Extra Normal

Day 1 Istanbul

Arrived in the afternoon at our Airbnb, which was above a cafe owned and run by our host, who greeted us with Turkish coffee.

Spent the afternoon walking around the Balat neighborhood

and had manti (Turkish dumplings) at Cafe Pavita. Returned to the cafe for salep (a warm drink, which is like rice pudding without the rice). Went to bed early.

Day 2 Istanbul

Walked to the central touristy part of the city to do some obligatory touristy stuff. I don't know what time or where Turks have breakfast, but there was nothing on offer anywhere at 8 AM, so we stopped at a bakery for some rice pudding and coffee.

Went to the Blue Mosque (which was free)

and skipped the Hagia Sophia (which was not).

Slowly made our way back to Balat and stopped for some coffee. We asked the coffee guy where we could go to drink a glass of raki (which is not at all like Albanian raki; Turkish raki is anise flavored), and he walked us over to his friend's restaurant, which had no sign over the (closed) door.

 The proprietor (who spoke little English) brought us a bottle of raki and poured it in two glasses with some ice water. We had a few sips, and he came back with some delicious, fresh melon and white, feta-like cheese. We noshed on that and drank some more. Then he brought over some salads (cucumber, tomato, etc.) and bread. We kept sipping, and then he brought over some breaded, fried small fish (sardines?). His father was sitting across the aisle and we chatted as best we could, apologizing about the U.S. "president", etc. He stepped out and returned with a beer, which he poured for us (as we protested to no avail), and some peanuts. After a bit more time, he brought more beer and peanuts. We were having a grand time, enjoying the feeling of being in a non-touristy "authentic" men's club.

We had to use the google translate to get across to them to please stop serving us alcohol or we would fall down. We asked for the check, which turned out to be a relatively exorbitant $40. We were too tipsy to ask for an itemized bill, but we knew we'd been suckered. Considering that some tourists get slapped with a $1000 bar tab after an evening out with the locals, we got off easy, and we did have a good time, so we didn't really care. (Note: I did some Googling later and I think the place is called Askin Restoran, on Kara Sankli street).

Stopped at the bakery again for some rice pudding to have for breakfast the next morning before our 6 AM airport pick-up and returned to our Airbnb.

Day 3 Tehran

Got an early ride for our 9:30 AM flight to Tehran. Spent our last 10 lira on an overpriced ice cold bottle of  water at the airport, and it was worth every penny. Arrived at Khomeni International, and prepared ourselves for a long, antagonistic passport control process. An American couple in the other line ahead of us had been pulled aside for additional questioning. We had all of our insurance documents, the name and address of our travel agency, etc. We went up to the window, the guy asked for our passports, asked which hotel we were staying at in Tehran, handed the passports back and waved us through. That's it?!? Very anti-climactic. We found the tour guide, Reza, holding up a sign with the tour company name, and went outside to meet the rest of our group (who were all on the same flight from Istanbul), which included the couple who had been taken aside.*

Besides Bhob and me, the group comprised 6 other Americans, ranging in age from 25-33,  a swell group of good-natured, down-to-earth, low-maintenance seasoned travelers, and Instagram enthusiasts.

Our group's stack of passports. Mine is the skinniest.

On the way into town (about an hour's drive from the airport) we stopped at  Azadi Tower (which apparently is not always open, so we were very fortunate).

The inside is a museum, with lots of Iranian artifacts.  It reminded me a bit of the Arc de Triomphe, including a crazy traffic circle. We enjoyed the view from the top, including watching pedestrians trying to cross the various streets.

We got to the hotel, exchanged some money and settled into our fancy room. Later, we met up with the group and went to Tabiat Bridge, a glorious construction that connects two public parks for pedestrians.

One of my main objectives of the trip was to meet and talk to regular, everyday Iranians, but being an introvert, I wasn't sure how to approach people for conversation. It turns out I had absolutely nothing to worry about, because within minutes of standing on one of the open spaces on the bridge, a young woman approached us and asked "Where are you from?" and we started talking, and she asked to take a photo with us.

In e-mails before the tour, the tour operator told us that Americans were treated like rock stars. I didn't realize that he was not exaggerating. From the first night, on throughout the trip, people would just come up all the time and ask to take their picture with us.

After the bridge, we enjoyed a fabulous dinner outdoors at Khoone restaurant.





* It turns out that if an American is pulled aside for additional questioning, it is usually because the passport official just wants to practice his English.


 

Day 4 Tehran

Got up early and took a walk to a nearby park, which had fitness equipment*, an aerobics class and lots of cats.

At breakfast, we were joined by Alex and Brandon, the other two early risers of the group.

This was not at breakfast. It's just a great photo of them showing solidarity with their scarved sisters.

This pattern, to our great pleasure, was repeated throughout the trip.

At 9:30, we walked to the Den of Espionage, otherwise known as the former American embassy. It is run as a museum, run by a father/son team. We were the first Americans-only group to visit. The presentation was fair and balanced, and included a video describing the events of 1953-1979 and through the present day as if they had been perpetrated in reverse (Iran organizing a coup to oust President Eisenhower, aligning itself with Canada and Mexico, shooting down civilian aircraft, etc.), which really helped to put it all in perspective.

Yeah.......we down

After the Den of Espionage, we visited Golestan Palace.

Then it was on to lunch at the busiest, craziest cafeteria I have ever seen, Moslem Restaurant in the Grand Bazaar. Words and photos cannot fully capture the madness!

Suffice it to say, the food was great and the atmosphere was everything you can imagine in the busy center of a metro area of 15 million.

The bustle of the restaurant could not prepare us for the madness of the Grand Bazaar itself. According to Wikipedia, "It is split into several corridors over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) in length, each specializing in different types of goods, and has several entrances". Filled with thousands of people doing their everyday shopping, and goods being transported on tibia-shattering hand carts by kamikaze couriers too numerous to mention, one hour in there was plenty.

The group had split up, and Bhob and I were accompanied by Reza, which was a good thing because the bazaar is not laid out in grids, and we got pretty turned around. He managed to find a back exit, which was very peaceful and quiet.

In the evening, we went to the northern part of the city, first to a shrine

The women had to wear temporary chadors. Note to self: next time bring binder clips

then to Darband in the foothills of Mount Tochal. The path up toward the mountain was enchanting at night, with lots of hotels and restaurants nestled into the hillside, twinkling like a fairyland.

The rest of the group enjoyed some sheesha, and then we tried a dish called dizi, a soup/stew served boiling hot in crockery. It is as much an event as it is a meal.

As were were wrapping up, we heard thunder and felt some raindrops,  so not wanting to get stuck in a downpour, we hustled back down the mountain. Those few drops were all that fell, but I was grateful to get back to the hotel before midnight.



*We learned later that about 10 years ago, there was an initiative to install fitness equipment in every municipal park in the country. Indeed, every park we visited (even the smallest ones in the smaller towns) had the equipment, and lots of people used it, including me; it is the first time I've returned from a trip without having to start at square one with my chin-ups.

Day 5 Kashan

Made a brief stop to look at a mosque in Qom, a center of Islamic study.

This was also the first of what would come to be many, many samplings of havij bastani, carrot juice with a couple of scoops of ice cream.

We then proceeded to Kashan, which is known for its rosewater production. We were greeted at Negin hotel (which had been converted from a traditional home, with courtyards, fountain, etc.) with a refreshing rosewater beverage.

The owner of the hotel, Masoume Farivar, lives in Boston, but was in town to check up on the charity that she runs there. After chatting a bit, we learned that her son is the head of cardiothoracic surgery at Abbot Northwestern in Minneapolis, specializing in heart valve surgery. Small world!!

In Kashan, we visited two traditional houses

and the bath house (the roof of which somehow gave everyone the giggles).

We made an unplanned visit to a mosque and were treated to an impromptu tutorial by a very charming and engaging imam. He explained the significance of the cut glass in mosques and shrines (looking at your reflection in cut glass shows you as imperfect; also, cut glass better reflects light, which is a representation of god) and white turban vs. black turban (black turbans are worn by those who "claim" to be descended directly from Mohammed and white turbans are worn by poor, humble servants like him). His phone kept ringing as he was talking, which totally cracked him (and us) up. Katie asked the burning question of whether he wraps the turban on his head every day, or if he takes it on and off like a hat. Answer: the latter, but he re-wraps it once a week.

Most importantly, he introduced us to HiByes, the Official Snack Cookie of the tour.

Alex joined us for a pre-dinner walk, and we were approached by the most charming, energetic 13-year old named Natasha.

I must first make a tangential note that in all of our previous travels, we have had to keep our guard up when being approached by anyone speaking English to us, which is invariably a prelude to a hustle of some sort. In Iran, we had to quickly and completely unlearn this, since (with very few exceptions) Iranians are very curious and excited about foreigners, especially Americans, and are very eager to talk and practice their English.

Natasha was a real firecracker, keen on volleyball, and I can only hope that world politics do not unfold in any way that would prevent her from reaching her full potential.

Dinner was at the hotel.

 

Day 6 Kashan, Abyaneh, Isfahan

We woke up early for our usual morning walk, but the doors of the hotel were kept locked overnight, so I just walked around and around the inner courtyards, noticing something different with each lap.

Eventually, the door was unlocked so we did a truncated walk before heading to breakfast with Alex and Brandon.

A stop in the bazaar

Last stop in Kashan was Fin Garden.

Next stop, the traditional village of Abyaneh

Traditional door knockers: If you are a man, use the left one, so if a woman answers, she knows to cover up. It's like an early form of Caller ID.

The proprietor reminded me of Bhob's sister, Celeste, and the younger son reminded me of my nephew, Silas

Heading to Isfahan that night, several members of the group desperately needed a bathroom break. We pulled off the road toward a restaurant/gas station, but the van didn't fit under a bridge, so we walked 1/4 mile to it. Had we known it would be that long, we would have opted to just duck into the shadows. When we were gone, another driver tried to convince our driver that the van would fit under the bridge. One of the group went out to observe, and of course the clearance was way too low.

It's worth mentioning at this point that though we were all independent, primarily solo travelers, the members of the group quickly coalesced and really got into the Group experience, especially when it came time for photos.

Being non-Instagrammers/Tinderers, some of the conversational topics whizzed right past Bhob and me, but there was enough common ground that we never felt excluded.

We got to Isfahan in the evening, and got to see the main square all magically lit up.

Dinner was an uninspired falafel sandwich.

When we got to the hotel, we were all giddy to find that every room was a suite with a kitchenette, common area and separate bedroom.

Cells?

The apple-mint toothpaste provided by the hotel tasted like a cough drop.

Day 7 Isfahan

Early morning walk up and down some streets,

ending up at a nearby park, where it appeared to be Kite Flying Day for a group of schoolgirls. When we arrived, they were singing a song, then it was picnic time.

Special note: Iranians love picnics!! In every city, at any time of day, if there was a spot of shade in a park, chances are that you'd find a family or group of friends sitting on a blanket with a pot of something and some bread.

Visited the mosque and adjacent bazaar.

Ducked into a quiet hotel coffeeshop for a milkshakes (saffron for me and cantaloupe for Bhob).

Later in the day, we visited three bridges.

Brandon mentioned that he found an Iranian flag mug at a place that also had Ayatollah mugs. We went back to the bazaar in the evening, but it looked like that kiosk had packed up for the day. After that, it became our quest for the rest of the trip to find the perfect Ayatollah mugs.

Dinner was a falafel sandwich, much better than the one the previous night.

Day 7 Kharanagh, Yazd

Took an early morning walk to a mosque that Alex found on the google map. Built around it was a brand new bazaar that was an exact replica of the classic one in the main square. Most of the stalls were empty.

We came across a guy (an accountant named Sirous) on a bike who filled us in on the project.

He said that the high vacancy was due to high rents.





After Isfahan, headed to the abandoned village of Kharanagh. It was a fairly long drive, and all of the tea and coffee from breakfast worked its magic on me, and I had to ask the driver to pull over near the next set pile of rocks for me to scoot behind to pee. I wasn't the only one, so most of my compadres took their turn crawling under a little bridge.

Had lunch at a caravanserai before exploring the town.

Next stop: Yazd! We arrived in time to go to a traditional gym for  a demonstration of Persian exercises designed to keep men fit for combat and crop harvesting.

Be grateful this segment was not presented in Smell-O-Vision

Two members of the group "volunteered" to participate, not really knowing what they were in for.

 It was a riveting and punishing series of jogging, push ups, swinging of what looked like oversized bowling pins (I couldn't even pick the largest ones up with two hands), and wielding a metal bow.

After 20 minutes of push ups, our guys bailed, not wanting to be too stiff to move the next day. *

Dinner was camel burgers at Fuka restaurant.

We were told that we had only one night in Yazd, and I was disappointed because I had also been told that the best place to buy Made-In-Iran scarves and other souvenirs was here, and we had so little time.

* The next day, several other tourists recognized them on the street, at the currency exchange, etc. Rock stars!

 

Day 8 Yazd

The next morning, we took a walk near the hotel, came across a bike rally

and found a coffee shop, which we returned to for espressos after breakfast, as the hotel only had instant coffee. Then we were given the good news that we actually had one more night here, so I quickly did some hand washing so it would be dry by the next morning.

We drove out to the Tower of Silence.

Here is a good description from Atlas Obscura: 
"In the Zoroastrian tradition, once a body ceases to live, it can immediately be contaminated by demons and made impure. To prevent this infiltration, Zoroastrians purified the dead body by exposing it to the elements and local fowl on top of flat-topped towers in the desert called dakhmas.
According to a tradition dating back over 3,000 years, bodies were arranged on the towers in three concentric circles. Men were placed in the outer circle, women in the middle, and children in the inner-most ring. Bodies were then left until their bones were bleached by the elements and stripped by the vultures.
After the process of purification, bones were placed in ossuaries near, or inside, of the towers. Ossuaries from these rituals have been discovered from the 4th and 5th century BCE. Similar dakhmas exist just outside of Mumbai, India, as well, although the most prominent “Towers of Silence” are in Iran.
As Iran developed and urbanized, dakhmas became increasingly closer to city limits, severely curtailing their use. Since the 1970s, the use of dakhmas has been illegal in Iran, forcing orthodox Zoroastrian’s to adapt to new burial methods. Many in the Zoroastrian community have moved to burying bodies beneath concrete, to keep out all contaminants.
Although the towers are no longer used in ceremony, they can be visited along with a number of the ossuaries in the area."

I was  jacked up on caffeine, so I climbed both hills.

A quick visit to a henna mill was very interesting. As someone who has used henna, it was cool to see how they grind the dried leaves. It was pretty dusty, though.

On to Jameh Mosque, in the center of town.

Went shopping in the bazaar. After two hours with his "Old Man" floppy travel hat from Target, Bhob decided that he'd rather get skin cancer than be seen wearing it again, so he was determined to find a Man Scarf to cover his head during upcoming outdoor activities. He finally found one, and the shopkeeper enlisted the services of his neighbor to help him tie it.

We went to a carpet superstore for a tutorial in how traditional Persian rugs are made, the methods, patterns, etc. It soon turned into a sales pitch, and the poor guy had no idea that he was clearly barking up the wrong tree with a group of young, budget-minded, non-home-owning people who only travel with one bag. The pitch went on and on, and finally, during a brief pause, Alex said "Thanks so much!" and we made our way out. 

At this point, I need to fill in some important information about the tour. Since this was a make-up tour (see the FAQ section for details), Redacted the tour impresario wasn't with us, but he was sending daily itinerary e-mails to one contact person in the group, who would then relay the info to the rest of us. He was also sending daily e-mails to our guide, Reza, which had different itineraries than the ones sent to the group, so every day there was a disconnect about what we thought we'd be doing, and what we ended up doing, leading to a lot of frustration among the group members. Reza was also frustrated, because he was doing everything he was told to do, plus even adding fun things that he thought we'd like. As were were wandering the town that evening, grumbling a little, Reza asked us to tell him directly if there was something we weren't happy about, and not to go behind his back and tell Redacted . Brandon took the lead and explained to him that it wasn't him that we had a problem with, but that the failure of Redactedtto communicate effectively was causing the frustration. This was a critical moment, as it allowed all of us to break some of the tension and get it out in the open, so we could finally manifest the tour that we'd all been hoping for. This was our singular experience, not like the tours that we'd all been reading about in Redacted's blog*, and not like the standard tour groups from Europe that we'd been seeing. We quickly resolved to make it Our Tour, and my cheer was "Go Team Reza!". Someone came up with the hashtag Redactedwho?

After that, a pleasant dinner on a roof, including Whey Eggplant, a specialty of the area.

On the way back to the van, I saw the perfect scarf and bought it. Hurray!

Did a quick walk to get a photo of another mosque

* Since I may have been the only one who didn't follow the blog, I had few expectations, and therefore, less disappointment, other than wanting to buy an Iran-made scarf in Yazd.

Day 9 Yazd, Saryazd

Alex found a garden (Dolat Abad) on the google maps, so we headed there for our morning walk. It didn't open until 8 AM, but the guy let us pop in for a quick looky-loo. It was beautiful!

First stop of the day was the water museum, which demonstrated the ancient technology of getting water to Yazd from further up in the mountains. If you know anything about me, you know I loves me some civil engineering, so this was great!


Next stop was (surprise!) Dolat Abad Garden. We were so happy to return and have an extended visit. The wind catcher (aka Persian air conditioning) was (literally) cool, and the setting was enchanting.

The real highlight for me was being approached by 3 lovely young women, who asked where I was from, etc. I don't even have a recollection of what exactly we talked about (probably just how much Bhob and I love Iran, sorry for the American "president", etc.), but their open-heartedness and excitement was so deeply touching, it brought me to tears. They were so gracious, and thanked us for our time, and I'm thinking "Are you kidding me? This is exactly why I came to Iran!!"

We headed out to Sar Yazd (which was the first Yazd settlement before they moved the town to its current location for better water access), and the Sar Yazd Castle.

Then onto our evening's lodging at a caravanserai. On paper, it sounded kind of touristy to me, but it was really cool.

There was an opportunity to ride camels, which I hadn't planned on doing, and seeing the flies swarming around their eyes confirmed my decision.

Really, there were a lot of people out, just not in this shot

It was Friday, which is like our Sunday, so on a quick walk up and down "Main Street" we saw lots of folks just hanging out in front of their homes and on the sidewalk, talking and visiting.

We ended the night by climbing onto the roof of the structure across the road to look at the stars. 

Day 10 Persepolis

After a quick morning walk

 

we hit the road early and had breakfast on the way in Taft, at a park with enclosed picnic platforms.

A woman approached our driver, Hamid, asking for some food. He gave her some bread, and then she demanded the rest of his breakfast (egg, cucumber, cheese, etc.), which he graciously relinquished.

Katie helps Bhob with his man scarf

Stopped at the Necropolis

Arrived at Persepolis with only 55 minutes to look around, so I tried to make the most of it and climbed up the hill for an aerial view.

The hotel was a super cheesy collection of tourist cabins about a 1/2 mile from Persepolis (aka the Middle Of Nowhere).

Hamid saved the night by agreeing to drive us to the nearby town of Marvdasht, where we could finally do what we all like to do while traveling: walk up and down the street, sampling the local street food.

 Even though it is right near Persepolis, I don't think they get many tourists, because we were stared at with much surprise, and were asked for photos.

Stopped at Sepid restaurant. Some ate dinner, but I was still full from lunch, so Bhob and I decided we'd have ice cream for supper if we saw something promising.

Went for coffee at Mr. Ice Cream. I had an Austrian ice cream, with nuts and fruit, and Bhob had a mango shake (that tasted like baby aspirin) and a macchiato.

Day 11 Shiraz

 Took a chilly morning walk back toward Persepolis.

Then to Shiraz. First stop, the Pink Mosque, which has stained glass on the East wall, so it is mobbed during the early part of the day when the sun is streaming through the windows.

Then the bazaar, where we finally found the Ayatollah mug of our dreams!

After that, Vakil mosque and lunch. There was an actual vegetable dish on the menu, so Bhob got to have his first eggplant-free lunch of the trip. He likes eggplant, but after 11 days......

Onto the Citadel, where we got a little punchy and started joking with Reza about the Qajar Dynasty (which it seemed had been prominently featured in every previous site description).

Redacted told us that he had arranged for our flight from Shiraz to Tehran, but didn't give us any confirmation number, price, departure time, etc., so after checking into the hotel, we went to the local travel agency that had booked all of our lodgings. They found our names on the tour roster, but we had to go the their satellite office to get the flight info. They sent someone to escort us (which was helpful because it was on a side street behind a gate with no sign), and after minutes of sitting down, were offered tea. They printed out the confirmation and gave us a total. We didn't have enough cash with us, so they said it was no problem, and we could come back tomorrow to pay, and meet with Alijeh, the woman who had booked the ticket.

Walked up and down the main shopping street and Bhob found a spiffy coat, which was quickly dubbed the Duran Duran Jacket.

We had a leisurely evening of sheesha (Bhob and I did not partake) and dinner (I had havij bastani) at an enchanting complex called Ehson Garden, where we were joined by Reza's charming wife, Leila.

Day 12 Shiraz

Took a morning walk to Azadi Park

Exchanged some more money and returned to the travel agency, where we met with the charming and helpful Alijeh (and were offered tea within minutes of sitting down). She informed us that though the agency had booked the hotel for our extra 3 nights, and the hotel clerk said that it was all taken care of, it had not been actually paid for yet (another fact of which Redacted failed to inform us). We didn't have enough cash on us, so we told her we'd return the next day.

Visited a shrine, which had recently had some sort of threat, so we were closely followed by an official handler.

Where's that darn binder clip when I need it?!

Visited another shrine, which was free, and no handler.

Reza was told by someone not to fall for the scam of someone selling tickets, and to only ever buy tickets to any attraction from someone in an official uniform. Until this time, it seemed that Iran was relatively scam-free, but I guess no country is immune.
 

Lunch was at Qavam. I was still full from breakfast so we just had ice cream and coffee (notice a pattern emerging here?) , but I could tell from the aromas that this food was far more interesting than the buffet kebabs we'd been eating.

Next, Tomb of Hafez, a peaceful park and resting place of the beloved Persian poet.

Then to Eram Garden, a botanical garden maintained by Shiraz University.

The cat was eating something dead and delicious

We started the evening at a funky coffee shop favored by Redacted, so even though the coffee was good and the company pleasing, just the association with him made me view it through cynical eyes.

Nest stop: Quran Gate (which, when said out loud, sounds like a scandal)

Our final dinner of the tour was at Haft Khan, the fanciest restaurant in Shiraz.

The carnage we left behind

After saying goodbye to Reza, Hamid joined most of the gang at the cafe around the corner, for a last group hoorah.

Four of us were staying extra days in Shiraz, but several were catching early flights out.

Day 13 Shiraz

 

Last morning walk with Alex. He joined us part of the to the Pink Mosque before heading back for his 8 AM taxi. The mosque opened at 7:30, and was already occupied by a Malaysian film crew, in addition to the usual crush of tourists. We realized quickly that we would never get a clear photo with no one else in it, so we just surrendered and enjoyed the light and people-watching.

There were a bunch of athletes staying in the hotel to take part in a sports tournament, so the breakfast buffet was set out with them in mind. The hot water dispenser was now a tea dispenser, and there was no instant coffee to be found.

Exchanged more money to pay for our hotel, and had one more visit with Alijeh (and more tea), who hipped us to an ice cream shop toward the North end of town.

We paid $4.50 for a taxi to take us 15 miles to the Persian Gulf Complex/ Hyperstar Market. It was H-U-G-E. Four floors, 2 Sanrio stores, a store selling nothing but Frozen merch, a Halloween store, a tiny Ikea (looked legit), shopping carts for all of your mall shopping needs, and an indoor call to prayer.

We talked to a man who was a consultant on the project, and he told us that the building was 400,075 square meters. They are in the process of building a hotel tower (with a helipad on top), plaza, movie theater and outdoor amphitheater.

The Hyperstar Market was vast, the lower floor with all manner of housewares, appliances, electronics, linens, clothing, stationary, hardware, etc. Talked to some guys who didn't speak much English, but I inferred that they invited us out to go dancing later. We feigned ignorance and politely declined.
The upstairs was a grocery mega mart. I would have loved to slowly troll all of the aisles, but we wanted to get to the ice cream place before it closed for siesta.

Baba Bastani!

They didn't really speak English so we had to wait until we saw someone order something that we wanted, pointed to it and said "Du!".

Walking back to our hotel, we took a wrong turn and got a little lost. While looking at our map, a woman approached us and asked if we need help. Her friendly advice was "walk across that street and get a taxi". We headed in that direction, determined to walk, and we thought were going in the right direction, but we weren't sure. Then 3 young women approached us and asked if we need help. They pointed and said "cross that street and get a taxi!". When we said we wanted to walk, they escorted us across the traffic circle and pointed us toward the street we were looking for, which was RIGHT THERE. as we proceeded to our hotel, we passed an ice cream place, so we refreshed ourselves with two havij bastani.

Before our trip, I had wished that I could connect with someone who does bodywork, but had no idea how, and thought it unlikely. As luck would have it, there was a massage therapist, Arman, working in our hotel. He introduced himself, and when I told him that I was also an MT, he offered to show me his treatment room. I did a CTM demo on his hand, wrist and forearm, and he reciprocated with a little hand work on me. His massage training was 5 years, and he also had 3 years of esthetician training. He was such a sweetheart, and I was delighted to find a member of my bodywork tribe!


Bhob needed a coffee, so we stopped at the cafe around the corner from the hotel, and enjoyed chatting with Sara, the adorable waitress.

When we arrived, they were still in the process of opening up for the evening, so we talked with some genetics students who were also waiting for a table. They asked about our jobs, what movies and music we liked, whether or not we believed in god. The usual stuff. The young woman said she liked Pink Floyd, but wasn't aware of the Syd Barrett albums. Oy!

Later, walked up the main street (which in the evening is hopping), and got falafel sandwiches for supper.

This was taken in the daytime. Not so hopping.

Day 14 Shiraz

Morning walk. Got espresso and cappuccino at an organic coffeeshop on the way to Enghelab Park.

At the park we met a young man named Mohammed who had finished the night shift at a nearby grocery store. He asked if we needed anything and offered to help if we needed to find our way around. I suspect that this was just the Persian phenomenon of ta'arof, when someone offers a gift, or an invitation, fully expecting it to be declined. Kind of like Minnesota Nice ("Would you like some coffee?" "Oh, no, I don't want you to go to any trouble!").

We'd heard that there were some good ice cream joints near the Citadel, so we went to try a couple. We started with saffron, then went to the place with a line out the door, which sells only one flavor: rose. They do it well.

Made a return trip to Tomb of Hafez, so Bhob could buy some postcards that he'd regretted not buying.

It is such a beautiful, peaceful place, we stayed for a long time, and (of course) had a couple more espressos.


At a certain point, we noticed some clouds mercifully rolling in, so we headed toward Koohpaye Park. We climbed all the way to top of  the hill to Gavareh Did. Photos can't really capture just how many stairs there are. There are a lot.

On the top, we met a Polish tour guide named Lucas and his Shirazi buddy. When we got back down to the park, every single shady spot was occupied by a family picnicking and/or napping. They take their siesta very seriously in Shiraz.

Went to dinner at the cafe around the corner, and enjoyed the delightful Sara again. Bhob had an actual salad with pomegranate and almonds, and I had some delicious little spicy lamb patties. We split an eggplant dip with caramelized onions, walnuts and mint pesto. I had a tiramisu shake for dessert. And I am not sorry.

Day 15 Shiraz

 Morning walk to Kholde Barin Park

Hoping to avoid Redacted  and his tour group, we had breakfast at the cafe around the corner. 

Sara wasn't working, and all of the main tables had been reserved, so we were shunted to a bench in the corner. No coffee either :(



When the party arrived for which the tables had been reserved, they snapped a bunch of photos, milled around for a few minutes and left. Hmph!  

On the way to Azadi Park, we were approached by a man who spoke very good English, asked where we were from, etc. then left us on our way. As we got closer to the park, he jogged up to us again and asked if it was OK for him to join us at the park for a bit, so we sat for awhile and chatted about life in Iran, jobs, homes, education, we apologized  for the American "president", etc. Amirh had grown up in Toronto, but moved back when he was about 12, and now has multiple engineering degrees.

After parting with Amirh, we returned to Baba Bastani for espresso and cake. On the way back from there, we stopped at Sunset Cafe for iced coffees.

We returned to Azadi Park and sat on a shady bench for awhile. All over the park, people were picnicking and napping. A young family settled next to us. The toddler boy napped while his big sister chased cats.  The dad was putting kebabs on the grill and asked us if we would join them. Ta'arof? We politely declined, and he handed us a couple of pomegranates.

On our way out of the park, I tried to hang from a piece of exercise equipment, and one of the guys nearby starting chatting with us. His buddies joined in, and we found out that they are an informal, avid fitness club. Their thing is Laughter Exercise (much like the Laughter Yoga in the U.S.). They meet every morning for calisthenics and laughter. One had been a math teacher, another was an engineer, and the eldest was the overseer of the exercise equipment in the Shiraz parks. 

After a hot shower and some preliminary packing, we hit the streets again for falafel, this time prepared by an Iraqi gentleman. It was better than the one from the night before.

 

 

Day 16 Shiraz 

The hotel breakfast buffet was still out of coffee. It was Friday, the Iranian equivalent of Sunday, so our coffee search on the walk to Enghelab park was fruitless. It was interesting to see, as during our other free days, the morning ritual of people lining up at storefronts to buy their breakfast bean porridge and bread.

One last trip to the citadel for ice cream

At Noon, we checked out, ordered a taxi for 2:30 PM and left our bags at the hotel.

We made a return trip to Qavam restaurant for lunch. It was really good, and gave us an indication of the quality foods that we missed out on by being shuttled to all of the tourist kebab buffets.We finished not a minute too soon, because just as we were leaving, a tour group of over 20 people was being seated.

The Turkish coffee at Qavam was lame, so we went up the street to a little coffee shop and had a series of beverages, created by a novice barista.

Went back to pick up our bags and took a taxi to Shiraz airport for a 5:30 flight. When we got into the departure area, who did we see but Reza! It was so nice to see a familiar face. He was catching a different 5:30 flight to Tehran to meet up with his next tour group.

We were amazed to be served an actual meal on a flight that lasted a titch over one hour. The other great thing about that flight was upon landing, waiting to disembark, an Iranian woman from across the aisle leaned over, and with her smiling face inches from mine, said "Well come!!".

Tehran's domestic airport  is about a one hour drive from the international one. We did the thing you are never supposed to do, which is to get a ride from a guy who is not driving a bonafide taxi. We had asked at the airport information desk about how much a taxi would cost, and the price this guy gave us was a bit lower, so we thought "What the heck?" So of course he drove like a (skillful) bat out of hell, but I thought "He doesn't want to get into a crash any more than we do, so I'm just going to relax and trust him". The only moment of uncertainty was when we came to a divide where the left lane said "Airport" and the right lane said some other town, and he took the right lane. I thought, "OK, here we go. Start composing the ransom note". I asked Bhob to look at the google map, but it couldn't find our location. Eventually, signs appeared ahead that said "Airport", so we allowed ourselves to breathe again.

When we got to the airport, we thought erroneously that there would be a place inside to exchange our rials back to dollars. We were wrong, so we ended up with about $100 worth of rials, even after buying overpriced airport cake, coffee, a burger and french fries. Oh well, we'll just have to go back :)

"I wonder if Justin Bieber ever got my fan letter?"

 Copyright, Shmopyright

 

Random Observations

In Istanbul, One of the calls to prayer sounded exactly like the verses of Girl by the Beatles.

 

Most of the towns we drove through had banners on the road with photo tributes to the young men who were killed in the Iran/Iraq War. Often, the numbers were staggering.

 

We were visiting during the holy feast of Ashura, so there were lots of black banners and flags, and no weddings or public celebrations.

 

One of the advantages of not having much Western scrutiny is that you can use the theme from  Pirates of the Caribbean for your baked goods commercial.

 

Every time I saw a mosque with a gold dome I had to make a crack about a pancake house (St. Paulites will understand).

 

Many Iranians are afraid of cats, in the same way that Americans are afraid of mice or spiders. 

 

I hate to break it to you Twin City folks, but Prince is not world famous.

 

The extra days in Shiraz came with a price: it might be years before I get  the jingles that were played in the elevator at the Jaam e Jam Hotel out of my head. It got so bad toward the end that we started taking the stairs to and from our 10th floor room.

 

Iranian airports have separate security screening areas for men and women. 

 

At the Frankfurt airport, we found a $50 Singapore bill that we traded at the currency exchange for 20 Euros.

 

Fun story about a tourmate, unrelated to Iran: Sara's first car had a broken radio, but the tape player worked, and it came with a copy of Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy. It was the only thing she listened to in the car for a year.

 

On the outskirts of most cities, especially ones popular with Iranian tourists, on the incoming road, there will be people holding signs that say something like "Homestay", offering budget, private home lodging. It is the mid-priced option between camping in a city park (which is allowed and police-protected) and staying at a hotel. It's like Airbnb without Airbnb.

 

 

It's not unusual to see a family of four (plus a bag of groceries) riding on a little motorbike.

 

I'm not kidding about the binder clip. Many woman clutch their chadors closed with one hand, leaving them with only one hand to do shopping, transactions, etc. 

 

 

Tea is a Really Big Deal here. Every roadside convenience store, gas station, etc. has a big urn of tea going all the time. Drivers bring their thermal pots and fill up.

 

 

FAQs

Why Iran?

As with all of our travels, blame it on The Movies. Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen so many great films from Iran: Gabbeh, The Silence, A Moment of Innocence, Persepolis,  The Wind Will Carry Us, The Mirror, Grass: A Nation’s Battle For Life and a few more that I can’t remember. Then a few years ago (2008?) Bhob and I went to the U of M to see a pair of films presented by the Persian Student Organization of Minnesota, about the difficulties of presenting live popular music in Iran. One of them was called (I think; I can’t find anything about it on the web) Back Beat*. It was about people in bands playing pretty conventional western-style rock & pop, yet having to be underground because of the arbitrary laws about what is and isn’t acceptable. While we all know that “people are the same all over the world”, it’s become kind of a cliché. The other non-documentary films had all shown a life that was somehow still kind of different, and exotic. Back Beat completely blew us away. I had never seen real Iranian people depicted in such a way that made it so obvious that any one of them could be my friend or neighbor. These people were so smart, funny and cool. It shouldn’t have been a revelation, but it was.  After that, we got a little obsessed (OK, a lot obsessed) with Iran, and hoping to visit there some day to meet some Real Iranians. I read a couple of fantastic books: Journey From The Land of No by Roya Hakakian and Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi, and saw more great Iranian films like This Is Not A Film, A Separation and another documentary depicting real, educated Iranians, any of whom who could be my colleagues: The Iran Job. Another good documentary about everyday Iranians is For Neda.

Because Americans are only allowed to travel in Iran with a sanctioned tour (or with a private guide/sponsor, or private invitation), we looked into some package tours, and they were all pretty expensive and uninspiring. Then, in autumn of 2015, a harmonic convergence of events made it possible for our dream to come true: the easing of tensions between Iran and the US, the death of Bhob’s dad and its subsequent bequest (R.I.P. Nicky, and Thank You!!), and the discovery of a budget tour company. Everything lined up and we knew that now was the right time: that sweet spot between travel here being difficult & uncertain, and every American slob and his brother-in-law swarming into the country.

* It is not No One Knows About Persian Cats. The one that we saw was a documentary.

P.S. I wholeheartedly recommend any and all of these films and books.

How do you pronounce the name of the country and its inhabitants?
ee-RON, ee-RON-ee-ans

How big is Iran?

Pretty big!

Is it safe?
Going by what I read in the Highland Villager crime report, it's a helluva lot safer than St. Paul.


How was the weather?

Great! For most of the trip, the high temperatures were in the 80s, and lows in the upper 40s to low 50s, with humidity generally around 15%.  It only rained once, for a few minutes when we were at the café in the foothills in the northern part of Tehran. Even though it didn’t get above 90, it felt really, really hot in the sun, and the dryness was profound. When we got back home, St. Paul never looked so lush and verdant.

Did you try any interesting foods?

Yes! 

First, a disclaimer: since we were in a group tour, most of the meals we ate were at buffet restaurants that could seat large groups, often at times of day when regular restaurants would be closed. The usual offerings were salad, lamb or chicken kebabs, eggplant, rice and bread. After a while, they all started tasting the same. The few times that we ate at regular restaurants, the flavor and quality ramped up considerably. Imagine taking a tour of the U.S. that only ever stopped at Old Country Buffet; you might not think that American food is not very interesting.

That being said, we did have a lot of delicious food, both savory and sweet. Rice is a big deal, and most entrees were served with mounds of it. Some sweets were very, very sweet, while others were not very sweet, and a little dry and crumbly, perfect for having with tea or coffee*. Saffron is widely use, and pomegranates are ubiquitous

 

Here are just a few of the unique foods we sampled:

Dizi- chickpea lamb stew served in crockery

Kofte Holoo- Lamb meatballs made with chickpea flour, filled with caramelized onions, walnuts and possibly raisins.

Sabzi- Mixed fresh herbs, often tarragon, basil, lemon basil, watercress, parsley & leeks.

Sohan- treats made with flour, sugar, butter and pistachios, the ratios of which determined whether it was more like a shortbread or more like a toffee.

Pashmak- If you spun vanilla wafers into cotton candy, it would be very much like  pashmak

Gaz- Pistachio/ rosewater nougat

Falludeh- If you crumbled some uncooked ramen noodles and stirred them into frozen margarita mix, you would get something like falludeh. This description doesn’t do it justice, because it is really refreshing and delicious. I can see having it for breakfast on a 100 degree Shirazi morning.

Sharbat Sekahnjebin- a drink made with honey-vinegar syrup and shredded cucumber. Also refreshing and delicious!

Yoo keh- kind of like a vanilla wafer or fortune cookie, only in the form of tons of thin layers

Havij bastani- ice cream float made with carrot juice and a couple of scoops of ice cream. We had it with saffron/pistachio, vanilla and orange flower ice cream(s). Probably my favorite treat in the entire country.

Lavashak- fruit leather sold in sheets the size of car floor mats. Tart and salty (thus, stimulating to the salivary glands), it would be great for hiking.

Not sure what they’re called, but most convenience stores sold these great sesame/nut honey bars that are a lot like  Bumble Bars (except that they cost about 15 cents each).

Carrot jam- Found at every breakfast buffet. Great on chewy flatbread with labneh.

Bhob enjoyed many refreshing non-alcoholic beers. 

HeyDeys were everywhere, but Parsi was the best. There was one with a label only in Farsi that Reza said was the best to make into real beer at home by adding yeast and sugar and waiting about 10 days.

Street food: 

Pizza pierogi- Basically a Hot Pocket. I’ll bet there are some really good ones out there, but the one we had was not one of them.

Mexican Corn- Found on every street in every city and town. Canned corn heated and mixed with yogurt (?) lemon juice, salt and several spices, and served in a cup. Kind of spicy, and pretty good!

And they have this little thing called "popped corn"

Fun fact: Iran grows over 400 varieties of dates!

* Anyone who claims that you can’t get a good cup of coffee in Iran didn’t try very hard.

What was the exchange rate?

Oh boy. I never quite got the hang of the cash scene there. According to xe.com, the official exchange rate was about 34,200 rials to the dollar. A common bill to pay with was the 100,000 bill, worth about $3.00.

However, most stores, restaurants taxis, etc. quote their prices in toman, which drops a zero. So 100,000 rial is 10,000 toman. Just when I thought I had the hang of it, there would be a transaction where the bill we handed them was met with a shaking head.

Early on, we started handing over a stack of bills and the person would select the appropriate ones. Particularly confusing were some taxi rides, which cost 150,000 rials, which would be 15,000 toman, and the driver would hold out 5 fingers.

I still don’t get it.

What were the guide and driver like?

Gracious, friendly and professional. Reza spoke very good English and had extensive knowledge of Persian history. More importantly, he was very accommodating of little personal requests, like stopping for currency exchange, finding a bookshop,  etc. 

Most importantly, he took the time to tally up what each person owed for dinner based on what they'd ordered, rather than doing what Redactedddid, which was to divide the bill by the number of people, which drives us nuts, especially Bhob, whose vegetarian (aka rice) options cost a fraction of a regular entree.id    did   

Our driver, Hamid, was not only a skillful motorist, he kept us supplied with water, emptied the trash bags every day, and generally took care of us in ways of which we still probably aren't aware. He didn't speak much English, which was frustrating for him, but he enjoyed horsing around with Alex, and developed a bit of a crush on Sara. They all used the google translate apps on their phones to communicate.

Why did you keep your destination a secret?

Mostly, I didn’t want to get tired of talking about it and answering the same questions repeatedly. In addition, I didn’t want people to be unnecessarily worried while we were there. Iran might sound like a dangerous place to anyone other than my niece’s husband whose uncle lives near Mosul, Iraq.

Keeping this destination a secret has led me to a new policy of not revealing any future trip destinations. I don’t like spoilers or filters of any kind, whether it’s a movie, book or place. Too often, when a person says they are going to travel to _____, they are told by anyone who has been there “Oh we loved it!” or “We hated it!” or “you absolutely MUST go to _______ restaurant/cafe/museum”. I want to experience a new place with a fresh perspective, unsullied by anyone else’s bias. I don’t even look at photos of where we are headed (much to Bhob’s exasperation). I want to be surprised, and make my own discoveries.

What are the requirements for an American traveling to Iran?

Well. First you need a Letter of Invitation, issued by either an officially recognized tour company, or by having a friend or relative who is a citizen and resident of Iran vouch for you. With your LOI, you then apply for a visa, through the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC (there is no Iranian embassy in the US).  You also need to show proof of travel medical insurance.

Why were you not able to go last year?

At about the time we were applying for a visa, a state senator from Utah decided it would be a great idea to flout the rules and travel in Iran without a guide or tour group. For a couple of months after that, the government would not issue any visas to citizens of the US, Canada or the UK.

Didn’t you have travel insurance?

Yes, but “Temporary Acts of Political Caprice” weren’t covered.

Did you get a refund from the tour operator?

Because all of the tour expenses had already (allegedly) been paid in cash (hotels, transportation, guides, etc.), he was “unable” to issue a full refund. We were given three somewhat complicated options: a partial refund and credit toward a future non-Iran tour, a partial refund (approximately half of what had been paid), or a “make-up” tour this year for the folks who were unable to go on last year’s tour, which required an additional fee. So no, we did not get a refund.

Why did you redact the name of the tour company and the guy who runs it?

Because I didn’t want to badmouth him openly, but the story isn’t complete without describing how badly he dropped the ball. If I sound disgruntled, I am. I feel like a sucker for believing this guy was a competent travel coordinator, when really he is just a scenemeister, who uses the tours to hang out with young, hip, English-speaking people who are subsidizing his freewheeling, permatraveler lifestyle

How have sanctions affected travel in Iran?

No US-linked ATMs + No acceptance of US credit cards = Bring lots of cash to exchange.

Where did you get your Islamic Republic-approved garments?

Headscarves: Target and JoAnn Fabrics

Shirtdress: Columbia via Goodwill

Is it mandatory for all women, including foreign visitors, to wear a headscarf?

In public, yes. Tourists might be able to get away with showing a little more hair, but all women are expected to wear a headscarf, and all garments must cover the booty. I like to blend in as much as possible while traveling, so I didn’t mind. In cool weather, the layered approach isn’t that different than how we might dress in Minnesota. I can’t imagine having to be fully covered in July. Even in October, there were plenty of times when my neck got uncomfortably hot.

The other downside is that usually when I visit a sunny climate, my hair gets some nice blonde streaks. Sadly, I had none to bring home from this trip.

Are Iranians very religious?
 About as religious as Americans.

Was it a drag being in a country where alcohol is illegal?

To be completely honest, yes. Though I’m not much of a drinker at home, I didn’t realize what a large part alcohol plays in my usual traveling mode. There were certain moments

of downtime when a shot of Sambuca in my espresso would have created a nice buzz, or a small shot of raki or grappa would have added an extra warm glow to the setting.

I’ve heard that the “thumbs up” hand gesture is deeply offensive. Is that still the case?

Not really. Even though Facebook is not officially available in Iran, the “Like” symbol has infiltrated into everyday life, especially among younger folks. You still don’t want to give a thumbs up to an older person.

What do the people look like?

 20% are average looking, 30% are attractive and 50% are jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

That being said, nose jobs are very popular, and having a bandage on one's nose is something of a status symbol. We were told that some people put a bandage on their nose even if they haven't had surgery.

What are the toilets like?

All of our hotels had Western-style toilets, but most public toilets were of the squat variety. They all had the washing hose, but not many had anything to dry with, so I did my usual traveling habit of napkin hoarding. On the plus side, there are lots and lots of free public restrooms, and every soap dispenser is always full.

How do they drive there?

Not bad! Traffic is crazy, and lanes are merely suggestions, but everyone is very skilled, and drivers will usually stop for pedestrians if there are enough of them, or if you just walk boldly enough. 

Pristina, Kosovo still wins the prize for the most aggressive drivers.

Why are there no electric cars in Iran?
Because gasoline costs around 9 cents a gallon.

Did you see any solar panels?
A few, but Reza said that interest in solar power has started to grow.


Did you go to any movies?

No, there weren’t any playing that were in English with Farsi subtitles. 

Did you have interwebs?
Most of our hotels (and many cafes) had wi-fi, so Bhob kept up on the news back home,  but I didn't want to allow myself to be distracted. We didn't have a SIM card, so we didn't make phone calls, but Bhob was able to add contacts to his Whatsapp account. We eventually realized that we could use the googlemap app to keep us from getting too terribly turned around (though that eliminated the opportunity for interactions with helpful strangers). I still prefer the paper maps :)

I thought you had to pay for a guide for your extra days in Shiraz.

So did we! Technically, Americans can’t travel in Iran unless they are with a tour group or have a private guide. We were told that we’d have to pay about $100 a day for this, which we were fully prepared to do. In our imagination, we pitied the poor soul assigned to us, having to spend hours a day following us around grocery stores, parks and coffee shops. At no point was it ever brought up, either by the travel agency or at the hotel, so we didn’t ask! We were happy to save the money and spare a guide the torment of our meanderings.

I know your favorite part of trip preparation is learning a new language. Did you learn any Farsi?

Because it was uncertain whether or not we would actually make it to Iran, and taking advantage of the fact that having tour guides made it less of a necessity, I only learned the basics from the Pimsleur short course, supplemented by a few random youtubes. The few words I did learn were always greeted with such happy surprise (and sometimes giggles), it made me regret having not learned more. A little goes a long way.

I tried to learn the alphabet, but since each letter looks different depending on whether it is at the beginning, middle or end of a word, this attempt was short-lived. I really regret it, as it would have unlocked a world of sign-reading, and knowing what all of those businesses were that we passed. I have great admiration for Sara, the one group member who actually learned the alphabet.

Did you learn the national anthem?

I wasn’t sure whether the anthem would be beloved by most of the people we’d be encountering, so I opted instead to learn a

Rumi poem (the shortest one I could find) and a tongue twister (taught to me by a librarian from Hamline branch). The poem was met with blank stares, so I ditched it after a couple of days. The responses to the tongue twister, however, were a consistent combination of delight, enthusiasm, amusement and amazement. I got a lot of mileage out of that one.

Why did you spend a day and a half in Istanbul?

 Primarily to adapt to the time zone. With only 15 days in Iran, we didn’t want to waste any time being jet lagged, so we used Istanbul as a stopover to get some rest and reset our body clocks.

Also, it was the only way to arrive in Tehran at a convenient time (1 PM). When we booked our tickets in December 2016, all of the “direct” options arrived at 12:15 AM or 7:20 PM or 8:25 PM. 5 weeks before the trip, I tortured myself by looking at United’s website, and there was one that landed at 3:35 PM, and was $400 cheaper than what we paid, but I don’t think my nervous system could tolerate the uncertainty of waiting that long to buy tickets.

In hindsight, we would have been better off just arriving in Tehran on the day the tour started, but the instructions we got in advance made it seem like that would be a complicated, daunting process. Now that we know how helpful and accommodating everyone is, I feel like a fool. Our money would have gone a lot further in Iran than in Turkey. The upside is that now we know that we don’t ever want/need to return to Turkey.

Why didn’t you buy a Persian rug?

Because I live with a barfy cat.

Any surprises?

The biggest surprise was how much unsupervised time we had. Because Americans are required to be on a tour or with a guide, I imagined that we would have to be under surveillance at all times. In reality,  mornings and evenings, before and after the planned group activities, (and sometimes during  the afternoon/siesta), we could go and do whatever we liked. Alone!

Iran is very, very popular with tourists. We saw busload after busload of groups from China, Malaysia, Germany, France, Italy, Russia and the UK, among others. Most tourists are in their 70s and 80s.

Most road signage is in Farsi and English.

Despite sanctions, many large companies have licensed their brand names, so we saw lots of Coke, Pepsi, Fanta, Pringles, Lindt, Kellogg’s, 3M, Samsung, etc.

Another surprise was the prevalence of smoking. I was under the impression that smoking was not allowed in an Islamic Republic, but boy, they sure smoke.

Similarly, I thought that pop music in public places was not sanctioned, but we heard it in cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, in car stereos. I guess it depends on the size of the city/town, and how conservative they are. Most hotel breakfast rooms played generic Spanish guitar style music. 
In general,  Iranian music is favored over Western-style, but we had a moment of cross-cultural puzzlement while dining at a café in Shiraz, listening to Phil Collins, Joan Baez and Captain and Tennille.

Any highlights?
Meeting all of the wonderful people!

How much did it all cost?

For two people:

Before leaving

Tour $5002.28

Visa fees $336.56

Visa photos 25.50

Airfare 2920.92

Insurance 194.84

Host gifts 31.72

“On the ground”

Meals 127.95

Snacks and candy 11.25

Beverages 40.80

Guide and driver tip 104.92

Souvenirs 47.04

On the Ground Tour Days Total 331.96

Extra days:

Domestic airfare 116.58

Hotel 240.44

Meals 63.98

Beverages 50.86

Snacks/ice cream 17.92

Admissions 20.40

Souvenirs 10.23

Ground transportation 35.43

Extra Days Total: 556.84

Total for Iran 9732.58

Turkey Expenses (total)

Visas $40

Lodging 103.00

Meals, taxis, beverages 140.00

Turkey Total 283.00

Entire trip grand total: 10, 015.58

Per person total 5007.79

Per person per day 294.57

This is much, MUCH more than we have ever spent on a trip (at least twice as much). Most of it was the price of the official tour, and part of it was that we spent more on a flexible flight segment from Istanbul to Tehran, just in case the tour was cancelled again. Because things were paid for over the course of almost two years, it didn’t seem like that much until I added it all up. Yikes!

I must give a thousand thanks to Bhob for financing the trip with money he inherited when his Dad passed away.

Do you think you’ll ever travel there again?

Yes! In a perfect world where Americans can go to Iran independently, and Airbnb is established, I would love to do a  DIY trip. In the meantime, we will probably return using a private guide/driver and designing our own itinerary. We would love to hire Reza to be our guide, and/or work directly with the travel agency in Shiraz that Redacted works with, Pars http://en.key2persia.com/home.

P.S. If you think you'd like to book a tour with Pars, fill out this form with my name and info as the introducer, and you'll get a 5% discount! http://en.key2persia.com/loyalty_discount/form2/departments/marketing_department

Anything you didn’t like?

In the Southern part of the country, they adhere strictly to a siesta schedule, meaning that just about everything is closed between about 2-5 PM. As in France and Italy, this drives me nuts.

Also, I wish we'd had more than 43 hours in Tehran. It's like taking a US tour that starts with 1 1/2 days in New York.

Which nutritional supplements do you bring with you while traveling?

For immune support:

Wellness Formula

Wellness Fizz

Mycommunity Mushroom Blend

Oregano oil

Enzyme Defense

For GI support:

Saccharomyces boulardii

Dr. Ohhira’s probiotic

Triphala

Digest gold

Cleanse More

For sleep:

Calm Magnesium packets

Tranquil Sleep

For general well-being:

Multivitamin

Omega 3 Fish oil

Rhodiola

For first-aid:

Charcoal caps

Homeopathy kit with arnica, apis & arsenicum

To make my sweat smell like maple syrup:

Fenugreek

How were your flights?

Great! Every single one was on time, with no complications. For the first time in Bhoboleeena history, our O’Hare experience was smooth and efficient; from the time we touched down, got off the plane, went through passport/customs, took the train from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1, went through security again and got to our departing gate, it was less than 1 hour. Because of previous O’Hare nightmares, we had specifically chosen an itinerary with an especially long layover in Chicago, which of course was not necessary this time.

That being said, the return trip was very, very long. We left Shiraz at 2:30 PM for a 5:30 PM flight which arrived in Tehran at 6:40 PM. The Tehran to Frankfurt flight (5 hours) left at 2 AM. We had about 2 hours in Frankfurt. I had been randomly selected for additional screening, which consisted of me showing them my tiny cell phone and taking off my shoes for inspection (poor guy). The entire process took about 90 seconds. Frankfurt to Chicago was over 8 hours, then a 5 hour wait for our ORD-MSP flight. Total time in transit was about 35 hours. Thank goodness for coffee and The New Yorker.

What movies did you watch on the flights?

They didn’t have a great selection, so on the way there I watched Hot Fuzz, some episodes of Tiny House Hunters and Fixer Upper. I have no recollection of what else I watched.

On the return flights, I watched Captain Underpants, The Italian Job, a movie about a ninja who thought that his father had turned himself into a cat, an episode of  I Dream of Jeannie (the swinging theme song gives me fond memories, but man, it sure hasn't aged well), an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? with John Stamos, and listened to some podcasts of Desert Island Discs with Alison Moyet and Ian McKellan, and The World with Marco Werman.

Who watched Stinkerbell while you were away?

Our dear friends/neighbors/fellow cat enthusiasts, Jennifer and Rob.

Did you get any clothespins for your collection?

Why, yes! As a matter of fact, I did:

Can you explain the title of this post?*

Though we kind of expected it, we were still surprised at how absolutely normal life is in Iran. People go to work, hang out with friends and family, stare at their smartphones, take selfies, wear sneakers, go to coffee shops, laugh, eat popcorn. It is just like here in the U.S. except that their government doesn't really represent them (we have no idea what that's like). Most Iranians weren't even alive during the revolution, and the majority of those who were around for it were not in favor of an Islamic Republic. Imagine if Occupy Wall Street had succeeded in toppling the government, and then fundamentalist, evangelical Christians and the Tea Party swooped in and said "Thanks, folks! We'll take it from here."

Iran is full of highly educated, hip, sophisticated, open-hearted people, and anyone who tries to make a boogyman out of them has been watching the wrong movies.

* Bonus points if you can guess the movie that the post title comes from.