Khoy is the big, practical city of Iran's far north-west, a place of about a hundred and seventy-five thousand people on a wide fertile plain between the Turkish border and Lake Urmia. It is not a showpiece. It is a working town of bazaars, apricot and grape growers, trucking depots and solid apartment blocks, and that is exactly what makes it useful. This is where you buy supplies, change money, find a proper meal and get fuel before the road climbs toward the mountains.
The history is older than the concrete suggests. Khoy lay on the trade route between Tabriz and Anatolia, and caravans have been passing through for centuries. The town claims a link to Shams-e Tabrizi, the wandering mystic who became the teacher of the poet Rumi, and a tomb associated with him draws visitors, though the details of his end are debated by scholars. That is a fine thing to think about over tea in a shaded courtyard. The bazaar is a long covered street with brick vaults, packed with raisins, dried fruit, copper pots and cheap clothes.
The riding from Khoy is a matter of long, open roads across the plain, then climbs into dry mountains where the bends tighten and the surface can change from fine asphalt to patched repairs. Lorries heading to the Turkish border at Bazargan fill the main road, so patience is useful, and overtaking is a game with local rules. Roadside police checkpoints are common and usually polite. To the north the land rises toward the Aras gorge and the Armenian chapels, and to the north-west, on a clear day, the snow cone of Ararat floats above the horizon, one of the great sights of the region.
Fuel is cheap and available in the city, with stations on the ring roads and along the highways. Foreign riders in Iran need the right paperwork for a vehicle and a valid visa, so confirm the current rules well in advance rather than hoping for the best. Spring brings green fields and blossom, early autumn brings the grape harvest and warm days. Summers are dry and hot at midday, winters are bitterly cold on the plateau, and the snow can close passes quickly.