Iran - Persia - is still a bit on an enigma for Western visitors. Until 1979, Iran actually was a major destination in the region, but following the Islamic Revolution, the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq, and economic sanctions, Iran became politically and economically isolated from the rest of the global community and the nation was firmly erased from most people's travel plans. But in recent years both sides, Iran and the rest of the world, have begun to open up and tourism has been increasing significantly, too. With the Iranian atomic treaty signed in January 2016, travel to Iran will most likely reach new heights in the next years.
A large country
With more than 1.6 million square kilometers, Iran covers an area in which you could squeeze Germany almost five times, or six-and-a-half UKs, or a bit more than three Spains. In a word, it's big. So if you plan to visit various location in the country, plan ahead accordingly. We only crossed Iran from the North to the South and back, but covered several thousand kilometers doing so. The distances call for domestic flights, but this is up for every visitor to decide: Sanctions have long prohibited Iran from buying Boeing or Airbus planes on the open market, not second-hand, not even airplane parts. Thus the country's air fleet is aging and includes planes from the pre-1979-revolution era and plane incidents happen in a frequency that was decidedly above what we felt comfortable with. So despite the long distances we decided that at least a bus can stop at the side of the road should it encounter a technical issue on its way, which is a bit more complicated with planes.
Getting a Visa & Authorization Code
We had planned to visit the country for a while, but due to the somewhat blurry situation in the Ahmadinejad years, we had postponed the trip a few times. In the winter of 2014 we put things into motion to get the visa for our trip. Not that easy: Before the actual visa, visitors have to apply for an Authorization Code. Should you book a group trip, this part will usually be handled through the tour company. Either way the process can take weeks. When you are an individual tourist, a local agency will handle things, which will drive you a little crazy when the departure day is coming closer with no positive reply in your mailbox. At least you can laugh at the worried "has-it-arrived-yet" phone calls once you made it into the country and sit together over some grilled lamb.
Should you have visited Israel in the last years and have a stamp in your passport, you will need to get a new one before you initiate the visa process to avoid running into difficulties. We received our passports with the colorful visa a few days before our trip to our collective relief.
As a side note, I am not sure what kind of scanning technology Iran uses for the photos on the visa, but I looked like a frog with an unfortunate haircut that had been run over by a school bus.
Money, money, money
For a Western visitor, Iran is a very affordable place to visit. However, one can't just visit without any preparation: Credit cards don't work (although just recently in Sep 2016 it was introduced at some airport shops in Tehran), there are no ATMs one can get cash from, and traveler cheques are not accepted, which all kinda limits the options. What's left? Bring everything you will need for your stay in cash and change it once you arrive - for hotel stays, cab rides, food & drinks, entrance fees, spontaneous shopping, coffee, bus or plane tickets to travel the country, etc. We changed money at a small booth at the airport, in which the employees looked increasingly worried when the four of us handed them the insane amount of something like 250€ each. The bigger notes were quickly gone and they scraped together more paper bundles from all corners and cupboards in the booth. It was way too much for any of our wallets and hectically stuffing the stacks into our pockets, we looked like actors in a student play about a bank robbery.
The official currency is the Rial, and the exchange rate is something like 33,000 rial for 1 Euro. However, barely any price tag shows the value in Rial. Instead the figures give you the value in "Toman", which is not a currency available in notes or coins - it means simply 10 Rial. In addition, since dealing with the big numbers can be a bit exhausting, people simply skip the "thousand" and tell you the value without the extra zeros. For example, when someone tells you that that thing you want to buy costs "30 Toman", he actually means 30,000 Toman, which equals 300,000 rial. Easy, right?
Safety and Security
"Iran? But isn't that dangerous?" - the wording might have varied, but in one way or another, that's what the typical reaction was when we talked to anyone about our travel destination. It might be decades of stereotypical movie roles or (Western) media reports which do not differentiate between the government and the people. Iranians are quite aware of their media image and very keen to show you that the reality is the exact opposite of that. They have the utmost respect for every traveler who comes to their country to experience it first hand and will wave and tell you "Welcome to Iran!", even if you are just passing them on the street. In fact, of all countries I have visited I don't think I ever met such a welcoming and hospitable people. It might also help that despite a recent growth, total visitor numbers are still comparably low.
Not once did we feel unsafe in any way. The strict laws and high levels of control in the country actually mean you are probably safer walking around in Iran than in your home city. That said, there are obviously certain ground rules to follow. For example, don't take photos of military personnel or buildings, and don't run into the border zones like the ones to Iraq or Afghanistan. Also you better don't get arrested with drugs in your pocket, since drug trafficking is a crime for which Iran still applies capital punishment.
Public life versus private life
Coming from Germany, life in Iran reminded me of what I think life must have been like in East Germany before the reunification. The strict laws and prohibitions of the government are not necessarily being shared by a large part of the population and lead to a somewhat schizophrenic society. People live very different public and private lives. In public, everybody tries to adhere the rules, as you can't be sure if someone in the city might denunciate you. The situation is completely different in the privacy of one's own home. For example, alcohol is forbidden in Iran - which felt like a long week to us, four traveling guys - but we quickly learned in conversations with students and cab drivers that anything is available behind closed doors. Same goes for the dress code, which is officially fairly strict, but especially young people keep pushing the envelope:
There are Facebook groups like "My Stealthy Freedom", where young Iranian women put down the hijab to protest Islamic dress law
"Iranian women call on Western tourists to violate hijab law to fight against oppression"
"Men in Iran are wearing hijabs in solidarity with their wives who are forced to cover their hair"
Consider this: More than half of the population of Iran is under the age of 24, one quarter being 15 years of age or younger. In my view, the laws and the overly strict government will falter rather sooner than later, once the new generation takes over.
One side-effect of this dual life and the constant vibe of oppression from the authorities is that various aspects of life get elevated. Trust must be an invaluable asset when you can get in trouble easily. As outsiders, we were given a fair share of it, maybe since there was less danger we might judge them. People were really open and frank in their conversations with us and in return incredibly curious what we thought of their country and how we liked Iran. We can today honestly say: It's awesome, interesting and rewarding, visit it!