The Iranians are among most welcoming people in the world and their boys among most flirty men on the planet

Finally, I am in Iran! After a relatively smooth border crossing from Turkmenistan (only 5 hour wait at the border among very nice immigration officers) I find myself in the country of blue mosques and amazing landscapes  (anything from desert to almost tropical water-rich views in the mountains). Iran is the country of my Central Asia and Middle East trip that I’ve been most excited about due to its exotic feel, fascinating and sometimes controversial propaganda about the country that we’re fed in the Western world and, probably most of all, wanting to observe with my own eyes how the everyday life of the Iranian people (especially the women) is influenced by the strict rules and restrictions of their religion.

Here are some main highlights of my Iranian adventures. Since it’s completely impossible to describe everything I’ve seen and done, and especially the impressions it left on me, you’ll just have to come to Iran yourselves one day!

We started off with camping in the Golestan national park. It’s pretty much the only bush / forest area in Iran and camping here gave us a unique opportunity to observe the camping rituals of the locals. Camping Iranian style consists of cramping your family and half of your house into a small car, pitching your bright coloured tent as close to the road as possible (presumingly so you don’t have to walk far to your car to get stuff) and spending next few hours cooking up a feast, playing very loud Iranian pop music from your car speakers and talking even louder (so you can hear each other over the music). There is even a prayer hall so there’s no excuse for not fulfilling every Muslim’s religious duty of praying 5 times a day... And then the funny part comes: Iranians don’t actually stay overnight in those tents in the national park, after the dinner and the (alcohol free) parting they drop down the tents, pack up their mountains of stuff and ... go home. Bit bizarre but better for us, as it gave us a quiet peaceful night in the national park after the locals went home! Also, camping in Iran gave me another unique opportunity to climb up on the roof of the truck and unload tents while wearing my mandatory Iranian outfit of hijab (head scarf) and a long black tunic 3 sizes to big! Not the easiest job in the world as the tunic kept getting in the way and got very dirty after about 5 minutes and the scarf kept slipping but hey, all in the name of memorable travel experiences, right?

I must admit, as much as I loved the hospitality of Iranian people, I struggled to remain 100% tolerant and open minded in respect to the attitude of women in this country. Everywhere I looked I saw restrictions imposed on women that don’t apply equally to men: having to wear at least the hijab and preferably the black chador at all times while outside your house (in storching heat!), not being allowed many social privileges such as singing in public, using most swimming pools etc. While I completely understand that many of Iranian women are very religious by choice and they’re follow all these strict modesty rules even if it wasn’t mandatory for them to do so. But with my Western eyes I view one’s individual freedom as a basic right and I cannot help but view this particular religion and culture as unnecessarily and unequally repressive towards one gender and not the other.

 Yazd: rustic, tranquil and with a beautifil old-city with sun-baked tiles and lots of little bazaars. The city is still the centre of Iran's oldest religion, Zoroastranism. The practice of this religion is temporary Iran is similar to that of pre-Islamic Persia. The worship focuses around fire, fire temples were constructed in villages and cities and at remote places such as mountain peaks or caves. With the coming of Islam in the 7th century AD Zoroastranism lost is dominant position, large numbers of its followers converted to Islam and many shrines were abandoned. But Yazd remains an important Zoroastranism pilgrimage centre and there are still 6 holy shrines in the region.

Shiraz: Shiraz is known as the poetic capital of Persia, because two of the greatest poets of the world, Hafez (1324-1391) and Sa'di (1209-1291), come from this city. Sa'di, the traveler saw a great part of the world before he finally settled in Shiraz, where he died. Hafez on the other hand, except for one very short journey, never even left his city. One of them most impressive sites in the city is Shrine of Shah Cheragh, the tomb of Seyed Amir Ahmad, the brother of Imam Reza, the 8^th Imam. It's Holy Place but open to non-Muslims providing that no photos are taken inside the complex and that women wear the chador. Going inside the prayer area during a noon prayer was a powerful experience: crowds of people in the midst of their prayers, rows and rows of women fully covered in their chadors sitting or lying on the floor and loudly reciting verses from the Koran. Islam is a very picturesque religion to watch: I fell in love with the ritual of the call to prayer, ablutions in the mosque pools, laying prayer carpets in the direction of Mecca, prayer stones arranged on the floor... But - as mentioned earlier - I cannot get my mind around the (in my opinion supressive and limiting) impact the religion has on everyday lives of women in Iran: the chadors, the hijab, having to sit in the back of the bus, not being able to enjoy dancing or singing in public... I can safely state I won't be getting myself an Iranian husband and relocating to Iran anytime soon!

Oh, and I will remember Shiraz for another reason which is completely unrelated to Iran. It was over a nice cup of tea at our hotel in Shiraz that my crew leader informed me that Ethiopia just changed their visa rules and it's no longer possible for any nationality to get an Ethiopian visa on route (which was exactly what I was planning to do in Egypt). Now everyone who wants to travel to Ethiopia has to apply for their visa in the place of their residence before they leave home. Which for me means I need to mail my passport to the Ethiopian embassy in London and have it mailed back to me with the visa. The only problem is that I'm travelling and wasn't planning to be in one place long enough for my passport to make it to London and back. But traveller does what the traveller must do... Hence I'm changing my plans slightly and staying in Istambul few days longer than I was planning to. It will be a nerve wrecking experience to put my passport in the mail again after UK Royal Mail had lost it back in July! Believe me, this time I'm using the most secure mailing service I can find from DHL or another reputable international courier... And I will be camping in their office in Istambul until I have my passport (hopefully with Ethiopian visa in it) safely backi in my hands!

Persepolis: The magnificent palace complex at Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great around 518 B.C., although more than a century passed before it was finally completed. Conceived to be the seat of government for the kings and a center for receptions and ceremonial festivities, the wealth of the Persian empire was evident in all aspects of its construction. The splendor of Persepolis, however, was short-lived; the palaces were looted and burned by Alexander the Great in 331-330 B.C. The ruins were not excavated until the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago sponsored an archaeological expedition to Persepolis in the 1930s. Today the splendour is still easily appreciated: it's a vast site of impressive ruins, sculptures and palaces. The good news is that we were lucky to be there at sunset, which made for absolutely magnificent photos and ambience. The not-so-good news is that about 100 Iranian teenage boys from a local boarding school were visiting the ruins at the same time as us, which made for hords of boys following us and being at first sweet but then increasingly annoying with their 'what's your name', 'you have beautiful blue eyes', 'can I take a picture with you' and ' I love you'... I must say it was quite exhausting standing there smiling while tens and tens of teenage boys were lining up to take a picture with me! Oh well, another unforgettable travel adventure behind my belt...

Esfahan (sometimes also spelled Isfahan): by far the most beautiful city in Iran and one of the most beautiful cities I have seen anywhere in the world. I loved its breathtaking mixture of impressive blue-tiles mosques (my favourites were Sheikh Lutfollah, Jameh and Imam), beautiful palaces and gardens, Imam Square (the second largest square in the world after the Tiananmen Square in Beijing) and multiple bazaars and teahouses. And the people... It is truly impossible to overemphasize how amazingly friendly and warm Iranian people are in general but in Esfahan it took whole another level. The children want to know your name and practice their English, the women want to touch your hair and teach you how to wear the chador, the teenage boys want to practice their flirting techniques... All done in an enjoyable and relaxed atmosphere. I would love to come back to Esfahan some day...

Tehran: a huge crowded city of 14 million people and hence much more modern, noisy with much more hair sneaking out from underneath the girls' headscarfs and many more unmarried couples holding hands freely on the streets. And the traffic... Books have been written and movies made about Tehran traffic. Hundreds of cars, motorbikes and pedestrians squeezed into the streets, which seem way to small to fit all of them at the same time. Cars moving along on what seems like 5, 6, 7 traffic lanes while only 2 or 3 are painted on the tarmac. The orchestra of cars honking, brakes screeching, Iranian pop music blasting from the youngsters' cars. angry drivers shouting at each other or at stupid tourists trying to crossing the streets... It's all overwhelming, fascinating and exhausting at the same time. But the good news is that I have crossed quite a few streets in Tehran and didn't get hit by a car even once :-) Other than the traffic (which admittedly I did love to watch) Tehran has some amazing sights, my favourite of which was Golestan Palace, an oasis of peace, azure tiled palace and a quiet green park in the bustling city. But overall Tehran is too big and noise of a city for me. I was absolutely happy to experience it for few days, would love to come back one day in winter to go skiing in the mountain resorts around it but it's not a city which stole my heart forever.

Overall, Iran has been definitely one of my very favourite places on my Big Trip thus far, possibly even the most favourite. I may very well visit it again one day... But now, off to Turkey where I spend few days in Istambul with my cute Dutchman and then am catching my next Dragoman truck, which will take my through Middle East and Africa. Excited, excited, excited!!!

One more note, to completely change the subject... In the past couple of months on my beloved truck, which so is faithfully taking me across huge chunks of Asia, I have been conducting a litte informal survey among my fellow passengers. There are a few people here (some here with their partners, some without) who seem to have discovered the secret to the perfect relationship because after decades of being together they still seem ridiculously happy together. I wanted to take advantage of this unique opportunity of being surrounded by happily married or otherwise committed people and 'interview' them about what is the secret of a happy long-term relationship. What are the tricks? What works and what doesn't? What to watch out for? And voila, here are some of the trends that emerged. Nothing brand new or hugely surprising but rather a confirmation of the simple 'relationship truths', which all of us should remind ourselves of regularly...
- Love each other. All else will fall in place.
- Don't go to sleep angry at each other
- You have to be friends and share at least some of your respective passions and interests
- Don't over-analyze and over-plan every aspect of your future together. Whatever comes, comes and as long as you tackle it together, all will be well. And sometimes the fun is in the not knowing.
- You both should have the attitude of 'sometimes he does things for me and sometimes I do things for him'
- You should want the same things from life and share your fundamental values and principles
- Make each other laugh