The desert Mesr

The Mesr desert is a part of the central desert of Iran surrounded to the west, south-west and southeast by the chain of central Falāt mountains. This desert in the natural cavities on the slopes of this mountain range, is formed by sand dunes that are a tourist destination and of desert excursions.

The wolf, the fox and the desert cat, the jackal, the caracal, the skylark, the common flycatcher, the greenfinch, the hawk, the common buzzard or desert boho, the meriones and the jaculus (kinds of rodents), the gerbellino or rat of the sands, the frinocefalo or agamis, the codinero, the snake Psammophis schokari, the Echis or vipera rostrata, the snake Spalerosophis diadema, various types of scorpion and rabbit, are the most important species of fauna wild in this area.

The villages of Mesr, Garmeh, Mohammadābād, Kurehgaz, Arusān and Farkhzād are the largest in this desert. Among these, Mesr is considered the most important. It is (Chāh-e Deraz, Kalāteh Yusef, Mazra'e Yusef) is a small town in the province of Khur and Biābānak in the Esfahān region.

This village in the Mesr desert, the Dasht-e Kavir of Iran, is located 45 km east of Jandaq and 60 north of Khur. Its population in the 1385 (solar egira) was equal to 183 people (41 families). The village houses feature a typical desert architecture with clay walls, domed ceilings and wooden doors.

Next to each house there is a small stable where turkeys, goats and tavoles are kept. The dates, pomegranates, and various types of vegetables make up the agricultural products of this village and the camel kebab, the kāljush (dish made of kashk, sour cheese, walnuts and vegetables) and the local ābgusht called "lākhuli" together camel dugh are considered the most important foods and beverages.
Selkenoon's ditch, Mesr's reed bed, Selkenoon salt lake, Takht Abbāsi, Takht Arus and moving sand are the most important tourist attractions around the village of Mesr. Selkenoon's pit is a depression surrounded by sand dunes. In the inside there is a small swamp.

The parapet of the pit is covered with debris and has a slight inclination. In the soil the depression is formed by alkaloid earth. The surface of the cavity is devoid of any type of plant and in it you can see the scattered sand dunes.
Mesr's reed bed is located at 6 km north-east of the homonymous village and at 2 km east of the village of Farakhzād to the north-east of the Esfahān region. This reed bed is surrounded by moving sands and is the main place of water supply by the wildlife in the area. The height of the reeds sometimes even reaches four meters.
This reed bed is the ideal place to take pictures of the wild animals of the Mesr desert. The water from the reeds, after having reached a certain level and after having covered about two kilometers, again passes under the layers of sand and then re-emerge again in the area of ​​the salt lake of Selkenoon; with the difference that, due to the salinity of the soil of the lake, the water becomes very salty so much that in this part the course of the river created is entirely covered with salt.

Kavir Tabaghe or Khur salt lake is Iran's largest seasonal saline lake. The salty soil of this area has prevented the growth of any plant species and the life of any animal. The Tabaghe desert terrain is covered with pentagonal salt figures that in winter, mixing with the clay become black, while in summer they are completely white.

The salt of this lake is the oldest in all of Iran. The area of ​​Amirābād, at 2 km from the village of Mesr, has sand dunes and abundant plants of tamarisk trees, haloxylon persicum and beautiful palm trees.
The village of Farakhzād north of that of Mesr has palm groves surrounded by moving sands. Takht-e Abbāsi to the northeast of the village of Mesr, is among the other tourist attractions of this area as well as Takht-e Arus on whose summit from the south you can see the village of Mesr, the Selkenoon pit and from the north the dunes of moving sands.

Plants such as the wild rue, the tamarisks, the Stipagrostis Plumosa and the artemisia cover this area. Rig Kalleh is another desert near the village of Mesr located south of the Khur road to Mesr. The high sand dunes whose height derives from being inside one another, can be seen throughout this desert.
At Rig Kalleh you can see some sand cones. The highest sand hill here reaches almost 227 meters in height. In a part of this area, which is considered the border between the mountains and the desert sand dunes, there is a permanent water source.

Chilkondeh, a hill west of the village of Farakhzād, which extends for a length of 5 km, is among the attractions of this area. Takht Mohammad Rezāi, at 5 km north of the village of Mesr, Tale Khākestari, the canyon of the Namak river, Galleh Rig-e Sargardāni, Saf Bāgher Dozdu are other tourist destinations in this desert.
Walking on the hot sands, getting on a camel, on a motorcycle, on an off-road vehicle, photographing and watching the sky at night are the most exciting experiences in the Mesr desert.