Eternal Iran

Once more Tehran
We fly over the desert into Tehran and there is just enough time to visit the Golestan Palace and the National Museum. Much of the original Golestan Palace has been destroyed, but the remainder is good enough to give an impression about the Shaw’s lifestyle. The rooms are full of mirrors and marble, much inspired by European culture.

Food

We have mentioned ‘drinks’ already. Reading travel guides is mouth-watering and one arrives with high expectations. Reality is different. Since 99% of all tourists travel in large groups, it is no surprise that “romantic, cozy and traditional” restaurants are absent. In many cases the restaurant of a major hotel is the only option. There dozens of stainless steel containers are keeping nearly tasteless food warm. In order not to intimidate foreign tourists spices are not used at all. It is almost like British food.

A few times we were able to find delicious Persian food. Lamb kebab is delicious, also the barley soup. Dizi is a cheap soup-stew meal and is considered the food of the poor. It is delicious and filling. There is however, an art of eating it. First, drain the soup into a bowl full of bite-sized pieces of bread – and eat it. Then, using a pestle, grind the ingredients (chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes and fat mutton) and enjoy it.

The flat bread is a delight, as long as it is fresh from the oven. Otherwise it is a chewy, dried, almost indestructible rubbery pancake.

Tea is excellent, coffee is a torture.

Health

No precautions whatsoever. No vaccinations. We followed our regime: cook it, peel it or leave it. We tolerated the food very well.

Persian Carpets

Is world famous and the best known cultural export. The oldest known carpet is 2500 years old. It is not the purpose of this report to cover this topic in great detail. On our last day I thought that we would return without a Persian carpet however, on the last evening Hertha found something that was “love at first sight”, and not much later we owned it.

Basic Facts

Iran has the size of Alaska and 70 million inhabitants (more than California and Texas combined). The population is very young. They have twice as many youngsters (%) than us, but we have 4 times (%) as many senior citizens as Iran. The country is the 4th largest crude oil producer in the world however; half of the gasoline has to be imported and is rationed.

Economically Iran remains a dwarf. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US is about 60 times the GDP of Iran. Western media create the impression that Iran is heavily armed up to their teeth. If you look at annual spending for military per year and inhabitant, you will see that the US top the list with $1617, peace-loving Austria spends $337 and Iran, in the middle of hostile and crisis-shaken countries spends just $61 per person and year. Iran’s military budget is less than 4% of the US budget.

Return Flight

Tehran International Airport is not really busy

The flight on Iran Air to Vienna takes less than 5 hours.

Waiting for the plane

Summary
What did we like best? The friendly people? Isfahan, Shiraz or Persepolis?

We still don’t know. In order to find out one would have to make at least one more trip and stay for a month.

Politics

The best-known politicians are Ahmedinechad, Imam Khomeini and Imam Khameini. From our conversation with people we got the impression that Ahmedinechad is a relatively powerless puppet on a string. Khomeini enjoys a decent reputation. Khameini has the title of “Supreme Leader”, but speaks for more powerful mullahs who are rarely seen in public. Virtually everything in Iran is controlled by mullahs.
Among the people we spoke to there is little love lost to the mullahs. They are generally seen as power hungry, greedy for money, “don’t really work” and have, contrary to ordinary Iranians the luxury (?) of several wives. We had expected that pictures of these three politicians will be seen in high numbers, but to the contrary. Austrian politicians are seen much more frequently, grinning stupidly down on us.

The exiled son of the Shaw is enjoying wide-spread secret admiration and some Iranians are questioning why they have overthrown the Shaw. An elderly taxi driver spontaneously showed us an old banknote with a picture of the Shaw: “…good man”. Several Iranians expressed their dissatisfaction with Ahmedinechad’s provocative statements on the stage of world politics. Iranians want to be respected members of mankind and not the outcasts.

Persians strongly dislike Arabs and they make every effort to say that they are NOT Arabs. One has the feeling that the Arab conquest had taken place just a few years ago and not many centuries ago.

Tehran

Is a gigantic city, located at the foot of the Elburs Mountains (17,000 feet). No one really knows how many people live in Tehran, but no estimate was below 15 million people. Although on any weekday only one half of the cars are allowed to drive and gasoline is rationed, traffic is beyond description and makes it one of the most polluted cities of the world.. The creativity of Tehran’s drivers is most impressive.

E.g. try to make a U-turn on a 6-lanes-expressway where traffic is bumper to bumper, divided by double solid yellow lines. In Iran this is possible and no one would honk his horn. Almost every minute you can see a new creative detail, how Tehrani drivers cope with the challenges. Crossing such a street requires from pedestrians utmost physical and mental fitness. You need to guess which driver would stop and which one would not. Don’t resort to crosswalks, they don’t mean anything. No, Iranians are never aggressive when driving (almost the opposite of Germans). It is very important that, before you start your creative maneuver, you avoid strictly any eye contact, as this can be seen as a sign of weakness or might reveal your intention prematurely. Once you have tricked your “opponent”, put on your most disarming smile, make a few friendly and apologetic hand gestures, and within seconds you are off to another adventure.

And Allah is sitting on a cloud and smiling benevolently down onto the world he has created….

Far less exciting is mingling with the pedestrian world. Black is the most fashionable color for women. Iranians are absolutely not afraid of getting in touch with foreigners. They explain that they are also of Indo-European descent and in order to prove that, they have Iranian words ready that sound very similar in other Western languages. The language sounds pleasantly, almost the opposite of the Czech language. Iranians use the Arabic alphabet, writing from the right to the left. They use “real” Arabic numbers and write them from left to right.

At the airport a 9 year old boy asks me whether I speak German (American tourists are traditionally hard to find….). He would like to practice his German. He speaks without accent, using perfect grammar and has a huge vocabulary. He has learned the language on TV (!). His father, who speaks no foreign language, proudly watches his son “performing”.

There are many beautiful parks all around the city.

Jamshidieh Park (or Jamshidieh Stone Garden), established in memorial of Jamshid Davallu Qajar, a Qajar Prince that dedicated this garden to Farah Diba, Empress of Iran. The park, which is located in the Niavaran district at the base of the Kolakchal Mountain, is one of the most picturesque and beautiful parks in Tehran. There are numerous restaurants, traditional teahouses (houses of culture which represent the diversity of Iran’s ethnic and tribal heritage), picnic areas, and hiking trails from the lower area of the park all the way up to the top of the mountain.
There is also a classically designed open air amphitheatre. The park was developed during the Pahlavi era, but has been extensively upgraded and maintained since the Iranian Revolution. It is especially popular amongst the youth.

Darband is a beautiful mountain resort in the mountains surrounding Tehran. A great place to cool down for those escaping the summer heat and Tehran’s pollution. Darband Mountain up skirt, a place for people of Tehran to spend their time in a cool environment by the river & nature
The initial start of the trail at Darband is about 250 meters long and is dotted with a number of small cafés and restaurants. These are quite popular and are busy in the evenings, as locals and tourists alike visit the many hookah lounges (locally called ghavekhane sonnati) along the trail. On the way to the trail, there are stores that sell seasonal treats (fresh almonds, berries, etc)

Darake is an area in the north-eastern part of Tehran which consists of a village and numerous trails into the mountains above. The trails are what draw the crowds, though for various reasons. They lead into the mountains and all along the trail are fast moving streams and waterfalls created by thousands of years of melting snow, making its way down to the base of the mountains to where Tehran lies.
The trail is extremely popular among Tehranis, especially younger ones. Along the trail are several chaikhanes (tea houses) where one can rest, sit on a rope bed, and sip some piping hot tea. What to eat with your tea? Well, besides a number of common Iranian nibbles one will find an abundance of shahtoot, or mulberries. The shahtoot are large, plump and delicious. You will of course eat them using your fingers, turning your fingertips a shade of purple. When you have had enough of hiking you can stop just about anywhere along the trail, position yourself on had enough of hiking you can stop just about anywhere along the trail, position yourself on some of the large rocks that lie beside the stream and dip your feet into the ice cold water. It is extremely cold water but exhilarating.
It is best to start out for Darake early in the morning, before the sun rises too high in the sky. If you go early and on a Friday (everyone’s day off), you will find that you are not alone. You will see hundreds of Tehranis taking a break from city life and will doubtless get a chance to meet and speak to many of them.

To be continued…

The majestic mountains surrounding Tehran is a gift of nature whose beauty no human construction can ever compete with. Without them Tehran would not be “Tehran”.

The affluent parts of Northern Tehran boast luxury apartment buildings and condominiums featuring such amenities as “White Glove” doorman service with pools, Jacuzzi and private garages in the flat. (You drive the car into the elevator and it will deliver your car up to your own private garage next to your flat) Real Estate prices in Tehran have in the last couple of years reached levels that are comparable to New York City. It’s not uncommon to see a two to three-bedroom apartment in Tehran going for more than $1,000,000 on the market today. On the other hand, few investments in the world offer such fast and generous returns.

Tehran is expanding in all directions and up into the mountains. Recently, the most ambitious and rigorous efforts have been pursued to establish order and discipline in the extremely chaotic traffic of the city. Cameras have been installed throughout the highway system and in busy intersections which zoom in to register the license plate of violators. An authoritative voice blares out from loudspeakers installed at busy intersections admonishing the driver who has violated the traffic rules. Huge digital displays along the highways deliver traffic messages.

To be continued…

Covering an area of 1500 sq. km, Tehran is situated in the north-central part of Iran, on the slope of the Alborz Mountain. As the national capital it is the most populated city in Iran and the center of cultural, economical, political and social activities. It is about 1200 meters above sea level and enjoys a mild climate. The highest peak in the Alborz range, Mount Damavand (5,671 meters, 18,600 feet) is an extinct volcano, which dominates the skyline of Tehran.

The beginnings of Tehran are unclear but probably occurred sometime in the 11th century. It is believed that, as Tehran had a pleasant climate and was green and fertile, it often came under attack from highwaymen. In order to protect themselves, the villagers made underground dwellings. Hence, the name Tehran (Tah – Ran), meaning “underground town” (Tah meaning under, Ran meaning town or place).
Tehran became a capital in 1789, under Qajar rule, replacing Shiraz in that function, and in 1796, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned there. His successor, Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) continued the transformation of the town and had the Shah’s Mosque (today, the Imam Khomeini Mosque) and Golestan Palace built, while Nasir ad-Din Shah (1848-96) enlarged the walls and commissioned the Sepahsalar Mosque.

During the 19th century, the center of the city remained focused around the palace and the bazaar. However, Reza Shah (1925-1941) preferred to live in his palaces to the west of the town or in those of Sa’ad Abad, 10 kilometers to the north, and large avenues were cut to link these areas together during his reign. This was the beginning of the vertical north-south axis, which is so characteristic of Tehran.
With a population of an estimated 15 million, Greater Metropolitan Tehran ranks as one of the world’s largest capitals. The aerial size of the city has also expanded to such an extent that the size of the city now exceeds that of New York. The skyline of Tehran is growing with an ever increasing speed – Construction cranes are scattered across the cityscape. New buildings are popping up everywhere, every month.

To be continued…