Maybe it's the rich cultural heritage of ancient Persia, maybe it's the warm hospitality of its people, maybe the luring mystery of a country that has only in recent years been (re-)discovered by the Western world - Iran is a great country to travel. Exploring the nation has the vibe of an excavation: Diving in to get beyond the headlines, unearthing the reality under the cloak of generalization which is oftentimes conveniently thrown over this country and its neighbours.
In the last post, I have tried to sum up some points to keep in mind before your trip. Below, I will try to retrace our steps through the country. First: our trip from North to South.
Arriving in Tehran
We - Sebastian, Bertrand, Chris, and I (from right to left on the image above) - arrived at Tehran airport a couple of hours before sunrise. Since we live in different cities, we flew in from different airports and waited in the arrival hall for the rest of the group. Sebastian arrived last and we spent a solid hour in a state of tense anticipation waiting for him. All around us the displays were clearly showing that his plane had landed long ago, but he was nowhere to be seen. We were already discussing whether or not he might have missed a connecting flight, when he finally strolled out the customs section in relaxed fashion. We watched him taking his time to take photos of the arrival hall, amusingly oblivious to the huge red sign on the wall next to him prohibiting exactly that.
Quite knackered from the flight we took a cab from the airport to the only accommodation in Tehran we had been able to book online prior to our arrival. Our driver was apparently at the end of a long shift and equally tired. He grumpily threw our backpacks onto the roof of his cab where he loosely tied a rope aroung them. Since the ride was fairly bumpy and we could barely see anything in the dark outside the window we were pretty sure that only half of our luggage would make it. Once we got to the hotel we slept a few hours in our shared room to recharge our batteries for our first day in Tehran. Well, "hotel" might actually be a bit of a grandiose term for our first accommodation in Iran. It was more like friendly prison with a couple of pallets and a squat toilet somewhere on the floor.
Our first steps through the vibrant city of Tehran felt intense. When you are still tired from a short night, Tehran can be a bit overwhelming. The traffic in the city is particularly demanding. It's one of those places where you basically have to suppress your natural survival instinct and just walk onto the street if you want to cross it. The traffic will most likely find a way around you. Just don't stop or hesitate.
But while a bit of noise and chaos can be quite entertaining, the growing traffic has a darker side: Situated next to a mountain range, with an airport close to it, and with millions of mostly older cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles making their way through the country, air pollution levels are very high. While the streets are very clean in most cities we visited, the air quality is a major issue and the government estimates that on average, one person dies of pollution-related causes in Tehran every two hours. Four out of the ten most-polluted cities in the world are in Iran.
A long ride to Shiraz
The route we had planned would take us from Tehran down to Shiraz and then in a zig-zag motion back up North, going through Yazd, Esfahan and Kashan on the way. While the country is huge, we decided to cover all distances by bus, given the abysmal safety record of Iranian airlines. All buses we took we took were fairly comfortable, and it's easy to find your way in the stations. But no matter how good the condition of the bus is, that first ride through the night down South to Shiraz took a full 13 hours, which is horrible in even the most comfy seat. On a little bulky TV set in the middle of the bus, we watched a badly played Iranian movie, in which an agreeable-looking woman was shamed into a more suitable and religious life by a mild-mannered cleric and pretty much the rest of the city. The subtitles were probably run through Google translate and oftentimes made no sense whatsoever, which made the movie quite entertaining after all.
At occasional stops at roadhouses we quickly got into conversations with locals who were keen to learn more about what the four Westerners thought about their country. In many places, which would be swarmed by tourist masses in any other country, we were the only visitors around and got an idea of what traveling must have been like in the olden days.
The clear, symmetrical architecture, persistent sunlight, open spaces and long walks have a calming effect on the mind. Add some mocca or tea and you got yourself a very decent afternoon. We learnt that the way tea is consumed differs a little from what we are used to: There are bowls with lumps of sugar on the tables, but you don't throw them into the little glass cup which is used to serve tea. Instead you hold the sugar between your front teeth and sip the strong tea through it - a practice which some under-worked dentist association must have come up with. Traditionally the tea is actually poured from the cup into the saucer (where it cools more quickly) and drank straight from there instead of the cup.
Shiraz is a beautiful place, full of luscious parks and pleasing buildings to visit. Despite the abundance of stunning sites, Shāh Chérāgh stood out by far. The inside of the shrine is artfully covered in endless mosaics of mirror glass, giving it a greenish, dreamlike look and a very unique vibe. Cameras were unfortunately not allowed inside, but just check out the images here. We sat down in a corner and watched the praying pilgrims in this crystal cave. Maybe for ten minutes, maybe for an hour - time has no meaning in a place like that.
The Tomb of Hafez is another mandatory stop in any visit to Shiraz. As arguably the greatest Persian poet, his influence can hardly be overstated. Translations of his work influenced greats like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Goethe, and countless sayings have made it into contemporary Iranian life. Even today, more copies of his poetry collection are sold in Iran than copies of the Koran. His tomb is a very popular destination today, with visitors of all ages gathering to read his poems and enjoy the park next to it. Iranians are very proud of their rich cultural heritage and the whole surrounding was a celebration of this vibrant part of the Iranian identity.
The sheer quantity of cultural sites in and near Shiraz is almost overwhelming - you can walk in any direction and stumble upon beautiful sights and locations. Take Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, arguably one of the most colorful places in Iran. Shining through the tinted glass the sun makes the room look like the inside of a kaleidoscope.
Good thing all four of us are quite enthusiastic photographers, otherwise it might have alienated the waiting others while we crawled over the floor with our cameras, marveling at the light shining through the tinted glass onto the mosaics and carpets.
Persepolis
It's not often - at least in Europe - that your arrival at a major site is delayed by a flock of goats slowly crossing the road, but it can and did happen when we made our way to Persepolis. As one of the iconic locations of the Persian empire, it is frequently visited by international tourists as well. It was one of the few places in Iran where we saw a whole village of souvenir shops and rows of buses for travel groups.
Is it still worth it? Absolutely.
It is one of those places one has seen on pictures and in movies before, but it's a whole different story walking through the ancient city. The flair of the old Persian ceremonial capital is captivating and the statues, figures and carved cuneiform inscription still stir something deep in our collective cultural memory. Persepolis was burned down by Alexander the Great, and many of the statues have been defaced, but it is still an impressive place. Two characteristics put Persepolis apart from sites like Stonehenge or the Acropolis, which felt fairly artificial to me when I visited them: Despite its fame, there are all in all less tourists in Persepolis, which always helps to lose yourself in reveries of what life must have been like in the heyday of the Persian empire. But maybe more importantly, you can get close to the structures and touch them, let your fingers slide along the figures and ancient letters carved into the stone. To me, history is a very tactile experience.
The entrance alone is spectacular in itself: two symmetrical flights of stairs lead up to the elevated level of Persepolis, where the visitor is greeted by the Gate of all Nations (second pic below). It was built by Xerxes (yep, the guy portrayed like a giant golden drag queen in "300") and led into a huge room with a high wooden ceiling, which was supported by the pillars seen in the background of the gate. While we walked through the vast area of Persepolis, a group of maybe 80 schoolgirls with headscarves walked past us on the path. All of them waved emphatically and greeted us with a polyphonic crescendo of "Hello!" and "Welcome!", which echoed back from the ruins. This went on for minutes until the last one had walked past us - one of the more surreal moments of our stay.
A 20 minute drive away from Persepolis rises a cliff-face into which four giant tombs have been carved. The sheer size of the structures and the detailed relief are impressive and I defy anyone to stand there without having the theme of Indiana Jones ringing in your head.
Birds were flying in and out the open tombs, escaping the hot sun for a few moments. Given the temperatures you might be inclined to wear shorts. Don't. The dress code is quite strict and it would be like walking through your city wearing your underwear on the outside of your jeans. Short sleeves are generally okay (for guys), though you should go for long sleeves in some locations, such as mosques, shrines and the like.
In the evenings we sat together, drank sweet tea, talked and flicked through each other's photos. It sure is an inspiring thing, diving into a world with different aesthetic foundations. The awesome video Curves of Iran sums it up nicely: "The West was built on angles. The East was built on curves."