Wanndering – on foot and in spirit

Land and Resources

Most of Iran is made up of rugged terrain. The country contains enormous mineral wealth, much of which has yet to be exploited. Iran has always been subject to severe earthquakes, and the geologic instability has frequently resulted in major physical damage and great loss of life.

Physiographic Regions
Iran is dominated by a central plateau, which is about 1220 m (about 4000 ft) high and is almost ringed by mountain chains. In the north, paralleling the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, are the Elburz Mountains. The highest peak in Iran, Mount Damavand (5604 m/18,386 ft), is part of this mountain system. The Caspian Sea, at 28 m (92 ft) below sea-level, is the lowest point in Iran. Along the western border the complex Zagros Mountains extend southeast to the region bordering the Persian Gulf. Mountains of lower elevation lie to the east of the central plateau. Except for the relatively fertile plateaus of the northern Iranian provinces of Azerbaijan, mountain soils are thin, heavily eroded, and infertile. The narrow Caspian coastal plain, in contrast, is covered with rich brown forest soil. The only other generally flat area is the plain of Khuzistan in the west. Two great deserts extend over much of central Iran. The Dasht-i-Lut is covered largely with sand and rocks, and the Dasht-i-Kavir is covered mainly with salt. Both deserts are inhospitable and virtually uninhabited. In the winter and spring small streams flow into the Dasht-i-Kavir, creating little lakes and swamps. In other times of the year both deserts are extremely arid.

Rivers and Lakes
Most of Iran’s rivers flow only during part of the year, when precipitation is heaviest. The country’s principal permanent rivers flow off the mountains on the slopes facing the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, or the Gulf of Oman. The Karun River, flowing from the Zagros Mountains to the Shatt al-Arab at Khorramshahr, is the country’s main navigable river. Besides the Caspian Sea, Iran has few large lakes. Most shrink in size during the hot, dry summer and have a high salt content because they have no outlet to carry away the salt left when the water evaporates. The largest water body entirely within Iran is Lake Urmia, in the northwest.

Climate
Iran is divided climatically into three main regions: the extremely hot coast along the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; the temperate but arid central highland; and the tableland of the intensely cold Elburz Mountains. The average temperatures for the months of January and July in Tehran are 2.2° C (36° F) and 29.4° C (85° F), respectively. The average temperatures during the same months in Abadan are 12.2° C (54° F) and 36.1° C (97° F). Average annual precipitation in Tehran and Abadan are 246 mm (10 in) and 204 mm (8 in), respectively

Principal Cities

The capital and largest city of Iran is Tehran, with a population of 6,042,984 in 1986. The country’s two most important urban centers, after Tehran, are Meshed (1,463,508), a grain center and important commercial and transportation point, and Isfahan (986,753), an industrial and commercial hub noted for its fine architecture.

Language

The official language of Iran is Modern Persian, or Farsi, one of the Indo-Iranian languages, a subfamily of the Indo-European languages. Farsi emerged from Middle Persian and is written in the Arabic alphabet with many Arabic loan words. Several minority groups in Iran retain their own languages.

Religion

The official religion of Iran is the Shiite branch of Islam, which is followed by more than 91 percent of the population. Some of the most sacred Shiite places are in Iran; the city of Qum, south of Tehran, is a noted place of pilgrimage. Sunni Muslims form about 8 percent of Iran’s population, and the country also has dwindling communities of Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Baha’is.

Ethnic Minorities

The periphery of Iran is inhabited by ethnic minorities, who at times have been perceived to hold greater allegiance to their individual ethnic groups than to the national government. The Baluchi in the southeast, the Turkomans in the northeast, and the Kurds in the west are Sunni Muslims. Arabs inhabit the southwest. The Azerbaijani, although they are Shiites, came into conflict with the politically active Iranian Shiite clergy in the late 1970s and the 1980s.
Education and Cultural ActivityFollowing the change in government in 1979, Iran’s educational system and its cultural life were altered to conform with precepts of Shiite Islam. Approaches borrowed from the West were not allowed to continue.

Education

Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 14; enforcement has been lax, however, because of a shortage of teachers and schools and the pressures of war with Iraq. About 62 percent of the population aged 15 or older was literate in the late 1980s. In that period, about 7.4 million pupils attended primary schools each year, and some 3.4 million students were enrolled annually in secondary schools. In addition, teacher-training and vocational schools together had about 252,600 students yearly. Higher education is provided by more than 100 universities, colleges, and other institutions, which had an aggregate yearly enrollment of some 167,800 students. Major institutions included the University of Tehran (1932), the University of Isfahan (1950), and the University of Shìraz (1945). Some universities were closed or renamed in the early 1980s.

Culture
The culture of Iran is heavily influenced by the Muslim religion, as is evident in the art, literature, and social structure of the country. After the 1979 government change, the Shiite clergy led a drive for renewed Islamization. Women were ordered to return to more traditional roles, movie theaters were closed, and music was not allowed to be broadcast by radio stations. The segregation of men and women at social functions was reinstituted. Many women again wore the traditional chador, a long black cloth that is draped over the head and body.
Cultural InstitutionsIran has a number of notable museums. These include the Iran Bastan Museum, with displays on archaeology, and the Negarestan Museum, with exhibits of Iranian art, both in Tehran; the Qum Museum; and the Pars Museum, in Shìraz. The National Library is in Tehran, and other important book collections are housed in university libraries.

Communications

Postal, telegraph, and telephone services, as well as radio and television broadcasting, are administered by the Iranian government. Approximately 2.1 million telephones were in use in the late 1980s; radios numbered more than 11 million and television sets about 2.3 million. Nearly all the nation’s daily newspapers and most of the weeklies are published in Tehran. Dailies with large circulations include Kayhan and Ettelaat, both published in Tehran.

References/Links
1.http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/middle_east/iran/ Must Read
2. http://hemsidor.torget.se/users/h/hashemy/ancient.html#ac

From most to whom I mentioned this country, I got the reply ‘ didn’t you get any other country to visit?’. As they say, to have a bad reputation is worse than being bad. Not that the country has deliberately earned a bad reputation, but that its stand is contrary to the popular ‘consensus’ builder in today’s world- the US. Notwithstanding anybody’s political preferences, I want to share the splendid experience in the ‘Axis of Evil’ country – Iran. I am so glad today that I wasn’t carried away by the popular conception to reject the invite.

I was invited by Isfahan Science and Technology Town, Isfahan for their entrepreneurship festival. The event apart, there were tremendous opportunities to see the country.

Details of Iran
Capital: Tehran
Best times to visit:
Direct Flights from India: Mon/Fri – Iran Air – Mumbai to Tehran
VISA Details: The best way to get a VISA is through your travel agent. It is simple and takes just a day to get your VISA stamped. Like any country the ease of getting the VISA is directly proportional to the quality of the relationship you have with the respective country and as I write this, oil diplomacy has daughtered good India-Iran relationship. If you are bent on getting your VISA yourself, visit their embassy in Mumbai at Napean Sea Road, Near Priyadarshan Park

Tehran:

Tehran is connected directly to India through it’s weekly-twice Iran Air. If you don’t get on to the Monday / Friday flight of Iran Air, you would have the tough time of either going Bahrain or Dubai which is slightly cumbersome.

The last thing I expected to find in Tehran is a snow-covered mountain that was reflecting the early morning sun rays which was a feast for the eyes. The airport at Tehran was conspicuously empty and the Visa clearance happened surprisingly fast. If you are privileged international traveler, your host could book CIP – commercially important person’s service. This would eliminate the need to stand in the line to get your clearances done. You are treated like a royal.

You can get your currency changed just outside the Mehrabad Airport of Tehran. The exchange rates are fairly constant and the currency can be converted back at a very fair price. Remember the exchange rate is so skewed that you may end up with a big wad of notes when you exchange a 100 USD.

Tehran is a beautiful city but relatively crowded. But if you are person who has spent in any of the Indian metros, then Tehran is relative paradise. The roads are beautifully done and I missed the potholes through out my journey to the north Tehran. If you are in Tehran don’t miss the nice Indian restaurant in the Food

If you are a vegetarian, God save you! 99% of the menu is irrelevant to you. But the silver lining is there is abundant supply of fresh fruits, vegetables, yogurt and rice but just that… not much spice. Perhaps the only spicily cooked vegetable is the brinjal which half of us don’t eat. If you love brinjals, go straight, you will really love the way it is cooked. For the die-hard vegetarians to whom coming close to the meat is an unwashable sin, remember to check, recheck and double check each of the food items you eat. Even the innocent sweetened yogurt would have finely ground mutton! Sheesh.

First of all, a vegetarian for many people is an alien and they are shocked to know that some parts of the world have people who eat only plants. And people who understand that there are vegetarians have varied definitions of vegetarianism starting from non-’halal’ meat eaters, non-mutton eaters to fish eaters… A very small population really understands the vegetarianism as we Indians understand.

My non-vegetarian co-traveler had a ball of his time during the initial few days because of the difference in taste but later even that become monotonous. But the food is apparently good and healthy.

‘Nans’ – they are more like our rumali roti comes free just like the cutlery no matter what you order and for anything else you order, you need to order rice to go with it. The lemons are the size of oranges in India and are excellent for garnishing.

Isfahan:

Isfahan is one of the greenest cities; I have ever visited in my life. The ‘Giver of life’ $$$ runs in the middle of the city splitting the city into north and south halves. The beautiful, serene, clear river is surrounded by equally beautiful parks and numerous bridges like Ser-se-pol. We stayed opposite to one of the bridges from where the sights of the river were breathtaking.

Some of the places to visit are

1. Emam-e-Maidan: This is the second largest square in the world just after Tiananmen Square in China. This maiden has a nice bazaar for shopping and two mosques built in the typical Persian style in turquoise

There is a traditional banquet hall in the square where food is served on the finely decorated charpoys. It is a very exotic feeling having your food in one of this restaurant.

2. Shaking Minarets
3. Armenian Church: This is a very beautiful church with exquisite paintings covering the entire surface of the inner sanctum. Do take a flash-less camera to take photographs at this place, else you won’t be allowed to photograph the insides, lest the UV rays would harm the paintings.

4. Abbasid Palace
5. Tea Shop: There is a very exotic tea shop in one of the bridges of $$$ river very close to the Charbough Street. It is the height of experience having tea served in a traditional style in Bedouin-tent like decoration of the place. There are flavored hookahs for heightened experience.

5. Tea Shop: There is a very exotic tea shop in one of the bridges of $$$ river very close to the Charbough Street. It is the height of experience having tea served in a traditional style in Bedouin-tent like decoration of the place. There are flavored hookahs for heightened experience.

What to buy?
The best thing to buy is ‘Gaz’ a traditional Iranian sweet with nuts mixed in sweet dough. The quality of the Gaz is measured by the % of the nuts. Personally, I recommend the best quality 33%. You can also buy fine quality nuts, raisins and other dry fruits.

Carpets are fantastic albeit costly. My family is yet to digest the price I paid for one of the fine Persian rugs. But remember these carpets have longevity in decades and you will realize that it is worth it, if you amortize the cost over that period. Bargain, bargaining always works as in India. Other artifacts like miniature paintings, on paper or Camel bones are good collector’s item. Mon/Fri – Iran Air – Mumbai to Tehran

General Impressions of Iran:

Iran is a good tourist destination for Indians because the costs are very comparable to the Indian costs. But there is a media-inspired fear and the country is fairly tourist-shy. If you reach Iran assuming to find burka-clad women you would be pleasantly surprised. Scarves are compulsory and there is fair amount of conservatism in dressing. But the restriction stops there. The women are fairly free and it is quite different from the Arab world. Tourists should appreciate that Iran is a Muslim country but not an Arab country like Oman, Saudi etc. Iran is Farsi (Persian) country. The Farsi have their own culture and own language, although the script is Arabic. In that sense, the Persians were smart enough to soften the impact of Arabs on their country. They adopted the Arabic script but left their language intact.

98% of the Iranians are Muslims- generally Shias and slightly moderate. There are small minority settlements of Armenians who are all Christians. They coexist peacefully in their respective settlements.

We had been invited by an Engineering college and we could not but appreciate the level of technology they have in spite of the lack of English exposure. For this reason, perhaps, translator profession is highly regarded and well paid. I was just wondering where this country would go if they started understanding English. Precisely because of this there is a lack of political willingness to make the change happen. History has always showed how people have held onto power – by controlling information. Precisely the same thing seems to be happening in Iran.