Tag: In Their Own Words – Iranians talk about their lives
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The Architecture of the Persian Mosque for the Iran visitor
Terminology & purpose explained for touristsSometimes I sound like I got a beef with the Persian mosque. Yes, I tend to frown on Iran tour itineraries with way too many visits to old buildings, the same way I complain aplenty about seeing too much of Baby Jesus and Hercules in Europe. But there’s a lot of beauty and wonder to…
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The struggle of the Iranian woman
“I’m tired of fighting …”Her list of complaints against chauvinism is long. Her brother thinks Iranian women should blame themselves.
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Samane Ehsaninia: A brave Iranian artist
What if you lost all mobility? Iranian Samane Ehsaninia went from total hopelessness to becoming an author, painter and motivational speaker. Here’s the story in her own words.
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Our Iran Road Trip > Meeting a shepherd
The hard life of a shepherd in IranFor the Iranian shepherd, wolves, bears and angry donkeys are never as bad as the bad economy. And now global warming threatens what’s left. Here’s an interview with someone we met on our Iran travels who experiences all this on daily basis.
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Mobster turned Moslem servant
“Mortician, wash my dead body calmly”In the words of this former mobster: “I didn’t even have to ask for protection money. Shopkeepers just came out in the street and gave it to me because they knew what I would do to them if they didn’t. But I have asked forgiveness from everyone of them.”
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Iran visitor: “Totally unexpected generosity”
“It should be the other way around!”It is a strange thing in Iran: they have less but they are more generous. It should be the other way around, says a Swiss friend who just finished her second tour of Iran.
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Memories of War: “It will never let me go”
The story of one Iranian exposed to Saddam Hussein’s mustard gasThe Iranian vets exposed to Saddam Hussein’s mustard gas (made with ingredients provided by the West) suffer to this day. Here’s one story.
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From Manual Laborer to Tourism Boss
“Whatever you put out, comes back to you.”Twenty-five years ago Mostafa Pour-Aliabadi, 44, was a manual laborer. Last year, he and his wife, Sakineh, hosted 900 tourists at Kalout Ecolodge, six rooms he built around his garden, in the village of Shafiabad, near Kerman. The village is the very last populated area before the road veers into the world-renown Kaluts area of…
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Shepherds of Iran: Aliakbar
“Without kids you’re like a blind man”“What matters in the world is having kids, leaving something behind of yourself. I’ve got three sons and five daughters. Without kids you’re like a blind man. When you die, nothing is left of you.” – Shepherd Aliakbar Dandashti, 58.
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The Loneliness of the Wildlife Ranger
“You can really go mad doing this job.”Mohammadreza Hassankhani, 36, is one of seven rangers in charge of protecting the 1.5 million hectare Naybandan (NAI-ban-don) Wildlife Refuge that sits on the edge of the infamous Dashte-Lut Desert in central Iran, known for being one of the hottest places on Earth. The park is home to at least 177 types of plants; dozens of…
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Shepherds of Iran: Marziyeh & Ali
Marzieh Avari, 59, is the sole resident of the abandoned village of Aliabad (ALI-awe-bawd), inside the Naybandan (nai-ban-DON) Wildlife Refuge in central Iran. The nearest population is in Naiband (NAI-band), 35km away by road or 15 km on foot through the wilderness. Her home sits in the shadow of a disintegrating 400-year-old caravanserai and the…
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Shepherds of Iran: Ibrahim
Ibrahim is a blue-eyed 72-year-old shepherd in the village of Kharaghan, aka Qaleno-e-xaraqān, north of Shahrud. He spends his days tending sheep and goats in the rocky plains just south of the famed Cloud Forest. Some of Iran’s greatest philosophers and Sufi masters walked these same plains through the centuries. “I’ve been walking this field…
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The Last Medicine Man
Mostafa Rahemi, 80, is an attari (AT-tawry, traditional medicine man who heals using herbs and plant extracts) and a former bodybuilder. His store, filled with yellowing historic photos, is the only one left in an old alley in the ancient Shiraz neighborhood of Ghashoo-Ghashe, near Shah Sheragh Shrine. Rahemi (RAW-hemy) says: “Seven-hundred years ago, back…
