Agarak (Armenia) – Sarakhs (Iran)
I slowly rode across the long bridge into Iran and politely greeted the guards, bracing myself for the inevitable draconian border proceedings, this was after all Iran, the ultimate villain to our civilised western culture. Five minutes and three friendly greetings later and it appeared these guys hadn’t read the script, and shortly thereafter two locals welcomed me and ensured that I knew the best route to take from the border…clearly something was up.
As I sit and write this six weeks later on the eve on my departure into the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan, what has come to pass since those first interactions at the border has been truly astonishing. The Iranians are so incredibly welcoming, generous and hospitable that, as a westerner, for a good while I couldn’t quite believe it was sincere. It is completely sincere. And these traits are consistent from religious conservatives to liberal atheists, from rural folk to hyper urban Tehranis in a city of 12 million. Furthermore, this conduct is bestowed upon westerners whose countries have imposed harsh sanctions on Iran (resulting in a lot of hardship for most citizens) and demonized the country and people as our vilified enemy. Humbling is an understatement and I am determined to use my time amongst this nation to profoundly improve my conduct towards people.
So with the people dealing a crushing blow to western expectations, what of the other stereotypes and perceptions that abound in the western world.
Having travelled extensively through Turkey over the summer, Iran definitely has a far wider spectrum of religious devotion (Turkey being predominantly more conservative & religious), and the appearance of the woman is often a good indicator. Devout, or possibly socially adherent, chadori clad woman are commonplace in Iran, and while in Mashhad (the country’s holiest place) I saw thousands of pilgrims (many of whom had walked hundreds of kilometres to get there) honouring the martyrdom of the prophet. But equally, there are many woman clearly at odds with the regime inflicted rules stipulating all woman must adhere to a good hijab, that is to say at the very least cover all parts of the body except face, hands and feet and have loose clothing down to mid-thigh to obscure the shape of the body. In any city you will see woman flaunting these laws as far as they dare with exposed hair, make-up and heels…as a previous bike traveller mate said – In my culture I see these characteristics as forms of female oppression as sexualisation and objectification, but here (for now) they are signs of independence and liberation.
Having travelled extensively through Turkey over the summer, Iran definitely has a far wider spectrum of religious devotion (Turkey being predominantly more conservative & religious), and the appearance of the woman is often a good indicator. Devout, or possibly socially adherent, chadori clad woman are commonplace in Iran, and while in Mashhad (the country’s holiest place) I saw thousands of pilgrims (many of whom had walked hundreds of kilometres to get there) honouring the martyrdom of the prophet. But equally, there are many woman clearly at odds with the regime inflicted rules stipulating all woman must adhere to a good hijab, that is to say at the very least cover all parts of the body except face, hands and feet and have loose clothing down to mid-thigh to obscure the shape of the body. In any city you will see woman flaunting these laws as far as they dare with exposed hair, make-up and heels…as a previous bike traveller mate said – In my culture I see these characteristics as forms of female oppression as sexualisation and objectification, but here (for now) they are signs of independence and liberation.
The Iranians are mostly very well educated, even amidst a truly appalling and nepotistic job market (one of the many debilitating effects of the severe sanctions). It almost felt like the exception to meet someone that wasn’t university educated, and even given the relative isolation that’s been imposed on them, they were usually able to converse on a range of international topics.
As is the case with most strictly Islamic countries, interaction between the sexes is severely restricted, most noticeably for a traveller in that public transport is segregated. Couples are expected to meet via matchmaking within communities – given that two families are in agreement of a proposed union, a suitor, in the company of his parents, will call on his proposed bride’s house and the two will meet for the first time and chat for a couple of hours to hash out whether they are suitable for each other. From what I could ascertain, there is a similar follow up meeting and then they must decide whether they are to wed. From a number of discussions this appears to still be the norm for traditional/religious families. The law therefore stipulates that a man and a woman may not live together or have sexual relations before being wed, and this leaves the large liberal populace in a precarious position when negotiating relationships on more western terms.
As is the case with most strictly Islamic countries, interaction between the sexes is severely restricted, most noticeably for a traveller in that public transport is segregated. Couples are expected to meet via matchmaking within communities – given that two families are in agreement of a proposed union, a suitor, in the company of his parents, will call on his proposed bride’s house and the two will meet for the first time and chat for a couple of hours to hash out whether they are suitable for each other. From what I could ascertain, there is a similar follow up meeting and then they must decide whether they are to wed. From a number of discussions this appears to still be the norm for traditional/religious families. The law therefore stipulates that a man and a woman may not live together or have sexual relations before being wed, and this leaves the large liberal populace in a precarious position when negotiating relationships on more western terms.
I had a number of conversations with young men and women who were quite liberal (although Persian is the spoken language and there is little English media, the Iranians all learn English at school and often beyond so it was quite common to meet people I could chat to). It was fascinating to hear how they go about their lives, which often involve a lot of clandestine activities to circumvent the various laws that prohibit drinking, music, partying and sex (outside of marriage). However these conversations ultimately led to melancholy, for once the thrill of illicit partying is over, the reality for most of the these young folk is that they are not able to form and enjoy relationships outside of the immediate intention for matrimony prescribed by the law and society. Furthermore there are dire employment prospects in spite of their education, and a myriad of visa and travel restrictions from inside and outside the country make the now desirable life abroad a pipe dream for all but the uber rich.
As with numerous times on this journey, here again I was slapped with immense gratitude for the lifestyle that I have been very lucky to be able to live. I thought of common complaints amongst people in my culture and in the midst of the stark realities for the majority of the world they are so trivial. It sounds harsh, but if you are living in the middle class western world (which is likely almost everyone reading this) then you have absolutely nothing to whinge about, because almost all the issues we have (and there are plenty), you have the power to amend your lifestyle to solve. This is not a luxury that most of the rest of the world enjoys.
Interestingly this desire to emigrate introduced an interesting aspect of Iranian (or Persian) culture –It has a depth and richness to match any other and the Iranians hold it very dear and it weaves it was through their lives on a daily basis, such that those that who do leave miss it dearly and retain it as much as possible. It is important to note that it is largely not based on Islamic customs, Persian culture being far older than Islam. In fact the ruling regime has attempted to hijack various customs and celebrations in the name of Islam, usually to the chagrin of the people.
To a foreigner, the architecture and cuisine are the most tangible hallmarks of Persian culture, and they are impressive indeed. I only visited a few iconic sites such as Isfahan and Mashhad, but the scale, detail and design is Islamic Architecture at its best. The food is very varied and interesting and always flavoured with numerous herbs and spices. The only ‘downside’ being that it can be hard for a traveller to find, as most Iranians like to make their own food at home so the street food is usually more basic. That being said, given how hospitable the people are, it’s not long before you’ll find yourself being served a novel dish in someone’s home.
Ignorantly I had assumed Iran to be largely uninspiring arid desert, how wrong I was! It’s very mountainous and the whole northern region (where I spent most my time) has terrain varying from arid plains to snowy rugged mountains and lush forests leading down to the Caspian Sea.
And so a month visa extended to six weeks as I soaked up all I could of this welcoming and captivating land. I hardly had to pay for accommodation, staying with hosts everywhere I went while I criss-crossed my way along the mighty Alborz Mountains, going from warm coastal forests to 3000m snow filled passes within a day on three occasions.
The experiences were numerous and fascinating but I shall just recount a few with the people.
Having had a rough day in the mountains I reached a high altitude mountain town almost ensconced in its snowy winter blanket and, too tired to climb on over the pass another 700m above, I was looking for a place to camp. Various people tried to help but one guy just wouldn’t have it, insisting that it was too cold and I had to stay with him. Hossyn and his wife are not wealthy people but he took off the rest of the afternoon and did everything he could to make me comfortable and well fed with a variety of food. And the following morning he bestowed me with as much food as I could carry and then insisted on driving me up the long pass as the wind was now beyond gale force – All for a complete stranger off the street he would likely never see again.
Some days later charismatic motorbike adventurer Mohammed pulled me off the street in the late afternoon and insisted I stay with him and fellow local traveller Parvanae (a courageous woman determinedly living in a realm frowned upon for men let along woman). I’ll say no more than to say we partied hard for two days – an unexpected and awesome foray into the life or many Iranians behind closed doors!
Having had a rough day in the mountains I reached a high altitude mountain town almost ensconced in its snowy winter blanket and, too tired to climb on over the pass another 700m above, I was looking for a place to camp. Various people tried to help but one guy just wouldn’t have it, insisting that it was too cold and I had to stay with him. Hossyn and his wife are not wealthy people but he took off the rest of the afternoon and did everything he could to make me comfortable and well fed with a variety of food. And the following morning he bestowed me with as much food as I could carry and then insisted on driving me up the long pass as the wind was now beyond gale force – All for a complete stranger off the street he would likely never see again.
Some days later charismatic motorbike adventurer Mohammed pulled me off the street in the late afternoon and insisted I stay with him and fellow local traveller Parvanae (a courageous woman determinedly living in a realm frowned upon for men let along woman). I’ll say no more than to say we partied hard for two days – an unexpected and awesome foray into the life or many Iranians behind closed doors!
Mohammed put me onto Marale for my stay in Tehran – another courageous woman living alone (definitely not socially acceptable), with a dog (another stern no) and regularly hosting travellers, a lot of which are men (just NO!) – Yet she is completely unassuming and endlessly generous, constantly making incredible food and keen to help her guests make the most of their time in Iran.
And lastly a story about Babak, another guy who pulled me off the street to stay with him and his mother for some enthralling conversation, given their very liberal and atheist perspectives. It was dark and he had met me at an intersection and I was to follow him 5km to his home as we couldn’t get the bike in the car. So I just unloaded all my bags into his car and pedalled off after him. Consider this for a second – he is a complete stranger and I just offloaded all my worldly possessions including passport and most of my money (and you cannot draw money from banks in Iran) into his car that I was going to follow on my bike! And I had absolutely no qualms doing so and didn’t even give it a second thought. This is the genuine reality of just how safe Iran is and how trusting you can be of the people, even complete strangers – utterly remarkable and awesome!
I want to say massive thank you to all my hosts – Hamid, Amir, Hossein, Mohammed & Parvanae, Maral, Babak as well as all the many other people I chatted to (especially Sara & Elham) and also to the literally hundreds of others who gifted me all sorts of things along the way on a daily basis.
I want to say massive thank you to all my hosts – Hamid, Amir, Hossein, Mohammed & Parvanae, Maral, Babak as well as all the many other people I chatted to (especially Sara & Elham) and also to the literally hundreds of others who gifted me all sorts of things along the way on a daily basis.
I’m not normally fond of the idea of a favourite place, as everywhere has something different and interesting, but Iran moved me in a way unlike anywhere else and I am becoming a better person for it…put it on your agenda and get yourself there!