First Day in Tehran ~ First Impressions
We meet our guide Seyed Amin Alahmad and
are immediately impressed with his friendliness, his depth of knowledge and his
travel experience. He makes us feel we can ask him any question. His father and
grandfather were travel tour guides but despite Amin having a degree in Agricultural
Engineering he says his genetics has led him to become a travel guide because
of his love for people.
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Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art |
We head for the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, opened in 1977 by the third wife
of Shah Mohammed Reza. The
architecture of this building (Kamran) is Iranian and it has been planned
according to the prevailing winds.
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| John and Zanny in front of Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art |
There is a special exhibit by Wim Delvoye from Belgium of surrealistic
everyday objects such as car tires and suitcases that have been carved with
intricate designs. Outside the
building are some amazing statues such as a baby on a horse by Narino Maieni,
and a tall woman and walking man by Joeto Meti.
I am having a hard time
digesting the fact I am in Tehran, Iran rather than in a New York or Paris museum. Then inside the museum we pass what
looks to be a sort of water fountain but are told that under the glass is oil!
Ah, we learn that the US purchase of Iranian oil allowed this building to be
built. John has met two different
friendly men who wanted to practice speaking in English with him. I find no toilet paper in the bathroom
and have forgotten to bring this with me.
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| Petroleum under Glass |
Money
Exchange
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| Money Exchange |
Next we head to get our money changed.
Amin our guide tells us not to go to the bank because we will not get a good
exchange rate so we stop at a small money exchange store. There are no ATMs for
Americans to use. We discover we
are about to become millionaires.
There are34,442 rials to one dollar and 100 rials
to 1 toman. Yikes, $400 is 13
million rials.
Okay how to figure this out: 500,000 rials is $15.00 (or 50,000 toman);100,000 is $3.00 (tip
for housekeeper); 50,000 is $1.50 (taxi tip); 5,000 is 15 cents (I’m likely to
confuse for $5.00 My wallet is
overflowing with cash. Where to keep this? Perhaps I am really a billionaire
rather than a millionaire.
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| American Embassy |
We pass by the American Embassy that has been closed since the hostage event in 1979. There is a piece of a downed US helicopter on top of the wall.
Although Mohommad Reza Pahlavi known as “the Shah” promoted literacy, voting rights for women, and modernization or “westernization” of Iran as well as militarization (with US support), he coupled this with the use of autocratic rule and a secret police to stifle opposition and kept people living in hunger, envy and mounting frenzy driven by poverty and desperation. Iranian people felt the US was an evil force using the Shah as a puppet to keep Iranians weak and encouraging him to spend as much money as he wanted on his military shopping binge. This was called the Shah’s White Revolution. In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini led demonstrations against the Shah’s government and this revolution and religious denunciation resulted in the departure of the Shah. When the Shah was admitted to the United States (with Carter’s approval) for medical treatment of advanced lymphoma, this led to further riots and strikes. Iran’s revolutionaries responded by seizing the US Embassy in Tehran and holding its personnel hostage for 15 months. Demands that the Shah be returned to Iran in exchange for the hostages were not met. This revolution led to the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran, which is a theocracy led by the Ayatollah (the Supreme Leader) with his own Revolutionary Guard and security force in addition to the regular armed forces which were felt to be not sufficiently loyal to the Ayatollah and the revolution. Many Iranian policies during the 1980’s alienated most Western nations. US and Iran have been working to rebuild relations including the recent nuclear arms agreement. However, the embassy still remains closed.
Tehran
Traffic and First Impressions
Our drive for dinner in Darband, an up
market and beautiful spot at the foothills of the mountain is another James
Bond experience. The traffic jams are as bad as Seattle but the driving is
clearly a game of chicken as to who will go ahead first.
We seem to have many
near miss hits and I try not to look out the window. My book tells me that statistics for road accidents in Iran
are high. This feels like we are playing tetras ~ what space can our driver squeeze our van into? Cars
include old pick up trucks packed with mattresses, huge boxes or sheep as well
as Mercedes. Men on scooters and
bicycles weave in between the cars and I comment to our guide that none of them
are wearing helmets. Amin tells me
it is not manly.
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| Selling barbecued corn |
People seem happy to be photographed and
smile with pleasure when we ask permission for a picture. They seem genuinely
interested in talking with us and ask us questions. Then they ask to take pictures
of us with them! Everyone seems to have an I-phone or I-pad.
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| Add caption |
At the restaurant we meet an Iranian
family celebrating the birth of their first grandchild. The Iranian mother is
from Canada, married to a German and visiting their Iranian family to introduce
them to this new family member.
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| Mother of New Baby |
We reluctantly
decline their generous invitation but they come over to our table to advise us on what to order and
repeat their invitations to join them.
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| Iranian Family Celebrates |
I am so impressed with the welcoming
atmosphere of the Iranians we are meeting and comment that the Iranian people seem
more welcoming than we are in America. Zanny tells me about meeting a couple in the garden near our
hotel in the morning who gave her their phone number and invited them to join
them.
Our meal has lamb chops “to die for” as
well as a lamb stew preceded by barley soup and warm Nan and yogurt. Chelo kabab is rice with boiled lamb
that has been marinated for a day in onion juice or sometimes yogurt. It is
tender and juicy. Luckily, none of us are vegetarians.
We share the dishes with each other and
are happy and fully satisfied with our first day in Iran. It is hard to believe after our first
view of Tehran that before 1795 this was a tiny village with not a single
building. Currently Tehran has a
population of about 12 million and accounts for more than half the country’s
economic activity and home to 50 colleges and universities, making it a diverse
and vibrant student city. Already on my first day Iran has exceeded my
expectations. I wonder why anyone would be reluctant to travel to Tehran.
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