travel inspirations
Iran ISSUE #EIGHT
#08 Spring 2018 | Lu€15 www.diariesofmagazine.com
WELCOME
Iran Unveiled
a first-hand experience When we told our friends that we were going to visit Iran, the most frequent reaction was ‘Why Iran? Isn’t Iran full of conflict? Isn’t it a dangerous country?’ In the past few decades the mass media has portrayed Iran as a barbarian country, where human rights are disrespected, women have no rights and children’s rights are abused. We don’t intend to make any statements about the veracity of these declarations, which can be found in Wikipedia. Instead, let us use the 164 pages of this magazine to share the experiences that we had in Iran with Iranians, and we will let you draw your own conclusions. We had many chances to interact with the local population, because Iranians are – without any kind of overstatement – the most hospitable people we have ever met. We have been invited to Iranian’s homes for tea, for authentic dinner feasts and to stay overnight – all invitations that came from the heart and made us feel like special guests. Our general perception was that Iranians are not proud of their political and religious leaders (but then, we can count on the fingers of one hand the nations who are proud of their own governments).
Despite this, we would not portray Iranians as an unhappy people, nor their children as repressed. Iranians are an educated people who want to recover their freedom in a peaceful way; therefore, they endure patiently, waiting for the democratic moment to regain their rights. In the meantime they live their lives in a way that we consider exemplary. They cherish the moments spent with family (oh, the everlasting picnics in the UNESCO listed Persian gardens); travelling throughout their immense country (Iran’s surface area is four times bigger than Germany); and enjoying the natural diversity of the country (the deserts, the great canyons, the mountains, the Persian Gulf, the Caspian Sea or the Western valleys). In addition, there is the huge cultural heritage of the Persian Empire, best seen in the glorious cities that form the golden triangle (Shiraz, Yazd and Esfahan). All this, while enjoying the small forbidden pleasures of making their own wine or listening to underground music. Going back to our first paragraph and to the question we get asked: Is Iran dangerous? Actually yes, it is dangerous, in the sense that you will fall in love with this country and its people and will wish to return over and over again. To get in the mood to read this magazine, our advice is to open your mind, set stereotypes aside and grab yourself an ice-cream (preferably one with the intrinsic Persian flavours of saffron, rosewater and pistachios). If it is too cold for ice-cream, make yourself a tea with the same flavours, and some additional mint, and let yourself be taken to the country of the turquoise domes, the wind-catchers and the one thousand and one nights…
Cover Photo Detail of the beautiful tile work that covers the Jameh mosque in Yazd. Photography by Jorge Valente
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In the privacy of Iranian’s homes, when the hijab is lowered, the hosts open their hearts at the same time as they open a bottle of homemade wine (drinking alcohol is illegal, but Iranians find ways to bypass the law). There is great discontent about the political situation and the autocratic figures at its head. Yes, most women dislike wearing the hijab; yes, most men dislike seeing their women being forced to wear it; and yes, they all wished they did not have to go abroad to be free to taste a glass of wine or to go to a disco to dance. Mostly, they are frustrated with the economic hardships they see in a country that has so many natural resources.
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CONTENTS
ADVENTURE
8,500 Kms through Iran
44
126
EXPLORE
Living with the Nomads
EDITORIAL 3 CONTRIBUTORS 11 FACTS & FIGURES 12 POSTCARDS 14 EXPLORE The Golden Triangle Esfahan, Shiraz & Yazd 20
Living with the Nomads 126
INTERVIEW
Music: Mohammad 38
Photography: Elnaz 40 Painting: Morteza 42
ADVENTURE
8,500 Kms through Iran 44
Exploring the Iranian Desert 110
CITY 62
Tehran – The Hustle and Bustle
FOOD 74
Delicious Persian Cuisine
NATURE
Persian Gulf 78
PORTRAITS 94 Face to Face
CARING 104
Mehr-o-Mah: Empowering Women
ESSENTIALS 142 Essentials of Iran
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CONTENTS
78 NATURE
Persian Gulf
ADVENTURE
Exploring the Iranian Desert
20 EXPLORE
The Golden Triangle Esfahan, Shiraz & Yazd
110 142 ESSENTIALS
Essentials of Iran
74 FOOD
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Delicious Persian Cuisine
Our highlights of Iran > Find our highlights on the indicated pages
Tehran 62 Lorestan 126 Tabas 110 Esfahan 20 Yazd 20 Kaluts 110 Shiraz 20
Bandar Abbas 78
IN A CHANGING WORLD
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CONTRIBUTORS
Stefanie Janssen & Simon Oswald have just been on a great journey for a year and have convinced themselves that the ratio of enriching encounters to negative experiences is about 100: 1; that the unplanned often brings the most charming stories and that beauty is at home in Iran. Now they are slowly cycling from Istanbul back to their full-time lives and looking forward to family, friends, bees and also their work.​ Follow them on www.80-fragen.de
Nezameddin Arabzadeh Jamali was born in 1970 in Tehran. He is a television director, industrial photographer and teacher who fell in love with nature and with travelling. Nezam sees photography as a means to share the surrounding beauties with others and to remember his travels. Follow him on instagram.com/ nezameddinjamali
Elnaz Heidarzadeh was born in Iran (Tehran) in 1986. She is an urban designer who is passionate about photography and painting. She also loves to travel and is eager to see the world and to visit other countries, in order to capture different cultures, different people and different places with her camera. Follow her on instagram.com/ elnaz_heidarzadeh
JoĂŁo LeitĂŁo is a Portuguese visual artist, a compulsive traveller and an explorer. He is also a photography enthusiast, travel blogger and tour leader. He lives and works in Morocco, but he is a citizen of the world. He has visited more than 130 countries. Whenever he travels, he enjoys interacting with the local people most; getting to know their stories, culture and lifestyle, visiting historic places and living through exotic and breath-taking experiences. Follow him on www.joaoleitao.com
Anabela & Jorge Valente Born in Portugal and Luxembourg respectively, they explore together their passion for travelling, preferably with the motorbike. Naturally curious, they love to explore new places and to meet new people. They have travelled to all the continents, including Antarctica, and contribute with their stories and photographies to several travel magazines. In 2015 they quit their jobs to be full time editors of the travel magazine diariesof. Follow them on diariesofmagazine.com
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CONTRI BUTORS
Bazaar
The historic Bazaar of Tabriz gained its importance due to its strategic position on the Silk Road. On the UNESCO list since 2010, it is considered one of the oldest and largest covered bazaars in the world. During the religious ceremonies of Ashura, the merchants close the shops so that ceremonies can be held in the heart of the bazaar.
Tea
Drinking tea (čāy) is part of the Iranian culture; not surprisingly, Iranians drink it at all times and it is the typical drink a guest will be offered. At home or in tea-houses, the kettle or the samovar boils all day. Iranian tea has a reddish-brown colour, and it can be diluted with boiling water, to make it weaker. To drink it the Iranian way, the sugar cube is placed between the teeth while the tea is sipped. When the tea is too hot Iranians cool it in the saucer and drink their tea directly from it.
435 1397 Rial 14
One of Tehran’s landmarks is the Milad Tower, also known as the Tehran Tower. Mohammad Reza Hafezi designed a 435 metre-high tower (from base to the top of its antenna) making it the sixth tallest tower in the world. On top, besides the observation deck, there is also a revolving restaurant and an art gallery.
The official calendar used in Iran is the Solar Hijri, according to which Iran’s present year is 1397 SH. Their year also has twelve months, but the first six have 31 days, the next five months have 30 and the last either 29 or 30 days, according to calculations based on astronomic observations.
In 1932 Iran’s currency, the Toman, was replaced by the Rial, today’s official currency, at a rate of 1 Toman to 10 Rials. Nowadays, however, Iranians still colloquially calculate in Toman when handling Rials, which complicates foreigners’ lives to a point of insanity.
Being one of the leading exporters of oil and natural gas, it is not surprising that in Iran the price of petrol drops to absurdly low values. At the time of our visit, one litre of petrol cost 10,000 Rials (i.e. 1,000 Tomans, i.e. 14 cents in Euro).
FACTS&FIGURES
FACTS& FIGURES
90% of the world’s production of saffron comes from Iran. Expensive and valuable, also called ‘red gold’, it is necessary to collect 150 flowers to yield one gram of saffron threads. To extract the best of its aroma while cooking, soak it in hot water for several minutes before grinding. Besides saffron and tea, Iran is also a leading exporter of caviar, pistachio nuts and rugs.
Iran’s desert was the hottest recorded place on earth, when the Aqua satellite measured a ground temperature of 70.7 ºC in the Lut Desert, in 2005. In 2016, this desert was inscribed with UNESCO as Iran’s first natural world heritage site. Iran’s highest and lowest air temperatures, ever registered, were 54 ºC in Ahwaz and -46 ºC in Saqqez.
Iran’s highest peak is situated in the Alborz range, not far from Tehran and near the southern end of the Caspian Sea. Mount Damavand is also the highest mountain in the Middle East, its height reaching to 5,610 metres. Damavand is also one of the seven volcanic summits in the world.
22 The fabulous Persian cultural legacy is reflected in Iran’s 22 UNESCO World heritage sites, including places such as the Golestan Palace, Soltaniyeh or the historical bazaar in Tabriz. The Lut desert is Iran’s sole UNESCO protected natural site. Another 60 cultural sites are waiting on the tentative list.
With wine colour your robe, one of the old Magi’s best tips Trust in this traveller’s tips, who knows of many paths and trips.
~ Poem of Hafez
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Saffron 70.75,610
‘Lonely Leng’ Laft The leng is a traditional Iranian boat, found in the Persian Gulf. I was in Laft, on the island of Qeshm, in the early hours of the morning, when I noticed this lonely leng in the quiet waters of the Gulf. The mild colours of the morning and the perfect reflexion of the boat on the sea were mesmerising. João Leitão
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POSTCARDS Send your photos with a description to jorge.valente@diariesof.lu
‘Red Mask’ Hengam On the island of Hengam (in the Persian Gulf) many women still wear the traditional mask (battoulah) that protects them from the harsh weather conditions, such as the sun and the wind. João Leitão
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’Poppy Fields’ Khorramabad Western Iran is the most fertile part of Iran. In spring, during the rainy season, the valleys of this region become green and are sometimes sprinkled with red colour. This is the red of wild poppies. Anabela Valente
‘Gateway to Heaven’ Esfahan The main iwan (portal) of the Imam mosque takes the form of a semicircle arch. What makes this iwan so special is its decoration with blue-turquoise tiles, ornamented in a stalactite style, a feature of the Persian Islamic architecture. Nezameddin Arabzadeh Jamali
‘Vakil Mosque’ Shiraz The lonely prayer hall of the Vakil Mosque invites for a moment of meditation or simply a break. Its forty-eight twisted columns distinguish this sacred building from any other in Iran.
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Maryse & Albert Wildgen
the golden triangle
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Esfahan, Shiraz & Yazd
Text by Anabela Valente Photography by Nezameddin Arabzadeh Jamali, Borna Mirahmadian, Jorge Valente
[previous page] Detail of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square with the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque at sunrise
Esfahan
The ‘Golden Triangle’ or the ‘three pearls of the Middle East’ – so are called the three most remarkable cities in Iran: Esfahan, Shiraz and Yazd, samples of the richest Persian heritage.
E
sfahan is the city of craftsmen, mosques, minarets and covered bridges; Shiraz with its Persian gardens will always remain the city of wine, poets and nightingales. Yazd is the adobe desert city with its wind catchers... Esfahan is half of the world. For many travellers, this one-time capital of the Persian Empire, and still a very cosmopolitan city, is and always will be the most beautiful city in the world. In
popular Persian culture Esfahan is half of the world, in the sense that it has got it all: long, tree-shaded boulevards; the loveliest examples of Persian-Islamic architecture, which include palaces, minarets and mosques and the finest Iranian bridges over the Zayande River. Sadly and because there is hardly any rain, this river has been dry for the last decade, to the despair of the population, who has always had to struggle for water.
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[top left] Picnicking at the Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Esfahan [top right] Girls refreshing themselves in the pool in Naqsh-e Jahan Square
We keep returning to the UNESCO world heritage square, the Naqsh-e Jahan, whose name means ‘image of the world’. This square is the soul and the heart of the city. The main architectural sights are located around this square – one of the largest city squares in the world – and the population comes here at all times of the day. Built for a different purpose by the Safavid Shah Abbas I, in those times the square was busy with traders that set up their tents during the day and, at dusk, the animation was provided by dervishes, snake charmers and puppeteers. Occasionally the square would be cleared for polo games. The polo goal-posts are still standing at either end of the square. A special dawn. Our dorm is silent, except for one or two snores from tired
travellers. We get out of bed and get dressed in the dark, not worrying about jackets. At 05:00 a.m., temperatures are comfortably mild. We regret that we are about to miss an appetising breakfast. We are on our way to the main square, this time to photograph it with the special colours of sunrise and without people, or so we think. Our way takes us through the usually bustling old bazaar that, at these early hours of the morning, resembles a solitary cathedral, its long corridors devoid of people, except for the fruit and vegetable sellers who start the day before everyone else. They are neatly setting out their freshly-arrived greens, and later their stalls will look like miniature aromatic forests of coriander, parsley and scallion. Deeper in the
A stroll through all kinds of Persian tableau rugs at the Bazaar-e Bozorg, Esfahan
bazaar, it gets quieter again. We love these empty alleys, where the tender morning light penetrates through holes in the bazaar’s domed roof and faintly illuminates the show windows, all still covered by wooden shutters at this hour. By night, the bazaar loses in exuberance and rests in well-earned modesty. I can’t decide how I prefer it, but I know I wouldn’t totally understand its soul if I hadn’t experienced this facet of its character. Aerobics with the bazaaris. We reach the square when the sun has not yet shown itself on any of the buildings around this gigantic courtyard, built in the shape of a square. Contrary to our expectations, we are not alone. There are two dozens of men, the bazaaris,
doing their morning exercise around the square. When they see Jorge they invite him to join them in their aerobics (and they keep on insisting until he accepts). They are all amused, and get excited when Jorge joins them for what looks like fifteen tiring minutes. After that Jorge surreptitiously tries to leave the group, but they won’t let him go. After the sacrifice, the reward! A gigantic sofreh was already being spread on the ground so that the entire group (including Jorge) could enjoy breakfast together, before each of these busy men went on to their businesses, opening their shops and decorating their windows with their products. We would return to the same square for another meal – lunch, when we joined
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Persian copper hardware is a preferred item of the bazaars
Woman hand painting the Iranian-style pottery ceramics
the families having picnics in the main square. Ash and beryani (a traditional dish from the city) are widely available from the food stands in the alleyways off the square. Ash, a substantial vegetable soup, is so thick that we imagined it could serve as mortar to bond bricks. What a pleasure to savour our beryani, a kind of lamb burger with liver, and mingle with everyone else, especially the teenagers who are in the square and who are so eager to practice their English. Practicing with tourists. Many parents send their kids to private English classes (because English is not an option in public school) and then on weekends (Friday is the day off in Iran) they take their kids to the touristy places. When they spot a foreigner, they approach them, the kids serving as interpreters, and parents shooting out questions in Farsi. It is a good way to have children and teenagers practice the foreign language they are learning. Of course most of these chats last only a few minutes, depending on the proficiency and extroversion of the kids, but it is a joyful moment. Parents fill up with pride
when we reassure them the level of their kids’ foreign language is good; we can imagine that paying private classes does not come without some financial sacrifice. The moon is visible from the inner court of our hostel, which is in a traditional house. It is also reflected on the pool, where some goldfish swim quietly. Oranges and apples are floating on the pond, the Persian way of keeping fruit fresh. It is in the intimacy of this enclosed place that guests are idling on various daybeds and benches that are strategically placed under the blossoming orange trees to provide shade during the day, and an inebriating scent of spring at night. Are we really waiting for the traditional concert to start, or are we just soaking up the small pleasures of a Persian night? The first musician, on the improvised stage, is a young woman who does not conceal the nerves of her first public performance. We are asked not to take any photos nor videos of her solo performance, for her own security (in Iran women are not allowed to sing in public in front of men, because the clerics believe this arouses
Khajou Bridge, one of the many beautiful bridges of Esfahan, where men congregate at sunset to sing under its arches
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men), as we are a mixed public. After the first notes, which sound unmelodic to our unaccustomed ears, her nerves vanish and she surrenders to the setar, an Iranian stringed instrument from the lute family. The romantic idea we had of a Persian garden is now complete, with the sound of the setar and the mild voice of a young girl caressing the trees in blossom. If this is not magic... Fashion and a statement. A traveller’s most difficult task is to move on when his body and his heart asks him to stay. Arriving in Shiraz we realised that we had started using the hijab, or the way the hijab is worn by women, as a barometer to check how cosmopolitan the city is. In the more religious cities, such as Qom
and Mashhad, the hijab was mainly worn under a chador, which covered the hair in its totality, as well as the rest of the body. The chador is like a long sheet that goes from the head to the feet and is open in the front – chador actually means tent in Farsi. In other more sophisticated cities, women wear the hijab in such a way that it almost looks like an optional fashion accessory, which they chose to wear, but which could have stayed at home. In these cases, much of the hair is visible, and it actually looks quite fashionable. As a woman, I felt the impulse to ask these educated women how they felt about wearing it, and was surprised that the question was very often first asked me. I did not feel I could complain about it when I only had to endure it for a month
One of the domes of the Masjed-e Shah mosque, a masterpiece from the Safavid Era, is decorated with iconic Persian blue mosaics
Masjed-e Nasir-al-Molk Mosque is better known as the Pink Mosque. This mosque is probably the most photographed, from its inside, because of the colourful light reflections caused by its big stained glass windows.
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The mausoleum of Hafez lies in a quiet memorial garden in Shiraz. Many come in the late afternoon to visit the poet’s tomb.
or two. Women hardly waited for my answer and they were apologetic that we foreigners had to wear it. They were also very straightforward in letting us know that they did not like it. Some have found the most creative ways of manifesting their resistance, such as showing as many tresses as possible, while wearing heavy make-up and even dying their hair other colours. Shiraz of the poets. Few are the poets who, having lived 700 years ago, are so venerated that their tombs are still heavily visited. Such is the mausoleum of Hafez in Shiraz. He is popular because he wrote about the pillars of humanity: love and wine. Iranians believe that his poems hold the key to understanding their future, a kind of fortune-telling;
therefore, they come to the beautiful Persian garden where Hafez’s tomb is located, to connect with him. The ritual consists of putting one’s hands on the poet’s tomb and leaving them there as if feeling for his signs. Many bring a copy of The Divan of Hafez to read its poems randomly. They choose the quiet corners of the garden, searching for inspiration and love, and in this garden that is not difficult to find. If you don’t hear the poet, you will hear the birds, the nightingales in cages, some of whom are left free to fly and return when they want… And when an old man carrying a nightingale or a canary suggests you buy an envelope picked out by his bird, remember this is Iranian fortune telling – inside is one of the poems of Hafez that will tell you about your future.
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One of the many people reading The Divan of Hafez
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Envelopes with Hafez poems as fortune telling
Hafez tomb with roses