Iran

I really hope we don’t bore you with our blog posts about Iran. But this country is so big and interesting that we decided to dedicate a 3^rd blog entry to it.

After spending one and a half months cycling in Iran (Astara – Rasht – Qazvin – Isfahan – Yazd – Shiraz) Matt and I are now pretty familiar with the customs and specialties of this country. There are many unique traditions in Iran. For example, saying goodbye to guests: Many times our hosts accompanied us to the door step and held the Quran up in the air. According to an old tradition, we then kissed the spine of the Quran, touched it with our forehead and passed underneath it to bless our trip going forward. As we rolled away with our bikes they throw a bucket of water after us in the hope that we will return to their house in the future.

Nevertheless, we still get surprised on a daily basis. Whenever we think we understand some of the Iranian culture we get hit with another twist that we haven’t known before. The other day I was sitting behind a girl who was having some dinner. Although she was eating, I saw that she couldn’t sit still and tried to twist around whenever she took a bite. Someone then explained to me that in Iran it is considered very unfriendly to sit with your back towards an older person.

As winter is coming Matt and I both have a constant running nose now. The other day we got introduced to a girl my age. After we said hi she couldn’t hold back, she busted into laughing. It was weird because we were just standing there and I thought we did not do anything funny. She laughed so hard, she was in tears! We then got told that Iranians never blow their noses in public. They always go to the toilet to do it. I imagine blowing your nose in public in Iran is comparative to farting in public in our culture. We must have looked like two strangers endlessly farting beside one another to her. I understand her laughing now. Every day we learn something new.

In our time here we have stayed with many young people. The younger generation of Iran seems to be less religious than the older generations. Many people told us that they disagree with some of the Islamic rules in Iran. Girls don’t want to wear a headscarf whenever they leave the house. Some are annoyed that they can’t hang out with their unofficial girl- or boyfriend in public places (the police can arrest unmarried couples when seen in public together). Many young people would like to travel, they want to see Europe or Australia but the visa process for Iranians just doesn’t allow it. Others want to leave the country because the education here is not as good as abroad they told us. To be honest we haven’t talked to many young people who see a happy future in Iran for themselves. Although we love travelling through this country, this gives us a different perspective on Iran.

I don’t want to finish this blog post with something sad, so here to another example of Iran’s unique hospitality: It was close to lunch time when Matty and I were cycling up a mountain. We were at 2.200 meters’ altitude and had another 200 meters climb ahead of us when a car pulled over. A couple got out of the car and said hello to us as if we were old friends. They are cyclists too, they told us within the first sentence. They introduced themselves as Marzie and Alireza. They said that they are going to celebrate their 10^th wedding anniversary in a cottage on the top of the mountain and that we are more than welcome to join them. Hungry as we were we accepted the invite without hesitation.

Fast forward an hour we were sitting around a fire with 28 family members, a cup of hot chai in our hands and the afternoon sun in our faces. There was so much going on that I do not even know where to start describing. The boys of the family were playing football and the girls were trying to steal the ball away of them. One man was collecting wood, Alireza looked after the fire and a third man carried pieces of coal from the fire to the shish kebab grill. Marzie was preparing the chicken shish kebabs. She had a 10-liter pot full of chicken pieces coated in saffron in front of her that she pierced onto the long metal skewers. I did not count how many chicken sewers she prepared, but there must have been at least 80 of them. One of her cousins put another tea pot directly into the coil with the words “chai on fire”. The whole family was doing stuff, everyone was talking, telling jokes and shouting when the football game of the boys got to wild.

The food we got to try with this family was absolutely amazing. All the 28 family members plus us two ate on one carpet in the cottage (sitting on the floor for eating like always in Iran). I have never had lunch with such a vivid, loud and energetic group of people. As a starter we had lettuce dipped into something similar to maple syrup. I never thought of maple syrup as a dressing before but it tasted excellent. We then ate the 80 – actually I think there must have been 100 at least – chicken saffron skewers, rice with fried potatoes (Iranians always put potatoes or naan bread with turmeric and butter under the rice when it is cooked to keep it warm on the stove without burning the rice), fresh green herbs and pickled collie flower.

After lunch we went out into the garden again. Now the fire was built to a real bonfire and everyone was sitting around it as the sun set and it got dark. We then had some more chai on fire, sweet cardamom-ginger-pastries and big pieces of watermelon. Later in the evening they made a special kind of Turkish coffee in a teapot in the coals. They boiled water with Turkish coffee powder, a whole lot of sugar and a few pieces of cinnamon. After boiling, they took it off the heat and grabbed one piece of coal. The white parts of the coil were then blown away and the coal was dipped into the coffee for ten seconds and then discarded. Delicious!

To top it off they offered us to stay in the little cottage for the night and gave us precooked dinner in case we get hungry again. This is where I am right now writing this blog entry. Full as a bull, tucked in under three blankets and with my feet close to the little gas heater in our room. Life’s good.

Ps. The next morning Merzia and Alireza drove back to the cottage to bring us breakfast in a basket including hot chocolate and freshly baked naan bread. When we said goodbye they gave us walnuts, bread, Persian rose tea and a beautiful purse as a goodbye present. Seriously, how good are the people of this country?

Talk to you soon
Matt and Jasi

Iran in a word… exhausting. The visual overload of crowded Bazaars, jaw dropping tiled Mosques, so many friendly offers of chai, food and to stay the night is why Iran is so exhaustingly amazing. From the first day Jasi and I entered, we were blown away by the energy on the streets. The streets, shops and markets are alive up until the very last hours of the day.

To travel through Iran requires a lot of stamina, something we had developed whilst on the bikes. However, we were still not prepared for Iran. We still found ourselves collapsing into bed, having well overeaten and completely exhausted from the curious questions of the people we met.

Their curious questions are natural ones for a country that has been in recent times been spread across the worlds newspapers. “What does your country think about Iran?”, “what was your thoughts on Iran before travelling?”, “what do you think about the Iranian people?”. They seem to know the general answer to the first two questions, but are so proud and their smiles grow when we tell them that the Iranian people have been so kind and wonderful to us. As we tell them this, they put their hand on their heart and thank us.

Our initial apprehensions of Iran now seem a million miles away. We observe the many rules of the Muslim faith and continue to be amazed by the friendliness and hospitality from Iranians. The everyday rules here take a little bit of learning and seeking out, but the Islamic calendar is very public and we had entered Iran during a very important event.

We had entered during the 50 day mourning of Imam Husseins death. A very respected past Imam (leader) of Islamic faith. For these 50 days, black flags line the streets and men and women cry in anguish on the anniversary of their loss of Imam Hussein 1300 years ago. During this time, Imam Hussein’s stalls line the streets, offering chai, hot milk and dates covered in sesame sauce. Needless to say, we respectfully benefited from this important calendar event.

8 Days of solid riding had led us to Isfahan. For 8 straight days we faced an unrelenting head wind, thousands of trucks and a gradual uphill to 2200m on our way to beautiful Isfahan. Our only salvation during these days was the incredible service of the Iranian Red Crescent Service (IRCS). The IRCS is alike the red cross service and assists those in need. The IRCS centers are stationed every 60km and are always manned to help in any emergency situation.

During this stretch we stayed with IRCS four times and they provided us with free dinner and breakfast and of course a place to rest our weary heads. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. From then we learnt correct CPR skills, were shown the amazing emergency road accident tools, shown nearby beautiful sights in the ambulance and played many ping pong matches into the early hours of the morning. Thank you IRCS.

Whilst in Iran, we have almost forgotten the color of our tent. The Iranian people have not given our tent a chance, and it wasn’t until we found ourselves completely alone in the middle of a desert did we finally get a chance to pitch our tent and enjoy a night completely to ourselves.

And what a pitch it was. We had left Varzaneh and we were heading to Yazd and that meant crossing 200km of dessert self-supported. We had 16 liters of water between us, rice and pomegranates, we were set. Our first destination to pitch the tent was the crumbling ruins of the Khargooshi Caravanserai. An enormous trading market place left completely abandoned on the ancient silk road.

As we tiredly wheeled our bike through the enormous arched entrance, one couldn’t help but vividly imagine the life that once filled this square. A central waterhole fed by a natural spring lay in the middle of the square. On all sides of the square are small arches that would have served as living quarters, trading floors or animal pens. It is difficult to describe the feeling we had whilst cooking rice and beans that night, knowing that a few hundred years ago this square was bustling with traders, smelling of spices and probably had chai simmering under every arched dome.

Reluctantly we left the Caravanserai with 10 liters of water and many kms of desert to pass. The sand made the riding very slow and in thicker patches we needed to push the bikes. However, the sand thinned and the wind began to blow from behind. We were completely alone in some of the most incredible landscapes we had seen on the trip. As ever this journey throws up many pleasant surprises and 30 km into the day we stumbled across a remote mining town. The locals insisted that Jasi and I stay the night with their families. The family did not speak a word of English but smiles were enough and with our limited knowledge of Farsi (Persian Language) we thanked the family for their warm hospitality.

From every small town there is of course a mosque of some style as the center piece of the town. The Mosques are not just a place for prayer but as a community meeting point. Upon entering the last small town before the city of Yazd, we asked locals if there was a place for us to stay or pitch our tent. Without question, three young boys led us to their Mosque and were made to feel at home inside their sacred mosque. This was to be a truly unique experience.

We patiently sipped tea as we observed their 5pm prayer. We were then invited to have dinner with them on the floor of the mosque. Men and women are separated within the mosque whilst praying and also whilst eating by a large green curtain. Although every man sitting at the long carpet for dinner knew that I was not Muslim, I was made to feel so welcome. Jasmin was surrounded all night by young girls with hundreds of curious questions. Two of the girls came back to the mosque later in the night when everyone else had left. One of them brought a ring and the other a bracelet as a gift for Jasi. So kind and yet again presents for Jasi and nothing for me… I am getting used to it here in Iran.

Awoken by the 5 am prayer we set our GPS finally for Yazd. In the Mosque is where I write this blog post. We will refill our water sacks in the next couple of minutes and leave finally for the desert city of Yazd.

Talk soon,
Matt and Jasi

We entered Iran with mixed feelings. On one hand, I was remembering all the scared looks my friends gave me when I mentioned Iran in our travel plans. On the other hand, I had all the positive blog entries about the Iranian hospitality in mind, that I have read over the last few months. After hearing so much about this country we were excited to go out and explore and develop our own opinion upon it.

On the day of the border crossing Matt and I were so excited that we forgot about an important detail: Money. Due to American sanctions, it is not possible to withdraw money with an international card in Iran. No VISA, no Mastercard, no PayPal, nothing. We knew that before we crossed the border, but we simply forgot. Thank God, we had some spare US-Dollars at the bottom of one of our panniers. Matt did the math and tried to sound optimistic when he told me that our daily budget is 3 US-Dollars between us. I put the biscuit that I just took a bite from back into the packet. We were on rations for the first time on our trip.

We thought we are probably going to eat rice for brekky, lunch and dinner for the next 55 days until we get out of Iran. But then we found out about the Iranian hospitality.

We got offered to stay at people’s homes multiple times every single day. At every house we have stayed our hosts cooked us breakfast, lunch and dinner. One Lady in Talesh even precooked lunch for our next day on the road. Car drivers stopped at the side of the road and gave us fruit, biscuits, pistachios, juice, pomegranates, chips and dates. Some Iranians even told us to wait for a minute in front of a shop, and came back with some snacks for us. One night we had a coffee in a little café as we really needed wifi. When you are on a 3 US-Dollar budget, going to a café is lashing out. When we wanted to pay the waiter said, “be my guest” and gestured that we don’t have to pay anything. None of these people knew that we must be a bit tight with our money. We haven’t told anyone about our little 3 Dollar-problem and still, everyone acted as if they knew.

One night we told our host that we would prefer not to go out to a restaurant and cook our own dinner because we must save some money. He asked us about our situation and we told him our embarrassing story. In the next morning he handed us a prepaid credit card charged with over 200 US-Dollars and said we can pay him back later. We told him that we can’t accept that. It is just too much, and we are not sure we will ever be able to pay him back with the transaction situation in Iran. He insisted that we take the card with the words “I want your mind to be free of worries when you travel through our country”. This man only knew us for one day and he offered to lend us such a big amount of money without being sure he will ever get it back. I still can’t believe it. We accepted and will do anything to make sure we can transfer the money back to him when we get to Dubai and our cards finally work again. Thank you again so much for your trust Mostafa. With the Iranian credit card our budget is now luxurious 8 US-Dollar per day between us.

The way people treat us in Iran baffles Matt and me. This country has a hospitality and a kindness towards strangers that I have never experienced before. Of course, we got curious why Iranians are so hospitable. The reason is simple: The Koran says that “Guests are Friends of God”. And this is how people treat us here. As if we were sent by God.

Beside the delicious food, the hospitality and the kindness of the people of this country there are aspects that seem strange to us. There are a lot of rules in the public life of Iran. Men and Women should not associate with the opposite sex before they get married. Male and female do not shake hands in public. Boys and girls are not allowed to have girlfriends and boyfriends. Girls and boys don’t go to school together. In public buses men sit in the front and women sit in the back. I asked a girl my age why and she told me men and women feel more comfortable in the bus this way.

Women must wear the hijab (headscarf, dress or skirt and long sleeve) in public. Some girls told me that they would never wear that if it wasn’t in the law. In some towns women are not allowed to ride a bike or a motorcycle. Also women are not allowed to study engineering in some universities. A boy explained to me that it doesn’t matter because girls are not interested in those kinds of things anyway. He also told me that only men can be judges because women are too sensitive. A 15-year-old girl asked Matt about his job. After he answered she looked at me and asked: “And you are a housewife?”. I said no and she returned “what are you then?”. It would have annoyed me if it was an old man who asked this but it broke my heart that these words came from a 15-year-old girl.

In our first two weeks in Iran we had already visited two private English institutes as we were hosted by two different English teachers. In public school children learn very basic, non-conversational English. To have a chance to really learn English, children must visit private English classes in the evening after public school. The students (10 – 25 years old) were extremely interested in us foreigners as they do not often get to use their well-practiced English. After talking to the students there was always one common question: “Selfie?”.  We must have taken about 70 selfies with students in the 14 classes that we visited, no joke.

Although Iran has some rules that are hard to comprehend for Matt and me, we love this country already. Iranian food and tea is amazing, and the people are by far the most hospitable we have encountered on our journey so far. To sum it up, we can’t wait for more.

Talk to you soon,
Matt and Jasi