Presentation by Iranian American Students on Iran:
http://www.4shared.com/file/72691973/76cc80be/IRAN-Archaic_Signet_of_Civilization-2003.html
Showing posts with label Iran: Culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iran: Culture. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, December 1, 2008
Living room library elevates Iranian women
Borzou Daragahi. Los Angeles Times. 11/28/2008
(http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/28/MND3145AUG.DTL)
In her eyes, they are all daughters and sisters. The waifish 18-year-old, already married and a mother, but with a hunger to learn. The pair of shy high school students, nervous at first, but soon browsing eagerly through the bookshelves. The matronly homemaker, unsure and uneducated, but discovering the world beyond the slums of southern Tehran by reading Fyodor Dostoevsky and Jean-Paul Sartre.
For the women in her neighborhood, Nazanin Gohari has become a savior of minds.
A few years back, the part-time hairdresser-turned-community activist transformed her shabby apartment into a library for women, collecting secondhand books to fill the makeshift shelves in her living room.
First she stocked them with trashy novels, poetry and how-to and self-help titles. But the demand for cookbooks and sewing patterns eventually gave way to requests for college-preparation books and literature. The girls leafing through illustrated children's books bloomed into strong-willed women eager to pursue higher education.
Gohari remembers one girl, a 17-year-old named Sedigheh, who came to her crying, distraught that her parents couldn't afford the study materials for college entrance exams. Scoring high would place the bright teenager on the fast track to a potentially glorious future, maybe even including medical school. Not taking the test would mean a life more ordinary, perhaps married to a man twice her age, tending to babies and home.
For Gohari, helping the teen became a mission, one of many. She scoured the city for the study books, relatively cheap by Western standards but a fortune for Iran's poor.
"She was ashamed because she couldn't afford the books," Gohari said.
The older woman put her hand out to the girl. "I said, 'Study here.' " And then Gohari handed her the books.
Gohari, a bespectacled woman now in her late 50s, delights in the women in her impoverished district, recounting the details of their triumphs and ordeals. She sprinkles her sentences with folksy praises of God as she speaks excitedly about her adventures as a grass-roots activist, filling a social and even political vacuum created by Iran's rapid transition from a largely rural nation where people tended to neighbors' needs to today's impersonal urban society where most fend for themselves.
Obscured from public view, Iran's women have quietly navigated restrictions of politics, religion and tradition over the last three decades to bolster their status and advance into positions of power.
Although the conservative clerics who took over the country after the 1979 ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi hoped to ossify women's traditional roles, they set in place dynamics that liberated them. As the clerics launched literacy drives and built hundreds of colleges around the country, Iran's literacy rate rose from less than 50 percent in the 1970s to as high as 85 percent today.
Instead of creating a powerful new Islamic generation, they pushed the country into the modern age, raising the ambitions and savvy of young Iranians, half of them women, who began to question society's rules and strictures.
"It's one of the ironies of the revolution that women's sense of self has become much stronger," said Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian American anthropologist who teaches at Pomona College in Southern California and wrote the 2008 book "Passionate Uprisings," about the evolution of sex and gender in Iran. "The revolution has given birth to a stronger women's movement."
Gohari, a mother of two and the wife of a civil servant, began embracing community activism in the early 1990s, shortly after the Iran-Iraq War and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Wartime restrictions loosened, and the revolutionary leader's charismatic spell was broken. The country began to focus on practical matters such as rebuilding a ravaged infrastructure and promoting better health. A social worker dispatched to Gohari's neighborhood, the ancient district of Rey, charmed her into attending a breast cancer awareness workshop.
She didn't want to go at first. But from the beginning of the initial session, on breast self-examinations, it was a revelation. One of her best friends had died of breast cancer. "It was eye-opening," she said. "Those 10 minutes changed my life."
The reluctant student became a cheerleader for women's health, encouraging her neighbors, many of them poor recent arrivals from the countryside, to come to workshops on prenatal care, child development, breast cancer awareness, nutrition, sex education and mental health.
Gohari was elected head of a women's council that she and her neighbors created. They began demanding meetings with municipal leaders.
One top official for the Ministry of Electricity resisted. His excuse: He didn't like dealing with women.
"I told him, 'I promise I'll come alone,' " she said. " 'If you perform your duties, I won't bother you anymore. If you don't, I'll bring busloads of women pouring into your office.' "
The meeting was on. Within a few weeks, the streetlights were fixed.
Gohari accepts no help from outside the country, or even outside the city.
"She knows very well until what point she can be active and useful without bringing the hostility of the traditional society," said Masserat Amir-Ebrahimi, a Tehran social scientist.
Gohari's eyes glisten when she discusses her successes. One of them, Nahid Shirzad, 18, walks in. She was married at 14 and dropped out of high school when she gave birth to a son about two years ago. But she's developed a voracious appetite for books.
Anton "Chekhov keeps me company at home," Shirzad said as she scoured the shelves for new titles. "I've read just about every book in here. Some of them I've read twice."
"When I see this girl," Gohari said, "I get strength."
This article appeared on page A - 28 of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle Sections
© 2008 Hearst Communications Inc. | Privacy Policy | Feedback | RSS Feeds | FAQ | Site Index | Contact
(http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/28/MND3145AUG.DTL)
In her eyes, they are all daughters and sisters. The waifish 18-year-old, already married and a mother, but with a hunger to learn. The pair of shy high school students, nervous at first, but soon browsing eagerly through the bookshelves. The matronly homemaker, unsure and uneducated, but discovering the world beyond the slums of southern Tehran by reading Fyodor Dostoevsky and Jean-Paul Sartre.
For the women in her neighborhood, Nazanin Gohari has become a savior of minds.
A few years back, the part-time hairdresser-turned-community activist transformed her shabby apartment into a library for women, collecting secondhand books to fill the makeshift shelves in her living room.
First she stocked them with trashy novels, poetry and how-to and self-help titles. But the demand for cookbooks and sewing patterns eventually gave way to requests for college-preparation books and literature. The girls leafing through illustrated children's books bloomed into strong-willed women eager to pursue higher education.
Gohari remembers one girl, a 17-year-old named Sedigheh, who came to her crying, distraught that her parents couldn't afford the study materials for college entrance exams. Scoring high would place the bright teenager on the fast track to a potentially glorious future, maybe even including medical school. Not taking the test would mean a life more ordinary, perhaps married to a man twice her age, tending to babies and home.
For Gohari, helping the teen became a mission, one of many. She scoured the city for the study books, relatively cheap by Western standards but a fortune for Iran's poor.
"She was ashamed because she couldn't afford the books," Gohari said.
The older woman put her hand out to the girl. "I said, 'Study here.' " And then Gohari handed her the books.
Gohari, a bespectacled woman now in her late 50s, delights in the women in her impoverished district, recounting the details of their triumphs and ordeals. She sprinkles her sentences with folksy praises of God as she speaks excitedly about her adventures as a grass-roots activist, filling a social and even political vacuum created by Iran's rapid transition from a largely rural nation where people tended to neighbors' needs to today's impersonal urban society where most fend for themselves.
Obscured from public view, Iran's women have quietly navigated restrictions of politics, religion and tradition over the last three decades to bolster their status and advance into positions of power.
Although the conservative clerics who took over the country after the 1979 ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi hoped to ossify women's traditional roles, they set in place dynamics that liberated them. As the clerics launched literacy drives and built hundreds of colleges around the country, Iran's literacy rate rose from less than 50 percent in the 1970s to as high as 85 percent today.
Instead of creating a powerful new Islamic generation, they pushed the country into the modern age, raising the ambitions and savvy of young Iranians, half of them women, who began to question society's rules and strictures.
"It's one of the ironies of the revolution that women's sense of self has become much stronger," said Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian American anthropologist who teaches at Pomona College in Southern California and wrote the 2008 book "Passionate Uprisings," about the evolution of sex and gender in Iran. "The revolution has given birth to a stronger women's movement."
Gohari, a mother of two and the wife of a civil servant, began embracing community activism in the early 1990s, shortly after the Iran-Iraq War and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Wartime restrictions loosened, and the revolutionary leader's charismatic spell was broken. The country began to focus on practical matters such as rebuilding a ravaged infrastructure and promoting better health. A social worker dispatched to Gohari's neighborhood, the ancient district of Rey, charmed her into attending a breast cancer awareness workshop.
She didn't want to go at first. But from the beginning of the initial session, on breast self-examinations, it was a revelation. One of her best friends had died of breast cancer. "It was eye-opening," she said. "Those 10 minutes changed my life."
The reluctant student became a cheerleader for women's health, encouraging her neighbors, many of them poor recent arrivals from the countryside, to come to workshops on prenatal care, child development, breast cancer awareness, nutrition, sex education and mental health.
Gohari was elected head of a women's council that she and her neighbors created. They began demanding meetings with municipal leaders.
One top official for the Ministry of Electricity resisted. His excuse: He didn't like dealing with women.
"I told him, 'I promise I'll come alone,' " she said. " 'If you perform your duties, I won't bother you anymore. If you don't, I'll bring busloads of women pouring into your office.' "
The meeting was on. Within a few weeks, the streetlights were fixed.
Gohari accepts no help from outside the country, or even outside the city.
"She knows very well until what point she can be active and useful without bringing the hostility of the traditional society," said Masserat Amir-Ebrahimi, a Tehran social scientist.
Gohari's eyes glisten when she discusses her successes. One of them, Nahid Shirzad, 18, walks in. She was married at 14 and dropped out of high school when she gave birth to a son about two years ago. But she's developed a voracious appetite for books.
Anton "Chekhov keeps me company at home," Shirzad said as she scoured the shelves for new titles. "I've read just about every book in here. Some of them I've read twice."
"When I see this girl," Gohari said, "I get strength."
This article appeared on page A - 28 of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle Sections
© 2008 Hearst Communications Inc. | Privacy Policy | Feedback | RSS Feeds | FAQ | Site Index | Contact
Friday, December 28, 2007
Romance on Iranian TV Crosses Cultures
Radio Transcript
All Things Considered: September 20, 2007
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=14574945
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Here's a scene from "Zero Degree Turn," a popular serial that's running on television overseas. It's Paris 1940-something, Nazis are rousting French Jews from their homes deporting them to concentration camps.
(Soundbite of show "Zero Degree Turn")
Unidentified Man #1: (Farsi spoken)
SIEGEL: The Germans are speaking Farsi, so are the Jews. This is an Iranian holocaust drama in which the hero is a kind of Persian Schindler, an Iranian Muslim student named Habib Parsa, who obtains documents for the family of Sara Stroke, the Jewish woman he loves. With those documents, they can escape to Tehran. Or can they?
You can watch this series with subtitles on YouTube.
Farnaz Fassihi writes for the Wall Street Journal, watched it recently in Tehran and wrote about it and she's now back home in Beirut. What's going on here? A Jewish holocaust drama on Iranian television?
Ms. FARNAZ FASSIHI (Reporter, Wall Street Journal): It was a big surprise to me, too, to hear relatives and friends talking about this series with a plot about Jews and Holocaust and how popular it was. I think there are two things going on here. I think that the Iranian government is trying to send a message that it separates Judaism, people of the Jewish faith from what it calls Zionism, which are supporters of Israel. It also, I think, you know, shows the way in which Iran often uses its media, particularly television, to influence the masses and send political messages.
SIEGEL: Iran still has a Jewish community of 25,000. That's a lot smaller than it was before the Islamic revolution or for that matter, before the creation of the State of Israel. The message that seems to be coming out of this series is Jews are well regarded. How does this very empty Israel country, or government at least, deal with the issue of Zionism in this series?
Ms. FASSIHI: The way it deals with it is that it has subplot in the story where there's a little bit of history revisionism going on, where they try to push Iran's political belief that Israel was conceptualized by European governments to solve the problem after World War II, and that it wasn't a desire of Jewish people to have a home state.
And the second thing that it's doing is it's trying to portray the differences, a lot of violence, that Jewish people killing other Jews because they don't agree with going to - resettling in Arab lands. So there's both of that going on.
SIEGEL: Do the Iranian Jews seem to approve of this?
Ms. FASSIHI: The Iranian Jews have approved of this. They have come out and put out a statement praising the show. When I spoke to them and when I spoke to Maurice Motamed, who is the parliamentarian - Jewish parliamentarian in Iran, he praised it and he said that every Monday night, he finds the television set and watches it and that it's a captivating show.
SIEGEL: Now in the story, Sara, the young Jewish woman who's getting out, I gather, is trying to get to Tehran is in love with the Iranian Muslim student, Mr. Parsa, or Habib. If all goes well, according to this drama, in the end, I assume if she makes it to Tehran, she's not going to be Jewish by the end of the series.
Ms. FASSIHI: No, that's not - Iranian men are, by sharia law, allowed to marry women of other faiths. And their wives are allowed to practice and keep their faiths. However, because Islam is a religion that's passed on by the father, Muslim women are prohibited from changing their religion or marrying a man outside of the faith.
SIEGEL: What historical truth is there at all to the idea that Iran or Iranians in occupied France were helping European Jews - French Jews get out and get to Tehran?
Ms. FASSIHI: It is a well-documented historical fact. The charge d'affaires at the Iranian Embassy in Paris, a man named Abdul Hussein Zathary(ph) forged Iranian passports for about a thousand Jews and smuggled them to Iran and claimed to the German authorities in occupied France that they belong to an Iranian tribe. So this is a true story.
SIEGEL: Farnaz Fassihi, thank you very much for talking with us.
Ms. FASSIHI: Thank you very much for having me.
SIEGEL: That's Farnaz Fassihi of the Wall Street Journal who was talking to us about the Iranian TV show, "Zero Degree Turn." She spoke to us from Beirut.
All Things Considered: September 20, 2007
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=14574945
ROBERT SIEGEL, host:
Here's a scene from "Zero Degree Turn," a popular serial that's running on television overseas. It's Paris 1940-something, Nazis are rousting French Jews from their homes deporting them to concentration camps.
(Soundbite of show "Zero Degree Turn")
Unidentified Man #1: (Farsi spoken)
SIEGEL: The Germans are speaking Farsi, so are the Jews. This is an Iranian holocaust drama in which the hero is a kind of Persian Schindler, an Iranian Muslim student named Habib Parsa, who obtains documents for the family of Sara Stroke, the Jewish woman he loves. With those documents, they can escape to Tehran. Or can they?
You can watch this series with subtitles on YouTube.
Farnaz Fassihi writes for the Wall Street Journal, watched it recently in Tehran and wrote about it and she's now back home in Beirut. What's going on here? A Jewish holocaust drama on Iranian television?
Ms. FARNAZ FASSIHI (Reporter, Wall Street Journal): It was a big surprise to me, too, to hear relatives and friends talking about this series with a plot about Jews and Holocaust and how popular it was. I think there are two things going on here. I think that the Iranian government is trying to send a message that it separates Judaism, people of the Jewish faith from what it calls Zionism, which are supporters of Israel. It also, I think, you know, shows the way in which Iran often uses its media, particularly television, to influence the masses and send political messages.
SIEGEL: Iran still has a Jewish community of 25,000. That's a lot smaller than it was before the Islamic revolution or for that matter, before the creation of the State of Israel. The message that seems to be coming out of this series is Jews are well regarded. How does this very empty Israel country, or government at least, deal with the issue of Zionism in this series?
Ms. FASSIHI: The way it deals with it is that it has subplot in the story where there's a little bit of history revisionism going on, where they try to push Iran's political belief that Israel was conceptualized by European governments to solve the problem after World War II, and that it wasn't a desire of Jewish people to have a home state.
And the second thing that it's doing is it's trying to portray the differences, a lot of violence, that Jewish people killing other Jews because they don't agree with going to - resettling in Arab lands. So there's both of that going on.
SIEGEL: Do the Iranian Jews seem to approve of this?
Ms. FASSIHI: The Iranian Jews have approved of this. They have come out and put out a statement praising the show. When I spoke to them and when I spoke to Maurice Motamed, who is the parliamentarian - Jewish parliamentarian in Iran, he praised it and he said that every Monday night, he finds the television set and watches it and that it's a captivating show.
SIEGEL: Now in the story, Sara, the young Jewish woman who's getting out, I gather, is trying to get to Tehran is in love with the Iranian Muslim student, Mr. Parsa, or Habib. If all goes well, according to this drama, in the end, I assume if she makes it to Tehran, she's not going to be Jewish by the end of the series.
Ms. FASSIHI: No, that's not - Iranian men are, by sharia law, allowed to marry women of other faiths. And their wives are allowed to practice and keep their faiths. However, because Islam is a religion that's passed on by the father, Muslim women are prohibited from changing their religion or marrying a man outside of the faith.
SIEGEL: What historical truth is there at all to the idea that Iran or Iranians in occupied France were helping European Jews - French Jews get out and get to Tehran?
Ms. FASSIHI: It is a well-documented historical fact. The charge d'affaires at the Iranian Embassy in Paris, a man named Abdul Hussein Zathary(ph) forged Iranian passports for about a thousand Jews and smuggled them to Iran and claimed to the German authorities in occupied France that they belong to an Iranian tribe. So this is a true story.
SIEGEL: Farnaz Fassihi, thank you very much for talking with us.
Ms. FASSIHI: Thank you very much for having me.
SIEGEL: That's Farnaz Fassihi of the Wall Street Journal who was talking to us about the Iranian TV show, "Zero Degree Turn." She spoke to us from Beirut.
Friday, December 7, 2007
Christiane Amanpour Reports on CNN's New Doc Series
TV Guide. (http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Biz/Christiane-Amanpour-Reports/800020457)
Stephen Battaglio
08/15/2007
Christiane Amanpour courtesy CNNCNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has been reporting from overseas hot spots since 1989, so she knows firsthand about God's Warriors, the subject of her three-part documentary series airing Aug. 21 to 23 at 9 pm/ET. Over six hours, Amanpour dissects the recent history of the fundamentalist elements of three Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — and how they want to transform society to fit their beliefs. The Biz recently talked with Amanpour about her willingness to dig deep into serious issues and go against the tabloid tide that's been pulling at cable news.
TVGuide.com: Cable news has changed a lot over the last 15 years, but you're still able to go out and do serious long-form pieces. Who drives that? Do you have to push to get them done? When we think of cable news, we're not thinking about this kind of material anymore.
Christiane Amanpour: I agree that it has changed an awful lot since Ted Turner created it. I think there is something to be said for CNN that in this completely changed environment we continue to do these kinds of reports. I particularly like doing this, as you can imagine. I'm not the Paris Hilton/Anna Nicole Smith kind of reporter. I really like these meaty issues, because I'm convinced that this is what people want to know about. Everyone who I talk to asks me what I'm working on, and I tell them religion — and they tell me it's something on their minds right now.
TVGuide.com: To make a good documentary, it's said you have to have a strong point of view.
Amanpour: I agree that some kinds of documentaries do require that. This is a documentary in a different sense: It documents the process [by which] extreme Jews, Christians or Muslims try to reshape society into what they think God's image is and according to what they believe God's teachings are. We didn't go out to do "Wackos-R-Us," because a lot of that has been done. We went out to [examine] people who have a particularly extreme vision and what that means to us as a society — how they affect us.
TVGuide.com: But is that tricky to do because we are in this media environment where everyone's reporting is so scrutinized for bias? Are you feeling pressures now that you didn't feel 10 years ago?
Amanpour: I will admit that there is a lot of pressure out there. I just don't happen to feel it. I live abroad and I don't seek out all the blogs and all the verbiage that is out there. Frankly, there would be no time to do anything else, and I'm not that interested in what people are saying about me. It's a lot of people's personal opinions. I've been doing this for a long, long time and I know clearly what my professional mission is and I stick to it.
TVGuide.com: And how do you define that these days?
Amanpour: To do something that I admit is getting to be an endangered species: [to be] a relentless foreign correspondent bringing this kind of real journalism back to people who really want it. The audience still wants information. We've done serious documentaries [in the past], like In the Footsteps of Bin Laden, which did very well in the ratings last year. And why not? It was good, interesting and relevant. People are interested in this particular subject right now because of everything that's happened since 9/11. So there is pressure in the general cable environment to be more tabloid. I think that one thing CNN is committed to is this program, this documentary strand.
TVGuide.com: In the course of reporting this, did people ask you if you believe in God?
Amanpour: They did. I always find it a difficult question. I'm born of a Catholic mother and a Muslim father and I'm married to a Jewish husband. So I have all of God's wonderful shapes in my DNA. It has helped me have an inclusive look at what religion is all about. I instinctively retreat from division. I don't want politics or religion to be a reason for division in my life or in other people's lives. I see so much war, killing and hatred; I can always see why it shouldn't be like that.
Stephen Battaglio
08/15/2007
Christiane Amanpour courtesy CNNCNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour has been reporting from overseas hot spots since 1989, so she knows firsthand about God's Warriors, the subject of her three-part documentary series airing Aug. 21 to 23 at 9 pm/ET. Over six hours, Amanpour dissects the recent history of the fundamentalist elements of three Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — and how they want to transform society to fit their beliefs. The Biz recently talked with Amanpour about her willingness to dig deep into serious issues and go against the tabloid tide that's been pulling at cable news.
TVGuide.com: Cable news has changed a lot over the last 15 years, but you're still able to go out and do serious long-form pieces. Who drives that? Do you have to push to get them done? When we think of cable news, we're not thinking about this kind of material anymore.
Christiane Amanpour: I agree that it has changed an awful lot since Ted Turner created it. I think there is something to be said for CNN that in this completely changed environment we continue to do these kinds of reports. I particularly like doing this, as you can imagine. I'm not the Paris Hilton/Anna Nicole Smith kind of reporter. I really like these meaty issues, because I'm convinced that this is what people want to know about. Everyone who I talk to asks me what I'm working on, and I tell them religion — and they tell me it's something on their minds right now.
TVGuide.com: To make a good documentary, it's said you have to have a strong point of view.
Amanpour: I agree that some kinds of documentaries do require that. This is a documentary in a different sense: It documents the process [by which] extreme Jews, Christians or Muslims try to reshape society into what they think God's image is and according to what they believe God's teachings are. We didn't go out to do "Wackos-R-Us," because a lot of that has been done. We went out to [examine] people who have a particularly extreme vision and what that means to us as a society — how they affect us.
TVGuide.com: But is that tricky to do because we are in this media environment where everyone's reporting is so scrutinized for bias? Are you feeling pressures now that you didn't feel 10 years ago?
Amanpour: I will admit that there is a lot of pressure out there. I just don't happen to feel it. I live abroad and I don't seek out all the blogs and all the verbiage that is out there. Frankly, there would be no time to do anything else, and I'm not that interested in what people are saying about me. It's a lot of people's personal opinions. I've been doing this for a long, long time and I know clearly what my professional mission is and I stick to it.
TVGuide.com: And how do you define that these days?
Amanpour: To do something that I admit is getting to be an endangered species: [to be] a relentless foreign correspondent bringing this kind of real journalism back to people who really want it. The audience still wants information. We've done serious documentaries [in the past], like In the Footsteps of Bin Laden, which did very well in the ratings last year. And why not? It was good, interesting and relevant. People are interested in this particular subject right now because of everything that's happened since 9/11. So there is pressure in the general cable environment to be more tabloid. I think that one thing CNN is committed to is this program, this documentary strand.
TVGuide.com: In the course of reporting this, did people ask you if you believe in God?
Amanpour: They did. I always find it a difficult question. I'm born of a Catholic mother and a Muslim father and I'm married to a Jewish husband. So I have all of God's wonderful shapes in my DNA. It has helped me have an inclusive look at what religion is all about. I instinctively retreat from division. I don't want politics or religion to be a reason for division in my life or in other people's lives. I see so much war, killing and hatred; I can always see why it shouldn't be like that.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Iran TV series sympathetic to Jews
Viewers riveted by show that depicts Holocaust, rarely mentioned in Iran
9.16.07
Nasser Karimi
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/16/international/i120043D29.DTL)
TEHRAN, Iran - It is Iran's version of "Schindler's List," a miniseries that tells the tale of an Iranian diplomat in Paris who helps Jews escape the Holocaust — and viewers across the country are riveted.
That's surprising enough in a country where hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned whether the Holocaust even took place. What's more surprising is that government media produced the series, and is airing it on state-run television.
The Holocaust is rarely mentioned in state media in Iran, school textbooks don't discuss it and Iranians have little information about it.
Yet the series titled "Zero Degree Turn" is clearly sympathetic to the Jews' plight during World War II. It shows men, women and children with yellow stars on their clothes being taken forcibly out of their homes and loaded into trucks by Nazi soldiers.
"Where are they taking them?" the horrified hero, a young Iranian diplomat who works at the Iranian Embassy in Paris, asks someone in a crowd of onlookers.
"The Fascists are taking the Jews to the concentration camps," the man says. The hero, named Habib Parsa, then begins giving Iranian passports to Jews to allow them to flee occupied France to then-Palestine.
Based on a true story
Though the Habib character is fictional, it is based on a true story of diplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Paris in the 1940s who gave out about 500 Iranian passports for Jews to use to escape.
The show's appearance now may reflect an attempt by Iran's leadership to moderate its image as anti-Semitic and to underline a distinction that Iranian officials often make — that their conflict is with Israel, not with the Jewish people.
About 25,000 Jews live in Iran, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. They have one representative in parliament, which is run mostly by Islamic clerics.
The series could not have aired without being condoned by Iran's clerical leadership. The state broadcaster is under the control of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, who has final say in all matters inside Iran.
Moderate conservatives have been gaining ground in Iran, where there is increasing discontent with the ruling hardliners over rising tensions with the West, a worsening economy and price hikes in basic commodities.
The government even allowed the series to break another taboo in Iran: For the first time, many actresses appear without the state-mandated Islamic dress code. The producers wanted to realistically portray 1940s Paris, and thus avoided the headscarves and head-to-foot robes that all women must normally wear on Iranian TV.
Ahmadinejad sparked widespread outrage in 2005 when he made comments casting doubt on the Holocaust and saying the state of Israel should be "wiped from the map." His government organized a conference of Holocaust deniers and skeptics from around the world in December.
But the series has won support even from hardliners. Some argue that it links the Holocaust with Israel's creation, thus boosting an argument by Ahmadinejad that if the Nazi killing of Jews did take place, the Palestinians who then lived in Palestine should not have had to pay the price for it by the creation of Israel after the war.
"The series differentiates between Jews and Zionism. The ground for forming Israel is prepared when Hitler's army puts pressure on activist Jews. In this sense, it considers Nazism parallel to Zionism," the hard-line newspaper Keyhan said.
However, if the series does aim to make that point, it has not done so overtly.
Gaining understanding
State media have said the series, which began in April, is popular. It has been a revelation for some Iranians and has pulled them away from more popular satellite channels, which are banned but which many watch anyway on illegal dishes. The fare on state TV is usually dry.
"Once, I wept when I learned through the film what a dreadful destiny the small nation had during the world war in the heart of so-called civilized Europe," said Mahboubeh Rahamati, a Tehran bank teller.
Kazem Gharibi said he watches the series every Monday on a TV in his grocery store.
"Through this film, I understood that Jews had a hard time in the war — helpless and desperate, as we were when Iraq imposed war on us," he said, referring to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
The series began with a love story between Habib, the embassy employee, and a French Jew, Sara Stroke, in the early 1940s. Viewers say the love story pulls them in as much as the history.
After Paris is occupied by the Nazis, Habib decides to forge Iranian passports for many French Jews to save them from the Holocaust — starting with Sara and her family. The German government accepts his embassy's claim that the passport holders are from an Iranian tribe and lets them leave France.
Habib is imprisoned by the Nazis for espionage after his forgeries are discovered. He then is released and returns to Tehran, where he is jailed again for forging passports.
Eight episodes remain in the series, and viewers drawn by the love story are on edge as they await the finish.
"I have watched the series from the beginning," said Sedigheh Karandish, a housewife and mother of two. "It's pulling me in to see what these two people do at the end. Hopefully, it will be a happy ending."
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
9.16.07
Nasser Karimi
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/09/16/international/i120043D29.DTL)
TEHRAN, Iran - It is Iran's version of "Schindler's List," a miniseries that tells the tale of an Iranian diplomat in Paris who helps Jews escape the Holocaust — and viewers across the country are riveted.
That's surprising enough in a country where hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned whether the Holocaust even took place. What's more surprising is that government media produced the series, and is airing it on state-run television.
The Holocaust is rarely mentioned in state media in Iran, school textbooks don't discuss it and Iranians have little information about it.
Yet the series titled "Zero Degree Turn" is clearly sympathetic to the Jews' plight during World War II. It shows men, women and children with yellow stars on their clothes being taken forcibly out of their homes and loaded into trucks by Nazi soldiers.
"Where are they taking them?" the horrified hero, a young Iranian diplomat who works at the Iranian Embassy in Paris, asks someone in a crowd of onlookers.
"The Fascists are taking the Jews to the concentration camps," the man says. The hero, named Habib Parsa, then begins giving Iranian passports to Jews to allow them to flee occupied France to then-Palestine.
Based on a true story
Though the Habib character is fictional, it is based on a true story of diplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Paris in the 1940s who gave out about 500 Iranian passports for Jews to use to escape.
The show's appearance now may reflect an attempt by Iran's leadership to moderate its image as anti-Semitic and to underline a distinction that Iranian officials often make — that their conflict is with Israel, not with the Jewish people.
About 25,000 Jews live in Iran, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. They have one representative in parliament, which is run mostly by Islamic clerics.
The series could not have aired without being condoned by Iran's clerical leadership. The state broadcaster is under the control of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, who has final say in all matters inside Iran.
Moderate conservatives have been gaining ground in Iran, where there is increasing discontent with the ruling hardliners over rising tensions with the West, a worsening economy and price hikes in basic commodities.
The government even allowed the series to break another taboo in Iran: For the first time, many actresses appear without the state-mandated Islamic dress code. The producers wanted to realistically portray 1940s Paris, and thus avoided the headscarves and head-to-foot robes that all women must normally wear on Iranian TV.
Ahmadinejad sparked widespread outrage in 2005 when he made comments casting doubt on the Holocaust and saying the state of Israel should be "wiped from the map." His government organized a conference of Holocaust deniers and skeptics from around the world in December.
But the series has won support even from hardliners. Some argue that it links the Holocaust with Israel's creation, thus boosting an argument by Ahmadinejad that if the Nazi killing of Jews did take place, the Palestinians who then lived in Palestine should not have had to pay the price for it by the creation of Israel after the war.
"The series differentiates between Jews and Zionism. The ground for forming Israel is prepared when Hitler's army puts pressure on activist Jews. In this sense, it considers Nazism parallel to Zionism," the hard-line newspaper Keyhan said.
However, if the series does aim to make that point, it has not done so overtly.
Gaining understanding
State media have said the series, which began in April, is popular. It has been a revelation for some Iranians and has pulled them away from more popular satellite channels, which are banned but which many watch anyway on illegal dishes. The fare on state TV is usually dry.
"Once, I wept when I learned through the film what a dreadful destiny the small nation had during the world war in the heart of so-called civilized Europe," said Mahboubeh Rahamati, a Tehran bank teller.
Kazem Gharibi said he watches the series every Monday on a TV in his grocery store.
"Through this film, I understood that Jews had a hard time in the war — helpless and desperate, as we were when Iraq imposed war on us," he said, referring to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.
The series began with a love story between Habib, the embassy employee, and a French Jew, Sara Stroke, in the early 1940s. Viewers say the love story pulls them in as much as the history.
After Paris is occupied by the Nazis, Habib decides to forge Iranian passports for many French Jews to save them from the Holocaust — starting with Sara and her family. The German government accepts his embassy's claim that the passport holders are from an Iranian tribe and lets them leave France.
Habib is imprisoned by the Nazis for espionage after his forgeries are discovered. He then is released and returns to Tehran, where he is jailed again for forging passports.
Eight episodes remain in the series, and viewers drawn by the love story are on edge as they await the finish.
"I have watched the series from the beginning," said Sedigheh Karandish, a housewife and mother of two. "It's pulling me in to see what these two people do at the end. Hopefully, it will be a happy ending."
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Iranian Blogger Hossein Derakshan Interviewed on Israeli TV
Hossein Derakhshan is an active Iranian Journailist/ blogger who was interviewed by a popular TV show named Uvda on his trip to Israel. See the video footage at:
http://i.hoder.com/archives/2007/03/070323_015886.shtml
(in Farsi, Hebrew and English)
http://i.hoder.com/archives/2007/03/070323_015886.shtml
(in Farsi, Hebrew and English)
Monday, March 19, 2007
Nowruz Celebrations
By Persianmirror.com. Accessed 03/19/2007
(http://www.persianmirror.com/celebrations/noruz/noruz.cfm)
Glossary
Khaneh Tekani - Spring Cleaning Sofreh Haft Sin - The Seven S's of the New Year
Chahar Shanbeh Suri - Red Wednesday Bonfire Festival Deed-o Bazdeed - New Years Visits
Norooz History - New Years Roots Sizdah Bedar - The Day 13 Outing
Sal Tahvil - New Year's Times Sofreh Haft Sin Photo Album
Haji Firuz & Amoo Norooz- The Persian Troubadour & Santa Claus Norooz Celebration Photo Album
Sofreh Preparation - Growing Sabzeh & Egg Painting
Persian Celebrations
Khaneh Tekani - Spring Cleaning
Noruz (new year, or more literally "new day") is the most important celebration for Iranians. Perhaps the first step in preparing for Noruz or Now-Ruz, the Persian New Year, is Khaneh Tekani, the annual house cleaning or the spring-cleaning. In ancient times, Iranians believed that spirits of their deceased families and friends would come to visit their descendants and their homes. For this occasion, the hosts clean their homes. The word Khaneh or the slang Khooneh means house or home. The word Tekani means shaking. So the Iranians are literally shaking the house to clean it - much like you shake a rug to clean it. During the Khaneh Tekani, every room in the house is thoroughly cleaned. Iranian families gather to wash the rugs, carpets, and curtains. They polish silverware, pots and pans, and renew old items in the house. In addition, for Norooz, every member of the family renews their look by purchasing Norooz clothes to be worn on the day of Norooz. Families fill their homes with the sweet fragrance of flowers such as hyacinth and narcissus. The burning of wild rue, which is called esfand, is practiced to keep evil spirits away and provide a nice aroma in the house.
Chahar Shanbeh Suri - red wednesday Bonfire Festival
On the eve of the Wednesday before Norooz, the Iranians celebrate Chahar Shanbeh Suri. This is commonly known as the Wednesday Feast or the Festival of the last Wednesday as it is always celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. The word Chahar Shanbeh means Wednesday and Suri is red.
The festivities start in the early evening. Children and fun seeking adults, wrap themselves in white sheets or costumes reenacting visits by the departed spirits. They run through the streets banging on pots and pans with spoons. This is called Gashog-Zani or spoon banging and ushers out the last unlucky Wednesday of the year. They also go to their neighbors, knock on doors and ask for treats, a tradition very similar to Halloween. The main event of Chahar-Shanbeh Suri is the setting of seven little fires consisting of dried bushes and shrubs, which are placed on the ground. Adults and children alike gather to jump over the flames to sing, and celebrate the renewal of life. While jumping the flames, the person chants “Sorkhi-e to az man. Zardi-e man az to.” The literal translation is, “Your fiery red color is mine and my sickly yellow paleness is yours.” Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your paleness, sickness and problems and in turn give you redness, warmth and energy. There is no religious significance attached to Chahar Shanbeh Suri and it serves as a cultural festival for all Iranian Jews, Moslems, Armenians, Turks and Zoroastrians alike.
Iranians believe that wishes will come true on this night. Wishes are made and in order to make them come true, it is customary to prepare Noodles & Bean soup called Ash-e Chahar Shanbeh Suri and share with the poor. Friends and strangers alike are also served with nuts and dried fruits, the Ajil-e Chahar Shanbeh Suri. The Ajil has a mixture of seven dried nuts and fruits, pistachios, roasted chic peas, almond, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins.
To make wishes come true, people who have made wishes will stand at the corner of an intersection, or hide behind walls to listen to conversation of those passing by. If the conversations overheard are positive then the wish will come true. This tradition is called Fal Gush meaning 'listening for one's fortune'. Finally the Chahar Shanbeh Suri evening ends with fire works and family gatherings for a festive meal.
This ancient festival has been celebrated for thousands of years ever since the birth of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. Persians celebrated the last 10 days of the year in the annual feast of souls, Hamaspathmaedaya, Farvardigan or popularly Forodigan). They believed Foruhars, the guardian angels for humans and the spirits of deceased would come back for a visit. These spirits were entertained as honored guests, and were given a ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The bon fires also served as a welcome to these guests. Small clay figurines in shape of humans and animals symbolizing all departed relatives and animals were also placed on the rooftops. Flames were burnt all night to ensure the returning spirits were protected from the forces of Ahriman. This was called Suri festival. There were gatherings in joyful assemblies, with prayers, feasts and communal consumption of ritually blessed food. Rich and poor met together and the occasion was a time of general goodwill when quarrels were resolved and friendships renewed.
On the Thursday after Chahar Shanbeh Suri, Shab-e Jome is celebrated which is a traditional big feast of polo and chicken. Follow ling this ritual assures one that there will be a similar dinner at least once a week during the coming year.
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Norooz History - New Years Roots
The word Norooz meaning New Day, is the most anticipated and favorite celebration for Iranians. It occurs exactly on the Spring Equinox. This occasion has been renowned in one form or another by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Sumerians, 3000 BC, Babylonians, the ancient kingdom of Elam in Southern Persia and Akaddians in the second millennium BC, all celebrated this festival. What we celebrate today as Norooz (Also spelled Now Ruz, Norooz or Norouz) has been around for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of the Zoroastrians of the Sassanian period.
The concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, the coming of the Messiah, individual and last judgment are the foundation for the Zoroastrian belief system and still exist in Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions. In their ancient text, ‘Bundahishn’ foundation of creation, it is said that The Lord of Wisdom (Ahura Mazda) residing in the eternal light was not God. He created all that was good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), residing in the eternal darkness created all that was evil and became the Hostile Spirit. Everything that produced life, protected and enriched it was regarded as good. This included all forces of nature beneficial to humans. Earth, waters, sky, animals, plants, justice, honesty, peace, health, beauty, joy and happiness were regarded as belonging to the good forces. All that threatened life and created disorder belonged to the hostile spirits.
The next creation was the material world, created at seven different stages. The first creation was the sky, and the second was the first ocean. Earth, a big flat dish sitting on the ocean, was the third. The next three creations were the first plant, the first animal a bull and the first human Gayo-maretan (Kiomarth, both male and female). The seventh creation was fire together with the sun.
To protect his creations the Lord of Wisdom created six holy immortals known as ‘Amesha Spenta’. The first three were male deities. Khashtra (Sharivar), the protector of sky; Asha-Vahishta (Ordibehesht) and Vahu Manah (Bahman) protected fire and animals. The other three were female deities: Haurvatat (Khordad) to protect water, Spenta Armaiti (Esfand) protector of mother earth and Ameratat (Amoordad) for plant life. Ahura Mazda became the protector of humans and the holy fire. The six immortals are the names of six of the months in the current Iranian calendar. To begin the cycle life, the plant produced seeds; the bull produced all animals and from the human came the first male and female. The rest of the humanity was created from their union. This was called the first No Ruz, meaning new day and the beginning of the cycle of life. It starts at the beginning of spring and the seven creations are remembered and embraced through the Iranian New Year spread called Sofreh Haft Sin. Norooz is celebrated for 13 days after the mark of spring equinox.
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Sal Tahvil - New Year's Times
The Sal Tahvil or the Sa'at-e Tahvil is New Year's Eve, which is the official time for the Spring Equinox. Every year the equinox occurs at a different point in time, so the date, although accurately measured (to the date and time) is different each year, but close to March 20th.
Sa'at- tahvil is an important moment, as it is a time for forgiving each other, putting away petty differences and looking forward to building more constructive relationships. The countdown is often followed carefully on the radio or television, as the family gathers around the haft sin, in their new clothes, carefully watching the egg or preparing to take a picture of the Sal Tahvil. Legend says that there is a bullfish in the ocean of time carrying the world on one of its horns. When the Sal-e Tahvil arrives, the bullfish tosses the world over to the other horn, resulting in a tremor that will dislodge the egg and send it rolling to the side of the mirror.
As the countdown ushers in the new year, everyone rejoices, kiss each other, exchanging Norooz greetings such as “Eid-i shoma mobarak!”or “Sal-e No Mobarak!” which means Happy New Year. Gifts, usually money called Eidi, placed inside the Koran are exchanged, given by older members to the younger members of the family. Members of the family then celebrate by singing, eating, drinking and taking pictures.
It is also believed that the next visitor to the home will set the tone for luck in the new year, so generally the family will send out the youngest or most innocent member of the family to go outside with some sweets and knock on the door, come in and pretend to be a visitor. After the family has celebrated, the next 13 days are spent visiting the families.
Families gather to take pictures and share sweets and celebrate.
Observance of NOROOZ Saal-Tahvil (turn of the year) - is on
FOR NEW TIMES FOR THIS NEW YEAR PLEASE VISIT THE NOROOZ
CALENDAR FOR SAL TAHVIL ON PERSIANMIRROR.COM
Saal Tahvil Link for Current Year
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Haji Firuz & Amoo Norooz- The Persian Troubadour & Santa Claus
The old Haji, named Firuz or Firooz, is the troubadour who ushers in the new year with his song, dance and merriment. Haji Firooz symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year. Wearing an elaborate red costume which is a cross between a court jester, santa claus and perhaps a venician at carnival, the herald uses his tambourine and enlists a few fellow comedians to make the world laugh. Traditionally, Haji Firooz wears black make up and this is thought to have come from ancient times when the entertainment was provided by black slaves who, with their rather 'strange accents' for the Persians brought laughter to the people. Today’s modern Haji Firooz sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading joy for Norooz. He often appears at gatherings and entertains by singing, dancing, telling stories and also a few good jokes. Children and adults all love Haji Firooz who, if you are lucky, will tell a few good tales like that of Amoo Norooz (Amoo Norouz) and other old Persian tales. Amoo Norooz, a distant relative of Haji Firooz is responsible for giving gifts to the children much like Santa Claus. He makes their wishes come true and ensures that they are happy and healthy for many years to come.
Sofreh Preparation - Growing Sabzeh & Egg painting
You can start growing your sabzeh which is the first S on the sofreh and consists of green sprouts, about 2 or 3 weeks before Norooz. This also depends on how tall you want your Sabzeh. You will need whole lentils (adas) or whole-wheat seeds sold at Iranian stores. We recommend you use these as grocery store seeds do not always yield the best results.
Place a good amount of seed on a nice plate or dish, about 1 cm thick, Soak the seeds in water for two days and then put them on a shallow plate and cover it with a cotton cloth or thin towel. With the cloth over the seeds, place plate in a sunny location or under a light if you do not have access to the sun. Squirt water over the shoots several times a day, and keep them covered with the cloth. Ensure that the seeds do not get too dry or over-soaked. In about 2 or 3 days, small sprouts appear. Remove the cloth and let the sabzeh grow (increased exposure to the sun will increase the speed of its growth). You can grow several dishes in case they rot or go moldy which they often do. Some ladies have a reputation for having green hands and growing great Sabzeh. They might be asked to grow some for friends and relatives. If your hands are far from "green" on your first attempts, do not worry, most Iranian stores sell pre-grown Sabzeh and many people simply buy them.
Another fun tradition for the children is the painting of the eggs for Norooz. This is much like the Easter tradition of painting eggs and can be a great way to teach children about the significance of Haft Sin. The best time to do this is the day before Norooz. That way your eggs will be ready for the sofreh and they will last for the next 13 days of the New Year.
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Sofreh Haft Sin - The Seven S's of the New Year
The Sofreh Haft Sin (Haft Seen) is the spread, which the family gathers around to celebrate the New Year. It is the focal point of the celebration and ensuing visits and as such Iranians take great care and pride in putting together a lavish and elaborate spread to signify all that they want in the new year. The word Haft means seven and Sin stands for the “S” in the alphabet. Sofreh means spread, the floor of which is usually a nice rich material or embroidered fabric. The spread contains the seven specific things that start with “s”. The sofreh is prepared a day or two before Norooz and placed either on the floor or on the table for about two weeks after Norooz. In addition to the seven items, you may place additional items on the sofreh that will signify renewal, happiness, wealth, good health or any thing that you desire for the New Year. You will find additional items that start with S and other items that represent life in our list. Remember that this celebration is one of hope, promise and good fortune, so have fun with it and share the joy with all your friends and family.
Here is a list of suggested items for your sofreh:
Persian Name Definition Description & Symbolism Position
Sabzeh Spring Sprouts Made from wheat or lentil this S signifies rebirth and renewal. Read about how you grow these sprouts at home. The First S on the Sofreh.
Senjed A sweet, dry fruit of a lotus tree The fragrant and blooming lotus tree makes people fall in love so it is natural that its fruit would signify love and affection The Second S on the Sofreh
Sib Apple A big red apple represents health and beauty. Third S on the Sofreh
Samanu Wheat Pudding Wheat and wheat products signify sweetness and fertility. Fourth S on the Sofreh
Serkeh Vinegar White Vinegar signifies age and patience. Fifth S on the Sofreh
Somagh Crushed Sumac berries This S symbolizes the spice of life. Some say Somagh represents the color of the sunrise and with the sun all evil is conquered. Sixth S on the Sofreh
Seer Garlic This medicinal S is a sign of good health. Seventh S on the Sofreh
Sekeh Gold Coins Wealth and Prosperity Optional S.
Sonbol Hyacinth Flower Purple or pink hyacinth are common on the Sofreh and also represent life and beauty. Optional S.
Sangak Flatbread Noon-e Sangak represents prosperity for the feasts. It can be accompanied by Naan-o Panir, which is Iranian feta cheese and fresh herbs to be eaten at the feast. Optional S.
Sohan Asali Honey Almonds A sweet honey candy made with pistachios. Optional S.
Gold Fish Mahi Gold Fish in a clear white bowl represents life and the end of the astral year associated with the constellation Pisces. On the Sofreh
Ayne A Mirror To bring light & brightness into the New Year Head of the Sofreh
Sha’am Two Candelabras Candles large or small can be used and symbolize fire & energy. On either side of the mirror.
Tokhm-e Morgh Decorated Eggs Symbolizes fertility. Eggs are painted by children much like Easter eggs are painted. On the Sofreh. Can be as elaborate as desired.
Ajil
Assorted Nuts Iranians love nuts. They can be roasted pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts On the Sofreh
Scriptures Koran, Bible, Torah, Avesta or other Scriptures, or Poetry depending on beliefs Symbolizes blessings and faith in the New Year. You can also place a Divan-e Hafez or other book of faith and knowledge. Placed in the middle. Put money in the pages of the book and give out Eidi after sal tahvil.
Shirini Sweets & Pastries Noghl, Baaghlavaa, Toot, Noon-e Berenji, Noon-e Nokhodchi and any other sweets you prefer On the Sofreh
Esfand or Esphand Wild Rue A brazier "Manghal" holding burning coals sprinkled with "Esphand" a popular incense. It keeps the evil eye away and brings on health. Nearby
Other optional items: rose water (gol ab), various spices, tray of dry beans, wheat and grain products, various fruit baskets, flowers, vegetables, sweets, nuts and snacks are all welcome. Some families also add a Jaa Namaaz (prayer mat). You can also include a termeh, which is a traditional Persian silk or gold embroidered cloth, handed down from generations to symbolize family and tradition. Visit our real sofreh pictures.
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Deed-o Bazdeed - New Years Visits
The Sal Tahvil, and the eve of the New Year are spent at home with immediate family. After that the tradition of Deed-o Bazdeed starts. This expression means to visit (see) and to visit back or again signifying the next 13 days of the New Year, which bring visits to and from family, friends and neighbors. On the first day of these visits, the families gather at the house of the head of the family, usually the oldest person such as a grandfather or grandmother of the family. This order is kept then from oldest to youngest and serves as a way of paying respect to the family. During these visits, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors and distant relatives gather to celebrate and enjoy the reunion, which may not otherwise occur during the busy year. Iranian sweets, shirini, ajil, tea and various fruits, or entire meals are served at these functions. Children get presents called Eidi from the older relatives, which range from toys to cash. The visits continue going from grandparents to the aunts, uncles, family friends and so on. At the end of thirteen days, the families go on the wonderful and fun family outing called Seezah Bedar.
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Sizdah Bedar - The Day 13 Outing
Seezdah Bedar is the last holiday of the long Norooz break and is a day filled with relaxation and fun outdoors. Seezdah means 13 and Bedar means away or out. Iranians consider 13 to be an unlucky number and so for this reason, they spend the 13th day of the New Year outside the home. Seezdah-Bedar is in essence a national picnic that is celebrated with everyone going to parks, hills and mountainsides to spend the day with nature, wishing the evil spirits away. This way one hopes to avoid any bad incidents that may occur.
Family members rise early in the morning and prepare for the day long picnic. Iranians take their picnics very seriously and pack all the necessary items, leaving maybe the refrigerators behind. Supplies may include sandwiches, traditional polos, drinks, sweets, snacks such as ajil, carpets or rugs, the samavar, a ghalyan (water-pipe), backgammon, chess, cards, balls and other games for the children. Usually areas filled with nature, greenery and streams are chosen to commemorate this cultural holiday. More importantly, the sabzeh (sprouted wheat or lentils) is brought from the sofreh Haft-Sin to be thrown in a flowing stream or creek. It is believed that the sabzeh, which has by this time turned a little yellow, symbolizes sickness and problems. Therefore, it is thrown and carried away by the stream. The day is spent playing games, going for long walks in the fields, eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. In addition, Seezdah Bedar is a big day of hope, and people who wish for things follow the tradition of tying grass together. For example if a young girl wishes to find a husband in the coming year she will tie grass and chant “Seezdah Bedar Sale degar, khune-ye shuhar”. This rhyme literally means, “Next seezdah bedar, I will be at my husband’s home”. There are various chants for people who wish to get a job or be healthy or wealthy and so on. At the end of this day, the haft sin may be cleared away and families return to work.
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©2004 PersianMirror, Inc. All rights reserved. The PersianMirror mark and logo are trademarks of PersianMirror, Inc. Privacy • Terms
(http://www.persianmirror.com/celebrations/noruz/noruz.cfm)
Glossary
Khaneh Tekani - Spring Cleaning Sofreh Haft Sin - The Seven S's of the New Year
Chahar Shanbeh Suri - Red Wednesday Bonfire Festival Deed-o Bazdeed - New Years Visits
Norooz History - New Years Roots Sizdah Bedar - The Day 13 Outing
Sal Tahvil - New Year's Times Sofreh Haft Sin Photo Album
Haji Firuz & Amoo Norooz- The Persian Troubadour & Santa Claus Norooz Celebration Photo Album
Sofreh Preparation - Growing Sabzeh & Egg Painting
Persian Celebrations
Khaneh Tekani - Spring Cleaning
Noruz (new year, or more literally "new day") is the most important celebration for Iranians. Perhaps the first step in preparing for Noruz or Now-Ruz, the Persian New Year, is Khaneh Tekani, the annual house cleaning or the spring-cleaning. In ancient times, Iranians believed that spirits of their deceased families and friends would come to visit their descendants and their homes. For this occasion, the hosts clean their homes. The word Khaneh or the slang Khooneh means house or home. The word Tekani means shaking. So the Iranians are literally shaking the house to clean it - much like you shake a rug to clean it. During the Khaneh Tekani, every room in the house is thoroughly cleaned. Iranian families gather to wash the rugs, carpets, and curtains. They polish silverware, pots and pans, and renew old items in the house. In addition, for Norooz, every member of the family renews their look by purchasing Norooz clothes to be worn on the day of Norooz. Families fill their homes with the sweet fragrance of flowers such as hyacinth and narcissus. The burning of wild rue, which is called esfand, is practiced to keep evil spirits away and provide a nice aroma in the house.
Chahar Shanbeh Suri - red wednesday Bonfire Festival
On the eve of the Wednesday before Norooz, the Iranians celebrate Chahar Shanbeh Suri. This is commonly known as the Wednesday Feast or the Festival of the last Wednesday as it is always celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year. The word Chahar Shanbeh means Wednesday and Suri is red.
The festivities start in the early evening. Children and fun seeking adults, wrap themselves in white sheets or costumes reenacting visits by the departed spirits. They run through the streets banging on pots and pans with spoons. This is called Gashog-Zani or spoon banging and ushers out the last unlucky Wednesday of the year. They also go to their neighbors, knock on doors and ask for treats, a tradition very similar to Halloween. The main event of Chahar-Shanbeh Suri is the setting of seven little fires consisting of dried bushes and shrubs, which are placed on the ground. Adults and children alike gather to jump over the flames to sing, and celebrate the renewal of life. While jumping the flames, the person chants “Sorkhi-e to az man. Zardi-e man az to.” The literal translation is, “Your fiery red color is mine and my sickly yellow paleness is yours.” Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your paleness, sickness and problems and in turn give you redness, warmth and energy. There is no religious significance attached to Chahar Shanbeh Suri and it serves as a cultural festival for all Iranian Jews, Moslems, Armenians, Turks and Zoroastrians alike.
Iranians believe that wishes will come true on this night. Wishes are made and in order to make them come true, it is customary to prepare Noodles & Bean soup called Ash-e Chahar Shanbeh Suri and share with the poor. Friends and strangers alike are also served with nuts and dried fruits, the Ajil-e Chahar Shanbeh Suri. The Ajil has a mixture of seven dried nuts and fruits, pistachios, roasted chic peas, almond, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins.
To make wishes come true, people who have made wishes will stand at the corner of an intersection, or hide behind walls to listen to conversation of those passing by. If the conversations overheard are positive then the wish will come true. This tradition is called Fal Gush meaning 'listening for one's fortune'. Finally the Chahar Shanbeh Suri evening ends with fire works and family gatherings for a festive meal.
This ancient festival has been celebrated for thousands of years ever since the birth of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. Persians celebrated the last 10 days of the year in the annual feast of souls, Hamaspathmaedaya, Farvardigan or popularly Forodigan). They believed Foruhars, the guardian angels for humans and the spirits of deceased would come back for a visit. These spirits were entertained as honored guests, and were given a ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The bon fires also served as a welcome to these guests. Small clay figurines in shape of humans and animals symbolizing all departed relatives and animals were also placed on the rooftops. Flames were burnt all night to ensure the returning spirits were protected from the forces of Ahriman. This was called Suri festival. There were gatherings in joyful assemblies, with prayers, feasts and communal consumption of ritually blessed food. Rich and poor met together and the occasion was a time of general goodwill when quarrels were resolved and friendships renewed.
On the Thursday after Chahar Shanbeh Suri, Shab-e Jome is celebrated which is a traditional big feast of polo and chicken. Follow ling this ritual assures one that there will be a similar dinner at least once a week during the coming year.
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Norooz History - New Years Roots
The word Norooz meaning New Day, is the most anticipated and favorite celebration for Iranians. It occurs exactly on the Spring Equinox. This occasion has been renowned in one form or another by all the major cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. Sumerians, 3000 BC, Babylonians, the ancient kingdom of Elam in Southern Persia and Akaddians in the second millennium BC, all celebrated this festival. What we celebrate today as Norooz (Also spelled Now Ruz, Norooz or Norouz) has been around for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of the Zoroastrians of the Sassanian period.
The concepts of Hell, Heaven, Resurrection, the coming of the Messiah, individual and last judgment are the foundation for the Zoroastrian belief system and still exist in Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions. In their ancient text, ‘Bundahishn’ foundation of creation, it is said that The Lord of Wisdom (Ahura Mazda) residing in the eternal light was not God. He created all that was good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman), residing in the eternal darkness created all that was evil and became the Hostile Spirit. Everything that produced life, protected and enriched it was regarded as good. This included all forces of nature beneficial to humans. Earth, waters, sky, animals, plants, justice, honesty, peace, health, beauty, joy and happiness were regarded as belonging to the good forces. All that threatened life and created disorder belonged to the hostile spirits.
The next creation was the material world, created at seven different stages. The first creation was the sky, and the second was the first ocean. Earth, a big flat dish sitting on the ocean, was the third. The next three creations were the first plant, the first animal a bull and the first human Gayo-maretan (Kiomarth, both male and female). The seventh creation was fire together with the sun.
To protect his creations the Lord of Wisdom created six holy immortals known as ‘Amesha Spenta’. The first three were male deities. Khashtra (Sharivar), the protector of sky; Asha-Vahishta (Ordibehesht) and Vahu Manah (Bahman) protected fire and animals. The other three were female deities: Haurvatat (Khordad) to protect water, Spenta Armaiti (Esfand) protector of mother earth and Ameratat (Amoordad) for plant life. Ahura Mazda became the protector of humans and the holy fire. The six immortals are the names of six of the months in the current Iranian calendar. To begin the cycle life, the plant produced seeds; the bull produced all animals and from the human came the first male and female. The rest of the humanity was created from their union. This was called the first No Ruz, meaning new day and the beginning of the cycle of life. It starts at the beginning of spring and the seven creations are remembered and embraced through the Iranian New Year spread called Sofreh Haft Sin. Norooz is celebrated for 13 days after the mark of spring equinox.
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Sal Tahvil - New Year's Times
The Sal Tahvil or the Sa'at-e Tahvil is New Year's Eve, which is the official time for the Spring Equinox. Every year the equinox occurs at a different point in time, so the date, although accurately measured (to the date and time) is different each year, but close to March 20th.
Sa'at- tahvil is an important moment, as it is a time for forgiving each other, putting away petty differences and looking forward to building more constructive relationships. The countdown is often followed carefully on the radio or television, as the family gathers around the haft sin, in their new clothes, carefully watching the egg or preparing to take a picture of the Sal Tahvil. Legend says that there is a bullfish in the ocean of time carrying the world on one of its horns. When the Sal-e Tahvil arrives, the bullfish tosses the world over to the other horn, resulting in a tremor that will dislodge the egg and send it rolling to the side of the mirror.
As the countdown ushers in the new year, everyone rejoices, kiss each other, exchanging Norooz greetings such as “Eid-i shoma mobarak!”or “Sal-e No Mobarak!” which means Happy New Year. Gifts, usually money called Eidi, placed inside the Koran are exchanged, given by older members to the younger members of the family. Members of the family then celebrate by singing, eating, drinking and taking pictures.
It is also believed that the next visitor to the home will set the tone for luck in the new year, so generally the family will send out the youngest or most innocent member of the family to go outside with some sweets and knock on the door, come in and pretend to be a visitor. After the family has celebrated, the next 13 days are spent visiting the families.
Families gather to take pictures and share sweets and celebrate.
Observance of NOROOZ Saal-Tahvil (turn of the year) - is on
FOR NEW TIMES FOR THIS NEW YEAR PLEASE VISIT THE NOROOZ
CALENDAR FOR SAL TAHVIL ON PERSIANMIRROR.COM
Saal Tahvil Link for Current Year
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Haji Firuz & Amoo Norooz- The Persian Troubadour & Santa Claus
The old Haji, named Firuz or Firooz, is the troubadour who ushers in the new year with his song, dance and merriment. Haji Firooz symbolizes the rebirth of the Sumerian god of sacrifice, Domuzi, who was killed at the end of each year and reborn at the beginning of the New Year. Wearing an elaborate red costume which is a cross between a court jester, santa claus and perhaps a venician at carnival, the herald uses his tambourine and enlists a few fellow comedians to make the world laugh. Traditionally, Haji Firooz wears black make up and this is thought to have come from ancient times when the entertainment was provided by black slaves who, with their rather 'strange accents' for the Persians brought laughter to the people. Today’s modern Haji Firooz sings and dances through the streets with tambourines and trumpets spreading joy for Norooz. He often appears at gatherings and entertains by singing, dancing, telling stories and also a few good jokes. Children and adults all love Haji Firooz who, if you are lucky, will tell a few good tales like that of Amoo Norooz (Amoo Norouz) and other old Persian tales. Amoo Norooz, a distant relative of Haji Firooz is responsible for giving gifts to the children much like Santa Claus. He makes their wishes come true and ensures that they are happy and healthy for many years to come.
Sofreh Preparation - Growing Sabzeh & Egg painting
You can start growing your sabzeh which is the first S on the sofreh and consists of green sprouts, about 2 or 3 weeks before Norooz. This also depends on how tall you want your Sabzeh. You will need whole lentils (adas) or whole-wheat seeds sold at Iranian stores. We recommend you use these as grocery store seeds do not always yield the best results.
Place a good amount of seed on a nice plate or dish, about 1 cm thick, Soak the seeds in water for two days and then put them on a shallow plate and cover it with a cotton cloth or thin towel. With the cloth over the seeds, place plate in a sunny location or under a light if you do not have access to the sun. Squirt water over the shoots several times a day, and keep them covered with the cloth. Ensure that the seeds do not get too dry or over-soaked. In about 2 or 3 days, small sprouts appear. Remove the cloth and let the sabzeh grow (increased exposure to the sun will increase the speed of its growth). You can grow several dishes in case they rot or go moldy which they often do. Some ladies have a reputation for having green hands and growing great Sabzeh. They might be asked to grow some for friends and relatives. If your hands are far from "green" on your first attempts, do not worry, most Iranian stores sell pre-grown Sabzeh and many people simply buy them.
Another fun tradition for the children is the painting of the eggs for Norooz. This is much like the Easter tradition of painting eggs and can be a great way to teach children about the significance of Haft Sin. The best time to do this is the day before Norooz. That way your eggs will be ready for the sofreh and they will last for the next 13 days of the New Year.
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Sofreh Haft Sin - The Seven S's of the New Year
The Sofreh Haft Sin (Haft Seen) is the spread, which the family gathers around to celebrate the New Year. It is the focal point of the celebration and ensuing visits and as such Iranians take great care and pride in putting together a lavish and elaborate spread to signify all that they want in the new year. The word Haft means seven and Sin stands for the “S” in the alphabet. Sofreh means spread, the floor of which is usually a nice rich material or embroidered fabric. The spread contains the seven specific things that start with “s”. The sofreh is prepared a day or two before Norooz and placed either on the floor or on the table for about two weeks after Norooz. In addition to the seven items, you may place additional items on the sofreh that will signify renewal, happiness, wealth, good health or any thing that you desire for the New Year. You will find additional items that start with S and other items that represent life in our list. Remember that this celebration is one of hope, promise and good fortune, so have fun with it and share the joy with all your friends and family.
Here is a list of suggested items for your sofreh:
Persian Name Definition Description & Symbolism Position
Sabzeh Spring Sprouts Made from wheat or lentil this S signifies rebirth and renewal. Read about how you grow these sprouts at home. The First S on the Sofreh.
Senjed A sweet, dry fruit of a lotus tree The fragrant and blooming lotus tree makes people fall in love so it is natural that its fruit would signify love and affection The Second S on the Sofreh
Sib Apple A big red apple represents health and beauty. Third S on the Sofreh
Samanu Wheat Pudding Wheat and wheat products signify sweetness and fertility. Fourth S on the Sofreh
Serkeh Vinegar White Vinegar signifies age and patience. Fifth S on the Sofreh
Somagh Crushed Sumac berries This S symbolizes the spice of life. Some say Somagh represents the color of the sunrise and with the sun all evil is conquered. Sixth S on the Sofreh
Seer Garlic This medicinal S is a sign of good health. Seventh S on the Sofreh
Sekeh Gold Coins Wealth and Prosperity Optional S.
Sonbol Hyacinth Flower Purple or pink hyacinth are common on the Sofreh and also represent life and beauty. Optional S.
Sangak Flatbread Noon-e Sangak represents prosperity for the feasts. It can be accompanied by Naan-o Panir, which is Iranian feta cheese and fresh herbs to be eaten at the feast. Optional S.
Sohan Asali Honey Almonds A sweet honey candy made with pistachios. Optional S.
Gold Fish Mahi Gold Fish in a clear white bowl represents life and the end of the astral year associated with the constellation Pisces. On the Sofreh
Ayne A Mirror To bring light & brightness into the New Year Head of the Sofreh
Sha’am Two Candelabras Candles large or small can be used and symbolize fire & energy. On either side of the mirror.
Tokhm-e Morgh Decorated Eggs Symbolizes fertility. Eggs are painted by children much like Easter eggs are painted. On the Sofreh. Can be as elaborate as desired.
Ajil
Assorted Nuts Iranians love nuts. They can be roasted pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts On the Sofreh
Scriptures Koran, Bible, Torah, Avesta or other Scriptures, or Poetry depending on beliefs Symbolizes blessings and faith in the New Year. You can also place a Divan-e Hafez or other book of faith and knowledge. Placed in the middle. Put money in the pages of the book and give out Eidi after sal tahvil.
Shirini Sweets & Pastries Noghl, Baaghlavaa, Toot, Noon-e Berenji, Noon-e Nokhodchi and any other sweets you prefer On the Sofreh
Esfand or Esphand Wild Rue A brazier "Manghal" holding burning coals sprinkled with "Esphand" a popular incense. It keeps the evil eye away and brings on health. Nearby
Other optional items: rose water (gol ab), various spices, tray of dry beans, wheat and grain products, various fruit baskets, flowers, vegetables, sweets, nuts and snacks are all welcome. Some families also add a Jaa Namaaz (prayer mat). You can also include a termeh, which is a traditional Persian silk or gold embroidered cloth, handed down from generations to symbolize family and tradition. Visit our real sofreh pictures.
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Deed-o Bazdeed - New Years Visits
The Sal Tahvil, and the eve of the New Year are spent at home with immediate family. After that the tradition of Deed-o Bazdeed starts. This expression means to visit (see) and to visit back or again signifying the next 13 days of the New Year, which bring visits to and from family, friends and neighbors. On the first day of these visits, the families gather at the house of the head of the family, usually the oldest person such as a grandfather or grandmother of the family. This order is kept then from oldest to youngest and serves as a way of paying respect to the family. During these visits, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors and distant relatives gather to celebrate and enjoy the reunion, which may not otherwise occur during the busy year. Iranian sweets, shirini, ajil, tea and various fruits, or entire meals are served at these functions. Children get presents called Eidi from the older relatives, which range from toys to cash. The visits continue going from grandparents to the aunts, uncles, family friends and so on. At the end of thirteen days, the families go on the wonderful and fun family outing called Seezah Bedar.
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Sizdah Bedar - The Day 13 Outing
Seezdah Bedar is the last holiday of the long Norooz break and is a day filled with relaxation and fun outdoors. Seezdah means 13 and Bedar means away or out. Iranians consider 13 to be an unlucky number and so for this reason, they spend the 13th day of the New Year outside the home. Seezdah-Bedar is in essence a national picnic that is celebrated with everyone going to parks, hills and mountainsides to spend the day with nature, wishing the evil spirits away. This way one hopes to avoid any bad incidents that may occur.
Family members rise early in the morning and prepare for the day long picnic. Iranians take their picnics very seriously and pack all the necessary items, leaving maybe the refrigerators behind. Supplies may include sandwiches, traditional polos, drinks, sweets, snacks such as ajil, carpets or rugs, the samavar, a ghalyan (water-pipe), backgammon, chess, cards, balls and other games for the children. Usually areas filled with nature, greenery and streams are chosen to commemorate this cultural holiday. More importantly, the sabzeh (sprouted wheat or lentils) is brought from the sofreh Haft-Sin to be thrown in a flowing stream or creek. It is believed that the sabzeh, which has by this time turned a little yellow, symbolizes sickness and problems. Therefore, it is thrown and carried away by the stream. The day is spent playing games, going for long walks in the fields, eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. In addition, Seezdah Bedar is a big day of hope, and people who wish for things follow the tradition of tying grass together. For example if a young girl wishes to find a husband in the coming year she will tie grass and chant “Seezdah Bedar Sale degar, khune-ye shuhar”. This rhyme literally means, “Next seezdah bedar, I will be at my husband’s home”. There are various chants for people who wish to get a job or be healthy or wealthy and so on. At the end of this day, the haft sin may be cleared away and families return to work.
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Thursday, January 18, 2007
Sean Penn In Iran
Sean Penn, Special to The Chronicle
Published August 22, 2005
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/22/DDGJUEAF041.DTL
DAY ONE
In June, Sean Penn and two friends traveled to Tehran. It was Penn's first trip to the country. What he found was a culture in conflict. Although the nation is ruled by a very conservative, tradition-bound government, Penn talked to many younger Iranians who have a strong interest in Western culture and want their own country to liberalize its policies on individual rights. Beginning today, The Chronicle will publish a five-day series of his reports from Iran:
It's the week preceding presidential elections. Candidates attack one another's credibility. Activists push to boycott the vote. Traffic and pollution choke the cities. Leftists support a no-win idealist. Preachers guide their flocks toward political starboard. The media have fallen under the grip of standing power, and should they defy it, they're imprisoned. University students promote human rights, while fundamentalists deny them. It is a culture in love with cinema. With Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie. And anything Steven Spielberg. It is a nation of nuclear power, where the lobbies of the religious right effectively blur the lines between church and state. But it is also a country of good and hospitable people. And when the local team wins a big match, there is dancing, kissing, drinking and drugs in the streets. Women are graduating the campuses in higher and higher numbers, occupying government in higher and higher numbers. Sound familiar? But wait. The women. Look at the women. All is not well. I'm thinking about the women. This is Iran.
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It had been six weeks since my friend, author Norman Solomon, and I sat around in my living room deciding to travel to Iran and called journalist Reese Erlich to join us. Reese immediately began applications for visas. Over the month and a half that followed, he slogged through U.N. attaches and the cultural and foreign ministries of the Islamic Republic of Iran and swam doggedly upriver through the multiple bureaucracies that lead to a journalist's visa. This process led to continual rescheduling and revised itineraries.
When the visas were finally approved, two days beyond our latest planned departure, I was in England visiting my wife who was working there. On the afternoon of June 8, I watched the Iranian World Cup team dominate Bahrain on the television of the Iranian Consulate in London. Iran's victory gave me further reason to mourn our most recent travel delay, because it meant I would miss the jubilance that would surely explode in the streets of Tehran.
The next morning, I left London at 6 a.m. to rendezvous with Norman and Reese in Munich. While I waited in the Munich airport for their flight from San Francisco, I did some money changing, magazine buying and snacking. I travel better where English is not spoken. But English is spoken at German airports, so I remained restless until their arrival.
At 3:30 p.m. Munich-time, Norman, Reese and I boarded Lufthansa Flight 602 to Tehran. The other passengers were about 95 percent Iranian and a few Europeans. Last year, including journalists, fewer than 500 non-Iranian Americans visited Iran. I looked around the plane, full of modern men and women in Western garb, returning from vacations, family visits and business. Alcoholic beverages were served on the plane. But no alcohol sold for duty- free purchase. Iran is an Islamic state and a dry one. Nonetheless, many of these travelers were happy to get in their last swill before landing.
Four hours and 10 minutes later and a time change that would have us land at 10:30 p.m. Tehran-time, came a P.A. announcement as we went into approach: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very important announcement to make. For all our female passengers, by decree of the government of Iran, all female visitors are required to keep their heads covered. In your own interest, therefore, we ask you to put on a scarf before leaving the aircraft in Tehran. Thank you." With that, women clamored for the lavatory. One at a time as they exited, hundreds of years of transformation had occurred. All of these modern women, who would've looked quite at home dancing in a Paris nightclub, were now covered head to toe in black chadors, makeup scrubbed from their faces, cleavages and midriffs a memory.
There are no separate queues for Iranian and foreign passport holders at customs, and, as my pals and I had traveled in the rear coach seats, we found ourselves somewhere three-quarters back in the line. I was anxious to get out into the street, to smell the city and its traffic, to arrive at the hotel, check in with home. Our cell phones would not work in Tehran, so I hoped that the international phone lines wouldn't be difficult to get. I noticed that many Iranians were freely smoking cigarettes in line, certainly no signs prohibiting it, and immediately joined them. I was quickly singled out by a uniformed customs agent who instructed me to put out my cigarette. Only me. Not the Iranian passengers.
Eventually, Norman, Reese and I went forward to the customs booth and presented our three American passports. We were told to "wait," rather abruptly. With that, the young Iranian customs official left his booth with our passports, taking them to another office, out of our line of sight.
The official returned, but without our passports or any explanation. We stood dumbly by, as the remaining Iranian passengers were stamped and passed us.
Over an hour later, we were still waiting in a now-empty customs hall. I sat on the floor. Reese paced. And Norman, Zen as always, stood in place. Suddenly, four uniformed customs officials appeared and hurried us into a small office, where one by one, we were fingerprinted and directed in Farsi. It wasn't clear whether the fingerprinting was leading to our being permitted into the country, or if our passports alone were the reason we were being detained.
What does he want?
The agent whose large hands had rolled my black-inked fingers and palms over several printing forms barked at me to follow him with a wave of his hand. He led me to a men's room, where he swung open the door and indicated I should go in ahead of him. It was a bit of a ratty hole. Water closets, open. Worn, reflectionless mirrors. Where our standard toilets might sit, these are simply holes in the floor, with dark glimmering puddles beneath, and fluorescent light above. He just stared at me. Neither threateningly, nor warmly. Seconds went by as I stared back. Neither threatened, nor comfortable. "Now what?" I said. He raised his hands and wiped his palms over one another. Yes, he wanted me to have the opportunity to wash my hands, rather than to walk, black-handed, into the Persian night.
So I turned to the sink, there were the last bubbles in a soap dispenser and I tried to pump it. The water came on automatically, nice modern touch, but it was cold. I rubbed my hands together under it with a bubble or two of soap, to at least a graying effect. When I looked for some sort of towel to dry them, there wasn't one. So, I took a deep breath and slid past my 6-foot-3- inch minder into one of the water closets, grabbed some toilet paper, and dried my dull gray hands.
There was, it turned out, a contrivance in the tone of all this. The language of the Iranian Parliament in the decree for fingerprinting makes no attempt to disguise the retaliatory impetus of the fingerprinting policy: Americans do it to Iranians. Iranians do it to us. When I thanked the agent for his help, I was as much thanking him for not putting my head in the water closet hole as for facilitating our clean-handed entrance into his country. When we got to the baggage area, our driver was dutifully waiting, as were our bags. We jumped in the car and headed for the hotel.
The streets of Tehran at night are reminiscent of Baghdad or Mexico City. Jousting, yelling, horn honking and warm thickly polluted air, mud-splattered motorcycles, winding through human traffic at death-bound speeds. This was the week before the Iranian presidential election and the city was papered with campaign posters. Dominant were those of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. I knew it would be an eventful week. I did not know we were headed into the most violent week in Iran in more than a decade.
The Hotel Laleh had once been the InterContinental. Its modern conveniences intact, we pulled our luggage through the lobby, greeted by bellmen, ever so warm and happy to relieve us of our bags. At check-in, it is required to surrender one's passport and identify what type of visa one travels under. The legality of my presence was based on my technical position as "journalist." Hence, I checked in as such, went up to my room, called home, then got some sleep.
I got up with the morning light, opened the curtains and could just make out the sparsely snow-spotted peaks above through the polluted haze. Tehran lies at the foot of the Elburz Mountains. In some directions, it doesn't look unlike Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriels. Staring into my room from the boulevard below was a banner with the visage of Ayatollah Khomeini. Our first scheduled event was the Friday morning prayer service. But that would not begin for several hours. I went downstairs, out the door, and walked into the Tehran morning.
This would turn out to be one of the few times I was able to be alone on the visit. But it was an important time for that. My unsure footing at the airport, the hustle of the city we drove into the night before, were by now, dreamlike and wary episodes of travel. But now I was just one more rested body and spirit walking down the Tehran street. What I had anticipated of this deeply Islamic city was some sort of post-chant, post-prayer gloominess, dark- eyed men with dark beards, eyeing me with suspicion, shrouded women not eyeing me at all. But that's not what I saw. And that's not what it felt like.
Of course one doesn't see a woman without a scarf, called a hijab, on her head at least, and a chador covering her body. It is unlawful to touch a woman in public unless you are her husband. Girlfriends and boyfriends are not permitted to hold hands. However, there are many smiles. There was laughter and very warm feelings in the eyes that fell on this American visitor. Surprised to encounter me in their city, some told me how much they liked the movie "21 Grams," a film in which sex and drug abuse are both seen in graphic detail. Over the next days, I would find that American movies are readily available and popular in Iran, viewed on black market DVDs. The DVD man goes house to house, like a milkman might.
The back of the bus
I walked slowly over about a 2-square-mile area. The image of Ayatollah Khomeini, as stern as an Orwellian leader, is omnipresent on the sides of buildings, walls, billboards and bus stops, watching my every move. As I studied one of those building sides, the searing eyes of their beloved Ayatollah, I stepped off a curb and was nearly flattened by a transit bus. I leaped backward onto the sidewalk. And there they were, staring down upon me, Iranian men, in the front of the bus. But as I regained my bearings, the last third of the bus passed me and it was there, where everything went into slow motion. Sliding by me was the rear of the bus, occupied only by women in black chadors. The back of the bus. I thought of Rosa Parks.
Back at the hotel, I went for coffee and scrambled eggs at the downstairs buffet. A canned, Muzak version of "I Will Always Love You" plays. The scene downstairs reminded me of similar scenes in Iraq, at Baghdad's Al Rashid and Palestine hotels. International journalists with that "What the f --
are you doing here, Mr. Penn?" look on their faces.
I grabbed a copy of the English version of Iran News. I read that the United States was considering the sale of commercial aircraft parts to Iran. The Muzak changed, and an instrumental of "Unchained Melody" took over. After breakfast, I swung by the front desk to inquire about exercise facilities, in or out of the hotel. There wasn't much available, but there were a couple of times I found myself running the emergency stairs twelve floors up and twelve floors down. And it got a bit musty.
I headed upstairs to get ready for a 10 a.m. meeting with the Iranian agency that represents visiting journalists. I loaded my camera, my tape recorder and changed into a more formal pair of shoes, as I didn't know what expectations of dress the prayer service required. My television was on and CNN World Report registered a viewer complaint that there were too many stories about China. Too few covering the Downing Street Memo revelation. I had put myself to sleep the night before with CNN World Report, special edition on China's sex museum.
After getting our official credentials, we headed off to Friday prayers. Security was very tight around the stadium of Tehran University where the faithful assemble for Namaze Jumeh or Friday Prayers. We surrendered all metallic objects after going through a series of metal detectors. I was subjected to an upper body search, triggered by a cash pouch around my waist. (The interest on credit cards is against Islamic doctrine and therefore, one carries and pays in cash.) Then we were escorted to the press balcony.
The stadium was hung with banners. One translated, "We shall always support the Palestinians." Another, "Resistance against the conspiracies of America and Israel will disappoint them to predominate over Iran's nation." This phrase is attributed to "the grand, great leader." Bit by bit, the stadium filled until 10,000 worshipers created a sea partially of white and black turbans (the black represents the Seyed or direct descendent of the prophet Mohammed) pale and dark shirts. Chanting echoed throughout the building. Government officials fill the front rows. Military arrived in groups, in the belief that their prayers will be answered in multiples. Many, as simple conscripts, seemed less focused on the proceedings. And behind them, the sea of the devout.
The opening sermon was delivered by a low-level cleric, Ayatollah Mesbehi, and focused on economic morality. With every bow, and only backs showing, the bodies of worshipers created the illusion of an undulating Persian carpet. The women were sequestered in an entirely separate area, all but unseen from the press balcony. The hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati arrived to deliver his sermon. He leads the six-man Guardian Council, the controversial and largely considered fundamentalist body that governs state decisions over and above those made by the president or parliament (Majlis). In an apparently direct targeting of centrist candidate Rafsanjani, he preached against the dangers of nepotism in government. Rafsanjani was known to employ many of his relatives in his cabinets, and represented a power and following that directly threatened that of the Guardian Council.
As Jannati transitioned toward international policy, he reminded what was largely considered a reluctant voting public that every vote is a shout of death to America. He goaded the crowd to join the chanting calls for "Death to Israel!", "Death to America!" Ten thousand strong of voice. I was struck by the familiar: a cleric guiding his followers in their politics, and toward particular candidates away from others. It has been my observation that this kind of invective speech is common, not only in Iran but in the Arab states as well. According to many with whom I spoke, it had always been clear from the Iranian point of view, that the call is related to American foreign policy and does not intend to target the death of the American people. However, when the supposed purpose of a 10,000-person rally is in the prayer and scruples of Islam, I can say that as an American (a half Jew, by the way), the chant demeans both intent and any religion that aspires to a core of love and reduces it to a cheap political threat of violence.
As the service came to its end, hands released the prayer beads counted for pacing of prayer. In our case, we checked Reese's watch, which said it was time to beat the crowd and get back to the car. We went back through the multiple security checks like the first fleeing audience members of a rock concert..
TOMORROW: A meeting with Rafsanjani's son
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A short history of U.S.-Iran relations
Iran is not an unsophisticated country. These are not unrefined people. And many, even among the worshipers at the Friday prayer service, do not subscribe to a literal interpretation of the call for "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." However, in the mantra of chant, comes an adulated sense of horror. Why such anger at the United States? Where had Iran's traumatic experience with American power begun?
Just after the midpoint of the 20th century, Prime Minister Muhammad Mussadiq -- erudite, secular and committed to a democratic vision of Iran - cast a formidable shadow across the world stage. At home his popularity grew as he insisted on putting an end to Britain's long-standing plunder of Iranian oil. In April 1951, Mussadiq took decisive action, nationalizing the British oil firm that had enjoyed a sweetheart deal with Iran's government. Despite fury in London, he set up the National Iranian Oil Co.
British leaders got nowhere when they asked the Truman administration to use the U.S. government's more trusted position in Tehran to help overthrow Mussadiq. But as soon as President Eisenhower took office in early 1953, his foreign-policy team rolled up its spooky sleeves to get the job done. The regal Shah of Iran -- a faithful buddy of British oil executives -- was losing his power struggle with Mussadiq, and in August the Shah abruptly left the country and fled to Rome. The CIA, working as senior partner with Britain's MI6, quickly moved to subvert Iranian democracy.
CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, a grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, labored feverishly in Tehran to coordinate a coup that brought down Mussadiq in August 1953 and quickly restored the Shah to the throne. Western oil companies were back in charge of Iran's oil, and the Shah initiated what turned out to be a quarter-century of political repression, torture, and killing.
Author Dilip Hiro wrote:
"America -- a power that most secular nationalists had initially considered
to be benevolently neutral to Iran in its dispute with the British -- had clandestinely allied with Britain to overthrow a government that represented popular nationalist interest. This reprehensible act of the United States left a deep scar on the minds of Iranians, implanting most of them with abiding animosity toward America."
With the 1979 revolution, came the flight of the Shah and the return of Iran's exiled spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini.
-- Sean Penn
Sean Penn is an Oscar-winning actor and director who lives with his family in the Bay Area. He previously reported on his trip to Iraq for The Chronicle.
Page C - 1
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©2007 San Francisco Chronicle
Published August 22, 2005
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/22/DDGJUEAF041.DTL
DAY ONE
In June, Sean Penn and two friends traveled to Tehran. It was Penn's first trip to the country. What he found was a culture in conflict. Although the nation is ruled by a very conservative, tradition-bound government, Penn talked to many younger Iranians who have a strong interest in Western culture and want their own country to liberalize its policies on individual rights. Beginning today, The Chronicle will publish a five-day series of his reports from Iran:
It's the week preceding presidential elections. Candidates attack one another's credibility. Activists push to boycott the vote. Traffic and pollution choke the cities. Leftists support a no-win idealist. Preachers guide their flocks toward political starboard. The media have fallen under the grip of standing power, and should they defy it, they're imprisoned. University students promote human rights, while fundamentalists deny them. It is a culture in love with cinema. With Brad Pitt. Angelina Jolie. And anything Steven Spielberg. It is a nation of nuclear power, where the lobbies of the religious right effectively blur the lines between church and state. But it is also a country of good and hospitable people. And when the local team wins a big match, there is dancing, kissing, drinking and drugs in the streets. Women are graduating the campuses in higher and higher numbers, occupying government in higher and higher numbers. Sound familiar? But wait. The women. Look at the women. All is not well. I'm thinking about the women. This is Iran.
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It had been six weeks since my friend, author Norman Solomon, and I sat around in my living room deciding to travel to Iran and called journalist Reese Erlich to join us. Reese immediately began applications for visas. Over the month and a half that followed, he slogged through U.N. attaches and the cultural and foreign ministries of the Islamic Republic of Iran and swam doggedly upriver through the multiple bureaucracies that lead to a journalist's visa. This process led to continual rescheduling and revised itineraries.
When the visas were finally approved, two days beyond our latest planned departure, I was in England visiting my wife who was working there. On the afternoon of June 8, I watched the Iranian World Cup team dominate Bahrain on the television of the Iranian Consulate in London. Iran's victory gave me further reason to mourn our most recent travel delay, because it meant I would miss the jubilance that would surely explode in the streets of Tehran.
The next morning, I left London at 6 a.m. to rendezvous with Norman and Reese in Munich. While I waited in the Munich airport for their flight from San Francisco, I did some money changing, magazine buying and snacking. I travel better where English is not spoken. But English is spoken at German airports, so I remained restless until their arrival.
At 3:30 p.m. Munich-time, Norman, Reese and I boarded Lufthansa Flight 602 to Tehran. The other passengers were about 95 percent Iranian and a few Europeans. Last year, including journalists, fewer than 500 non-Iranian Americans visited Iran. I looked around the plane, full of modern men and women in Western garb, returning from vacations, family visits and business. Alcoholic beverages were served on the plane. But no alcohol sold for duty- free purchase. Iran is an Islamic state and a dry one. Nonetheless, many of these travelers were happy to get in their last swill before landing.
Four hours and 10 minutes later and a time change that would have us land at 10:30 p.m. Tehran-time, came a P.A. announcement as we went into approach: "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very important announcement to make. For all our female passengers, by decree of the government of Iran, all female visitors are required to keep their heads covered. In your own interest, therefore, we ask you to put on a scarf before leaving the aircraft in Tehran. Thank you." With that, women clamored for the lavatory. One at a time as they exited, hundreds of years of transformation had occurred. All of these modern women, who would've looked quite at home dancing in a Paris nightclub, were now covered head to toe in black chadors, makeup scrubbed from their faces, cleavages and midriffs a memory.
There are no separate queues for Iranian and foreign passport holders at customs, and, as my pals and I had traveled in the rear coach seats, we found ourselves somewhere three-quarters back in the line. I was anxious to get out into the street, to smell the city and its traffic, to arrive at the hotel, check in with home. Our cell phones would not work in Tehran, so I hoped that the international phone lines wouldn't be difficult to get. I noticed that many Iranians were freely smoking cigarettes in line, certainly no signs prohibiting it, and immediately joined them. I was quickly singled out by a uniformed customs agent who instructed me to put out my cigarette. Only me. Not the Iranian passengers.
Eventually, Norman, Reese and I went forward to the customs booth and presented our three American passports. We were told to "wait," rather abruptly. With that, the young Iranian customs official left his booth with our passports, taking them to another office, out of our line of sight.
The official returned, but without our passports or any explanation. We stood dumbly by, as the remaining Iranian passengers were stamped and passed us.
Over an hour later, we were still waiting in a now-empty customs hall. I sat on the floor. Reese paced. And Norman, Zen as always, stood in place. Suddenly, four uniformed customs officials appeared and hurried us into a small office, where one by one, we were fingerprinted and directed in Farsi. It wasn't clear whether the fingerprinting was leading to our being permitted into the country, or if our passports alone were the reason we were being detained.
What does he want?
The agent whose large hands had rolled my black-inked fingers and palms over several printing forms barked at me to follow him with a wave of his hand. He led me to a men's room, where he swung open the door and indicated I should go in ahead of him. It was a bit of a ratty hole. Water closets, open. Worn, reflectionless mirrors. Where our standard toilets might sit, these are simply holes in the floor, with dark glimmering puddles beneath, and fluorescent light above. He just stared at me. Neither threateningly, nor warmly. Seconds went by as I stared back. Neither threatened, nor comfortable. "Now what?" I said. He raised his hands and wiped his palms over one another. Yes, he wanted me to have the opportunity to wash my hands, rather than to walk, black-handed, into the Persian night.
So I turned to the sink, there were the last bubbles in a soap dispenser and I tried to pump it. The water came on automatically, nice modern touch, but it was cold. I rubbed my hands together under it with a bubble or two of soap, to at least a graying effect. When I looked for some sort of towel to dry them, there wasn't one. So, I took a deep breath and slid past my 6-foot-3- inch minder into one of the water closets, grabbed some toilet paper, and dried my dull gray hands.
There was, it turned out, a contrivance in the tone of all this. The language of the Iranian Parliament in the decree for fingerprinting makes no attempt to disguise the retaliatory impetus of the fingerprinting policy: Americans do it to Iranians. Iranians do it to us. When I thanked the agent for his help, I was as much thanking him for not putting my head in the water closet hole as for facilitating our clean-handed entrance into his country. When we got to the baggage area, our driver was dutifully waiting, as were our bags. We jumped in the car and headed for the hotel.
The streets of Tehran at night are reminiscent of Baghdad or Mexico City. Jousting, yelling, horn honking and warm thickly polluted air, mud-splattered motorcycles, winding through human traffic at death-bound speeds. This was the week before the Iranian presidential election and the city was papered with campaign posters. Dominant were those of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. I knew it would be an eventful week. I did not know we were headed into the most violent week in Iran in more than a decade.
The Hotel Laleh had once been the InterContinental. Its modern conveniences intact, we pulled our luggage through the lobby, greeted by bellmen, ever so warm and happy to relieve us of our bags. At check-in, it is required to surrender one's passport and identify what type of visa one travels under. The legality of my presence was based on my technical position as "journalist." Hence, I checked in as such, went up to my room, called home, then got some sleep.
I got up with the morning light, opened the curtains and could just make out the sparsely snow-spotted peaks above through the polluted haze. Tehran lies at the foot of the Elburz Mountains. In some directions, it doesn't look unlike Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriels. Staring into my room from the boulevard below was a banner with the visage of Ayatollah Khomeini. Our first scheduled event was the Friday morning prayer service. But that would not begin for several hours. I went downstairs, out the door, and walked into the Tehran morning.
This would turn out to be one of the few times I was able to be alone on the visit. But it was an important time for that. My unsure footing at the airport, the hustle of the city we drove into the night before, were by now, dreamlike and wary episodes of travel. But now I was just one more rested body and spirit walking down the Tehran street. What I had anticipated of this deeply Islamic city was some sort of post-chant, post-prayer gloominess, dark- eyed men with dark beards, eyeing me with suspicion, shrouded women not eyeing me at all. But that's not what I saw. And that's not what it felt like.
Of course one doesn't see a woman without a scarf, called a hijab, on her head at least, and a chador covering her body. It is unlawful to touch a woman in public unless you are her husband. Girlfriends and boyfriends are not permitted to hold hands. However, there are many smiles. There was laughter and very warm feelings in the eyes that fell on this American visitor. Surprised to encounter me in their city, some told me how much they liked the movie "21 Grams," a film in which sex and drug abuse are both seen in graphic detail. Over the next days, I would find that American movies are readily available and popular in Iran, viewed on black market DVDs. The DVD man goes house to house, like a milkman might.
The back of the bus
I walked slowly over about a 2-square-mile area. The image of Ayatollah Khomeini, as stern as an Orwellian leader, is omnipresent on the sides of buildings, walls, billboards and bus stops, watching my every move. As I studied one of those building sides, the searing eyes of their beloved Ayatollah, I stepped off a curb and was nearly flattened by a transit bus. I leaped backward onto the sidewalk. And there they were, staring down upon me, Iranian men, in the front of the bus. But as I regained my bearings, the last third of the bus passed me and it was there, where everything went into slow motion. Sliding by me was the rear of the bus, occupied only by women in black chadors. The back of the bus. I thought of Rosa Parks.
Back at the hotel, I went for coffee and scrambled eggs at the downstairs buffet. A canned, Muzak version of "I Will Always Love You" plays. The scene downstairs reminded me of similar scenes in Iraq, at Baghdad's Al Rashid and Palestine hotels. International journalists with that "What the f --
are you doing here, Mr. Penn?" look on their faces.
I grabbed a copy of the English version of Iran News. I read that the United States was considering the sale of commercial aircraft parts to Iran. The Muzak changed, and an instrumental of "Unchained Melody" took over. After breakfast, I swung by the front desk to inquire about exercise facilities, in or out of the hotel. There wasn't much available, but there were a couple of times I found myself running the emergency stairs twelve floors up and twelve floors down. And it got a bit musty.
I headed upstairs to get ready for a 10 a.m. meeting with the Iranian agency that represents visiting journalists. I loaded my camera, my tape recorder and changed into a more formal pair of shoes, as I didn't know what expectations of dress the prayer service required. My television was on and CNN World Report registered a viewer complaint that there were too many stories about China. Too few covering the Downing Street Memo revelation. I had put myself to sleep the night before with CNN World Report, special edition on China's sex museum.
After getting our official credentials, we headed off to Friday prayers. Security was very tight around the stadium of Tehran University where the faithful assemble for Namaze Jumeh or Friday Prayers. We surrendered all metallic objects after going through a series of metal detectors. I was subjected to an upper body search, triggered by a cash pouch around my waist. (The interest on credit cards is against Islamic doctrine and therefore, one carries and pays in cash.) Then we were escorted to the press balcony.
The stadium was hung with banners. One translated, "We shall always support the Palestinians." Another, "Resistance against the conspiracies of America and Israel will disappoint them to predominate over Iran's nation." This phrase is attributed to "the grand, great leader." Bit by bit, the stadium filled until 10,000 worshipers created a sea partially of white and black turbans (the black represents the Seyed or direct descendent of the prophet Mohammed) pale and dark shirts. Chanting echoed throughout the building. Government officials fill the front rows. Military arrived in groups, in the belief that their prayers will be answered in multiples. Many, as simple conscripts, seemed less focused on the proceedings. And behind them, the sea of the devout.
The opening sermon was delivered by a low-level cleric, Ayatollah Mesbehi, and focused on economic morality. With every bow, and only backs showing, the bodies of worshipers created the illusion of an undulating Persian carpet. The women were sequestered in an entirely separate area, all but unseen from the press balcony. The hard-line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati arrived to deliver his sermon. He leads the six-man Guardian Council, the controversial and largely considered fundamentalist body that governs state decisions over and above those made by the president or parliament (Majlis). In an apparently direct targeting of centrist candidate Rafsanjani, he preached against the dangers of nepotism in government. Rafsanjani was known to employ many of his relatives in his cabinets, and represented a power and following that directly threatened that of the Guardian Council.
As Jannati transitioned toward international policy, he reminded what was largely considered a reluctant voting public that every vote is a shout of death to America. He goaded the crowd to join the chanting calls for "Death to Israel!", "Death to America!" Ten thousand strong of voice. I was struck by the familiar: a cleric guiding his followers in their politics, and toward particular candidates away from others. It has been my observation that this kind of invective speech is common, not only in Iran but in the Arab states as well. According to many with whom I spoke, it had always been clear from the Iranian point of view, that the call is related to American foreign policy and does not intend to target the death of the American people. However, when the supposed purpose of a 10,000-person rally is in the prayer and scruples of Islam, I can say that as an American (a half Jew, by the way), the chant demeans both intent and any religion that aspires to a core of love and reduces it to a cheap political threat of violence.
As the service came to its end, hands released the prayer beads counted for pacing of prayer. In our case, we checked Reese's watch, which said it was time to beat the crowd and get back to the car. We went back through the multiple security checks like the first fleeing audience members of a rock concert..
TOMORROW: A meeting with Rafsanjani's son
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A short history of U.S.-Iran relations
Iran is not an unsophisticated country. These are not unrefined people. And many, even among the worshipers at the Friday prayer service, do not subscribe to a literal interpretation of the call for "Death to Israel" and "Death to America." However, in the mantra of chant, comes an adulated sense of horror. Why such anger at the United States? Where had Iran's traumatic experience with American power begun?
Just after the midpoint of the 20th century, Prime Minister Muhammad Mussadiq -- erudite, secular and committed to a democratic vision of Iran - cast a formidable shadow across the world stage. At home his popularity grew as he insisted on putting an end to Britain's long-standing plunder of Iranian oil. In April 1951, Mussadiq took decisive action, nationalizing the British oil firm that had enjoyed a sweetheart deal with Iran's government. Despite fury in London, he set up the National Iranian Oil Co.
British leaders got nowhere when they asked the Truman administration to use the U.S. government's more trusted position in Tehran to help overthrow Mussadiq. But as soon as President Eisenhower took office in early 1953, his foreign-policy team rolled up its spooky sleeves to get the job done. The regal Shah of Iran -- a faithful buddy of British oil executives -- was losing his power struggle with Mussadiq, and in August the Shah abruptly left the country and fled to Rome. The CIA, working as senior partner with Britain's MI6, quickly moved to subvert Iranian democracy.
CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, a grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, labored feverishly in Tehran to coordinate a coup that brought down Mussadiq in August 1953 and quickly restored the Shah to the throne. Western oil companies were back in charge of Iran's oil, and the Shah initiated what turned out to be a quarter-century of political repression, torture, and killing.
Author Dilip Hiro wrote:
"America -- a power that most secular nationalists had initially considered
to be benevolently neutral to Iran in its dispute with the British -- had clandestinely allied with Britain to overthrow a government that represented popular nationalist interest. This reprehensible act of the United States left a deep scar on the minds of Iranians, implanting most of them with abiding animosity toward America."
With the 1979 revolution, came the flight of the Shah and the return of Iran's exiled spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini.
-- Sean Penn
Sean Penn is an Oscar-winning actor and director who lives with his family in the Bay Area. He previously reported on his trip to Iraq for The Chronicle.
Page C - 1
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©2007 San Francisco Chronicle
Monday, January 15, 2007
A Report from Iran: They Still Like Yanks
From The Cultured Traveler. Volume 4, July 2002. (http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Archives/JUL2002/Iran.htm)
by Mary Dell Lucas, Director, Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips, Inc
(www.farhorizons.com)
(Editor's Note: This article is a letter that Ms. Lucas sent to her clients in 2001 before the events of Sept. 11. Although the Iranian government subsequently manufactured anti-American demonstrations in Teheran and other cities, most independent news organization and travelers report that a majority of Iranians continue to hope for an end to the country's theocracy and a positive change in its relations toward the U.S.)
Hello!
As many of you may realize, I was in Iran last June with a group from UCLA. Upon my return, many people expressed curiosity about the country and its people – thus, this letter. Here are my impressions of today’s Iran.
The biggest surprise for me was the friendliness, warmth and curiosity of the people towards us. Every day people would come up to us without hesitation and ask where we were from. When we said, “America,” the response was invariably, “America, we love America. Welcome, welcome.” Everyone we met seemed genuinely happy to see Americans visiting their country. I had many conversations with local people every single day, and each member of the group had stories about personal, positive incidents. No one seemed afraid to talk with us (quite the contrary), and during conversations the only subject that seemed to be “forbidden” was the government. More about that later.
My expectations before we arrived in Iran were that we would be somehow “controlled” on what we could visit, where we could go and with whom we could talk – that we would be isolated from the populace. This was absolutely not the case. In the evenings, we frequently went out on the streets of the cities in small groups or couples without our guide. Everywhere we went people would stop us to talk and to ask if we needed any help.
Sixty-five percent of the population of Iran is people under the age of 25. There are 16,000 students registered in electrical engineering at Tehran University. . .and no jobs awaiting them upon graduation. Believe me, these kids want access to the Internet, jobs that pay well, and rock ‘n’ roll music. They want to be a part of the mainstream of the western world. Throughout the country, I talked with young people about their dreams, and e-mail and the Internet were high on their list. We saw girls wearing jeans and sandals, with their painted toenails exposed, and makeup. They covered themselves with trench coats, but buttoned them only to mid-thigh so that their stylish clothes were exposed. And the scarf – the way that it is worn is a political statement. The women in my group became very attuned to observing how much of their hair was exposed, either in front or hanging in long ponytails behind. The religious rulers – the mullahs – are going to find it more and more difficult to keep these young folks under their control. I really do believe that there will be gigantic changes in the country within the next few years.
The clothing issue (and I know that women in the States are interested in what they can wear) is an interesting topic. Before traveling there, I had a concept of what could be worn that was quite askew from reality. I had purchased long, to-the-knee tunics to wear over baggy pants. In reality, pants and long-sleeved, loose blouses that covered the buttocks are certainly acceptable, at least on foreign women. The scarf must be worn, even if you also wear a wide-brimmed hat (which is recommended to shade the face from the intense sun). However, the scarf should be cotton and not silk or polyester, which are too hot. Turkish cotton scarves were the ones that all the women in my group ended up wearing.
Everyone, including our guide, was reluctant to talk about “the government.” People would talk about Islam and how the tenets of the religion don’t say that women must wear chador (the long black robes that hide everything except the face). I talked with the wife of a Christian priest who told me that even though there wasn’t discrimination according to law, that she was afraid of the right-wing fanatics. In Shiraz, our guide for two days was Jewish. He was considered the best guide there and was in very high demand. He was also a history teacher at the local university. A Jewish member of our group told me that she was so comfortable in Iran and found it such a fascinating country, that she planned to return and bring her children.
We were told that fewer than 500 Americans visited Iran last year, and several Iranians told me that the government wanted to make tourism the second largest industry in the country. I don’t think this will happen soon as the infrastructure just isn’t there. One of my clients went into the bathroom at the Hotel Laleh in Tehran, a “five-star” former Intercontinental Hotel, and leaned against the sink. It promptly fell off the wall! There have been very few renovations made in Iranian hotels since the revolution, and those that have been made have used cheap materials. The country needs a major capital infusion.
Things that we take for granted here are luxuries in Iran. For example, the communications systems in the hotels were unfailingly out-of-date so that I was never able to send e-mails, and had difficulty getting telephone calls out. For those of us coming from the States who were used to being able to be in constant contact with people back home, this was a very frustrating situation.
You might wonder about the lack of alcohol and whether that was a problem to American travelers. Amazingly (and I do love my glass of good red wine in the evening), this didn’t seem to be a problem to group members. After a few days, we began to realize that there were a couple of Iranian non-alcoholic beers that were drinkable, especially when very cold, in the intense heat we experienced.
A visit to Iran is definitely worth the “hardships” of traveling there (although we did stay in the best hotels in the country, one of them an elegant former palace!). The art and architecture there is incredibly beautiful. We saw opulent palaces with mosaics of mirrors and huge intricate paintings (Persian miniature style) covering entire walls 25 to 30 feet tall. We visited glorious gardens that have been in existence for centuries, filled with blooming roses and many of the same perennials that I have planted in my Albuquerque garden. The most surprising and impressive artwork to me were the gigantic carved panels, many of them thousands of years old, built into cliff faces by former kings. They were all over the country, and all of them were fabulous. I had never seen anything like them.
And whatever you read or see about Persepolis, the capital city of the ancient Persian Empire, doesn’t do it justice. The staircases, with carved, majestic processions of humans and animals, were some of the most gorgeous art that I have ever seen.
I could go on and on. If you have any questions, including questions about the ladies’ dress code, please give me a call.
Regards,
Mary Dell Lucas
Director
by Mary Dell Lucas, Director, Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips, Inc
(www.farhorizons.com)
(Editor's Note: This article is a letter that Ms. Lucas sent to her clients in 2001 before the events of Sept. 11. Although the Iranian government subsequently manufactured anti-American demonstrations in Teheran and other cities, most independent news organization and travelers report that a majority of Iranians continue to hope for an end to the country's theocracy and a positive change in its relations toward the U.S.)
Hello!
As many of you may realize, I was in Iran last June with a group from UCLA. Upon my return, many people expressed curiosity about the country and its people – thus, this letter. Here are my impressions of today’s Iran.
The biggest surprise for me was the friendliness, warmth and curiosity of the people towards us. Every day people would come up to us without hesitation and ask where we were from. When we said, “America,” the response was invariably, “America, we love America. Welcome, welcome.” Everyone we met seemed genuinely happy to see Americans visiting their country. I had many conversations with local people every single day, and each member of the group had stories about personal, positive incidents. No one seemed afraid to talk with us (quite the contrary), and during conversations the only subject that seemed to be “forbidden” was the government. More about that later.
My expectations before we arrived in Iran were that we would be somehow “controlled” on what we could visit, where we could go and with whom we could talk – that we would be isolated from the populace. This was absolutely not the case. In the evenings, we frequently went out on the streets of the cities in small groups or couples without our guide. Everywhere we went people would stop us to talk and to ask if we needed any help.
Sixty-five percent of the population of Iran is people under the age of 25. There are 16,000 students registered in electrical engineering at Tehran University. . .and no jobs awaiting them upon graduation. Believe me, these kids want access to the Internet, jobs that pay well, and rock ‘n’ roll music. They want to be a part of the mainstream of the western world. Throughout the country, I talked with young people about their dreams, and e-mail and the Internet were high on their list. We saw girls wearing jeans and sandals, with their painted toenails exposed, and makeup. They covered themselves with trench coats, but buttoned them only to mid-thigh so that their stylish clothes were exposed. And the scarf – the way that it is worn is a political statement. The women in my group became very attuned to observing how much of their hair was exposed, either in front or hanging in long ponytails behind. The religious rulers – the mullahs – are going to find it more and more difficult to keep these young folks under their control. I really do believe that there will be gigantic changes in the country within the next few years.
The clothing issue (and I know that women in the States are interested in what they can wear) is an interesting topic. Before traveling there, I had a concept of what could be worn that was quite askew from reality. I had purchased long, to-the-knee tunics to wear over baggy pants. In reality, pants and long-sleeved, loose blouses that covered the buttocks are certainly acceptable, at least on foreign women. The scarf must be worn, even if you also wear a wide-brimmed hat (which is recommended to shade the face from the intense sun). However, the scarf should be cotton and not silk or polyester, which are too hot. Turkish cotton scarves were the ones that all the women in my group ended up wearing.
Everyone, including our guide, was reluctant to talk about “the government.” People would talk about Islam and how the tenets of the religion don’t say that women must wear chador (the long black robes that hide everything except the face). I talked with the wife of a Christian priest who told me that even though there wasn’t discrimination according to law, that she was afraid of the right-wing fanatics. In Shiraz, our guide for two days was Jewish. He was considered the best guide there and was in very high demand. He was also a history teacher at the local university. A Jewish member of our group told me that she was so comfortable in Iran and found it such a fascinating country, that she planned to return and bring her children.
We were told that fewer than 500 Americans visited Iran last year, and several Iranians told me that the government wanted to make tourism the second largest industry in the country. I don’t think this will happen soon as the infrastructure just isn’t there. One of my clients went into the bathroom at the Hotel Laleh in Tehran, a “five-star” former Intercontinental Hotel, and leaned against the sink. It promptly fell off the wall! There have been very few renovations made in Iranian hotels since the revolution, and those that have been made have used cheap materials. The country needs a major capital infusion.
Things that we take for granted here are luxuries in Iran. For example, the communications systems in the hotels were unfailingly out-of-date so that I was never able to send e-mails, and had difficulty getting telephone calls out. For those of us coming from the States who were used to being able to be in constant contact with people back home, this was a very frustrating situation.
You might wonder about the lack of alcohol and whether that was a problem to American travelers. Amazingly (and I do love my glass of good red wine in the evening), this didn’t seem to be a problem to group members. After a few days, we began to realize that there were a couple of Iranian non-alcoholic beers that were drinkable, especially when very cold, in the intense heat we experienced.
A visit to Iran is definitely worth the “hardships” of traveling there (although we did stay in the best hotels in the country, one of them an elegant former palace!). The art and architecture there is incredibly beautiful. We saw opulent palaces with mosaics of mirrors and huge intricate paintings (Persian miniature style) covering entire walls 25 to 30 feet tall. We visited glorious gardens that have been in existence for centuries, filled with blooming roses and many of the same perennials that I have planted in my Albuquerque garden. The most surprising and impressive artwork to me were the gigantic carved panels, many of them thousands of years old, built into cliff faces by former kings. They were all over the country, and all of them were fabulous. I had never seen anything like them.
And whatever you read or see about Persepolis, the capital city of the ancient Persian Empire, doesn’t do it justice. The staircases, with carved, majestic processions of humans and animals, were some of the most gorgeous art that I have ever seen.
I could go on and on. If you have any questions, including questions about the ladies’ dress code, please give me a call.
Regards,
Mary Dell Lucas
Director
Sunday, January 14, 2007
THE INTRIGUE OF IRAN. Ancient Persian Wonders, Modern Western Cities and Surprisingly Warm Welcomes Await Intrepid U.S. Visitors.
Jason Rezaian, Special to The San Francisco Chronicle. Sunday, January 14, 2007
(01-14) 04:00 PST Tehran, Iran -- The joke was barely out of my mouth before I regretted making it.
"The Great Satan," I'd quipped when the Iranian airport security official asked me where I was from. Unsmiling, he looked me up and down and said, "Please come with me."
A thousand thoughts exploded in my head, none of them comforting. But it turned out the man only wanted to walk around the corner for a little privacy so he could ask about getting a visa to come to America.
It was a most unexpected welcome to Iran -- but not, as it turned out, all that unusual. During the month I spent there last fall I had similar exchanges with Iranians from all walks of life, few of them interested in discussing the animosity that has existed for so long between our two governments.
Even as sabres rattled a little louder last week with President Bush's Iraq speech -- which in part sounded like a not-so-veiled warning to Iran -- I was reminded that the beef is between the two governments, not the two peoples.
Nobody burned an American flag in my presence. Nobody threw rocks or taunted me. Many, in fact, expressed embarrassment over the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, when 52 Americans were held captive for 444 days.
And rarely did average Iranians air their grievances with the United States, of which there are many: the CIA-backed coup in 1953 that overthrew a democratically elected prime minister; the decades of U.S. support for the unpopular Shah; the help given to Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war against Iran; and the shooting down of an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf in 1988, killing all 260 people aboard. The United States says it was a horrible accident; the Iranian government maintains it was deliberate.
Nor did anyone bring up the current contretemps over the enrichment of uranium and Iran's quest for a nuclear bomb. (My visit was before Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's bizarre conference of Holocaust deniers last December.)
Understandably, though, most Americans are reluctant to travel to an "axis of evil," as Bush calls it. But it's perfectly legal to do so. Unlike Cuba, where U.S. law makes it virtually impossible for its citizens to set foot, Iran can be visited by any American who can get a visa (which, admittedly, is not always easy to do).
And there are plenty of reasons to go. In 2005, UNESCO ranked Iran seventh in the world in terms of historical, natural and archaeological assets. There's world-class diving in the coral-rich Persian Gulf; skiing and mountain trekking take place amid peaks over 18,000 feet. But visitors don't have to worry about jostling crowds: Iran ranks only 70th in the world in tourism revenue, which means not many are coming.
As an Iranian American growing up in Marin during the 1980s, I was constantly confronted with images of Iranians that never matched my perceptions or the experiences of people I knew so well. From an early age, I wanted to go to Iran and get to know it for myself, beyond both the U.S. propaganda and the often-distorted nostalgia of Iranian expats living in America.
Focused on the past
Arriving in Tehran, it's hard to imagine there would be much worth staying to visit. The smog hangs over the city so thickly it has a texture. The city streets often resemble a parking lot. Many of its old architectural gems were destroyed by the Shah and replaced by drab, modern buildings, many now cheerlessly adorned with billboards honoring martyrs from Iran's war with Iraq. Tehran, one quickly discovers, is a little rough around the edges.
Something about it, though, kept me transfixed. Tehran's charm doesn't lie in prettiness but in its surprises.
For a city of its size (somewhere between 12 million and 15 million; no one is really sure) Tehran is improbably warm and friendly. Since the streets are packed, many Tehranis opt to take taxis. Unless the passenger is ready to pay for the whole cab and clearly states so, the driver will pick up as many passengers as the car will hold. This is a great way to see Tehran and get to know its residents. Any official gender segregation goes completely unnoticed, and men and women from all social strata discuss everything from government corruption to American pop music to computers to ever-rising inflation. I speak a little Persian, but it's not essential for a visit; many Iranians, especially the younger ones, speak English.
One afternoon, to escape the smog, I hailed one of these communal cabs and headed for the top of Tehran, to one of the Shah's former palaces. As I made my way through the entrance of the S'ad Abad Museum Complex, I felt I was in another world. The grounds were covered in lush, mature trees that appeared to be well manicured. On the ample lawns that surround the regal buildings, couples of all ages sat and flirted, making sure not to do anything too risqué.
It was clear from the literature provided at the door and from the bored and scruffy-looking guards -- who were all too willing to give a guided tour of the artifacts of monarchial excess -- that this museum was meant to show the evils of the Shah's reign. The effect, though, was of a wistful nostalgia on the part of every visitor I saw, most of them ogling the large Persian rugs (the likes of which have all but vanished from Iran into the collections of Westerners) while the elders recounted the Iranian achievements of that era. Iran, I realized, is a nation fixated on what could have been.
Tehran today
Returning to reality -- and to the smog -- I made my way back to Tajrish, a bustling, upscale neighborhood in the north of the city, where I was approached by a women shrouded completely in black, a rare sight in that more liberal part of Tehran.
"Are you going to Vanak Square?" she asked.
I told her I was, but that I wasn't a driver.
"I am!" she snapped, as if it should have been obvious. "Get in and let's go."
One of the few female taxi drivers in Tehran, she took us on shortcuts through residential neighborhoods and drove as if she would know them with her eyes closed. With every pothole we hit, she cursed the inefficiencies of the regime, to the delight of the five of us who were her fares.
For visitors from the West, the role of women here is an eye-opener. Sixty percent of university students are female. Women now hold many of the traditionally male jobs and are a conspicuous and beautiful part of Iranian public life. Compare these numbers with U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, and it leads to head-scratching. And as I learned that night, they can most certainly drive cars.
One site in Tehran is far more fascinating to visiting Americans than it is to most Iranians: The old U.S. embassy, site of the 1979 student takeover that so badly soured relations between the two nations.
It's an imposing site, taking up several city blocks in central Tehran, and it's surrounded by a huge brick wall. The walls are covered with anti-American and anti-Israeli murals and quotes from Ayatollah Khomeini. Above the wall is barbed wire.
These days, much of the grounds are used as a headquarters for a military group, while the main building is an anti-imperialism museum open only a few days a year. A couple of rooms are dedicated to depicting American operations within the "Den of Spies," as the Iranians once called the embassy. Other exhibits honor the students who took over the embassy and spent weeks painstakingly piecing together shredded U.S. documents. Photo exhibits depict atrocities perpetrated on Iran and other developing nations.
I happened to be in Tehran on one of the few days the museum was open. When I asked a taxi driver to take me to the "old American Embassy," his response surprised me: "Old American Embassy? There's only one American Embassy, which is the property of the U.S." He went into a long diatribe about how international law was broken when the embassy was seized. For most Iranians, the embassy takeover was clearly not their proudest moment.
When I arrived, groups of schoolchildren were being led around and quizzed about Western atrocities against Muslims. After I made it clear to everyone there that I was American, the scene quickly changed to one of curiosity and friendliness.
"What's new in Hollywood?" asked one of the students in a hushed voice. Young Iranians are more informed about American pop culture than I'll ever be, but as far as American political history goes, they seemed uninterested.
'The Persian Florence'
If Tehran is an acquired taste, Esfahan is an epiphany.
Travelers returning from Iran have for centuries boasted of the "Persian Florence." Visiting the blue, mosaic-tiled mosques that help quench the desert's ravenous thirst for civilization, though, I had to question that comparison. Both towns rose to glory during the same era, but it was Esfahan, not its unofficial European sister city, that was Earth's most populous capital. Behind every corner I stumbled upon spectacular reminders of that rich past.
The city was built around the river Zayandeh Rood, which is crossed by two of the world's most picturesque pedestrian bridges. The first is Si-o-Se Pol, literally "Thirty Three Bridge," named for its 33 arches. The second, the Khaju bridge built by Shah Abbas in 1650, has two stories and features stone stairs that descend to the river. It's probably the best place in Iran to dip your feet on a hot day.
A popular Persian rhyme of the day that "Esfahan is half the world" gave Esfahan's square its original name. Indeed, the square has been the heart of the city since it was built in 1612, flanked by some of the most important buildings of the Islamic world and a labyrinthine bazaar that still serves as the center of commerce.
After five centuries, it remains one of the largest public squares in the world. It is on UNESCO's World Heritage list, and from the moment I entered through one of its ancient corridors it has been my favorite place on earth. Not surprisingly, the past two regimes have co-opted the square as its own, going predictably from "Shah Square" to "Imam Square." But, as a dapper young doctor in Levis and Reeboks told me, "We are proud of our city and its place in history, and to us this will always be known by its original name, 'Reflection of the World Square.' "
Esfahan continues to be Iran's most religiously diverse city, with a number of churches, Zoroastrian temples -- and, yes, synagogues. This comes as a big surprise amid all the anti-Zionist rhetoric, but Iran is home to more Jews -- about 30,000 -- than any other Middle Eastern nation, other than Israel. In a country known for its devotion to religious icons and martyrs, for me Esfahan itself was the ultimate pilgrimage.
Ruins of an empire
Stepping even further back in time, I visited the ruins of Persepolis, south of Esfahan -- the ancient Persian city constructed by Darius the Great, beginning in 512 B.C.
What remains today is a series of bas-reliefs with intricately carved characters that include brigades of soldiers and mythical figures such as the winged Homa, which predates Islam by many centuries but remains a symbol of Persian pride.
Buried under sand until the 1930s, when it was excavated, the remains only hint at the grandeur of this desert palace. Darius' father-in-law, Cyrus, was the founder of Persia and the first architect of a human rights declaration. During his reign the Persian Empire spread to become the largest nation the world had yet seen.
The construction of Persepolis took nearly 150 years, and the city's glory was short-lived. Alexander the Great's army burned the city to the ground in 330 B.C.
Wandering the ruins early in the morning, I thought about how Persepolis represented Iran's first what-could-have-been moment, and how it is facing another fork in the road right now. Based on the warm welcome the people here gave to a citizen of their ostensible enemy, I left full of hope.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good to know
Women: Women must keep their heads covered while in public in Iran. Though young Iranian women push the boundaries of what is acceptable, Western women are encouraged to pack several scarves and long, loose-fitting jackets. Once there, they can gauge for themselves what feels comfortable.
Jewish travelers: As with most Middle Eastern countries, Iran does not welcome people with Israeli stamps in their passports. This is largely a political and not a religious issue. Many American Jews have traveled to Iran in recent years, and there have been no reports of mistreatment in Iran.
Money: Iranian businesses do not accept credit cards and rarely take travelers' checks. There are also no ATMs accepting Western bank cards. Petty crime in Iran is very limited, and it is safe to travel with cash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you go
When to go
Iran is a vast country, three times the size of France, with every conceivable climate. Weather is most pleasant throughout the country March-June and September-November.
Getting there
Cyrus Travel in San Francisco, (800) 882-9787, is one of the best American agencies for air tickets to Iran. Their fares on most European airlines average $775-$1,500 (plus tax), depending on season.
Getting in
All visitors to Iran must have a visa; currently, Americans are required to travel with a registered tour guide. Several reputable West Coast operators can arrange group or private trips to Iran. They will obtain visas for clients, a process that can take as many as 75 days.
Global Exchange, (800) 497-1994, www.globalexchange.org. Two-week tours, $2,150.
Geographic Expeditions, (415) 922-0448, geoex.com. Tours of 12-22 days from $3,325.
MIR Corp., (800) 424-7289, www.mircorp.com. 10- and 18-day tours from $2,795.
Where to stay
Packages include most accommodations and meals, but these are a cut above.
Abbasi Hotel, Esfahan. www.abbasihotel.com. Doubles $120.
Simorgh Hotel, Tehran. www.simorghhotel.com. Doubles $149.
For more of Yalda Moaiery's photos of Iran, see the online gallery at sfgate.com/travel. For Jason Rezaian's "Inside Iran" blog, visit sfgate.com/blogs.
Jason Rezaian writes the "Inside Iran" blog for sfgate.com. To comment, e-mail travel@sfchronicle.com.
(01-14) 04:00 PST Tehran, Iran -- The joke was barely out of my mouth before I regretted making it.
"The Great Satan," I'd quipped when the Iranian airport security official asked me where I was from. Unsmiling, he looked me up and down and said, "Please come with me."
A thousand thoughts exploded in my head, none of them comforting. But it turned out the man only wanted to walk around the corner for a little privacy so he could ask about getting a visa to come to America.
It was a most unexpected welcome to Iran -- but not, as it turned out, all that unusual. During the month I spent there last fall I had similar exchanges with Iranians from all walks of life, few of them interested in discussing the animosity that has existed for so long between our two governments.
Even as sabres rattled a little louder last week with President Bush's Iraq speech -- which in part sounded like a not-so-veiled warning to Iran -- I was reminded that the beef is between the two governments, not the two peoples.
Nobody burned an American flag in my presence. Nobody threw rocks or taunted me. Many, in fact, expressed embarrassment over the takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979, when 52 Americans were held captive for 444 days.
And rarely did average Iranians air their grievances with the United States, of which there are many: the CIA-backed coup in 1953 that overthrew a democratically elected prime minister; the decades of U.S. support for the unpopular Shah; the help given to Saddam Hussein during his eight-year war against Iran; and the shooting down of an Iranian airliner over the Persian Gulf in 1988, killing all 260 people aboard. The United States says it was a horrible accident; the Iranian government maintains it was deliberate.
Nor did anyone bring up the current contretemps over the enrichment of uranium and Iran's quest for a nuclear bomb. (My visit was before Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's bizarre conference of Holocaust deniers last December.)
Understandably, though, most Americans are reluctant to travel to an "axis of evil," as Bush calls it. But it's perfectly legal to do so. Unlike Cuba, where U.S. law makes it virtually impossible for its citizens to set foot, Iran can be visited by any American who can get a visa (which, admittedly, is not always easy to do).
And there are plenty of reasons to go. In 2005, UNESCO ranked Iran seventh in the world in terms of historical, natural and archaeological assets. There's world-class diving in the coral-rich Persian Gulf; skiing and mountain trekking take place amid peaks over 18,000 feet. But visitors don't have to worry about jostling crowds: Iran ranks only 70th in the world in tourism revenue, which means not many are coming.
As an Iranian American growing up in Marin during the 1980s, I was constantly confronted with images of Iranians that never matched my perceptions or the experiences of people I knew so well. From an early age, I wanted to go to Iran and get to know it for myself, beyond both the U.S. propaganda and the often-distorted nostalgia of Iranian expats living in America.
Focused on the past
Arriving in Tehran, it's hard to imagine there would be much worth staying to visit. The smog hangs over the city so thickly it has a texture. The city streets often resemble a parking lot. Many of its old architectural gems were destroyed by the Shah and replaced by drab, modern buildings, many now cheerlessly adorned with billboards honoring martyrs from Iran's war with Iraq. Tehran, one quickly discovers, is a little rough around the edges.
Something about it, though, kept me transfixed. Tehran's charm doesn't lie in prettiness but in its surprises.
For a city of its size (somewhere between 12 million and 15 million; no one is really sure) Tehran is improbably warm and friendly. Since the streets are packed, many Tehranis opt to take taxis. Unless the passenger is ready to pay for the whole cab and clearly states so, the driver will pick up as many passengers as the car will hold. This is a great way to see Tehran and get to know its residents. Any official gender segregation goes completely unnoticed, and men and women from all social strata discuss everything from government corruption to American pop music to computers to ever-rising inflation. I speak a little Persian, but it's not essential for a visit; many Iranians, especially the younger ones, speak English.
One afternoon, to escape the smog, I hailed one of these communal cabs and headed for the top of Tehran, to one of the Shah's former palaces. As I made my way through the entrance of the S'ad Abad Museum Complex, I felt I was in another world. The grounds were covered in lush, mature trees that appeared to be well manicured. On the ample lawns that surround the regal buildings, couples of all ages sat and flirted, making sure not to do anything too risqué.
It was clear from the literature provided at the door and from the bored and scruffy-looking guards -- who were all too willing to give a guided tour of the artifacts of monarchial excess -- that this museum was meant to show the evils of the Shah's reign. The effect, though, was of a wistful nostalgia on the part of every visitor I saw, most of them ogling the large Persian rugs (the likes of which have all but vanished from Iran into the collections of Westerners) while the elders recounted the Iranian achievements of that era. Iran, I realized, is a nation fixated on what could have been.
Tehran today
Returning to reality -- and to the smog -- I made my way back to Tajrish, a bustling, upscale neighborhood in the north of the city, where I was approached by a women shrouded completely in black, a rare sight in that more liberal part of Tehran.
"Are you going to Vanak Square?" she asked.
I told her I was, but that I wasn't a driver.
"I am!" she snapped, as if it should have been obvious. "Get in and let's go."
One of the few female taxi drivers in Tehran, she took us on shortcuts through residential neighborhoods and drove as if she would know them with her eyes closed. With every pothole we hit, she cursed the inefficiencies of the regime, to the delight of the five of us who were her fares.
For visitors from the West, the role of women here is an eye-opener. Sixty percent of university students are female. Women now hold many of the traditionally male jobs and are a conspicuous and beautiful part of Iranian public life. Compare these numbers with U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia, and it leads to head-scratching. And as I learned that night, they can most certainly drive cars.
One site in Tehran is far more fascinating to visiting Americans than it is to most Iranians: The old U.S. embassy, site of the 1979 student takeover that so badly soured relations between the two nations.
It's an imposing site, taking up several city blocks in central Tehran, and it's surrounded by a huge brick wall. The walls are covered with anti-American and anti-Israeli murals and quotes from Ayatollah Khomeini. Above the wall is barbed wire.
These days, much of the grounds are used as a headquarters for a military group, while the main building is an anti-imperialism museum open only a few days a year. A couple of rooms are dedicated to depicting American operations within the "Den of Spies," as the Iranians once called the embassy. Other exhibits honor the students who took over the embassy and spent weeks painstakingly piecing together shredded U.S. documents. Photo exhibits depict atrocities perpetrated on Iran and other developing nations.
I happened to be in Tehran on one of the few days the museum was open. When I asked a taxi driver to take me to the "old American Embassy," his response surprised me: "Old American Embassy? There's only one American Embassy, which is the property of the U.S." He went into a long diatribe about how international law was broken when the embassy was seized. For most Iranians, the embassy takeover was clearly not their proudest moment.
When I arrived, groups of schoolchildren were being led around and quizzed about Western atrocities against Muslims. After I made it clear to everyone there that I was American, the scene quickly changed to one of curiosity and friendliness.
"What's new in Hollywood?" asked one of the students in a hushed voice. Young Iranians are more informed about American pop culture than I'll ever be, but as far as American political history goes, they seemed uninterested.
'The Persian Florence'
If Tehran is an acquired taste, Esfahan is an epiphany.
Travelers returning from Iran have for centuries boasted of the "Persian Florence." Visiting the blue, mosaic-tiled mosques that help quench the desert's ravenous thirst for civilization, though, I had to question that comparison. Both towns rose to glory during the same era, but it was Esfahan, not its unofficial European sister city, that was Earth's most populous capital. Behind every corner I stumbled upon spectacular reminders of that rich past.
The city was built around the river Zayandeh Rood, which is crossed by two of the world's most picturesque pedestrian bridges. The first is Si-o-Se Pol, literally "Thirty Three Bridge," named for its 33 arches. The second, the Khaju bridge built by Shah Abbas in 1650, has two stories and features stone stairs that descend to the river. It's probably the best place in Iran to dip your feet on a hot day.
A popular Persian rhyme of the day that "Esfahan is half the world" gave Esfahan's square its original name. Indeed, the square has been the heart of the city since it was built in 1612, flanked by some of the most important buildings of the Islamic world and a labyrinthine bazaar that still serves as the center of commerce.
After five centuries, it remains one of the largest public squares in the world. It is on UNESCO's World Heritage list, and from the moment I entered through one of its ancient corridors it has been my favorite place on earth. Not surprisingly, the past two regimes have co-opted the square as its own, going predictably from "Shah Square" to "Imam Square." But, as a dapper young doctor in Levis and Reeboks told me, "We are proud of our city and its place in history, and to us this will always be known by its original name, 'Reflection of the World Square.' "
Esfahan continues to be Iran's most religiously diverse city, with a number of churches, Zoroastrian temples -- and, yes, synagogues. This comes as a big surprise amid all the anti-Zionist rhetoric, but Iran is home to more Jews -- about 30,000 -- than any other Middle Eastern nation, other than Israel. In a country known for its devotion to religious icons and martyrs, for me Esfahan itself was the ultimate pilgrimage.
Ruins of an empire
Stepping even further back in time, I visited the ruins of Persepolis, south of Esfahan -- the ancient Persian city constructed by Darius the Great, beginning in 512 B.C.
What remains today is a series of bas-reliefs with intricately carved characters that include brigades of soldiers and mythical figures such as the winged Homa, which predates Islam by many centuries but remains a symbol of Persian pride.
Buried under sand until the 1930s, when it was excavated, the remains only hint at the grandeur of this desert palace. Darius' father-in-law, Cyrus, was the founder of Persia and the first architect of a human rights declaration. During his reign the Persian Empire spread to become the largest nation the world had yet seen.
The construction of Persepolis took nearly 150 years, and the city's glory was short-lived. Alexander the Great's army burned the city to the ground in 330 B.C.
Wandering the ruins early in the morning, I thought about how Persepolis represented Iran's first what-could-have-been moment, and how it is facing another fork in the road right now. Based on the warm welcome the people here gave to a citizen of their ostensible enemy, I left full of hope.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Good to know
Women: Women must keep their heads covered while in public in Iran. Though young Iranian women push the boundaries of what is acceptable, Western women are encouraged to pack several scarves and long, loose-fitting jackets. Once there, they can gauge for themselves what feels comfortable.
Jewish travelers: As with most Middle Eastern countries, Iran does not welcome people with Israeli stamps in their passports. This is largely a political and not a religious issue. Many American Jews have traveled to Iran in recent years, and there have been no reports of mistreatment in Iran.
Money: Iranian businesses do not accept credit cards and rarely take travelers' checks. There are also no ATMs accepting Western bank cards. Petty crime in Iran is very limited, and it is safe to travel with cash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you go
When to go
Iran is a vast country, three times the size of France, with every conceivable climate. Weather is most pleasant throughout the country March-June and September-November.
Getting there
Cyrus Travel in San Francisco, (800) 882-9787, is one of the best American agencies for air tickets to Iran. Their fares on most European airlines average $775-$1,500 (plus tax), depending on season.
Getting in
All visitors to Iran must have a visa; currently, Americans are required to travel with a registered tour guide. Several reputable West Coast operators can arrange group or private trips to Iran. They will obtain visas for clients, a process that can take as many as 75 days.
Global Exchange, (800) 497-1994, www.globalexchange.org. Two-week tours, $2,150.
Geographic Expeditions, (415) 922-0448, geoex.com. Tours of 12-22 days from $3,325.
MIR Corp., (800) 424-7289, www.mircorp.com. 10- and 18-day tours from $2,795.
Where to stay
Packages include most accommodations and meals, but these are a cut above.
Abbasi Hotel, Esfahan. www.abbasihotel.com. Doubles $120.
Simorgh Hotel, Tehran. www.simorghhotel.com. Doubles $149.
For more of Yalda Moaiery's photos of Iran, see the online gallery at sfgate.com/travel. For Jason Rezaian's "Inside Iran" blog, visit sfgate.com/blogs.
Jason Rezaian writes the "Inside Iran" blog for sfgate.com. To comment, e-mail travel@sfchronicle.com.
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