Above: Price of petrol is IRR800 (USD0.09) per litre, up 25% from our visit two and a half years ago.
Lazy wanderings
Today is my extra day in Tehran having arrived here a day earlier than planned. I took it easy with a breakfast of muffin and fresh honeydew shake in my room.
I took my time planning my day and by the time I had myself organized, it was 1000 and too late to go to Tochal Telecabin. I had had trouble finding the Imam Khomeini Mosque yesterday in the Bazaar.
So today I opted to go to the Cathedral near the “Down with the USA” mural. There was supposedly a mural on the other side of that building. It turned out not that worthwhile.
I did a big circuit of the area and walked back along Qarani St and Ferdowsi Ave. And I treated myself to a beautiful icy mango slush along the way. A stop at the internet café gave me some good news. One of my agencies said I have a job all lined up, but not just a contract yet.
On street corners, people hold wads of IRR10K notes, that must add up to USD200, offering exchange services. Other people walk around with similar sums openly or in pockets. It really does give you a feel about how safe Tehran is with respect to street crime.
After a rest in the room, I hit the pavements again around 1600. I met an Irish guy who had trouble getting a visa to cross into Pakistan. We chatted over drinks, mine a faludeh while his an ice-cream float in carrot juice.
With work on the horizon, I went shoe whopping along Enghelab Street (on the corner of Ferdowsi). Pointy shoes seem to be in fashion here, like in Russia. I got a fairly nice pair of the non-pointy variety for IRR200K, bargained down from IRR220K. I’m not good at bargaining.
I took dinner at a chaykhuneh a few shops away from the hotel. I had a nice soup followed by chicken with rice and pickles on the side.
While not normally a shopper, I seem to be on a roll. After a lemony pistachio ice cream (with crunchy white bits, perhaps coconut), I changed USD20 so that I had enough money to buy a couple of Indian cotton shirts which I liked. Business suits were available for around USD75 but I don’t dress up for work anymore.
After all that, I was ready for a cuppa tea. But there were none to be found. Food places only had cold drinks or coffee. The cakeshops only had coffee as well.
On that note, I returned to my room and prepared for bed.
Ramblings on personal choices and dress code
Due to its less than benevolent (or fair) government, Iran seems synonymous with oppression. However, the look and feel of the country isn’t too different from others in the region … many prohibitions parallel social norms but the key difference is that people don’t have a choice, eg. the prohibition of alcohol and dress codes for both men and women.
Choice is a tricky thing … Where I grew up, it was traditional for unmarried Dayak women to be topless in the longhouses. With globalisation, few (if any) would do this now but nevertheless the choice is no longer there due to legal and decency considerations. Choices now appear limited to what’s considered acceptable from a Western (or Islamic) view.
In Yazd, I went out one evening in calf-length shorts after consulting some locals at my hotel. Well, I certainly drew some stares! I incrementally lowered the waist down to my hips to cover my lower legs. Sitting down further enhanced my exposure! Fortunately I didn’t require a second visit to the police station.
The Iranian dress-code for women is falling victim to the success of the Islamic Revolution! The Revolution (and dress code) boosted the female literacy rate because rural parents were no longer apprehensive about sending their girls to schools and universities (whereas the Shah prohibited the headscarf … talk about choice or lack thereof).
It got to the point where half of medical graduates were women and I bet you don’t even get that kind of ratio in western countries. The highly-literate young are now pushing the boundaries in all facets of life, including dress code.
Young women wear a thin piece of fabric and call it a headscarf while showing lots of hair. They wear the tightest trench-coat over modern clothes and jeans instead of a more conservative gown.
Ramblings on religious freedom
I have spoken to people from different backgrounds who gave differing viewpoints, so it’s hard to know what the situation.
A Zoroastrian described South African styled discrimination about 20 years ago, eg. separate buses and drinking fountains for Zoroastrians in his town.
I then met some Bahais (breakaway from Islam) who are discriminated in all walks of life, eg. denied public tertiary education, government employment and their traditional burial. They are the most oppressed group and dispute the severity of the discrimination against groups like Zoroastrians.
And on my first visit to Tehran, I noticed more churches than mosques while on the highway. This trip, I dined at the Armenian Club which as a Christian establishment did not have to comply with the dress code. Of course the government bars Muslims from entering these premises.
Fortunately for the minorities, there isn’t a requirement for Muslims to adopt Muslim (Arab-derived) names. So many Iranians regardless of religion use traditional Persian (secular) names … a very pretty name “Mozhgan” means eyelashes (but in practice sometimes accompanied by very strong eyebrow …yes, one big one with two indistinguishable halves)
Money & costs
My two complete weeks in Iran cost me USD450 excluding international and domestic airfares. Half of that was accommodation and I wasn’t exactly roughing it. I involuntarily had 3 nights in a 4-star establishment including breakfast!
Domestic airfares are quite cheap at less than USD30 per flight. So I had six of those!
Iran is very much a cash society. Despite having ATMs and credit cards now, foreign-issued cards are totally useless. When cashing USD100 one gets 90 x IRR10,000 notes. That’s quite a stack and once I didn’t bother counting it. Fortunately they’re mostly machine-counted with the read-out facing the customer. Close to the end of my trip I realised that IRR20,000 notes existed but are rare.
Petrol has gone up 25% since our last visit 2.5 years ago. It is now nearly a whopping USD0.10 per litre, subsidised by the government. Very benevolent … also, no tax on salaries I was told.
Sean Connery & the Ayatollah
Am I the only one that sees similarities between Sean Connery and the great leader?
Sean Connery and Ayatollah Khomeini.