graham said:To quote Mr Oldham
"There is a book."
Yup ... that I know (astonishingly I googled before asking). Would obtaining it answer my question? I am guessing: not.graham said:To quote Mr Oldham
"There is a book."
thesiger said:Thanks Joel.
I am a climber so my knowledge of caving is obviously sketchy. What I do know is that Iran is the only country in the Middle East where outdoor sports are really popular with locals, rather than just expats. There are climbers operating at a high level so it's a reasonable inference that there are good cavers too.
Googling Ghar Parau seems to suggest it was one of the world's deepest caves ... not any more I assume?
My friend said the cave still hadn't been done many times, not least because there have been some deaths (from hypothermia I think).
thesiger said:An iranian friend has done this cave. She claims that is a pretty big deal. Anyone have any context? Should I be impressed?
thesiger said:What I do know is that Iran is the only country in the Middle East where outdoor sports are really popular with locals, rather than just expats.
Yes that flashed through my head when I typed the original sentence. I can only pronounce at all authoritatively on climbing:oli said:Dont forget Lebanon and Israel.thesiger said:What I do know is that Iran is the only country in the Middle East where outdoor sports are really popular with locals, rather than just expats.
thesiger said:Of course, whether either of those Levant states really count as countries is a moot point. Both are very small ... like, say: Wales. And both are recent creations of bad 20th decision making by (mostly) France, US and the UK. Whilst Iran has been around for millennia.
Les W said:thesiger said:Of course, whether either of those Levant states really count as countries is a moot point. Both are very small ... like, say: Wales. And both are recent creations of bad 20th decision making by (mostly) France, US and the UK. Whilst Iran has been around for millennia.
You forgot Belgium.
graham said:Les W said:thesiger said:Of course, whether either of those Levant states really count as countries is a moot point. Both are very small ... like, say: Wales. And both are recent creations of bad 20th decision making by (mostly) France, US and the UK. Whilst Iran has been around for millennia.
You forgot Belgium.
Belgium was a nineteenth century creation.
thesiger said:Yes that flashed through my head when I typed the original sentence. I can only pronounce at all authoritatively on climbing:oli said:Dont forget Lebanon and Israel.thesiger said:What I do know is that Iran is the only country in the Middle East where outdoor sports are really popular with locals, rather than just expats.
- Lebanon, yes, locals climb and develop local cliffs
- Israel, yes, locals climb, but there is not much local rock thus staying active requires periodic invasions of Jordan and other neighbours (their national sport ...)
Of course, whether either of those Levant states really count as countries is a moot point. Both are very small ... like, say: Wales. And both are recent creations of bad 20th decision making by (mostly) France, US and the UK. Whilst Iran has been around for millennia.
oli said:Wales maybe small but its 100% sweet and a reall country.
rant rant independece from westminster rant