The tents of thousands of pilgrims dot the hillside, the air is heavy with the scent of incense and the sounds of the church bell toll across the valley. This is the Armenian Christian pilgrimage marking the feast of the first-century missionary, St Thaddeus, deep in the north-western mountains of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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/ 28 September 2006
The players are clean-living and models of athleticism. A world away from the game’s heartland in a smoky corner of a British pub, darts has taken off with a bang in Iran. In a country where alcohol is strictly forbidden, don’t expect pints of beer flowing nearby or players to sport the paunches that are the proud mark of many kings of the tungsten arrows in northern Europe.