Never would have thought that one day I’d be writing from Tehran of all places! Spent two days in this fascinating and massive city of 17million residents.
More intrigued by the rich history and uniqueness of the people than I was before. The language, cuisine, culture all are so different from the rest of the Middle East that it seems grossly incorrect to club them into the same category. And from all the media hype about this place i thought it was a Baghdad/Basra kind of place with fundamentalists pouring out of all places and people out to string you. How mistaken!
The flight from Dubai was full of Chinese. I counted almost 50+ Chinese travelers of all ages and later was told that the Chinese construction, oil and trading companies are all over Iran for business deals.
The first thing I noticed after stepping into the taxi at the airport is that vehicles drive on the right hand side like in Dubai &..the US. The roads were in a very good condition and it was a smooth ride into the southern part of Tehran - about 35km. Funnily enough the first music I heard in Iran was John Denver’s “Country Roads” played by the enthusiastic driver - Mr.Ansari, who was keen to show-off his collection of Western music. He mentioned 25 years ago he had visited India and loved the place.
Currency is difficult to handle as 1US Dollar fetches you 9300 Iranian Riyals. And you have to pay for everything in cash…that’s right everything. So when I converted AED 500 (about 135 USD) into Iranian Riyals at the Dubai airport I was stunned to get 1.1million Iranian riyals! If you are perplexed why no credit cards then just think who are the major credit card issuers globally? Visa,Mastercard and Amex….all American and all prevented by US sanctions to do business with Iran. So even at the Hotel its clearly advertised “No Credit Cards” but US Dollars are welcome!
Life for companies has indeed been made difficult and complex thanks to the US and now UN sanctions imposed on some of the Iranian banks. Iran is a very misunderstood country and the isolation of the last 27 years has distanced a generation of youth from the rest of the world. Am sure the older and middle-age generation must be at pains to see their future generation deprived of the luxuries, pleasures and freedom that they had enjoyed upto the early 1980s.
The people I met were telling me that the Islamists who staged the Islamic Revolution in 1979 today enjoy support of only 30% of the population and a vast majority are not guided by or follow their idealogy. In fact the youth of Iran were not the ones backing Ahmadinejad in the last elections and he was a surprise victor with most expecting the earlier President Rafsanjani to win. Rafsanjani was a more moderate leader and lot of liberty and openess in Iranian society is attributed to him and subsequently President Khatami. On Ahmadenijad I must add there was not a single poster or portrait of him anywhere in the city (not what you’d expect based on the megalomanic image western media paints of him).Apparently the reason is he passed such an order soon upon getting elected two years ago.
The Hotel I stayed at (Hotel Homa) was earlier called the Sheraton and the hotel I went for a lunch was the earlier Hilton. Both were now under Iranian ownership - I doubt if any money was paid to take over these hotels! There was the OTIS elevator, American Standard toilet and the Honeywell climate control system which suggested that while the Americans had left their gadgets hadn’t. The view from the room was quite scenic as Tehran is surrounded by mountains which in May were still snow-capped. Tehran had heavy rain on the two evenings and I spent some time watching & admiring it, coming from hot & dry Dubai.
The staple soft drink all over Tehran is Coca Cola. Everywhere you go its available in the ubiquitous red can, however its not advertised on hoardings or TV…one of those strange things. Quite like the HP printers which were in every office but technically American products are not to be sold courtesy American law.
My Tehran based colleague mentioned that his brother had migrated to the US in early 1980s when he was 17yrs old and now serves as a US Marine in Iraq. Apparently he has 2 passports so uses his Iranian passport to occasionally visit the family in Tehran! The two brothers are on two opposing sides of a near war and laugh about the politics that divides them.
Dry fruits and Persian rugs are what everyone buys. Since I wasn’t carrying enough currency for the latter, I stuck to the dry fruits. The shopkeepers were very friendly, introducing all the types of fruits and encouraging us to taste each type and the local driver/guide advised me to try each one and not decline as its the local custom that when you buy from a shop you must sample all their wares!! The Persian rugs apparently range from USD500 to USD1million…if only my Diners card was acceptable here 
On the morning of my second and last day in Tehran, realised I had forgotten my comb. So called Housekeeping in the hotel and was told cheerfully by the lady on the other end “We have run out of stock and have just placed an order today, will be available by t’rrow”. I could visualise a series of dishevelled guests trooping in for b’fast / their meetings that day. Not to be put off I remembered there was a barber’s shop in the lobby. So went to the just-opened-for-business shop and enquired if I could use a comb. The barber kindly suggested I should instead buy one ! Yeah, sure…rather than use one of the dozens in his empty saloon. So he shouts to his brother/son(?) in the next shop who cheerfully sells me a comb for 10,000 riyals. While its just 1 USD, to pay 10,000 of anything for a measly small size plastic comb did hurt. So won’t be throwing it away in a hurry.
The bookstore had other delights. While I combed couldn’t help but notice the old state of some of the books on display. I picked a Leon Uris book and was amazed that it was actually a 30 year old print. Not often you come across 5 Star hotel bookstores selling 3 decade old books in English, German & French. Again remains of the Shah days.
In the two evenings I was there I managed to get a brief glimpse of the social life by going into town for dinner. First evening was at Darrakeh which is on the hillside and reminiscent of Hills of Himachal /Garhwal - cool climes and lots of greenery. Thanks to the rain the weather was very pleasant,almost cold. We were at an open air resturant by the side of a stream which was gushing water with such force that it seemed like a good location for a mini-hydel plant. Anyway we lay back on some traditional Persian rugs and cushions and savoured some fairly decent Iranian kababs, breads, tea and Pepsi. Several young couples frequented that restaurant and my friend confirmed that its quite common and not unusual as there are no restrictions like in Saudi for unmarried women to only be out with their guardians. Funny how Saudi is US’ best friend in the region and Iran the axis of evil.
The traffic on the city streets is attrocious - worse than India at times. Noticed a man who stopped his car at a green light to inspect some damage and curse the vehicles behind. While others patiently waited for him to get over his foul mood. Also traffic signals are free-for-alls and roundabouts are an adventure trip! Every one has a car and has to get some where in a hurry. People who can afford it use drivers and that saves on stress. Arguments on the road are however very polished, I had to ask my driver once whether he was arguing or chatting with another guy who had nearly grazed our car. The soft,melodious tone of the Farsi language had something to do with it.
This you will find hard to believe, especially at a time of USD3/ gallon of gasoline and Rs.50/litre in India. In tehran gasoline is cheaper than water and milk. A gallon of gasoline costs just 40 cents. And its not a case of them making cheap petrol. Iran in fact imports 40% of its petrol as they don’t have sufficient refining capacity. They sell the crude ….but buy the gasoline!
The sad part however is that automobiles are all outdated. The only vehicles you see are Peugeots, Kia, Samand(Iranian make), a stray Hyundai and a rare BMW. Lot of Vespa scooters and Chinese made motor bikes. Most vehicles are on average 10 years old (at least they look that old) with dents and scratches all over. The traffic police are a helpless lot and keep to them selves or make phone calls from public phone booths while the traffic rambles on & people figure out what to do.
The airport departure terminal is on the lines of the Hong Kong terminal. For a moment I was stumped when I stepped out of the cab and entered the Imam terminal as it looked familiar. Soon got over any deja vu when i realised it was a carbon copy of the HK airport. Very classy but very empty…not too many people booking holidays into Iran.
All this from a two day trip….as you can make out I liked the place. I hear in winters the hills around Tehran are great for skiing.
