The Tribune, India
Sept 25 2005
Many facets of Iran
Iran’s politics doesn’t put off tourists who are drawn by the
landscape and architecture. A bottle
of mineral water may be more expensive than petrol, but it makes
driving around cheaper,
says Christoph Kohler
The Blue Mosque of Esfahan is mesmerising.
– Photo by the writer
Shrouded in a mesh of political unrest, Iran may not be everyone’s
idea of a prime holiday destination but it is a treasure-trove of
picturesque landscapes and magnificent architecture waiting to be
rediscovered.
Non-existent town planning has led to uncontrolled growth. Tehran is
no exotic crossroad soaked in oriental splendour and deserves to be
explored. The presence of the Komite, the Islamic Revolutionary
Guards Corp, has visibly diminished. Make-up, nail polish and high
heels are visible, emphasising a growing feminism. Audiences flock to
Titanic, cut to a meagre one-hour trailer. These simple changes
became possible under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s predecessor Mohammad
Khatami.
The rigid Islamic laws, imposed during the Islamic Revolution,
forbidding alcohol, Western music and card games, are still strictly
enforced.
While the dress code for men has relaxed and women’s fashion shops
abound in urban Iran, the chador is, however, the only female fashion
tolerated in public.
Tehran still has evidence of its very vulnerable relationship with
North America, perceived as the `Great Satan.’ An enormous mural of
an American flag adorns a downtown skyscraper; skulls replacing the
stars, and bombs dropping from the bleeding stripes. Paintings
celebrating the storming of the American Embassy in 1979, and images
commemorating the accidental downing of a civilian aircraft by the US
Navy in 1989, embellish the grey walls of the former `US Den of
Espionage’. Nowadays, the obsolete embassy is used as a
computer-training centre for aspiring Komite cadets.
However, it is the people who smash one’s preconceptions. Iranians
don’t really hate America, they love hamburgers, which are available
at every corner, and flush them down with Parsi Cola while
scrutinising the latest basketball results in the newspaper. They
don’t take the ridiculous propaganda seriously any longer, having
been penetrated by it for years.
Travelling around the country is very convenient and economical.
Sixty litres of petrol are sold for less than two dollars. A bottle
of mineral water is more expensive. All public transport is therefore
easy on the pocket, very reliable, comparatively comfortable and
certainly no hit-and-miss affair.
Esfahan is mesmerising. Its charm has always fascinated travellers.
As the saying goes: `Esfahan is half the world,’ which expressed the
city’s grandeur in the 16th century. Intellectually brave, the town
has been a flourishing centre of learning for decades. Nowadays, the
city’s thinkers gather behind closed doors, the music volume kept to
a minimum, barely loud enough to hear the lyrics of Pink Floyd’s `The
Wall’, the all-time favourite hymn among Iranian youth. For fear that
the tipped-off Komite might arrive on the scene of such a `heinous’
social event, within seconds all `evidence’ can be eliminated.
The cosy teahouses under the bridges spanning the river are
marvellous retreats, to linger for hours, meeting the delightful
`Esfahanis.’ They are atmospheric refuges to sip boiling tea in and
savour sweet pastry. Young and old, the locals get together in
Esfahan’s teahouses to philosophise about life and dreams of a
scholarship abroad. They exchange entertaining anecdotes of the rough
times in the compulsory army, buying booze and magazines for inflated
prices from Turkish soldiers across the border.
Shiraz, another night journey further south, was one of the most
important cities in the medieval Islamic world. In its heyday, Shiraz
was famous for nightingales, poetry, roses and even wine, which
nowadays is only tolerated for communal services in the Armenian
Church. Shiraz’s true jewel, however, is a stone’s throw northeast in
the desert. The ancient palace complexes of Persopolis, once Persia’s
glamorous capital, display only a small fraction of their past
grandeur. Rampaging Persia at the time, Alexander the Great paid a
violent visit to his enemy’s glamorous capital on a cold January day
in 330 BC. With unrestrained ferocity, Persopolis was looted and
torched to the ground.
Across the barren desert in central Iran, Yazd has always been a
centre of religion, retaining its treasure of old tradition and
architecture. Recognised by Unesco as hosting the second oldest
architecture in the world, the old town is entirely built of mud
bricks. Yazd is an important hub for Zoroastrianism, Persia’s state
religion from around 500 BC. Modern scholars trace the birth hour of
the world’s first religion based on prophesy back to 12th century BC.
Heading east, Bam is a lush-green oasis in the middle of the harsh
wilderness. In the heart of this isolated town is an incredible
ancient city, moulded in the desert’s red clay. Surrounded by a maze
of eucalyptus, the outer walls measure more than 3 km. Three levels
of fortifications were used to protect the citadel until it couldn’t
withstand a devastating Afghani raid in 1722. Currently the
government is carrying out renovations, securing this breathtaking
marvel for future generations. East of the oasis stretches the mighty
Baluchistan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan. This land is home to
proud tribal people, who frequently take the law into their own
hands.
The territory is also a drug trafficking belt; tons of drugs are
smuggled across the Afghani border, en route to profitable markets in
Europe and the Middle East. The provincial capital Zahedan appears
dusty and featureless.
At any given moment, skirmishes between the police and local feuds
may flare up. Nevertheless, travelling in Baluchistan is very
rewarding; The Baluchi’s remarkable hospitality is born of their
isolation, where an eye for an eye is the only way of retaining ones
honour. Iran has many faces and facets, presenting a rich
kaleidoscope of culture and tradition.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress