Casey Has To Sit At The Back Of The Bus

Richard writes:

Wow. What an experience Iran has been. Our eight days visiting Isfahan, Tehran and Tabriz will represent some of the most memorable experiences of our entire trip due to the unique combination of its history, culture and people, combined with its social norms and laws being so different to all the other places we have visited. 

My British passport ensured that unlike Australian and European visitors, we could not travel independently, and therefore we were accompanied by our guide; Mohammad, at all times. This apparently does not reflect a lack of trust, but a fear that if something was to happen to me whilst travelling in Iran, it could undermine recent improved relations between the two countries after the low of the British Embassy being set alight during protests in Tehran in 2011. Casey, however, as an Australian, is apparently expendable. Mohammad, a 28 year old from the southern city of Kerman was a thoroughly likeable chap with relatively liberal views. As frustrating as it was, to not be able to explore unsupervised, it was fantastic to have someone who we could quiz about modern Iran, and Mohammad was fantastically open about everything we asked, and at no point did he toe the Government or Islamist line, always giving his opinion, whilst explaining how things worked in reality.

One such topic that we discussed was the wearing of the hijab. Hijab is the word used to describe the rules regarding appropriate public clothing (for both sexes). For males, it is relatively easy to obey; long trousers must be worn at all times alongside short or long sleeved tops. For women (including Casey) however, the situation is much harder. The exposing of any leg or arm flesh is expressly forbidden, and clothes must be loose fitting, so not to show body shape. This meant that over trousers, tops must be long enough to cover the bottom. Last, but not least, a head scarf must be worn, so not to expose hair. Casey found this a nightmare in the 40 degrees celsius temperatures we experienced every day. More importantly in her eyes though, she also felt ridiculous. Iranian girls have got down to a fine art, how to look stylish despite these restrictive rules, but for someone sourcing suitable clothes before entering the country this was difficult. One morning, after Casey had assembled an outfit that didn't contravene any rules, she looked in the mirror and said: "I know I look shit, but what can I do?" The answer was nothing, anything too risqué would be pounced upon by the ethical police and she would be asked to return to her hotel to change. The penalty for refusing to obey the rules, is the lash. Casey therefore reluctantly decided that vanity had to come second.

Casey and Iranian girls in hijab clothing

Despite the repressive nature of the country's penal code we saw a people that is keen to test the boundaries and challenge the authority of the country's complicated political system. This was evident within just a few minutes of crossing the border from Turkmenistan.Whilst waiting for our passports to be stamped we sat with several middle aged and elderly women who were crossing the other way and just gone through Iranian customs. I noticed they all seemed to be fidgeting and their hands were everywhere under their considerable clothing that are required to adhere to hijab guidelines. I then suddenly noticed one large breasted lady, produce several packets of cigarettes from her left bosom, before repeating the action with her right. Her friend next to her, then hitched up her gown and produced several lighters secured by a garter around her leg. This performance lasted for ages, with all sorts of paraphernalia appearing from their under garments. At one point, one of the sweet old ladies noticed we had seen what was going on, and she put a finger to her pursed lips to intimate it was our secret, which she followed by a beaming smile. This whole performance was only a few footsteps from the customs area and surely could be seen by the customs officials. Casey and I couldn't stop laughing at the sight of these "butter wouldn't melt in the mouth" sweet old ladies using their hijab clothing to hide their considerable contraband. When it was eventually our turn to pass through customs, it was the simplest border crossing we have done to date. There was no form to fill in and only a cursory check of our bags, before we were through and into Iran ready to explore.

Our next big surprise occurred on our first proper night in Iran (our actual first night had been spent on a train between Mashad and Isfahan) in Isfahan. After a busy day sightseeing we settled down for a delicious restaurant meal of bread and stewed eggplant, washed down with a pepsi (beer and all alcohol is completely outlawed). Whilst eating, the girls on the table next to us started talking to our guide. After going through the usual questions regarding what we thought of their country they asked for photos. At this point one of the girls started showing us photos of her as a model on her iphone, these photos included several in just her underwear. Whilst we reviewed these, her also attractive sister, who had just had a nose job (this is very common in Iran, we saw people everywhere wearing the tell tale bandages) asked our guide to translate how good looking she thought I was, and if I was not engaged to Casey (we are not actually engaged! Casey wears a fake ring to avoid awkward questions) she would ask me out. Even without Casey's presence, I would still have declined her advances after reading of a German man who was recently sentenced to death for getting over amorous with an unmarried muslim girl in Iran (the sentence was eventually reduced to two years in jail). The whole experience was bizarre, and their forwardness and obvious sexuality shocked us, due to being completely contrary to our expectations.

Through my own ignorance, I was taken aback by the Iranian acceptance of Sunni Muslims, Jews and Christians in the country. From what I understood from Mohammad's explanations, persons that are not Shia Muslims are not entitled to the same freedoms in society as a whole, but to my surprise they are however free to worship as they please (including Christians being allowed to drink wine). In our trip we visited two fantastic Armenian churches. Iran has a long history of friendship with Armenia, that exists to this day. This includes the showing of support in its frequent and bloody squabbles with Islamic Turkey and Azerbaijan. The first Church we visited was in Isfahan and was called The Church of Saint Joseph of Arimathea. Its interior frescoes were stunning and challenged the beauty of the interiors of churches we visited in St Petersburg. Alongside the church there was a museum detailing and supporting the Armenian cause for an apology and reparations for the massacre of thousands of Armenians by Turkey in 1915.

The Church of Saint Joseph of Arimathea

The second Armenian church visited was the Church of St Stepanos on the Azerbaijan border near the city of Jolfa. Inside, the frescoes were simpler, but the outside was absolutely stunning and well worth the recent restoration undertaken by the Iranian government. To get to the Church of St Stepanos, we travelled the jaw dropping beautiful Aras River Valley. The valley is home to the rare Iranian tigers and cheetahs, as well as the Aras River (referred to as the River Gihon in the Bible). The most interesting aspect of the journey however was the following of one of the disputed border areas between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As we were driven along the Iranian south side of the river, we could see countless Azerbaijani villages laying empty, with their residents forced to move for their own safety to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan to the west. Fighting had apparently been as recent as a few weeks ago, in what was a stunning landscape, which at times was less than 20 metres away from the Iranian road we were careering along at great speed (Iranian driving is atrocious).

Church of St Stepanos

Iranian/Azerbaijani Border

It would be no surprise to hear that we visited several mosques and madrases during our stay. They were equally as stunning as in Uzbekistan, but in many ways a lot less grand. Some of the domes we witnessed from the inside were hugely impressive however, especially in Isfahan (where we were lucky enough to be photographed with and chat with a couple of friendly Shia clerics). What I was more surprised about was the number of royal palaces that have been preserved since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The Iranian government promotes its history with pride (regardless of whether it is viewed positively or negatively). We saw several palaces in Isfahan and Tehran, but the highlight for me was the Golestan Palace in Tehran. The opulence was reminiscent of what we saw in Russia, but with a Persian twist of tiny mosaic mirrors adorning the walls in the reception rooms, making them glisten and shimmer.  

Friday Mosque - Isfahan

Blue Mosque - Tabriz

Inside Golestan Palace

Tehran is a largely ugly and characterless metropolis of 15 million souls, that we absolutely loved. I don't know what it was about it, but we felt so excited to be there. The word Tehran conjures so many images of a city that is portrayed as the political antithesis of our own countries. We spent our first evening meal in a restaurant overlooking the city as the sun went down. As the natural light was replaced by streetlights, the size of the city became apparent, trailing off into the distance. We got to see the size of the city again from the Milad television tower, which had equally as spectacular views. On a city tour we got to see the Azadi Tower (often the focal point of demonstrations), the Iranian National Museum (largely made of archeological finds from the Persian Empire) the parliament, and the former British and US embassies. For those who can remember the siege of the US Embassy in 1979 or have seen the film Argo, it was strange to see the site where it all unfolded. Outside the walls of the former US embassy there are murals depicting negative images of America including a Statue of Liberty adorned by a skull rather than the usual head and crown.

One of our highlights of the whole trip was a visit to the house of one of Mohammad's friends; Shayan. On our last evening, before catching the overnight bus to Tabriz we were treated to a whole manner of treats including leather fruit (a sour strip of fruit), yoghurts, fruit drinks, nuts etc with his wider family. Casey also received a homemade bowl as a gift from Shayan's mother. Their hospitality and sincerity in wanting to look after us was humbling. It was also great to talk with Shayan's uncle, who knew all about Matthew Le Tissier and other Southampton players past and present. Amusingly, Shayan also described how if he wants to watch football he has to go to his room as his mum and sister hog the TV to watch soap operas (some things never change, wherever you go in the world).

An Iranian Family

It has been impossible to cover everything in detail that we did in this already lengthy blog. But in addition to what has been already mentioned, we climbed to Babak's Fortress, a medieval hilltop castle near Tabriz, visited the village of Kandovan, which is carved into a hillside, shopped in the gorgeous and characterful bazaars in Isfahan and Tabriz and spent an evening meandering around a flower garden. All of which were unforgettable experiences in their own way.

Babak Fortress

Kandovan Village

Tabriz Bazaar

We can without reservation say we loved every moment of our time in Iran; it is without doubt one of the most spectacular countries we have visited. There are however aspects to the country that leave a sour taste. For what is in so many ways a modern and sophisticated country, its attitudes to women and law and order seem medieval. The clash of medieval and modern can be summarised by a bizarre television show that reviews murder cases that Mohammad told us about, that is shown during Ramadan. Fans of Big Brother and the American show Judge Judy, would be in their element as it combines court evidence and telephone phone-ins to assist the decision maker on what they should do. The particularly sick twist however, is that the punishment if the murderer is not shown mercy, is execution. In Iranian law, it is the victim's family that gets to choose whether court decreed sentence of hanging (sometimes in public) is carried out. The television show chooses cases where guilt has been found, but there might have been mitigating circumstances (such as self defence), and the public has their say through a phone vote before the husband/wife/mother/father of the deceased, decides whether to show mercy or not. This aspect of the penal code combined with the administering of lashes for being found drunk or not wearing the hijab as well as possible execution for homosexual activity, seems completely at odds with a modern society.

The levels of sexism, are incredible. Amongst the sexist rules, women are not allowed to attend sports events, sing in public or ride bicycles, whilst it is legal for men to have up to four wives. On a personal level we experienced what seem to us as very backward and sexist rules. Whilst travelling on public buses, men sit at the front and women at the back (having said this Casey was in her element, yacking away to her new friends on a bus in Tabriz). On our final day in Iran we had stored our bags in our guide's room as our checkout had been earlier. When the three of us went to go to his room to retrieve them Casey was told she couldn't come with us as she could not be in the same room as Mohammad as she is not married to him (they obviously assumed we were married!)

As distasteful as we might find these things, this is what travel is about, experiencing cultures completely different to our own, whether you agree with it or not. We also saw plenty of evidence that views are liberalising amongst the population, so hopefully it is only a matter of time before some of the more repressive and sexist aspects of Iran change. With this in mind I would encourage anybody considering visiting Iran to just go, it is a fantastic place that simply has to be experienced, if nothing else to enjoy the warmth and sincerity of its people who are so eager to please and to be viewed positively by the outside world. So ignore your government's travel warnings (we felt completely safe throughout) and make it happen. We certainly plan to return, to visit the places we couldn't fit into our schedule such as Shiraz, Persepolis and Yazd. Thank you Iran, it was brilliant!