thirty-five kilometres away, is the big city, with half a million people, fuel, hotels and a lively bazaar. The Ganjali Khan complex there, a Safavid-era group of bathhouse, caravanserai and market, is a fine place to spend an afternoon, and the sweets and dried fruit on sale make good presents.
The roads across the desert are long, straight and fast, with a lot of truck traffic. Wind and dust can reduce visibility, and distances between towns can be considerable. Spring, in April and May, and autumn are the best seasons, when the temperatures are mild. Summer is fiercely hot and winter nights are freezing.
Check the current rules for foreign motorcyclists before planning a trip to Iran, since they are strict and change often.