Questions About Iran #3.5 [Archive]

shugs

February 2nd, 2007, 11:27 PM

Hey guys.

My wife and I are going to be visiting Iran in March for a friend's wedding in Shiraz (well... assuming the embassy here in London sorts out my bloody visa in time!). Anyway I'm really looking forward to it but know nothing about the place at all. Any advice or thoughts you could give me would be really appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hello capslock, welcome to the Iran forum :)

Thats great! Are you only staying in Shiraz or are you going to visit anymore cities? Perhaps do some travelling? There are loads of places to see... How long is your stay?

So.. where to start? lol... Iranians in general are very welcoming people as you probably know becuase you have Iranian friends... It's even more so in Iran, our culture says that guests are 'a gift from God' so you will be treated well lol. In general public you want to stay within Islamic dress laws.... so no shorts or vests (unless you go to a 'free zone' such as Kish Island) and your wife has to cover her hair and where an over coat that covers her to around half way down the thigh area and obviously trousers lol... I'm sure she'll get the idea of what to wear when she sees how women dress, pushing the dress codes to the very limit, from what I remember especially in Shiraz. Also, no kissing or anything more in public lol.. But it's not that crazy, u can hold hands and such... atleast its something, after having 2 reformist presidents :P

Last time I was in Iran during March the weather was quite cool but it could be hotter this year, I'm not sure about Shiraz either. On the 21st March it's the Persian New Year/Norouz which is a great time (also Iran's new calender year)... It's an ancient Iranic holiday... one thing you'll probably be a bit mythed to see is that four days before Norouz there is 'Chahar Shambe Souri' which is an ancient fire festival when Iranians pour into the streets make big fires and leap over them, the purpose is to ward away bad spirits for the new year, which could be a slight culture shock... On Norouz itself Iranians go and see eachother, friends, family etc The celebrations go on for 13 days... For more info on the holiday go to... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norouz

English is not very widespread as a second language... the younger generations will have a fairly good understanding of English and of course family wealth, history comes into it depending on what they did before the Islamic revoloution...

What else.. hmm.. Shiraz is a great city, I would 100% reccomend you take in the sites... Put aside a whole day to see the ancient Persian ruins outside Shiraz such as Persepolis and Naqshe Rostam... they are simply breath taking even if you have no idea about the history, they will completely blow the Accroplis in Athens out of the water lol... Here are some picture threads:

Persepolis + Naqshe Rostam:
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=418819 (Check out the first 8 posts)
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=305896

Personally I regretted not going to the tomb of Cyrus the Great.. but thats the kinda thing that would be more interesting if you know the history

Some more places to see in Shiraz:
Margon Waterfalls outside Shiraz: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=280281
General Shiraz pics: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221087
These are good places to see (pics taken but Gole Hayahou)
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391470
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391664
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391711
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391702
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391687
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391697
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391706
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391861

Also the city of Esfahan is about 400Km away, maybe less I think... Its a beautiful city which has been previously compared to Paris by some... The place is like a giant architectural museum http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=294768

Feel free to ask any more questions :)

mahdial_x5

February 2nd, 2007, 11:31 PM

^^yea mate, first things first, how long are you going to be there?

Gilgamesh

February 10th, 2007, 04:19 PM

I have a question!

Didn't we use to have more questions a while back? :lol:

shayan

February 11th, 2007, 11:10 PM

yeah.... mehhh

mahdial_x5

February 18th, 2007, 12:53 AM

hey guys, what happende to the industrial zones developement forums???

:?:?:?:?:?:?:?

regards,
-mahdi

Gilgamesh

February 18th, 2007, 01:33 AM

they're in the project subforum, im in the middle of a small reorganisation lol
Sorry for the confusion.

mahdial_x5

February 18th, 2007, 03:52 AM

LOL ookk bro, no problemo :okay:

capslock

February 18th, 2007, 11:13 PM

Hello capslock, welcome to the Iran forum :)

Thats great! Are you only staying in Shiraz or are you going to visit anymore cities? Perhaps do some travelling? There are loads of places to see... How long is your stay?

So.. where to start? lol... Iranians in general are very welcoming people as you probably know becuase you have Iranian friends... It's even more so in Iran, our culture says that guests are 'a gift from God' so you will be treated well lol. In general public you want to stay within Islamic dress laws.... so no shorts or vests (unless you go to a 'free zone' such as Kish Island) and your wife has to cover her hair and where an over coat that covers her to around half way down the thigh area and obviously trousers lol... I'm sure she'll get the idea of what to wear when she sees how women dress, pushing the dress codes to the very limit, from what I remember especially in Shiraz. Also, no kissing or anything more in public lol.. But it's not that crazy, u can hold hands and such... atleast its something, after having 2 reformist presidents :P

Last time I was in Iran during March the weather was quite cool but it could be hotter this year, I'm not sure about Shiraz either. On the 21st March it's the Persian New Year/Norouz which is a great time (also Iran's new calender year)... It's an ancient Iranic holiday... one thing you'll probably be a bit mythed to see is that four days before Norouz there is 'Chahar Shambe Souri' which is an ancient fire festival when Iranians pour into the streets make big fires and leap over them, the purpose is to ward away bad spirits for the new year, which could be a slight culture shock... On Norouz itself Iranians go and see eachother, friends, family etc The celebrations go on for 13 days... For more info on the holiday go to... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norouz

English is not very widespread as a second language... the younger generations will have a fairly good understanding of English and of course family wealth, history comes into it depending on what they did before the Islamic revoloution...

What else.. hmm.. Shiraz is a great city, I would 100% reccomend you take in the sites... Put aside a whole day to see the ancient Persian ruins outside Shiraz such as Persepolis and Naqshe Rostam... they are simply breath taking even if you have no idea about the history, they will completely blow the Accroplis in Athens out of the water lol... Here are some picture threads:

Persepolis + Naqshe Rostam:
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=418819 (Check out the first 8 posts)
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=305896

Personally I regretted not going to the tomb of Cyrus the Great.. but thats the kinda thing that would be more interesting if you know the history

Some more places to see in Shiraz:
Margon Waterfalls outside Shiraz: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=280281
General Shiraz pics: http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221087
These are good places to see (pics taken but Gole Hayahou)
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391470
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391664
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391711
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391702
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391687
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391697
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391706
http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=391861

Also the city of Esfahan is about 400Km away, maybe less I think... Its a beautiful city which has been previously compared to Paris by some... The place is like a giant architectural museum http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=294768

Feel free to ask any more questions :)

Wow... that's a really thorough response - thanks.

We're going to be out there for about a week all told. Not very long I know and a lot is going to be taken up with the wedding itself, but we nudged the dates to be out for New Years so that'll be a blast I hope. I was definately hoping to get out to Persepolis - don't think we'll make it as far as Esfahan though.

I dunno, in a way I kind of prefer not to try and cram too many tourist site type things in. I would prefer more to get a feel for the place and its people. I mean are there any local traditions or places where you can really start to get an understanding of the place do you think?

mahdial_x5

February 19th, 2007, 12:27 AM

oh, yo, why is it 3.5?????

:lol:

and, CAPSLOCK i wish you a good time there! even though, its a quite short stay to see the bauty that Iran has to offer,

:cheers:

Sukkiri

February 19th, 2007, 09:07 AM

Who here listens to Bahador Kharazmi?

shugs

February 20th, 2007, 09:20 PM

Wow... that's a really thorough response - thanks.

We're going to be out there for about a week all told. Not very long I know and a lot is going to be taken up with the wedding itself, but we nudged the dates to be out for New Years so that'll be a blast I hope. I was definately hoping to get out to Persepolis - don't think we'll make it as far as Esfahan though.

I dunno, in a way I kind of prefer not to try and cram too many tourist site type things in. I would prefer more to get a feel for the place and its people. I mean are there any local traditions or places where you can really start to get an understanding of the place do you think?

Anytime :)

Oh ok, so you're right, you really do not want to cram all that into one week! Definatly take the time to go to Persepolis you won't regret it, it is very unique and not very well known in general compared to such places as the Acropolis so in such it is rather alternative place to visit for a global tourist

Iranian weddings.. lots of food, lots of dancing probably booz depends on how Muslim the family are all in all a good time as long as everyone remains happy and all that jazz...

If you want to take in the culture I'd recomend you go to Hafezie, where the tomb of the poet Hafez is, you can experiance the romantic and spiritual side of Iranian culture, relax in the beautiful gardens for a while and then spend some time in the tea house drinking Cha'i and smoking shisha while contemplating life ;)

...Is that the sort of thing your looking for?

mahdial_x5

March 1st, 2007, 07:18 AM

OK, does ANYONE have ANY information on AMLASH? its in SHOMAL?

they are a series of villas, my father has gone to buy a villa there, probably LOT 2, 30, or 31, most likely 30 though, anywyas, does ANYONE have ANY information on this development?
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8783/20070225100842am0037jpgjr7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

gole_hayahou

March 3rd, 2007, 12:37 AM

probably another project destroying the north of Iran and will be full of Tehrani's...

mahdial_x5

March 3rd, 2007, 12:39 AM

:|
yea....

gole_hayahou

March 3rd, 2007, 12:56 AM

i really dont get this mentality they have....buying cheaply made boxes in the middle of the countryside...destroying villages and village life along with it...
theres going to be nothing left!

reminds of a song actually....The Eagles - The Last Resort...

"Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus,
people bought 'em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea..."

shugs

March 3rd, 2007, 01:05 AM

Well altho some people do not agree with me on this here

But.. These projects are rapidly destroying the rural life... pushing up land prices so much the locals who have lived there for generations have been pushed into living in towns and cities such as Babol or Sari by greedy Tehrani developers eager to snap up the land... Villages which had a life soul are left empty for months on end while the rich Tehrani owners are away and even the ba'ghali owner goes bust because of noone to sell to...

It's sad really.. In nations like the UK the government is quickly trying to stop this before rural life and atmosphere is completely destroy.. The Iranian government does nothing...

mahdial_x5

March 3rd, 2007, 01:54 AM

well, i must agree to taht fact, that is true,

but i mean, so is it not considered as development? :?

shugs

March 3rd, 2007, 02:22 AM

That rich Tehrani's build houses on agriculteral land and only live in them for 50 days out of a year? Depends on how you look at it really.. no? maybe?

shayan

March 3rd, 2007, 07:50 PM

Gilgamesh

March 3rd, 2007, 11:24 PM

I’m against agriculture in Iran, take an example from Japan, import those goods and give the land back to the nature a farmer should become a nature conservationist instead of a person who makes himself rich and drives up inflation by producing very cost inefficient while getting subsidized by government,,,

Most agriculture is on semi arid (and arid) land, Iranian farmers are known to use qanats to fertilize lands infact it makes several cities thrive in the desert.

gulfexpress

March 5th, 2007, 07:51 AM

I have a silly question to ask but what does "dorood!" mean? :)

shugs

March 5th, 2007, 07:54 AM

It's Persian for Hello or welcome.. It is a greeting :)

Omid_Sultani

March 5th, 2007, 08:39 PM

But usually we say salam. :)

avicenna

March 5th, 2007, 11:03 PM

with all due respect for dorood, i have never heard any one in real life use it as a greeting.

mahdial_x5

March 5th, 2007, 11:08 PM

Some do, they might say DOROOD BAR SHOMA

but yea i agree, it is not used commonly in speech or casual, everyday talk.

i use Salam Daadash :D or Soom-Aleykk

shugs

March 5th, 2007, 11:16 PM

I have almost never heard an Iranian say salam aleyk

But yeh I have heard quite a lot of older well educated people say Dorood bar shoma and not even be Zoroastrian...

But then again it all depends on the social circles you are in.. I bet none of you have ever heard an Iranian say Allah'Abha as a greeting either

mahdial_x5

March 5th, 2007, 11:27 PM

HEY! what wrong with Salam 3aleyk? :D

shugs

March 5th, 2007, 11:40 PM

I dunno.. What's wrong in saying 'Peace be upon you' in Arabic? I certainly can't see anything...

I just don't think Iranians use it that much at all, Salam on its own seems to be the prefered Iranian greeting

mahdial_x5

March 6th, 2007, 12:21 AM

lOl i say Sooom Aleykk, not salam aleyk , to my persian freinds here, not the arabs

Marcialou

March 6th, 2007, 08:36 PM

This came up in conversation recently. In English, the word fair has a lot of meanings but two of them, as defined in dictionary.com, are as follows.

12. of a light hue; not dark: fair skin.
13. pleasing in appearance; attractive: a fair young maiden.

I wondered if there was an English word that meant both dark skinned and attractive and I couldn't think of any. My question is, are there any words in Farsi, Arabic, or any other languages people out there speak, that mean both dark and attractive?

Marcia

Gilgamesh

March 6th, 2007, 08:46 PM

^^ I think 'Sabzeh', means greenish used for darker ppl (not africans though).

mahdial_x5

March 6th, 2007, 10:46 PM

yea yea ture ture thats true, sabzeh means darkish in coulour,

and i suppose its attractive...not really though, its not defined as both dark and attractive :dunno: could be :D

soccerstar10

March 17th, 2007, 10:40 AM

hey guys iam going back to iran soon and i want to go to dubai while iam there.. does any of u guys know how much is the air fair? or if u can give me some infortmation on it..
Thanks

shugs

March 17th, 2007, 03:01 PM

Hi

First of all, welome to the forum :)

A flight from Tehran to Dubai should cost around 120,000 Toman... Around $115.. Maybe a little more.

Visa wise if you buy the ticket from Iran Air from a travel agent the travel agent themselves will arrange a visa for you... I remember when I was in Iran last I was told from my mothers friend who is a manager at a travel agent that Emirates airlines has started to automaticly arange tourist visas for Dubai when Iranian citizens buy a ticket from them... Don't know if they still do it but getting a visa for Dubai should not be a problem at all.. I wont even be suprised if they have romoved the visa requirements..

:)

avicenna

March 17th, 2007, 04:57 PM

you should go to kish, i remember when i went their i got a package for about $95 which consisted of the flight there, the hotel, and the flight back. Not bad at all.

Purple Dreams

March 30th, 2007, 01:56 PM

Does Persian refer to specifically those who are ethnically Persian or do other Iranians consider themselves Persian as well?

shugs

March 30th, 2007, 02:09 PM

Technically yes it only refers to those of Persian ethnicity...

Some like to call themselves Persian regardless to the specifics of their actual Iranic ethnicity... All Iranic ethnicities are related by a common ancestor (the Aryan tribe from Central Asia) they just have slightly different histories.

I guess you could argue that all Persian speaking peoples can call themselves Persian but then that would include many nations in Central Asia who speak Persian indigenously.

Personally I'm Mazandarani and proud but I do admit I have called myself Persian a few times as unfortunately calling oneself Iranian makes people think of Iran in the past 30 years regardless to the ancient name of our land (Iran) and if I say Mazandarani they just look at me blankly lol

Purple Dreams

March 30th, 2007, 02:42 PM

Thanks a lot. And your answer was very thorough as I was also wondering about the other Persian speaking peoples of Central Asia.

Halawala

March 30th, 2007, 07:11 PM

gamayun

March 30th, 2007, 07:53 PM

From CIA factbook

Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

Do these ethnic minorities have separatist feelings? Or they consider Iran as their one and only country. Do Azeries want to become part of Azerbaijan?

shugs

March 30th, 2007, 08:10 PM

There are tiny separatist movements in the Balouch and Arab boarder areas. They are poor underfunded terrorists who can afford to set off one charge every year or so or manage to kidnap some soldiers... Both Iran and Pakistan are having problems with Balouchi insurgents but Pakistan a lot more so, Iran has it very easy in comparison.

Kurds and Azeris have had separatist movements in the past but the general feel is that they are Iranian and those who want to separate are foreigners who come from other countries... Few Iranian Azeris are influenced by Pan-Turkists which is the issue. But as I said pretty much all Iranian Azeris and Kurds consider themselves Iranian first... Especially as many of them have kushy positions in the government or Islamic Guard.

As I said few Azeris are influenced by Pan-Turkists, most of them having knowledge of their family history know if they are 'Turkified' Iranians living in Azerbaijan (Azera Padegan as it was previously known) for thousands of years and were forced to change their language by the Turks or if they were migrants to the region after the Turkish invasion of the region.... I have a ton of Azeri friends in Iran from varying generations and they consider themselves 1000times more Iranian than me lol

The Kurds are general quite happy.. there is a lot of development in the region and they are intergrated in Iranian society as they have always been... Almost non of them want to separate from Iran and they claim that it is only the Kurds who enter Iran illegally attempt to cause trouble. I don't think the Kurds have revolted since Reza Shah's era (early 20th Century) and even then it was blamed on the Kurds of other nations, Reza Shah improved Iranian Kurdistan a lot afterwards. The Iranian Kurds do not feel acceptance with their fellow Kurds of other nations and feel much closer to their Iranian cousins.

The Arabs of Khuzestan often consider themselves more Iranian than the next Persian but they do have organised groups who want to separate from Iran taking its oil fields into a state called 'Arabistan' this is a pan-Arab funded organisation most likely helped out big time by the Wehebis.

After Reza Shah renamed Persia to Iran (to its ancient and right full name) most of the separatists from the time went quiet as the official name of the nation is not one that only refers to one ethnicity (Persians) and not even Reza Shah himself was Persian but he was Mazandarani

Persian, Gilaki, Mazandarani Lur, Turkmen are all very comfortable in Iran well... not all with the government but they do not want to separate.

Bare in mind all of the ethnicities minues the Turkmen, Arabs and to an extent Azeris (as some of them are actual Turks not 'Turkified' Iranians) are all related to one common Aryan ancestral tribe originating in Central Asia.

-I think that sounds about right... Anything to add anyone? :)

gamayun

March 30th, 2007, 08:27 PM

Thank you. :)

Here in Bosnia, we have two entities: Serb Republic (49% of territory) and Muslim-Croat Federation (51%). Serbs want badly to join Serbia and Croats too were eager to become part of Greater Croatia. It's damaging economy badly. Nice to hear that you don't have such problems. :)

shugs

March 30th, 2007, 11:29 PM

Guys, please I have questions:

1. As a GCC citizen, do I need a visa to get to Iran?
2. Is Tehran a good place for a getaway for 4-5 days? Are the forests/mountains close to Tehran?
3. I love the food there, but where are the good restaurants in Tehran?

1. No idea, I would assume it would be pretty easy for you to get a tourist visa. Perhaps someone else here knows.

2. Yeh it is defiantly a place to see... But depending on what you like it is perhaps not a great getaway place because it is the typical crazily busy capital city! Isfahan or Shiraz would be a much better place to go and kick back for a few days.

3. As I mention above if you do not go to Tehran the food as Shiraz is not great, they mostly have fast food places and very few proper restaurants. Isfahan has fantastic food. Tehran is great also... an infinite amount of places to go and eat. Personally one of my favourites is the traditional restaurant in Hotel Laleh (formerly Hotel Continental). The restaurant is called Namakdun, the food is great and the service friendly.. not to mention its surroundings are beautifully decorated.

Halawala

March 30th, 2007, 11:57 PM

Thanks for replying Shugs. If I do go I will surely post some pictures.

mahdial_x5

April 1st, 2007, 07:13 AM

^^Inshallah you will :D

Tehran DOES infact have many places for 'sightseeing', but then again, only to the north of the ****...not really any 'peaceful' nature IN the ****
i have some pics of some parks and mountains and trails and whatnot, i will post them if, you would like me to?

gole_hayahou

May 29th, 2007, 11:16 PM

I HAVE A QUESTION

WHY THE HELL IS THIS PLACE SO FRIGGIN DEAD?

mahdial_x5

May 29th, 2007, 11:28 PM

^^

GOOD QUESTION!

:dunno:

i guess, not to many poeple have interest in Iran:(...or they dont like to ask questions....?!?:?

gole_hayahou

May 31st, 2007, 08:35 PM

its bcoz its boring...imo

Timur

June 8th, 2007, 11:42 PM

hello i need info and pic about tabriz thnx...

gole_hayahou

June 9th, 2007, 01:12 AM

May i ask what for?

Omid_Sultani

June 9th, 2007, 12:38 PM

There's a Tabriz forum here, maybe you'll find pics & inf there. :)

Timur

June 9th, 2007, 06:02 PM

yes i found omid sultan thanx! :)

Ukrajinets_90

September 29th, 2007, 07:29 PM

avicenna

September 29th, 2007, 10:12 PM

As an Iranian I agree with what you are saying. As far as Ahmadinejad goes, his domestic economic policies are below terrible. He has managed to do a lot of damage in his 2 years as President.

persian

September 30th, 2007, 10:49 AM

I don't like his politics.

FreeToLove

October 9th, 2007, 05:50 AM

Our foreign policy is alright, wer're improvin our stats in the latinos nations.
We have good relantions with east asian countries such as S. Korea, China, and Japan. We have excellent relations with our neigbourin nations like Turkey, Pakistian, UAE, Armania, Georgia, Ubkastiona(what ever that spells)lol
In europe, Iran has very well relations with Germany because iran loves buyin cars from there and other stuff, in italy, they both are very well known for there history from the past, and they respect each other=more imports from each country. Holland-I have seen A LOT of stuff from holland in iran. France-we have peoguet in iran, we try to respect them but they're ridin usa di.cks too much.

I just want to see more relationship with Canada, Brazil, and S. Africa.

gole_hayahou

October 11th, 2007, 06:56 PM

:hahaha:

persian

October 13th, 2007, 03:42 PM

:lol: what the hell?

Persan

October 15th, 2007, 09:22 AM

I laugh, but I'm also a bit disappointed being from Canada - What you see above is a result of Canada's education policies.

FreeToLove

October 16th, 2007, 01:40 AM

Hey! lol, its my own opinion:P

anyways..does anyone have pics of iranian firefighters?

gole_hayahou

October 16th, 2007, 03:40 PM

Hey! lol, its my own opinion:P

anyways..does anyone have pics of iranian firefighters?

Here are Pictures of Iranian Firefighters...have fun :D

http://www.irandefence.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=3331

FreeToLove

October 16th, 2007, 10:27 PM

Thanks!

gole_hayahou

October 19th, 2007, 08:05 PM

khahesh mikonam.

Psycho

November 1st, 2007, 02:03 AM

Sorry for politics, but I was just wondering something. It seems like most people here live outside of Iran, so I'm just wodnering, what do you all think of Iran's president, and the foreign policy of Iran?

Personally, even though as Ukrainians we've had some problems with Muslims in the past, I deeply respect the Presidents intellect and the strength he shows on behalf of the Iranian nation. Remember, although he might have some problems with the west, what is the "west" today anyway? Mcdonalds, gay parades, and MTV? This is this beautiful "west" everyone talks about? Well if that's the 'west', I wouldn't want Ukraine to have anything to do with it either. Iran's president is doing what will be right for Iran in the long run IMHO. From what I saw in his interview, he seems very intelligent and I agree with almost everything he said. The world can live together in peace; Muslims, Christians, and Jews, as religion has a common root, and common principles. But zionists (not Jews) are trying to degenerate the world, and turn it into a matierialistic place, without any values. Iran is a country who stands up to this vehemently, and in Europe, many nationalistic parties are rising and soon many European countries will be able to stand up as well.

The disrespect he was shown, however, was absolutely disgusting and just goes to show the true character of some of these brainwashed people; in the long run, who're against Jews, Muslims, and Christians as a whole.

The west is freedom to choose your way of life(lifestyle), west is to elect your leader and also the power to overthrow him, west is the opportunity to get rich or at least live decent life with dignity...

Не пугайся, Украине не грозит быть богатой

How the hell this has anything to do with Zionism? Zionism is nationalistic movement nothing else! Flash News!!! the world is materialistic! the materialism is the driving force behind western power, materialism is natural as fucking reproducing... and what values or should i say lack of values are you talking? each and every culture has its own values, btw materialism is value...

NorthPole

November 3rd, 2007, 04:08 AM

^^ LOL, Don't get Ukrajinets_90 wrong. He just wanted to hang same gays to make the world better place for you and me :crazy2:

And now question to Teheranians:
Do you know maybe where in Teheran is located Polish cemetery? Some 3,000 Poles died in Teheran during 2WW, many of them were children escaping Soviet Russia (from Siberia through Bukhara and Teheran to Poland though Lebanon and Kenya/Tanzania). I've just heard a radio broadcast where an old Polish woman was talking about here way to Poland (she lost her father, mother and sister on the way, very sad story). Thanx in advance.

shugs

November 5th, 2007, 02:29 AM

Only thing googling has given me is that the cemetery is located somewhere north of Tehran...

Shmack

November 5th, 2007, 07:31 AM

Polish cemetery is in fact part of a big christian cemetery, which as far as i know is situated in Dulab (south-eastern Tehran).

NorthPole

November 5th, 2007, 08:52 PM

Thanx a lot. Last time I was Googling for the cemetery, I've found the "cementery in Dulab", but than I found also Dulab in western Iran's mountains, so I wasn't sure where it is exactly.
I've just found it being mentioned on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tehran#Religious_centers). Looks like there are 2 Polish cemeteries in Teheran:
1- north of Tehran in British Gholhak Garden, where numerous World War II western Allied soldiers are buried
2- Polish cemetery (Catholic cemetery) Dulab south of Tehran
I guess it's the latter one, as I've seen it's name frequently used in articles about Polish cemetery where IIWW victims of hunger and diseases were buried.

P.S.
But I still don't know where it is exactly. Could it be this big one (http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=35.654053&lon=51.467782&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2) or maybe the other small one (http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=35.66481&lon=51.457182&z=17&l=0&m=a&v=2)?

Anyway thanx again.

Shmack

November 6th, 2007, 06:30 AM

Yes, it is the first one.

Yapachoo

January 21st, 2008, 03:52 AM

Alright guys, nice thread :D

I'm a student studying Persian in the UK and if my visa ever materialises I hope to study in Tehran from the beginning of next month. Do you guys know if there are there any particularly studenty/up and coming areas where i could rent a flat and what a decent flat might go for per month? I'm looking at a student budget hehe.

I'd also like to live with my friend but she's a girl (shock horror :P) and I was wondering what the stance on a guy and a girl who are not related or dating etc. living together is and if we'd realistically be able to share a flat?

Any advice would be gratefully recieved!

shayan

January 21st, 2008, 05:34 PM

get yourself a sighe and you'd be able i guess?

shugs

January 21st, 2008, 05:38 PM

^I reckon if you kept yourself to yourself in a decent neighborhood no one would know or particularly want to... like anywhere else in the world... Of course that is as long as you dont have any ayatollahs living in your appartment block...

Yapachoo

January 21st, 2008, 09:08 PM

eek i'll take this as it's not allowed then, i'd rather not brush anyone up the wrong way! im sure we can just rent in the same block.

any ideas on good areas to live in? i've been told the north is preferable and judging by the spectacular mountains nearby in your photos on the forum i'd prefer to live there tbh!

thanks for your help!:)

shugs

January 22nd, 2008, 02:32 PM

It is illegal according to Iran's Islamic law but if your foreigners they never look into it...

My parents aren't technically married in Iran, but when we visit and stay in hotels around Iran the people on the reception usually make a joke about my parents not being married but have two adult children then hand over the key... If you're an international its overlooked, but yeh it's better not to take the risk in the first place...

You definitely want to head towards the mountains, Tehran's neighborhoods class and hence price increases the steeper it gets... Realistically you can live anywhere north of Enghelab Sq... So cheapest apartment for a student would be in the Jamalzadeh area north of Enghelab Sq... My sister has a modern apartment there which she uses for her PhD research in Iran which she bought for about £30k about 4 years ago... the rent around there is not very high and some of the apartments are amazing inside...

Amir Abad district, where also the University of Tehran's student halls of residence campus is located, considered uptown Tehran, you have very good access to the shopping districts, Vali Asr Sq., Fatami St., Vanak etc etc... On a budget you could afford to live opposite the famous Park-e Laleh (Tulip Park) (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=17019375&postcount=16)... It is in the lower part of the district but the city center is more in reach... I'm not sure of the renting value but that information is easily obtainable if you just call an agent, or if someone on the forum knows...

Alternately a more pleasant place to live would be Gisha district, just south of the Milad Tower has some amazing views of the tower and is a decent district...

L Fields

February 4th, 2008, 08:33 PM

Is it true that a person owing the Iranian military 2 years of military service can choose to buy his way out for the amount of either 5000 or 16,000 USD?

When is the guy obliged to do this service if he has been outside Iran for most of his life? Is it only once he steps back in the country? What if he carries dual citizenship with a European passport?

shugs

February 5th, 2008, 12:30 PM

It is true, once 18 Iranian male citizens have to do 2 years national service...

If you have lived/born outside of Iran and carry a dual citizenship (like myself) one may enter Iran & leave freely without any obligation for up to 3 months once per year (according to the Iranian calender)... To sort this out you need to go to the Iranian embassy, I think the process of entering this into your passport file on their system has a small fee.

Otherwise you can choose to buy off your national service for around £4,000 but it's costly and to be honest if you do not plan to go to Iran more than once a year very often it's not worth handing over so much money to them.

Yapachoo

February 6th, 2008, 09:24 PM

FreeToLove

February 6th, 2008, 09:57 PM

shugs

February 7th, 2008, 12:41 PM

You can go back again the following calender year for another maximum of three months once that year

Gizdavetz

February 8th, 2008, 06:50 PM

Hello, I'm wondering what the prices are of the different Samand lines in Iran and how they fare compared to other cars imported in Iran.

_BPS_

February 11th, 2008, 04:32 AM

O'uitte

February 14th, 2008, 04:40 AM

Hello guys, my name is Oscar and I come from Colombia. I study music and one of my subjects is "World Music". For this subject I must present an exposition about Iran; therefore I need a hand from you. In that exposition I shall talk about the geography, political inclinations and many other aspects of your country… these things are easy to find on the internet. Even though some things are better if asked directly to the source, I mean, the people of Iran. Well… let’s speak out pleanly… these are the questions…

1) How much cost a bottle of water, a typical lunch, an apple, and a cofee?

2) How can I say/pronounce/write “My name is Oscar”, “Hello”, “How are you?”, “Thanks”, “Bye-bye”…?

3) Which customs and superstitions do you have?

4) There are taboos that I must know, if I want to travel to Iran?

5) What do you think about the music of your country?

I wait for your anwser!! A hug from Colombia!! Thanks!!

alitezar

February 14th, 2008, 07:12 AM

Hello, I'm wondering what the prices are of the different Samand lines in Iran and how they fare compared to other cars imported in Iran.

Sorry I don't know but maybe Shugs could help you out. I'm not into cars that much ;)

alitezar

February 14th, 2008, 07:14 AM

Before I Ask, I would like to apologize for my ignorance. I have heard from people on forums that there is no 'Sunni' masjids in Iran, nor are they allowed to be estabilished. Is this true? Does the gov't specifically impose laws to curb sunni'ism?
By the way, I don't believe in these sectarian differences, and am more than willing to pray in any masjid.

Q2: When is the best time of the year to visit Iran?

I'm not sure if there are any Sunni Masjids or not.

As your 2nd Q, late summer or early fall is good to visit Iran. Summer is fine too It does not get too hot, most cities would be in 30 C range :)

Gizdavetz

February 14th, 2008, 04:31 PM

Alitezar, no problem, I can wait :)
I actually learnt with a surprise quite recently that they've started importing them in Bulgaria and I got curious. Here they sell the LX for €8,750 and the LX+ for €10,000 so I'm interested if they're any cheaper in Iran, but I'm curious about the limo model as well.

Gizdavetz

February 20th, 2008, 03:43 PM

Can somebody link me to picture of the grandsons of Khomeini please?

jeffyl00b

March 2nd, 2008, 04:13 AM

How the hell this has anything to do with Zionism? Zionism is nationalistic movement nothing else! Flash News!!! the world is materialistic! the materialism is the driving force behind western power, materialism is natural as fucking reproducing... and what values or should i say lack of values are you talking? each and every culture has its own values, btw materialism is value...

Dictators are the most materialistic of them all, and they are the ones who always cause the problems.

Hello, I am an evil jew in the mean west. I've been interested in Persia as the culture and the people seem noble(unlike their gov't). And if photo threads are a good indicator for places I've never been to, I think Tehran and Israel are probably the two nicest cities in the region. Yes, one is a country, but it's small enough that I'll just put the whole thing down. The history is so interesting too.
There's so much I'd like to learn. But enough kissing up, I'll just ask two things.

A) Do you have any cross country trains, or is it just the subway? How are the highways towards Europe? Can you drive across the continent or is that daring?

B) I don't want to get anyone in trouble. But let's pretend we all went to sleep tonight, and woke up in the morning and there was a free society. No religious police or iron-fisted rulers. Would there still be "Death to America" days and rallies? Would people who have defected return? And would someone like myself be able to visit Tehran just like any other city?
I ask because everytime I see or hear news coverage of those rallies, the person they interview always says, "don't worry they don't mean it" or they get paid to do it. I wonder how true that is and how much the people believe in it, and all the propaganda.

shugs

March 2nd, 2008, 02:43 PM

A) Yes there are many cross country trains refer to this (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=397034) thread for train maps... Motorway link from Ankara, Turkey I believe will take you straight to Tehran...

B) If there were a free society? Who knows, surely if it was free the conservative Muslims still have their right to voice their negative opinions due to freedom of expression. Of course there are Iranians who believe in the cause, they are in the minority, but a vocal and devout one, but hey they're not any better than those gun tooting evangelical Americans who want death to, well... everyone who isn't Christian... or rather want them to go to hell :|... Fact of the matter is that most Iranians just want to get on with their lives in some kind of stability... while cooking up wild conspiracies in their spare time of course (Iranian past-time lol).

annavanjhn

April 25th, 2008, 10:37 AM

i gont one:

can u surf on google? i heard that it is illegal to enter google in iran. is that true?

nimrooo

April 25th, 2008, 10:49 AM

i gont one:

can u surf on google? i heard that it is illegal to enter google in iran. is that true?

I think I was using google last summer but I'm not sure

nimrooo

April 25th, 2008, 11:15 AM

nimrooo

April 25th, 2008, 11:16 AM

Can somebody link me to picture of the grandsons of Khomeini please?

why would you want that fuckers picture anyway?

nimrooo

April 25th, 2008, 11:18 AM

damn, If you want to know how it feels to pour acid in your eyes look at khomeini's grandson lol
her you go Gizdavetz
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39385000/jpg/_39385766_203b_khomeini_bbc.jpg

TEHR_IR

April 25th, 2008, 07:11 PM

i gont one:

can u surf on google? i heard that it is illegal to enter google in iran. is that true?
WATH illigal hehe that is the most wierd thing i heard in years i'm searching everyday on google for iran hehe

Persan

April 26th, 2008, 04:39 PM

i gont one:

can u surf on google? i heard that it is illegal to enter google in iran. is that true?

Actually, it's the other way around: Google (and MSN + Yahoo) cannot have an Iran-specific portal. They can have a "Persian" specific portal, but not something akin to www.google.ir (i.e. Google Iran)

It's worth noting that this is an American law, not an Iranian one.

gladiatore78rm

August 7th, 2008, 06:11 PM

hello guys. i'm from rome. i'm courios to know something more abouth iran, for example i've read u don't have google but can u surf in the others internet site? is there pornografy or political thesis? tnks :)

alitezar

August 7th, 2008, 08:50 PM

^^ Hi, Welcome to the Iran forum :)

Google was fine in Iran, I was there this summer but most famous sites such as facebook, orkut and youtube that people use alot are filtered. Even they have bloked the skyscrapercity. They are just bunch of idiots, but there are companies in Iran that they sell Filter breakers (that's what they call it in Iran) illegally and you wire them money on a quarterly basis and they have a program that removes all the filters and you can surf all the websites even XXX.
My friend has it and it's pretty cool :)

shugs

August 7th, 2008, 08:59 PM

^Really? Hah! Awesome!!! I know a lot of people use proxy servers tho it slows down the connection a lot.

It's mostly the dsl and other high speed internet ISPs who use filters (of Chinese origin).. Also a few years ago they limited dsl speed so people couldn't download films with such ease..

I know you can get dial-up scratch cards that aren't filtered...

alitezar

August 7th, 2008, 09:50 PM

^^ My friend has high speed now but back then he had dial up and that filter breaker works with both.

gladiatore78rm

August 8th, 2008, 09:56 AM

i see. seem to be a little dangerous..be carefull! :)

AAL

August 9th, 2008, 01:23 AM

Hello friends,

Just to say that the Greek edition of National Geographic - actually I think it's the same in all local editions- has a really nice feature on Iran this month. Mostly historical photos, and texts relating to Iran's history and present, as well as very detailed maps.

alitezar

August 9th, 2008, 02:12 AM

^^ Very cool, I'll check it out. Thanks for letting us know buddy :)

gole_hayahou

August 9th, 2008, 07:44 PM

Just got back from Iran and only Orkut was filtered...everything else worked fine, even SSC.

alitezar

August 10th, 2008, 12:08 AM

^^ Really? Cool

skydive

August 10th, 2008, 12:15 AM

Just got back from Iran and only Orkut was filtered...everything else worked fine, even SSC.

good news, how was your holiday this time, hope you enjoyed it:), and did not have any incident

gole_hayahou

August 10th, 2008, 05:06 PM

Yeah most things werent blocked. Even Youtube! Which is quite shocking seeing as I heard its blocked in the UAE. :dunno:

My holiday was good thank you :)
had a few incidents but nothing too major :)

Omid

August 13th, 2008, 04:00 PM

I have a question about business in Iran. Really how hard is it to go and open a business of some sort? like a restaurant for example? I'm Iranian and have some good ideas and I just don't know if it will even be worth it if there is so much hassle involved and a lot of running around.

shugs

August 13th, 2008, 06:59 PM

Hey Omid :)

So lets say you have the necessary cash injection for such a project already covered. For a restaurant you need the necessary licenses from the government to such a business.. Not too difficult to obtain other than dealing with Iranian bureaucracy which can be tricky just because they send you to different places for no apparent reason... So you need to put in the necessary leg work! Oh one thing if by any chance you're one of the religions that the government does not recognise (Baha'i, Budhist, etc.) they won't grant you a license.

Location is a debated issue... a friend of mine who has a deli on Jamazadeh once told me if you set up two pizzerias in Tehran, one in balah shahr, lets say Vanak and one pahin shahr lets say Shapur... Selling exactly the same recipe and clearly the same franchise.. depending on which gets the good reputation it could go either way... the one in Shapur could gain the better reputation and be rammed all the time while the one in Vanak begins to fail. So just for selling food you can make money in any busy location.

It all depends on what sort of eatery you want to establish... if it's high end Iranian cuisine or foreign food... fast food, sushi bar, cafe etc. For the high end cuisine you defiantly want to look at establishing in balah shahr or at least further north than Azadi... nice location, surroundings, cater to non-Iranians (like Restaurant-e Alborz). Oh this is all assuming if you even want to establish in Tehran! I should have asked first, oh well lol. Rest assured restaurants are my thing, not because I like my food (because I do) but it's my parents industry of choice. :D

Omid

August 16th, 2008, 04:39 AM

shugs

August 18th, 2008, 03:18 PM

Omid

August 27th, 2008, 07:40 PM

It all depends on the scale of the business you want to open... More than enough for fast food and a small/medium restaurant in Central Tehran... Probably need more if you want to head further north where the lease price heads into the $100,000+ territory for a restaurant sized property. You can buy your national service for $5k :)
About buying the military service-how do you buy it exactly?? Because I remember last year I asked my uncle to see if I can buy it or not and when he went and asked they said they arent doing it anymore! It seems like somedays they're selling it somedays they are not!!

shugs

August 27th, 2008, 09:45 PM

About buying the military service-how do you buy it exactly?? Because I remember last year I asked my uncle to see if I can buy it or not and when he went and asked they said they arent doing it anymore! It seems like somedays they're selling it somedays they are not!!

Check out this thread for your answer: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=681116

Personally i don't know 100% if they are selling it right now or not.

eduardo90

August 31st, 2008, 06:12 AM

I have a question I don't know if anyone has already asked but what happens to homosexuals in Iran?...they already told me homosexuality is forbidden but what happens to the people that are gay do they keep it a secret forever or get put to prison or what?

Libra

August 31st, 2008, 09:00 PM

TEHR_IR

August 31st, 2008, 09:00 PM

Hello, Gays in Iran can be executed if 3 people can aprove it that the person is gay but most of the gays leave the country or make them selves transexual or keep it secret

eduardo90

September 1st, 2008, 01:36 AM

Wow!!!so you can be killed just for being gay haha and I always thought Latin American countries were intolerant to homosexuals well then I guess im not going to Iran because I was planning to go with some friends to a Middle Eastern country and I thought maybe Iran since it is one of the most developed and safe countries in the Middle East but one of my friends is gay and I don't want him to get killed haha...anways thanks for the info

alitezar

September 1st, 2008, 02:47 AM

Hello, Gays in Iran can be executed if 3 people can aprove it that the person is gay but most of the gays leave the country or make them selves transexual or keep it secret

No, only if 3 people see you having S*X. Not that if they know you are gay they execute you. Otherwise that way alot of guys will be executed because they are too girly or put make up on and there is a lot of them in Iran.

Hawa Beirut

September 1st, 2008, 03:31 AM

^^as long as it's not public and no body knows. it's safe ,no body will take u from home

TEHR_IR

September 2nd, 2008, 04:05 PM

ok sorry my fault :s

gole_hayahou

September 3rd, 2008, 09:29 PM

umm...it has to be 3 MEN...women are treated differently when it comes to witnesses.

Omid

October 22nd, 2008, 02:50 PM

hey guys, im going to iran in a couple weeks and i was wondering are those currency exchange booths open at Imam Khomeini airport late at night? because I'll be arriving around 3am and I'm going to need to get a taxi to get to where I'm going so I;m going to need some tomans. (i want to avoid giving them dollars:p)

sarbaze tabarestan

October 22nd, 2008, 02:54 PM

if u nod have money give the taxi driver some originell marlboro or a present wort of 15 dollars and he will drive u

shugs

October 22nd, 2008, 03:22 PM

bureau de change will most likely be closed at 3am

Omid

October 22nd, 2008, 08:46 PM

bureau de change will most likely be closed at 3am

so if its closed, are there any places here in the US or online that will sell rials?

shugs

October 23rd, 2008, 09:26 PM

I'm not entirely sure but you might be able to pay in foreign currency at the airport taxi office... You pay beforehand there anyway...

SeyMan

October 29th, 2008, 11:21 PM

Is lesbianism allowed in Iran? If not, do they execute proven lesbians?

TEHR_IR

October 30th, 2008, 12:34 AM

Is lesbianism allowed in Iran? If not, do they execute proven lesbians?
No they do not, solong if (you) and youre girlfriend are not kissing in the middle of the street their is no problem :D

shugs

October 30th, 2008, 01:30 AM

^Homosexuality is against the law in Iran by corporal punishment

The parameters are set in the penal code...

Something like if three 'homosexual kisses' can be proven they will receive a set number of lashings

And if a homosexual sex can be proven it is punishable by death...

Load of shite if you ask me.

Yapachoo

October 30th, 2008, 04:23 AM

Omid I'm pretty sure I arrived at Imam Khomeini at a similarly ridiculous hour (back in Feb) and I was able to exchange money with no problem. Perhaps take a box of ciggies incase but I'm fairly sure you'll be able to change money.

MyFavco

November 15th, 2008, 03:29 AM

I love Iran,

You guys should be proud, the history of the land is amazing. The people of today can only live in aspiration of what was past.

persian

November 16th, 2008, 12:50 PM

Thanks. it is true.

HerrParhom

December 1st, 2008, 02:38 PM

Does your friend have some sort of big sign that says "Gay man here!"? Because it's not like in the Western world where if you act girly people automatically assume you're gay. Homosexuality so seldomly a topic of discussion that people usually don't even consider the possibility that someone may be gay. And when it comes to foreigners, it's not likely to be an issue of speculation because "fagginess" varies between cultures.

That being said, I don't know your friend, maybe he is completely super duper gay. In which case, he should be careful in Latin America. I'm a gay Iranian American and what I know is that no one in Iran gave me any trouble, but of course, no one really knew. When I lived in New York City, though, I steered clear of any group of young black, Dominican or Puerto Rican men. If you want to be killed for being gay, walk through through a non-white neighborhood in NYC.

That being said, if you want to have "fun" in the "middle east," I wouldn't suggest Iran. You can't drink and you can't listen to loud music. I mean, you can do anything behind closed doors, but you have to actually know people personally. Otherwise, Iran is only fun if you're a history buff.

Have you thought of going to Lebanon? It's the most gay-friendly country in the region (although it's still not very gay friendly) and is famous for its nightlife. They could use your money, too.

Wow!!!so you can be killed just for being gay haha and I always thought Latin American countries were intolerant to homosexuals well then I guess im not going to Iran because I was planning to go with some friends to a Middle Eastern country and I thought maybe Iran since it is one of the most developed and safe countries in the Middle East but one of my friends is gay and I don't want him to get killed haha...anways thanks for the info

gole_hayahou

December 2nd, 2008, 12:38 AM

That being said, if you want to have "fun" in the "middle east," I wouldn't suggest Iran. You can't drink and you can't listen to loud music. I mean, you can do anything behind closed doors, but you have to actually know people personally. Otherwise, Iran is only fun if you're a history buff.

I would suggest Iran, I've been to some of the wildest parties in my life over there...

And I didn't know most of the people personally....There is a thriving Rave scene in Iran. its big, Its loud and its sketchy as hell!! And it is as illegal as it is anywhere else in the world.

You should come to Iran with me...you surely haven't been going to the right places!! :lol:

shugs

December 2nd, 2008, 01:40 AM

Iran is only fun if you're a history buff

There is also the epic landscape

TEHR_IR

December 2nd, 2008, 05:05 PM

^^and the snow quality is much better than european country's and we have many facilities for Muslim visitors Like imam reza in mashad and also the highest mountain of west-asia and middle east Tehran is a very good shapping destination :D

HerrParhom

December 2nd, 2008, 08:37 PM

I clearly haven;t been to the right places.

I would suggest Iran, I've been to some of the wildest parties in my life over there...

And I didn't know most of the people personally....There is a thriving Rave scene in Iran. its big, Its loud and its sketchy as hell!! And it is as illegal as it is anywhere else in the world.

You should come to Iran with me...you surely haven't been going to the right places!! :lol:

sinasina

December 2nd, 2008, 10:50 PM

Yeah most things werent blocked. Even Youtube! Which is quite shocking seeing as I heard its blocked in the UAE. :dunno:

My holiday was good thank you :)
had a few incidents but nothing too major :)

tell us about the incidents :lol:

I would suggest Iran, I've been to some of the wildest parties in my life over there...

And I didn't know most of the people personally....There is a thriving Rave scene in Iran. its big, Its loud and its sketchy as hell!! And it is as illegal as it is anywhere else in the world.

You should come to Iran with me...you surely haven't been going to the right places!! :lol:

ooh! take me too! :):):lol::lol::cheers:

gole_hayahou

December 5th, 2008, 12:39 AM

Incidents included:

Being stopped by the 'Khahare Zeynab' on many occasions such as when shopping in Karaj....also when out with family in Darband.

At first I played dumb, said I couldn't speak Persian and that I was a tourist....however this seemed to entitle them to swear at me and call me every name under the sun at for a whole 10 minutes, before I couldn't take it any longer and blew my cover with a resounding flurry of threats....

The other time I was asked to take off my make up....seeing as I had none on this could be seen as near impossible...they believed that my pale skin was foundation....hah! proved them wrong :D

They also seem to love filling in various forms, check lists including if you are wearing eyeliner, foundation, mascara, eye shadow etc... they search your bags and also take note of anything in there....

Problems also with 'Mobile Phone Police' who check through your mobiles for any 'Un-Islamic' videos, pictures, text messages...fun fun fun!

General Police trouble included being pulled over by the police for driving an unusual or as they called it...FLASHY car...

Oh how I love Iran :D

gole_hayahou

December 5th, 2008, 12:40 AM

Let me know when you're free and I'll bring you along!!! haha

sinasina

December 5th, 2008, 07:42 PM

Let me know when you're free and I'll bring you along!!! haha

U probably went at the peak of the "crackdown", but things have cooled off now, i cant believe they pick on men too:lol:

gole_hayahou

December 8th, 2008, 03:15 PM

I got back at the end of August....I don't think that was the peak of the crackdown....it was 6 months earlier.

And according to my family the crackdown hasn't eased off, they are just being more sly in the ways they stop people.

FreeToLove

December 10th, 2008, 02:52 AM

jeffyl00b

December 13th, 2008, 05:47 PM

Okey, I like this subforum, but I have to wonder about you guys.

I always hear the saying it's the government and not the people. And from the photos, and people I encounter on the internets, I would believe that.
But now I"m reading about all these recent demonstrations(or threats) against Egypt and Saudi Arabia, instead of just the usual ones against the US and Israel, and I have to wonder....
If I'm not supposed to mistake the people with the government, how many people is that? What's the percentage of people I would(as an American Jew especially) feel comfortable with if I woke up in Tehran one day?
I know things change when you have a lot of people leave a city or country, so I always wonder with the conflicting messages I see. It seems like it all alternates everyday. One day I'm reading about a mass demonstration against someone, and the next day there's a small demonstration against your President, or the ex-pats, and then the next day is more threats. I can't gauge the situation.

Persan

December 14th, 2008, 08:49 AM

alitezar

December 14th, 2008, 09:51 AM

^^ Yes, I agree with Persan, plus Iranians don't care if you're Jewish or not.
There are Jewish poeple living in Tehran and they have their owm community and temples too. Here are some pix.

The Jewish Temple

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/Multimedia_pics_1387_6_Photo_901.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/Multimedia_pics_1387_6_Photo_911.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/Multimedia_pics_1387_6_Photo_906.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/Multimedia_pics_1387_6_Photo_903.jpg

pix by raeabileah

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/fellowhipofreconcilation.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/raeabileah.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/3068363601_9c9275dfa4_o.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/3068363363_59c82da38b_o.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/3068363263_0c79c85d6e_o.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g320/alitezar/Alireza2/3068363171_40399a64d8_o.jpg

jeffyl00b

December 15th, 2008, 03:42 AM

I guess I just wonder how many people walking the streets would be fanatical. But then again, not many people in America ever feel strongly enough to really take to the streets about things.
I wish I could put a free Iran on my list of places to go. But then again, I bet it's way better than Hezzy controlled sections of Beirut, right!
It does look like it would've been one of my favorite places. Excellent photos all around.

I wonder how old that Temple is too.

Rahmani

December 15th, 2008, 12:35 PM

gole_hayahou

December 15th, 2008, 04:33 PM

^^ Not bad luck, it happens to a lot of Iranians...especially over the summer period.

Extreme...yes, but thats the Islamic Republics policy for you.

Rahmani

December 17th, 2008, 12:21 AM

^^ I have never experianced this or heard anyone have such an experiance.

gole_hayahou

December 17th, 2008, 12:31 AM

are you suggesting that I'm lying?

coz that is just hilarious.

shugs

December 17th, 2008, 12:37 AM

This sounds really extreem and seems more like bad luck then something that is random.

doesn't seem that extreme to me, people being stopped by fashion police is well documented... Mahdi (mahdial) has quite a few similar stories of being stopped in Tehran while he lived there last year...

also gole hayahou doesn't look like the average Iranian gal in Tehran hence attracting more attention. :)

Omid

December 18th, 2008, 04:05 PM

First of all, jaye hamatoon khali, I just got back from Iran a couple days ago!

I was wondering now, since I'm only allowed to go to Iran 1/year for max of 3 months-what would happen if I go back for a 2nd time in one year? Will they let me enter the country or would they grab me right there at the airport passport counter? I really need to go back before the new year starts(March) and if they let me enter than maybe I can go and buy my sarbazi right then so I can leave the country later on. I'm just having problems buying my sarbazi from here in the USA because I need someone in Iran to go after it for me and I don't want anyone to go through that hassle.

In general, if I was physically in Iran is it pretty straightforward to buy it?

shugs

December 18th, 2008, 04:49 PM

First of all, jaye hamatoon khali, I just got back from Iran a couple days ago!

I was wondering now, since I'm only allowed to go to Iran 1/year for max of 3 months-what would happen if I go back for a 2nd time in one year? Will they let me enter the country or would they grab me right there at the airport passport counter?

Hope you had a good time mate...

If you go back for the second time, at the passport counter they will stamp your passport with mamnun khuruj, so you will be allowed into Iran but not allowed to leave...

Personally I don't know anything about buying sarbazi, I'm on the system you are until I can get my medical exemption sorted, but right now I don't really need to go to Iran more than once a year anyway! :)

Omid

December 18th, 2008, 05:21 PM

Hope you had a good time mate...

If you go back for the second time, at the passport counter they will stamp your passport with mamnun khuruj, so you will be allowed into Iran but not allowed to leave...

Personally I don't know anything about buying sarbazi, I'm on the system you are until I can get my medical exemption sorted, but right now I don't really need to go to Iran more than once a year anyway! :)

thanks for the quick response! I can always count on you answering my questions! :)
Now, i was wondering how do they even know how many times I have traveled to Iran in a year? Is this information recorded in the computer each time I enter the country? I know they stamp my passport....but it's just a stamp...

shugs

December 18th, 2008, 08:50 PM

^It's okay, sorry I don't have any better answers :D

I'm pretty sure the immigration officers tap something into the computers when they check your passport...

mahdial_x5

December 18th, 2008, 11:03 PM

Omid,
im not quite sure of what shugs is saying? (sorry mate)

in your passport, it says that your residence is from where?

for me example, in my iranian pass it says that i am iranian but residing in canada. so i can only be in the country for a maximum of 6 months every year.

but, i was tehre for a whole year...all i did was leave the country for azerbaijan and get a stamp that i did infact "leave" the country. and, i just came back again....you have to leave every 6 months... i dont think its 3 months, i think it used to be? are you sure its 3 months?

and, for me, if i go back again then im mamnun khorooj after this upcoming norooz. you are mamnun khorooj from the eid before the date that you turn 18.

you can only buy your sarbazi at around eid of the time, or afterwards. i tried to buy mine already but they said that i have to wait untill the eid passes.

and omid, the stamp has a date too...i beleive...and also its in their records...they will KNOW if youve left iran or been to iran...but, again, i think its like my situation.

how you have to LEAVE the country after 6 months (or 3...?) and you can return again because you are a resident of a foreign country.

NOW, amid ALL i JUST SAID...

Omid are you already mamnun khorooj?! if you are then yes you only have a MAX of staying in the country for 3 months PER YEAR...

-----------------------------------------------------------

anywyas, about what gole_hayahou said...

you know, i havent SEEN that happen before either...but ive heard of it, albeit not to that extent. my aunt and cousins have been stopped a few times but they never explained it to me fully...so i dunnoo

when i was "caught"

they told me to raise my arms...and thats all...then they gave a warning

AND OH! OH MY GOD! the MOBILE POLICE HAHAHAH!!

i HAD a picture of KHATAMI, LOL! and WHENEVER i would see one of them in the streets i would change my pic of my phone to KHATAMI on my bkg, and remove my mem-stick that had all the good stuff:D hehe:P;)

perhaps the fashion police were a bit different in karaj, im not sure...

shugs

December 18th, 2008, 11:42 PM

mahdial_x5

December 19th, 2008, 03:15 AM

^ What do you mean you are not sure of what I am saying?

If one's residence is abroad of Iran and is 18+, one can arrange to visit Iran once a year for a maximum stay of 3 months... If one goes for a second time in the same calender year, one cannot leave until one attends national service. ha! all in third person, lol!

Is that incorrect? It is the set-up I have.

dadashh:)

hehe look at what i said also, when i said:

"Omid are you already mamnun khorooj?! if you are then yes you only have a MAX of staying in the country for 3 months PER YEAR..."

so, you are right...

essentially i just restated what you said,and what i had to go through, and some other things that really didnt matter lol:D hehe:D

i wasnt taking into account hes 18+ for the first part of what i typed:) i thought he isnt mamnoon khooroj yet:)

but, its agreed on what you said!

_BPS_

December 19th, 2008, 01:59 PM

Have there been any recent diplomatic developments between Iran and China?

shugs

December 19th, 2008, 03:08 PM

dadashh:)

hehe look at what i said also, when i said:

"Omid are you already mamnun khorooj?! if you are then yes you only have a MAX of staying in the country for 3 months PER YEAR..."

so, you are right...

essentially i just restated what you said,and what i had to go through, and some other things that really didnt matter lol:D hehe:D

i wasnt taking into account hes 18+ for the first part of what i typed:) i thought he isnt mamnoon khooroj yet:)

but, its agreed on what you said!

oh okay, didn't realise you were agreeing with me :lol:

gole_hayahou

December 20th, 2008, 08:15 PM

I don't see why I should need to justify myself on an internet forum.

:dunno:

Omid

December 21st, 2008, 05:33 PM

Something that's on my mind every time I go to Iran is why can't single women check into hotels?? (or can they?) So if a girl wanted to go somewhere for a couple days and didn't know anyone in the city what are they to do?? This is what I've heard from some of my friends in Iran, so I can be wrong on this.

mahdial_x5

December 23rd, 2008, 05:10 AM

^^

i dont think thats true, at least not anymore...

it used to be the case however.

shugs

December 23rd, 2008, 02:20 PM

^She might need her father's consent like with going abroad?

persian

December 25th, 2008, 03:57 PM

One thing that really surprised and annoyed me this summer was that, I wanted to see Abbasi hotel and eat something there after around 10 years. So I went there with my friend, bought the enterance ticket and when we wanted to enter, the guard stopped us and said we don't let single men to enter the Hotel's garden. :ohno:
It really pissed me off. It is not what you would expect from a 5* hotel!!!!! :bash:

gole_hayahou

December 28th, 2008, 11:36 PM

When I went awhile ago it was the same...its such a beautiful place but they don't want the whole dokhtar/pesar bazi thing starting up inside...

I stayed there with my family but I was not allowed to explore the place without them. Stupid really.

From what I remember they have been in trouble before for not enforcing "Islamic Principles".

bacolodchamp

January 1st, 2009, 02:24 AM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/3150592470_2e4fd21564_b.jpg
PHILIPPINES

:cheers:

alitezar

January 1st, 2009, 09:18 AM

^^ Thanks very much. All the best to you too ;)
btw Bacolod looks great.

alitezar

January 1st, 2009, 09:19 AM

Has anyone heard anything about this Pasargad Mall Project in Tehran?

http://group-td.com/projects.htm

shirazboy

January 2nd, 2009, 02:13 PM

Ok, so I am going to Iran this year some time and wanna know whether I should go in the next month or two? Or some time during Summer?
I have heard it gets very shooloog during Eid.. what about during Apr-Jun or during summer? What time do most people go? (so I avoid that time? :))
I missed out on booking an ultra cheap ticket cos I wasn't sure.. which sucked cos it was a steal basically.. :ohno:

Cheers!

alitezar

January 4th, 2009, 09:58 AM

^^ Hi there and welcome to the forum :)

I think April-May would be a great time to visit plus it is not crazy busy and is not in high season (for airplane tickets) neither.

sinasina

January 14th, 2009, 12:35 PM

Samuel107

March 9th, 2009, 07:08 AM

Hi all, I'm one that is strictly against the american foreign policy, especially those pertinent to the middle east. However, i came across this video, and i thought i should share.

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/videos/108/the-violent-oppression-of-women-in-islam/
Im nigerian, and im quite aware of the west's way of creating propaganda, so I'll like to give this video the benefit of doubt. Is the video any reflection of the MODERN islamic community in Iran? how old do you think those videos are? it this supposed trend as rampant as suggested? I'm christian and I don't have any problem with muslims- some of my best friends are muslims- everyone has a right to religion... so please answer the most candidly. thanks!

Persan

March 9th, 2009, 01:56 PM

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/videos/108/the-violent-oppression-of-women-in-islam/
Im nigerian, and im quite aware of the west's way of creating propaganda, so I'll like to give this video the benefit of doubt. Is the video any reflection of the MODERN islamic community in Iran? how old do you think those videos are? it this supposed trend as rampant as suggested? I'm christian and I don't have any problem with muslims- some of my best friends are muslims- everyone has a right to religion... so please answer the most candidly. thanks!

This video is shocking, but a lot of the things they talk about does not happen in Iran. They mentioned female circumcision, but this does not happen in Iran. While the marriage age for girls used to be 9 (from 1980 -2000), the then reformist government changed it to 13. The rest of the information I cannot comment on as it does not mention Iran specifically.