Eating positions

In my experience, Iranians enjoy eating on the floor. Or, better said, on the carpets which are on the floor. Which means you end up having your feet at the same level of the dish! It often happened when we were in our friends' houses and also in traditional restaurants. To tell the truth, I find it more comfortable to eat with the help of a chair and a table, without the need to change position every five minutes because your back or legs hurt. In this regard, I strongly believe that the European way is superior (as a knife and fork are clearly superior to chopsticks). :)

Masquerade party

In Iran thare are no places open to the public where to go out at night to drink. Therefore, people meet in private houses to have parties very often, where alchool is not difficult to find (at least this is what I was told).

One night in Teheran Forough and Sadraa invited us to a birthday party at some friends' house. It was quite a big party, with a lot of guests and a lot of food (but no alcohol, because the householder was a strict muslim in this regard).

After the meal, a cake was brought to the room. And then a strange thing happened: one of the guests  started dancing with the big knife to cut the cake in his hands. And the rest of of the guests, one by one for few minutes each, followed! Only when they stopped, we could eat.

The party was a masquearade party, and at one point we had to decide the best costume. I found most of the costumes very funny (and incomprehensible), but I gave my vote to one in particular: a basiji costume. Basiji is the name of the paramilitary militia directly controlled by Khamenei. The Basiji militia leads the repression against regime opponents and often attacks participants in the protest demonstrations.

All the guests had a terrible opinion of the regime and some of them (or some of their relatives and friends) had personally suffered the consequences of their political activism. Anyway, they were able to make fun of one of the most frightful institutions. It is probably something you learn to do, when you live in a situation of constant fear. It is a way to show yourself (and the others) that they have not defeated you yet.

A breathe of fresh air

The theatre (see previous post) is part of a cultural centre. There is also a public park, a museum of contemporary art and (in the museum) a shop. We arrived early in the night and we had time to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the place, waiting for the play to start while sitting on the benches, giving a look at the pieces of art and buying a pair of earings or a decorated cup with the other members of the audience. Many of them wore fashionable and colourful clothes; some of them looked like artists, other seemed to belong to the wealthier class with their refined appearance.

The general atmosphere of the place was quite European, and I loved it so much. I felt I could breathe freely, and the regime oppression seemed farther away. And I was very happy to find out that in Teheran there is an an active independent cultural scenario.

A persian play

One night in Teheran we went to a theatre play called "Walk on wet pavement". Sadegh and Pari had received an invitation by a member of the company and we joined them. The play was in persian: which means that I could not understand the plot very well, even though the actors were very skilful (and well known). However, the final scene was easy to get: (almost) everyone died. Including the good hearted characters.

Implicitly the play was a strong criticism of the values of the Iranian society (as strong as a critic can be in such a regime). Almost a challenge to the two portraits of Khomeini and Khamenei hanging on the two sides of the stage.

After the show we waited for the actors to come out and we greeted them. They seemed happy to have an international audience. :)

We love cinema, but...

Today's post is about cinema. Yes, in Teheran there is a (small) cinema museum. Iran has a strong tradition in this art, which still continues today. The museum is small but interesting. It tells the history of cinema in Iran, presenting the most important directors and actors and celebrating the international awards that they got. There is only one absurd thing. Many of those directors and actors are nowadays exiled because of their political views. But this is Iran: a place full of contradictions.

For Farahmand, Forough, Sadraa, Sadegh and Pari

This post is for Farahmand, Forough, Sadraa, Sadegh and Pari. Before leaving for Iran we had talked to our Iranian friends in Italy, in order to get information and, hopefully, some useful contacts in the cities we thought to visit. That is why, when we stayed in Teheran for the first time, at the beginning of the trip, we were hosted by Forough and Sadraa, a young couple of friends of Farahmand, an Iranian living in Torino. Even though they did not know us at all, Forough and Sadraa welcomed us in their houses: not only did we find a confortable (and free:) place where to sleep, but also they cooked delicious Iranian dishes for us and they showed us around to see the museums and the nice places; at night, we went out together and we met their friends. The same thing happened at the end of the trip, when we went back to Teheran. That time we were hosted by Sadegh and Pari, another couple of friends of Forough and Sadraa. I was part of the family.

The main reason

There is one main reason to go to Iran, beyond all the rest. Because the experience you live there forces you to abandon all the prejudices you could have about the country and its people. And that is a beautiful lesson.

The Shah palace

The palace where the Shah used to live, in the northern part of the city, is surrounded by a big relaxing park. Nowadays it is a museum and is furnished as to reproduce how it was with the Shah. All rooms are very well dispayed and, of course, objects in them are luxurious and beautiful.

To my European eyes the museum seemed quite a celebration of the happy Shah times, especially compared to the hard times Iranians are living these days. But why should the current regime show the richness and refinement of the so detested Shah family? That is the question I asked to the local friends who were accompanying us.

The answer is that the museum has a very different idelogical purpose. The Islamic regime wants to show Iranians how rich the Shah family was compared to normal people. The museum is to blame luxury, not to celebrate it, and to mark a (supposed) difference with the current regime.

Teheran

If I had to describe Teheran by three adjectives, I would say that it is huge (8 millions), modern (ugly) and green (tree-lined streets). What is the plus of Teheran? Its people!

Northern part is richer, more similar to European cities, with big villas and gardens. Southern is poorer and more messy. There are a few small museums, most of them not very interesting: cultural offer (I mean official, institutional one) is not of much value. Still, there are things to see.

Introduction

Ciao!

Here I am again. Why? Because I think I have something worth telling. Now Iran is the subject! :)

More than three years have passed since the last time I wrote the blog. Three years during which I have been working in Torino. Not a very exiciting life, one could say: but I love Torino and I like my job.

Anyway, I still love adventurous trips and faraway places (and what proceeds from it: meeting people, eating food, etc.). That's why, when a friend proposed me to visit Iran last summer (2012), I immediately accepted. We left end of july and we came back end of august.

The following part of the blog tells my experience there (before I forget everything!), about the places I visited, the people I met, the Iranian way of life, the Iranian politics, etc.: all that cought my attention, posted in a casual order. Of course, it is just my personal impressions, so maybe sometimes I am mistaken. Also for this reason, comments are welcome!

Before starting this post I read the previous parts (http://frankiekonrad.blogspot.it/). I still like them, even though they refer to different times and situations (and a different me, I guess). If you like, take a look at them.

It seems that I used to close my first and last posts of each section with the same words. For sure, that is an unchanged thing, and I will not stop the habit. Then...

in ogni caso, forza toro!

Let's get it started.

Si ricomincia

Dopo tra anni, il blog si risveglia. Occasione: un viaggio estivo in Iran, per sfuggire (temporaneamente) alla precaria e piacevole vita italiana. Iran: un Paese abitato da persone accoglienti come mai ne ho trovate e soffocato da un regime terribile. Insomma un territorio pieno di contraddizioni, affascinantissimo e insieme così lontano e vicino all'Europa. Agli amici e agli sconosciuti incontrati laggiù è dedicata questa parte del blog. Con l'augurio che le scelte ideologiche della comunità internazionale non soffochino la speranza di chi in Iran lotta per il cambiamento.