Explore Iran – broaden your horizons
Interview by Leontien Aarnoudse
Nucleair power, limited freedom of speech, human rights abuses – is this all we know about Iran? Isn’t there a world behind these controversial news headlines? What do we really know about Iran and its people, its culture and the daily life? A couple from the Netherlands wanted to find out themselves and explored Iran: “There’s so much we didn’t know about this country, because all we see and hear is politics in Iran. During our visit, we learned about the history, culture and people and how the Iranians view the world. It changed our view of things.” Five Q&As about their trip.
1. Before you went to Iran, what did you expect?
“We were aware of the political situation, so we were curious how we would experience it. In the beginning, we didn’t even know if our travelling plans would work out. But we met people who had been there and they told us about the hospitality and some of the most beautiful places in the Iran. We also expected excellent food there. “
2. And… was it like that?
“The food was ok, but it was a bit of a disappointment, especially because we were there during Ramadan (Islamic month of fasting). But the people were indeed very hospitable and the places we visited were very impressive – most of the time, in any case. We did experience quite a bit of the politics, for example in Isfahan where they held great political demonstrations, with anti-Israeli and anti-American flags, banners and drawings. The participants didn’t mind us watching the demonstration, though. We weren’t confronted in a negative way during the whole trip, except when the headscarf showed too much hair…”
3. People say – and you mention that briefly yourselves – that the Iranians are very hospitable. How did you notice this?
“People come up to you on the street all the time, because they want to practice English, ask you what your impression of Iran is, want to know about your country or just want to talk. They’d always invite us for tea or food. Later we learned this too was a custom and didn’t always mean they’d actually want to take us for dinner, but quite often the invitations were sincere. One time we were even taken to a wedding party! That was a bit odd, but interesting at the same time, especially because women weren’t wearing headscarfs and there was vodka available.”
4. Was it difficult to get into the country?
“It was a bit of a hassle to get visas. We heard from another traveller that it was possible to arrange them through websites such as iranianvisa.com, for example. So we tried that and it worked! It still took us some emailing back and forth with the travel agency in Tehran that was behind the website, but they were very helpful indeed. The deal was that we could pay for visas once we arrived in Tehran and that we could pick them up at the Iranian embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. This is what happened and it all went well. The last obstacle was a chat at the embassy with a man who wanted to know our plans. Once in Tehran, we haggled over the price we had to pay for our visas. We managed to get a US $10 discount and, on top of that, received a voucher for a restaurant!”
5. Human rights organisations say that human rights are frequently being abused in Iran and there is no freedom of speech. Did you – as a traveler – notice some of that?
“We didn’t take the challenge of finding out what was and was not possible, but it was quite clear from the political demonstrations we saw that pro-Israel/America statements were far from welcome. We took a couple of pictures of the demonstrations, but we almost got into trouble for that with the police.”
6. What is a typical Western prejudice about Iran?
“That it’s dangerous to visit Iran and that Iran is comparable to other countries such as Iraq or one of the Arab countries in the neighborhood. But be aware: never call someone from Iran an Arab! Iranians or Persians are much higher on the social ladder than “those cultureless, camel-driving barbarians”. According to the Iranians, that is. Iranians highly value their old and rich culture, ,comparable to the ancient Greeks and Romans.”
More about the trip
The couple entered Iran via Pakistan and travelled through Kerman, Yazd, Shiraz, Isfahan, Abyaneh, Kashan, Teheran, Caspian Sea, Masuleh, Tabriz towards Turkey (Dogubayazit). They were in Iran in October 2006.
Infrastructure and public transport are good and modern, especially coming from Pakistan and India. In smaller places in Iran there are not too many (budget) hotels, but there’s always a place to sleep and eat.
Leave a Comment
Be the first to comment!
