surrounded

It was a good 3 to 4 hours of travelling time from Tehran to Kashan.
Along the journey, we have stopped once to take a break, bought some water.
Took this picture at the stop, and seriously, have no clues at all our whereabout except it's halfway between the two cities.
In the distance was a series of snow filled mountain range, without a person at sight. But at the base of the mountain, there were white steams rising up, suggestion of a hot spring? or of volcanic activities?
and somehow, that reminded us what happened in Bam, 2003, an earthquake that almost destroyed the entire city...