The inhabitants of Europe, who first found themselves in Iran, in addition to the abundance of antiquities, are struck by the number of surprising beautiful people. Most of all, this feature of the appearance of the Iranians is noticeable on the streets of large cities: it seems that every third resident of Tehran can become a style icon without preparation.

Let's try to figure out what factors the inhabitants of this eastern country owe their appearance to and why even red-haired or blond people can be found on the ancient streets.

A bit about the history of Persia

We can judge the appearance of the population of the ancient Persian empires from the surviving images and wall frescoes. It can be seen that these are beautiful people with a proud posture and smooth movements.

Well-preserved colored tiles that adorned the walls of the palace of the Persian king Darius I (approximately the 6th century BC), excavated by archaeologists in the city of Susa. They depict elite warriors from the personal guard of the king. Most of the characters have curly hair, dark skin and beards curled in the fashion of those times. Although one dense warrior with traditionally dark skin, unexpectedly blue eyes stand out.

And on the huge mosaic, created more than three centuries later, found in Pompeii, the image of King Darius III is slightly different. The Roman master depicted the famous Persian with lighter skin, but with dark eyes and hair. This mosaic depicted the battle of Alexander the Great with Darius III in 333 BC.

These features of the appearance of the Iranians are visible from ancient times and are clearly visible in the appearance of the modern inhabitants of the country.

Average age of residents

Despite the centuries-old history of the country, today more than 70% of the population is under thirty years old. This is especially noticeable in cities where young people flock in search of a good education and decent work.

This notable jump in population was due to the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the ban on contraceptives. Therefore, the appearance of the representatives of the Iranian people is strongly influenced by the age of the population and the desire of young people to stand out and assert themselves.

In the province, where there are more middle-aged and older people, a conservative attitude towards appearance, manners and behaviour. But the inhabitants of megacities are increasingly influenced by information coming via the Internet from Western countries.

Innate nobility

Most foreigners visiting the country are struck by another feature of the Iranians - the amazing dignity and good manners of the locals. Of course, these qualities also affect the appearance, giving people the charm of confidence. It is not customary to impose services here, but local residents will always kindly help a confused tourist.

Most Iranians are quite educated and erudite, they travel a lot. And not only in their own country, where there are not many places for a pleasant stay. Representatives of the middle class visit other countries at least once a year, keenly interested in art and cultural attractions.

The unusual behavior of young people is striking: in a country where alcohol is under the strictest ban, teenagers and young men are distinguished by calmness and goodwill.

Proper facial features

Unlike conservative Muslim countries, where marriages between close relatives are not uncommon, the Iranian gene pool is much more diverse. This was one of the reasons that many residents have the right facial features. Sometimes they are not even just correct - the faces of some representatives of the Iranian people are ideally beautiful. It is not for nothing that the Iranians are considered one of the most attractive nations in the world.

Despite the fact that they are dominated by a southern, swarthy type of appearance, Iranians are often surprised by their rather fair skin. And in the north of the country you can meet beautiful Iranians with blond hair and blue or green eyes. By the way, exactly green color the eye is considered very attractive among young people, so many girls (and boys too) wear colored contact lenses.

Sparkling eyes look

Most of the inhabitants of this eastern country belong to the Indo-Iranian race. Its representatives are characterized dark color eyes and hair, rather fine facial features, and a straight or convex nose.

Eyes stand out on many Iranian faces: large, alluring, with a hidden spark inside. No wonder Persian poets compared the look of girls with the soft eyes of gazelles. Thanks to the art of make-up, which oriental beauties have always mastered, and the innate coquetry, girls attract attention, despite the modesty of clothing.

Facial and body care is very popular among Iranian women. Probably, these are echoes of life in harems, when beauties invented new cosmetics to keep their husband's attention.

For the first time, an Iranian girl from a wealthy family visits a beauty salon at the age of four. And from that time on, self-care rituals become mandatory for her, which has a good effect on her appearance and self-confidence.

love for beautiful things

Most young Iranian men are pathological fashionistas, they are very attentive to their appearance and all the latest fashion. On the streets of cities there are many men with fashionable raised hairstyles and well-groomed facial hair.

We can say that the love of Iranians for expensive branded items knows no bounds! They are not only well versed in fashion trends, but they are also able to determine the cost and quality of the interlocutor's clothes at a glance. They are not even embarrassed by Sharia law, which prohibits the wearing of clothes that bare legs and short-sleeved T-shirts.

In addition, the Iranians are very fond of all kinds of jewelry, especially rings, the number of which on the hands of men can be a little shocking.

Visiting tourists are a little surprised by this motley "vanity fair": men look more bright against the background of modestly dressed, as required by religion, women.

Girls on the streets of Iran

Traditional Iranian clothing for leaving the house is either a hijab that covers the entire female figure, or a light veil that hides a woman from head to toe. Only the face, hands and ankles may remain uncovered. Having reached the age of nine years, all girls should dress like this. This is due not only to religious requirements, but also to the moral and ethical standards of the country; society simply will not accept an Iranian girl dressed differently.

Ideally, clothes should be black, but modern girls are trying to get around the ban a little, adding bright nuances to black tones. So, at work, a girl can wear a colored headscarf and noticeable accessories instead of a veil.

By the way, even tourists from European countries on the territory of Iran (and other Muslim states) must definitely cover their heads and wear modest things in dark colors that do not emphasize the figure.

Double standarts

However, in their love for fashionable clothes, Iranian girls are not far behind the guys. Often, under a modest dark attire, a bright stylish T-shirt or a provocative dress from the latest collection of a fashion designer is hidden. Like all over the world, girls here love skinny jeans and skirts well above the knee, and the size of the collection of shoes with heels will confuse any Italian fashionista.

Before the Islamic revolution of the last century, the life of women in then secular Iran was no different from the European or American style. At the end of the seventies, everything changed: instead of dresses, fashionable flared jeans and cinemas, strict moral standards and the Muslim veil appeared.

Therefore, girls and women in Iran have to live by double standards: hide beauty, grace and rebellious stylish clothes under modest robes.

Noticeable makeup

Islamic women consider bright shades of cosmetics to be another way to stand out in the black crowd. Unlike Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other countries with strict Sharia law, Iranian girls can go to cafes (on the female side), get an education and even drive a car. And for public appearances, everyone tries to emphasize their beauty as much as possible with the help of noticeable makeup.

Bright shades of lipstick are very popular among urban youth, and girls deliberately draw lips outside their contour, significantly increasing volume. Strong eyebrow correction is also very popular: for some reason, Iranians do not like natural black eyebrows. Girls prefer to achieve the effect of perfectly even, straight eyebrows of a light shade: pluck their own to the last hair and make a henna tattoo in their place.

And yes, such changes in appearance really attract the attention of the opposite sex. Although a dozen years ago, a girl could be seriously punished for using cosmetics.

Infinite Perfection

In recent years, the desire of Iranians to improve their appearance has become simply catastrophic: it is considered normal for a girl to undergo several operations to improve her face and body even before marriage. And then many do not stop, turning the desire to look good into a mania.

Plastic surgery services are available here; it is not for nothing that Tehran has been considered the world capital of rhinoplasty for several years. And so surprisingly beautiful people with an appearance atypical for Iranians appear on the streets of the city: even chiseled noses, full bright lips and mysterious smiles of beauties.

Men are not far behind: the most popular plastic surgery in Iran is nose reshaping. You can regret the funds for education or recreation, but "making" yourself a perfect nose is a must!

Stars of Iranian origin

In the state itself, there is practically no opportunity to publicly declare to oneself - this does not correspond to moral standards. This is especially true for women who are forced to hide their beauty on the streets, and without an escort they cannot appear in many public places.

Therefore, the modern world knows about the talents and amazing Iranian appearance thanks to the wave of emigrants who massively left the country after the Islamic Revolution. It was in their midst that actresses and models, recognized as one of the most popular, grew up and became popular. beautiful women world:

• Claudia Lynx was only three years old when her family moved from Tehran to Norway. The girl started acting early in commercials and was even recognized as "the most charming child in Europe." The girl continued her successful career, starred in several films and even tried herself as a singer. At home, they are very proud of her and even turn a blind eye to immodest pictures of the star.
• The amazing eyes of the Iranian model Mahlagm Jaberi helped her in a successful modeling career. Many photographers believe that it embodies all the mystery and grace of oriental women.
• Popular Iranian theater and film actress Golshifte Farahani first appeared on stage at the age of six. Since then, she has acted in more than 15 films and has become a recognized star not only in Iran, but also in the global film industry.

It is impossible to make a universal description of the appearance of the Iranians - these people have too many features and habits. In addition, the style of life in the province, where patriarchal customs are respected, and in dynamic megacities are very different, which is why Iranians do not look the same.

Persians, or Iranians, are the indigenous inhabitants of Persia (the current official name of the country is the Islamic Republic of Iran), the people of the Iranian group of the Indo-European family. Persians are the ethnic majority in Iran (51% of the country's more than 66 million population); they live mainly in the central and southern regions of Iran. A significant part of civil servants is recruited from the Persians. Outside of Iran, the Persians live mainly in neighboring countries - in Iraq, in the west of Afghanistan, in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. After the political upheavals of the second half of the twentieth century. a large group of Iranians emigrated to Europe and the United States. Today, a large number of immigrants from Iran also live in our country and in the southern states of the CIS. Along with the Afghans, they trade in the markets and conclude small wholesale deals. Many Persians abroad are engaged in religious propaganda.

Modern Iran is a multinational country. The main national minorities include Azerbaijanis (24% of the country's population), Kurds (7%), Gilans and Mazendarans (8% in total), Arabs (3), Lurs (2), Balochs (2), Turkmens (2), Turks (1), Bakhtiyars, Qashqais, Tajiks and other nationalities (in total - about 2% of the population). Formed as the state of the Persians, Iran in ancient times and in the Middle Ages pursued an active policy of conquest, the Persian rulers united multilingual peoples and tribes under their rule. In the 7th century Persia was conquered by the Arabs. They brought with them Islam, which became the dominant religion: now 99% of the inhabitants of Iran are Muslims. At the same time, 89% of Iranians profess Shia Islam, 10% are Sunnis.
The poem "Confession of a Shiite" by the Russian poetess Lyudmila Avdeeva conveys the worldview of a simple Iranian:

There is no afterlife, I know, rich.
There is justice, all the joys are nearby.
And the beautiful Sheida will be with me.
And here on earth I don’t stand her gaze.

Here our family is the poorest of all in the quarter.
I don't dare to dream that Shade would be given to me.
It is hungry to live here, for so many years there is no work.
And there will be happy any unemployed.

There are rivers of mast, there are mountains of meat.
Rip fruit for dinner from the Garden of Eden.
Our neighbor Ali is dissatisfied with something.
He wants to study, but the house is not finished...

Shiite Islam, professed by only about one-tenth of all Muslims in the world, is the basis of the philosophy of life for the Persians.
Since 1979, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the leadership of the state has been in the hands of Shiite theologians. The Islamic regime created a state unprecedented in modern history, in which all aspects of life were subordinated to the ideas of Shiite Islam. The political, legal, moral, aesthetic, ethical, cultural and philosophical ideas of the overwhelming majority of Persians today are determined by the norms of Islam.
Love of God, a clear and firm adherence to the norms and traditions of Islam is the main virtue highlighted by the inhabitants of modern Iran when emphasizing positive traits character of a person. Of course, the set of positive characteristics of the Persian is not limited to these qualities.
hallmark Iranians is hospitality. A polite welcome is the minimum that a foreigner who comes to this country for the first time can count on. The accusation of inhospitality is one of the worst in Iran. In any house you will be greeted with the words "Hosh amadid!" ("Welcome!"). The guest will be given the best place at the table and fed with the best and most varied dishes. Even if this is the house of the poorest Persian, the neighbors will help him meet the guest. For the host, there is nothing more pleasant than hearing from the guest that the efforts were not in vain, that he was amazed by the reception, the richness of the dishes and their taste.

Women at the demonstration carry a portrait President Khatami

In general, benevolence is one of the hallmarks of the Iranians. Communication with people in a Persian is imbued with respect for the interlocutor. When addressing each other, the Iranians use the words “aga” (master), “saheb” (master), “baradar” (brother), while adding “aziz” (dear), “mokhtaram” (respected). People of equal status embrace and shake hands when they meet. When meeting with elders, Persians bow low. Expressing respect, gratitude and attention, Iranians often place their right hand over their hearts. Sociability, courtesy and politeness are the most frequently manifested communicative qualities of the Persians.
The highest moral principles of the Iranians include honoring the dead ancestors, respect for the elders and the elderly. The elders, according to the generally accepted opinion, are the personification of the clan, the family. The well-being of all depends on the success of everyone. Kinship, clan and tribal relations cement the nation. Compatriots who moved from the village to the city earlier than others help the newcomers in finding employment and arranging their lives. Among the Iranians, a tradition reminiscent of the Soviet subbotnik is common. Residents of one block, village or street collectively help their comrade in the construction of a new house. This event becomes a real holiday of labor. Singers and musicians come to support the workers. At the end of the work, everyone is treated to pilaf and sweets.

One of the distinguishing qualities of most Persians is the desire for beauty, love for art. After the proclamation of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the clergy pursued a policy of subordinating culture and art to the task of Islamizing Iranian society. "Western art" became forbidden. This slowed down the cultural enrichment of the country from outside, but at the same time stimulated the rise of folk art. Among ordinary Iranians there are many people endowed with the talents of musicians, poets, reciters, and artists. Persians have a great sense of humor. A joke, timely and appropriately said, allows you to survive adversity.
Iranians are superstitious. Muslims in Iran live in a world of permanent mystical attitude. They believe in evil spirits, talismans, witchcraft, divination, they believe that stones, trees, buildings can be sacred. Bread, water, crops, roads, sky, fire are also considered sacred. The spirits of the dead are considered terrible, which “roam in search of the living” and can inhabit them, especially women. Therefore, the Persians are afraid to appear in those places where, according to their belief, evil spirits live. Amulets are widespread among ordinary Iranians, designed to protect against the evil eye and damage. Amulets are hung around the neck of a newborn child, a boy, a beautiful girl and newlyweds, as it is believed that these people are the least protected from the "wiles of the evil spirit." In the villages they believe in ghosts, witches. Dream interpreters are very popular.
When communicating with the Persians, it is necessary to take into account, first of all, the peculiarities of their cultural and religious development. Earning the respect of the Persians is easier if you know the names of their great compatriots. Quoting Omar Khayyam, Saadi, Hafiz and other Iranian poets and philosophers will raise your authority in the eyes of the interlocutor. But a non-believer should avoid discussing religious topics with an Iranian. An Iranian will never tell you to your face that you offended him by hitting a thin string of his soul. However, in the future, such an insult to them will not be forgotten and may cause a cooling or even termination of relations.
During Muslim fasting in the month of Ramadan, the way of life in Iranian families changes, it becomes more measured and slowed down. The working day is getting shorter. Important things are postponed until a later time. It makes no sense to expect a Muslim to quickly fulfill your request. A foreigner who is in Iran during fasting must not daytime smoking, eating or drinking in the presence of local residents. Irritation can also be caused by the appearance of a European woman who has not covered her legs, arms and face from the looks of strangers. The state of inhibition in which Muslims are during fasting continues for some time after its end. The first days after fasting are considered the most dangerous. They account for the peak of traffic accidents in Tehran and other major cities. Drivers simply do not have time to adapt to the conditions of a sharply increased pace of life and an increase in the number of cars on the roads.
Despite the fact that Article 20 of the Iranian Constitution proclaims the equality of all members of society before the law, Iranian women are practically deprived of many rights. Legislatively, the man is considered as the head of the family, the woman in the family is subordinate to the man. Only men have the right to file for divorce. In the event of the death of a spouse, children are transferred to be raised in the family of the deceased husband, and the woman loses the right to her children. In the event of a divorce, the children also remain with the father. All women, Iranians and foreigners, in public places and institutions are required to wear a hijab - a cape on their heads. During the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988. in Iran, the slogan was distributed: "Iranian, the hijab is your trench!". Separate places for men and women are provided in transport and in public places. Women are not allowed to practice many professions (in particular, there cannot be a female singer, female judge, female archaeologist or geologist). The law allows a Muslim to marry a non-Muslim, but forbids an Iranian woman to marry a foreigner if he is not a Muslim. The Iranian woman's freedom of movement is also restricted by a number of Sharia provisions. A trip abroad can take place only if one of two mandatory conditions is met: accompanied by an adult male - a family member or with the written permission of her husband or father (for an unmarried woman).

Criminal penalties for women are more severe than those prescribed by the criminal code for similar crimes for men. In February 2003, two women were hanged for the murder of a man, and two more received life sentences.
To be sure, not everything is as bleak in Iran as the Western media make it out to be. Life in the country goes on. In recent years, there has been a certain liberalization in the way of life of the Iranians. Of course, they don't show "light porn" on TV, as in our country. But it is safe to say that the vast majority in Iranian society does not aspire to such "freedoms". The ability of the Iranians to easily and philosophically experience life's hardships is the core that allows this nation to develop, moving in the same direction with all of humanity. Being different from Europeans or Americans is no reason to declare people about whom they know little, "outlaws."
Iran is a multinational state in which religion performs a large number of functions, and the main one is the unification of people.

Once, (when I was still naive and looked at the people of Iran in pink glasses), on the plane I met a very charming Ukrainian Ksyusha. Three hours of flight we exchanged impressions about Iran. The only difference between us was that she married an Iranian and they lived in Tehran for more than 5 years, and I was still "green", I just mastered the Persian expanses.
I told her about how much I admire Iran and the Iranians, how friendly, hospitable they are, ready to give their last shirt. Of course, I gave Ksyusha a hundred thousand examples of how strangers invited us to their home for lunch or dinner.
Ksyusha listened to everything, smiled and said. They are the ones who “studded” you so much because you are a tourist, and when you start living there, then for them you will cease to be an idealized object. They think that outside of Iran, all foreigners are somehow special, and we are the same people as they are.
Then she spoke about her work and about the women's team in which she works. Of course, as elsewhere, when there are not even a large number of female girls in one room, this turns into a snake terrarium, and if they are Iranians, then multiply this by two. All these words caused me a certain shock, and at first I even refused to believe it. As if we speak not only different languages but also about different countries.
I listened to all the stories of Ksyusha, we exchanged contacts, but for two years we never saw each other, although once every few months we wrote to each other and found out how each other was doing.
After a while, I began to understand and realize the words of my fellow traveler.
I will give short examples
Iran is indeed a very hospitable country, and if you find yourself in any new place, be it a store, a gym or a restaurant, you will immediately be asked the standard series of questions - where are you from? how long are you in iran? do you like it here?. It does not matter what country you are from, the main thing is that you are KHAREJI (foreigner), which elevates you to the category of special guests. But when you are already bored with the look, then less attention will already be paid to you. But the main problem of the Iranians is the female gender.

For the first time, when I was in the gym, where my neighbor invited me, I thought that everyone would come to see me - visitors and coaches. There was a feeling that I would grow a second head. I want to remind you that only girls can be in the gym.
Each time my appearance in the hall reacted ambiguously. Some constantly looked at what clothes and shoes I wear, what I do with my hair, how I walk, what I drink from. And all because, as I said, they are absolutely sure that we are DIFFERENT.
And the main problem of the Iranians is the constant rivalry. They just need to show you and the whole world their financial situation, show off and put on a new T-shirt or sports dress every time in the gym, change shoes at least 2-3 times a week. And to appear in front of other girls without makeup - yes, it's just indecent. By the way, even in the gym, Iranians do not forget to do almost evening makeup.

And the main questions that they ask each other when they meet is where you live. It seems to be a normal question, you might think. But even in this question there is so much meaning that I had not even thought about before. The question where you live means the area, and the area in Tehran or whether it is another city in Iran means your financial situation. There are expensive areas, and there are very simple, miserable ones. The next question is - are you married?, if so, they are interested in the amount of your mehriye (the groom sets a fee for the bride before marriage. The amounts can be just crazy. Most often this is done to show all guests invited to the wedding that the bride is super duper expensive. But there is one thing, grooms sometimes in complete delirium name the amount for the bride in order to please the future wife or the wife's family, but they forget that they need to pay this amount at any mention of the bride.For example, you got married, six months have passed since the wedding, for which, by the way, in most cases, the groom pays and then your missus wanted a car or a new one golden decoration to show off in front of her girlfriends, so she gets out of bed in the morning and says, dear, I want my furry. And oops, the husband is in shock, he does not have the money that he indicated for his wife. At the same time, the wife has the right to sue her husband, since at the first stuttering about mehriya, the husband is obliged to pay it. If not, he can go to jail without a single right. That's how insidious Iranians can be to send their insolvent spouse to jail. That is why, according to religious canons, mehriya is the amount that the groom CAN afford to pay, the amount that he has. But today, for many, mehriye has become something other than a competitive aspect.

Several times I came across headlines in the newspaper that a man was drugged by the charm of an Iranian lady. And, believe me, they can speak very sweetly. And what does a man actually need to be happy, to feel like the most extraordinary on the planet? So, the lady was able to marry him to herself, and he in the mehriya indicated everything that he had and an eye in addition. What this man was thinking about, I can’t even imagine, but why the eye? Why does his wife need an eye? Maybe she certainly collects and of course she knows better. But voila, after a few years life together they get divorced. According to the law, what is written in the mehriya belongs to the wife, of course the wife decided to leave her husband’s eye as a keepsake, but she took everything else without remorse, leaving her beloved husband without a penny in his pocket.
But these are not all the maneuvers that the Iranians go for.

I must immediately agree that there are a lot of such girls in Iran, but this does not mean that they are all like that. There are, of course, decent girls who do not need anything. But we are talking about a trend that strikes like a virus a huge number of girls in Iran.
In addition, Iranians are very fond of flirting. Sometimes I think it's in their blood. Here, imagine the situation.
An adult couple, in their 50s, in a car. The husband is driving, the wife is nearby. A girl passes by the car, I think she is under 30. Without thinking twice, she begins to smile at the man who is driving, while it is hard not to notice that the man is in the car with his wife, but apparently this does not bother the girl, she goes to the window where she sits a man and throws him a note with a phone number. The smart woman sitting next to the man reacted absolutely calmly, saying that the girl was out of her mind.
But even this is not the limit of Iranian culture. You think if you come to visit your relatives, let it be your grandmother, who invited her children and grandchildren to visit her. Even so, each of the grandchildren will try to dress the best that is in his wardrobe for today.
When we first went to visit my husband's aunt, my mother-in-law said, put on a nice dress. To which I goggled my eyes and said why would it? I want jeans and a shirt. What is my mother-in-law, a person who absolutely does not tolerate all this Iranian game of showing that you have the best, but she has to put me on the right path, because if you do not match their level of play, they will discuss you behind your back, and so my husband's reputation may suffer. Like, look what he found in Ukraine, a girl who can not stand jewelry, dresses and go to spa salons.
That's why I like it or not, I put on a dress and set the "smile" mode for the whole evening, even if I'm completely bored. But I really like to watch how the Iranians flatter each other; this can make my evening successful.
For example, one of the cousins ​​may say to another, my God, where did you buy these charming shoes, although the shoes are clearly from the category, "God, where does this ugliness come from." To which he will begin to say that they are insanely expensive and there was a queue for them in the store. And if someone really put on something beautiful, stylish and very cute, the girls from envy will pretend that they did not notice. And in their hearts they will curse everything in the world, but at the next meeting they will try to surpass the outfit. There is also a culinary competition. For example, guests came to you, you cooked traditional rice, with chicken, salad, and for a change, some other hot dish. That is, there will be two hot dishes and a salad on the table. Be absolutely sure that your guest will invite you to visit within two to three weeks and there will already be at least 3 hot dishes and two types of salad on the table.

Since Iran is one of those countries in which life always raises a lot of questions, I thought that it would probably be more interesting to talk about it at first, and only then move on to a description of all the places that we visited there during the two weeks of our travels. Of course, my story cannot claim to be absolutely objective, because it is based on personal observations, reading various historical essays and answers to our questions from the Iranians themselves - those with whom we lived as guests, those whom we met on the way, those who they themselves wanted to talk to us, and in the meantime they talked about how they live, or even invited them to visit them.

So, having thrown a scarf over my head according to local canons, I got off the plane. We got through border control very quickly. There were no queues on it, and we didn’t have to fill out a migration card - we were allowed into Iran like that. And when we got off the escalator right there at the airport, the girl handed us a live rose. Along with some advertising. This is how Iran greeted us.
In general, if we talk about the people of Iran, then, in my opinion, they are the most advanced and educated in comparison with citizens of other countries of the Middle East and Central Asia that I have visited so far (Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen). And if it is interesting to just chat with most people from the states listed in brackets in order to find out what they breathe in their everyday life, then with the Iranians everything is a level higher. It is interesting to discuss problems with them (of course, with those who know English), they love and know their history, moreover, they can tell a lot of new and interesting things. For example, once during a walk through the botanical garden in Isfahan, several Iranian guys, students by age, came up to us to get acquainted. I'm still a little surprised, because one of the questions these guys asked us was this: "What do you think about those many historical wars that were between Iran and Russia?" To be honest, I didn’t even hear about all of them, and they bombarded us with details. And those guys were not historians, just some students.
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In general, of course, if we talk about the history of Persia, then it is impressive, because it is many times longer than ours. Not a lot, but a LOT!!! When there was already a completely civilized and developed state, our ancestors still ran after mammoths with spears. Yes Yes! In Tehran we visited the National Museum of Iran. And they saw there pots and plates found in the 8th millennium BC. new era. And look what beauty people did 3-7 thousand years ago. It looks like it's just from the store, right?
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I want this home. :)
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This bowl was made in the 3rd millennium BC. Do you know what is on it? Pictures of the first cartoon! If you twist the bowl, it will seem that the doe is running! Can you imagine? Third millennium BC!!!
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Here is the picture!
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But let's get back to modern Iranian life. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place here. I cannot say how necessary it was for the people at that moment, but the fact remains. In addition, the Shah's power, which was before, is also already tired of everyone. According to the descriptions, the shah was a tough tyrant, his rule was corrupt and, apparently, something had to be done. After the revolution, much has changed in the country. And, frankly, I somehow do not like what happened there. The dress code for women and the obsession with religions that they began to introduce there are not so bad. But you probably know that in 1980 Iraq attacked Iran under the guise of wanting to win back some territories. As a result, the war lasted eight years. The first year it was open hostilities and bombardments. But then the UN proposed to sign a truce, which is very beneficial for Iran - according to it, he did not lose any of his lands. However, the ayatollah, the Iranian spiritual leader, who is even higher in rank than the President of the Republic, did not agree to this. And then another seven years the war went on on the border of Iran and Iraq. During it, 1 million 100 thousand inhabitants died on the Iranian side. At the same time, the war gave the country absolutely nothing, with the exception of raising the rating of local authorities. The propaganda for unity and revenge on the Iraqis was so strong and, sadly, competent that even 13-14 year old children went to fight. Purely formally, their parents signed papers that they did not mind this, but at that time they were brainwashed with religion so much that they signed them without a sound, and even rejoiced at what a cool ayatollah they had. People for the most part - it's a herd! :(Children were mainly used in auxiliary work, in the kitchen, digging trenches, etc. But still, many actually participated in the battles, were blown up by mines and died. The average age of those who died in that war is now estimated at 21 years ...
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Now, of course, many Iranians are very critical of those events. Most people, especially people with higher education, of which there are many, Islamic methods of governing the country are already in the throat, when religion directly interferes in the politics of the state and in everyday life citizens. More and more people are in favor of democratic government, but it seems to me that it is still far from its accession in Iran.
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There are democratic parties in Iran, but they are underground, as they are officially banned. Many believe that if there is a sudden change of power in Iran, then there is a chance that the Democratic Party will be able to take over, but it will be a big bloody war with many casualties. Now there are two armies in the country: Islamic and national. The Islamic army, formed under the National Council of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, is very powerful and economically secure, under it is the entire oil and gas industry, the weapons complex and many other profitable industries in Iran. Now about ten percent of the entire population of the country is connected in one way or another with the Islamic army, that is, seven million people - the people who serve in it, members of their families, etc. etc. And all these people, in the event of a coup, will desperately resist the coming of a new government, and since they have weapons, money, etc., then ...
Of course, with the advent of the new president, the Iranians are very hopeful for improvements. The policy of the previous president, in the opinion of many, was so illiterate that it led to a sharp drop in the economy in the country. Prices have risen, unemployment has risen, there has been a discord in economic relations with many countries of the world, and people are very annoyed by this. Now there are about 2.5 million unemployed people with higher education in Iran. Although the government pays them benefits for two years, although it helps them find work, it is often very difficult.
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By the way, since we are talking about unemployment and work, I will write about salaries. The lowest salaries in Iran are about 180-190 dollars. The salary of a teacher at school is about 220-230 dollars. An engineer in a good position gets about $1,000. And it’s also interesting, no matter what city you are in, all state budget salaries in Iran will be fixed, and not like ours, that in Moscow there are more, and in other cities less.
Many Iranians have already emigrated or are about to emigrate from the country. Moreover, what is most interesting is that in the first place they go for permanent residence in the United States (yes, despite the fact that Iran and the United States are now in conflict), Australia is in second place, followed by Canada and European countries. However, they can safely travel abroad for the purpose of tourism or business, there is no iron curtain here. We were told that they do not need visas for Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, other countries, for example, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, issue visas to Iranians at the border, but, for Europe and the United States, visas must be issued in advance, but, judging by the description, getting them is not much more difficult than getting Schengen ones for us.
As for religion and all that follow from it, in Iran everything is really difficult and strict. I don't know how things are in other Muslim countries, but in Iran, for example, one cannot change one's faith during one's life. If you were born here, if your parents are Muslims, then by default you will be a Muslim, moreover, for the rest of your life. If a Muslim tries to officially change his religious affiliation, then any kind of sanctions may be imposed on him, including, as we were told, up to murder (to be honest, I myself do not know how true this is). Religion and faith are strong here. For example, in the same Tehran, in Isfahan and in other cities, we saw posters hung in the streets with quotations from the Koran in two languages ​​- Farsi and in English.
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Religion also extends into the daily life of Iranians. In my previous post, I talked about the women's dress code, which must be observed not only by local residents, but also by tourists. Handkerchiefs or scarves, trousers and elongated sweaters with long sleeves, or floor-length skirts - all this must be worn.
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If a woman does not follow the dress code, then she can be fined. But usually everyone observes it, and not because of fear of being fined, but simply because it is customary for them.
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True, not so long ago, a community appeared on Facebook in which Iranian women advocate for the abolition of wearing headscarves, and the number of likes in that community already exceeds several tens of thousands. But we must take into account that everyone put likes there. Anton, for example, also set. :)
Please note that one woman is wearing a T-shirt! We saw something like this in Iran only once!
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By the way, with regard to the dress code, it has recently introduced strong concessions. Now it’s enough just to put a scarf on your head, and if a bang sticks out from under it or, in general, half a head is visible, then no one really cares. Doing makeup, manicures, pedicures, wearing shoes with heels is also not forbidden. And at home you can walk around completely as you like: both Amir's mother and Bahram's wife, with whom we lived, did not wear any scarves and long sweaters at home.
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Another thing, as I said earlier, is different especially prayer places. There, a chador is obligatory for women, but if she suddenly forgot it at home, then it will easily be given out at the entrance - just like skirts and scarves in our monasteries. And, by the way, it was in these very places that we often met such security guards - as a rule, middle-aged and elderly men, dressed in a special way, with a ribbon over their shoulders and with whisks in their hands, quite ordinary whisks - they sweep dust from furniture with us . If someone behaves inappropriately, they tap on the shoulder or back of this person, be it a woman or a man, with these whisks, make remarks or expel them from the mosque. Bahram explained to us that panicles are used because touching a hand, especially a woman, is considered disrespectful. Yeah, and a broom just right!
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Well, to finish the theme of the dress code, I will also note such a moment that, be that as it may, but so far Iranian women in clothes still for some reason prefer black. Despite the fact that scarves, dresses, sweaters, coats, raincoats can be worn in absolutely any color, black is worn most often. In chadors, again black, many also go.
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At the same time, in the same Tehran, we did not even see where this black is sold. Bright scarves, coats, shirts, sweaters, etc. are everywhere. We met market rows with black only in Isfahan, and even then in the local bazaar such clothes occupied only a few counters. Mysterious, yes!
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By the way, bazaars in Iran are the main places where Iranians buy goods.
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There are, of course, shops, but there, although the quality of goods is higher, the prices are also much higher, and therefore the majority buys everything in the bazaars.
Shopping center with men's shops in Tehran.
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Bazaar in Shiraz.
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And you can buy absolutely everything there, from all kinds of products, spices, spices, vegetables and fruits, and ending with clothes, shoes, household items and even gold jewelry. There are bazaars in every city, and in many there are even several of them!
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Saddles, however. :)
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And the spices won me over.
It's curry!
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Gold diamonds. :)
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By the way, as for all kinds of jewelry, Iranian girls love them very much, probably, like any girls in general. And in general, they are very, very careful about their own beauty. For example, we very often met girls on the streets, and sometimes young people with their noses covered with a white plaster. Long puzzled, what would it mean? But it turned out that in Iran, noses with a hump are considered ugly, and local women of fashion and fashionistas specially go to the United Arab Emirates and do plastic surgery there to straighten them! Frankly, we have not seen Iranians with crooked noses at all. So, I don’t know what kind of operations these are and why they need them. :)
Now let's tell you about public rules behavior of men and women. For example, we have such a stereotype about Muslim countries that girls and young people cannot show any feelings for each other on the streets. It turns out that this is not entirely true. In public in Iran, you can only kiss, but just walk holding hands, it’s very possible. Moreover, we have seen such couples more than once, and of completely different ages, and we also saw how young people hugged their girls by the waist.
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By the way, as for weddings, even 20 years ago, parents could choose and advise their son-daughter the bride-groom. But even then no one really insisted on this choice, it was purely advisory. And now that is in the past. Young people choose for themselves - after all, they often study together, or they just live nearby and see each other often.
Weddings are celebrated in restaurants. There are no ceremonies in the mosque, and the mullah immediately comes to the restaurant and conducts his ceremony there. All guests celebrate the wedding at the same time, such that men on one day and women on the other, no, but they sit in different halls of the restaurant. The bride and groom hang out with women, however, the groom also visits men from time to time. Recently, however, mixed weddings have become increasingly common, where all guests celebrate together. Bahram and Hamide, with whom we stayed in Qazvin, said that they met at some kind of family event, to which both were invited, as they are some kind of distant relatives to each other. And when he saw her there (this was the first time), he asked his closer relative to introduce them. Then they dated for five years and got married.
But in general, in Iran, a lot is paid to ensure that between unfamiliar men and women somewhere in public places there are no, shall we say, misunderstandings, and that women always feel calm and relaxed there. For example, in the same Tehran there is such a thing as a Women's Taxi. That is, driving in such taxis is always exclusively women, and their passengers are also women or married couples, but in no way, not men. Basically, there is something in it. After all, even in our country, not all girls are ready to travel by taxi alone with male drivers. Boyatso!
As for public transport, everything is fine there too. In city buses, women tend to sit in the back, while men ride in the front, and in the subway, in general, there are special carriages for women. Even at the stations there are signs "Only women" in those places where these women's cars stop.
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But, in principle, if an aunt is traveling with a man, then she does not have to stomp to board such a carriage. For example, we often came across carriages separated in the middle by a special transparent partition, where a man rode on one side, and women on the other. Moreover, we saw how sometimes women traveled safely in men's carriages, while men in women's - only as exceptions: for all the times I met there only a boy of about twelve, some strange grandfather and uncle who sold tablecloths. By the way, trade in the metro in Tehran is flourishing. They carry whatever they want on the wagons. One aunt even wore bras. And the tablecloths at the uncle just went with a bang!
As you probably already guessed, I also traveled in women's carriages in the Tehran metro. And you know, what struck me most of all was not their presence, as such (after all, they are also in Cairo and not only there), but how women behave in them. As I wrote above, the level of intelligence of the Iranians is far from being low, that is, they are, for the most part, cultured, educated and interesting people. But women's carriages are an exception to all the rules. Chicken coop!!! Here's an example for you. Rush hour, people, like a herring in a barrel, we're going. We approach the station, the doors open. And what do you think! Despite the fact that a good half of the car was about to leave, the women from the platform were the first to burst into the car. As a result, there is a crush at the door! Moreover, this is not an exceptional case, I observed this all the time during rush hour, at each station. Another feature - at the entrance to the station, no one asks each other: “Get out?”, None of them let each other go ahead. But then, as soon as the train stops, everyone starts to climb over their heads! Amazing thing!
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But, as for intercity buses, it is still more twisted there. There is no separation between the women's and men's area in the cabin. But, of course, if a man and a woman are not relatives, then they have no right to sit next to each other. And it was always very funny for us to watch how the driver shuffles all the passengers in order to seat aunts with aunts, and uncles with uncles. Sometimes he had to lift almost the entire bus in general in order to properly seat everyone. By the way, Iranians have exactly the same troubles when photographing. They love to be photographed. Moreover, they often asked to be photographed with us. The record was broken in Masoul, where, at the request of the Iranians we met, we took pictures with them five or seven times in just a few hours.
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At the same time, men asked permission for this exclusively from Anton, and women exclusively from me. But not the point. The funny thing is how everyone got up. We usually stood in the center, and the Iranians stood around: the aunts were clearly on my side, and the men on Anton's side. And God forbid if someone confuses something. Oooooh! Sometimes, if we got up, in their opinion, somehow wrong, we were rearranged. And if there were only men or only women among those who wanted to take a picture, then they took pictures with only one of us: again, choosing purely by gender. A couple of funny cases happened to us when Anton asked local men to take a picture with me. The first was a policeman in full dress in Isfahan, and the second was an artist, a potter who sold stunningly beautiful dishes in Masoul. Both at first fell into confusion, then slowly agreed (they like to be photographed), and then they stood at me, well, at a very respectful distance, and only then they ventured. :))
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By the way, yes, everyone loves to be photographed. But if we are not talking about taking a picture with us, then the girls are often shy and do not allow them to be photographed. Men, on the other hand, ask for it themselves.
Ticket seller in the Tehran metro.
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The hot dog vendor is there.
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Train conductor from Andmeshk to Dorud.
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Hookah smoker in Iza.
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And the kids are, in general, delighted - since they don’t know how it will be in English, they run up and demand “chik-chik”! :)
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In general, Iranians are very sociable. Of course, such as in the same Egypt or Ethiopia, when everyone you meet considers it his duty to shout to a foreigner: “Hello! Howareyou?” is not there. But, if possible, the Iranians will definitely come up to exchange a few words, and if necessary, they will never refuse to help.
The funniest thing happened to us at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran. Schoolgirls from some gymnasium came there at the same time as us, all in gray dresses, white kerchiefs, laughing, giggling - well, you understand, we ourselves were also once 13-15 years old. In general, there were about a hundred of them, no less. They walked with us through the halls for a long time, glancing at us and giggling, some of them greeted us, but things did not go beyond this, apparently, the teachers inspired them that they should be quiet in the museum.
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By the way, this exhibit - an ancient man found in salt deposits, interested them the most.
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But, as soon as we went outside, ooooh! They surrounded us with a crowd, roared, bombarded us with questions, shouted something at each other. As a result, the teacher even intervened and in a strict voice ordered to calm down. :))
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Well, and a few more characteristic cases that speak about the mores of the Iranians:
In Shiraz, they decided to spontaneously find the mausoleum of the Persian poet Saadi, met the first elderly Iranian they came across and asked where he was. The man turned out to be English-speaking and began to explain to us. At this time, another man passed by with a daughter of three years old. He did not speak English, but he became interested in what we were talking about. I asked the one with whom we talked, and he answered him - everything is in Farsi. He thought a little, waved his hand: "Let me take them!" - and called us to his car. And really delivered. True, he didn’t need to go there at all, he just went for the company and walked there in the vicinity with his daughter. And while we were driving (it turned out to be far away), I told my daughter to treat us with tangerines and some green berries - she just ate them.
Second similar case. Again, in Shiraz, they were tired of looking for the mausoleum of Shah-e Cheragh. There was a construction site all around, everything was dug up, all the passages were blocked. They popped into different places - no way. As a result, they asked some uncle who was walking with a shopping bag on some business. And he took us and escorted us to the very mausoleum, and then turned around and went back - to where he really needed to.
At the bazaar in Shiraz, they bought pistachios from a young man. He weighed them for us, put them in a bag, we paid and got ready to leave. And then he called us and poured another handful for free.
In Isfahan in the evening we went to see the bridges. When it got dark, two girls came up to us. One of them immediately said that her husband has an e-mail, and she wants Anton to write him a letter. Why she needed this, she did not specify, but since she spoke English very poorly, we could not find out from her either.
In Desfull they walked down the street. Suddenly a car stopped next to us. This is a common thing in Iran - so the drivers often offered to give us a lift, and we did not pay attention. But the driver did not lag behind, and although he did not speak English, he obviously wanted to say something. We stopped. The driver immediately began to get out of the glove box and show us photos where he was captured with the athletes of some local football team. Then he took out his badge from some football match, gestured that there would be a match tomorrow, invited us, left a business card and left. :)
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But, probably, we met the most charismatic Iranian in Borujerd. We were waiting for the bus and went into a small eatery near the bus station. We ordered kebabs and ate. There was still a lot of time before the departure of the bus, and the owner of this establishment, a guy of 22-25 years old, approached us to get acquainted. Again, he did not speak English, and Anton took out a mobile phone and began to learn Farsi using an electronic phrase book. He spoke the words, and the guy corrected him and spoke the right way. But then things took a new turn - the owner of the cafe began to depict with gestures the objects that Anton called. Apple, banana, cucumber! And as a result, he was so dispersed, and so coolly depicted a horse, and then a donkey, that we regretted that he wasted his time in an eatery - he would have to perform in a circus! In the end, he sang to us. :)
Now let's change the subject a little. Let me tell you about road transport. In general, as I read in one blog, "the Iranian auto industry is the most auto industry in the Middle East." And I completely agree with this saying. :)
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Iran Khodro is the largest Iranian automobile company. They assemble various Peugeots, buses, licensed trucks and their own cars. Until the 2000s, the Paykan, also created on the basis of Peugeot, was considered a people's car.
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But either they collected it crookedly, or they added something of their own, but they forgot to think about systems to reduce fuel consumption (gasoline costs a penny - our money is only five rubles per liter). As a result, the smoky Paykans filled the Iranian roads, and monstrous air pollution came with them to the big cities. It remains to this day, however, the people began to slowly replace the ancient Paykans with more advanced machines. But in Tehran, alas, there is still nothing to breathe.
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As for driving, Iranian drivers are something with something! Somehow, a couple of years ago, the devil pulled me to cross Volokolamka not along a pedestrian crossing. It's amazing that I survived then. So, if you decide to cross the street in any major city in Iran, it will be akin to crossing Volokolamka. Moreover, they have pedestrian crossings, zebras, traffic lights, but absolutely no one pays attention to them. And even if you, following all the rules, step on the same zebra, then even purely symbolically, none of the drivers in front of you will slow down, but will rush at you with absolutely the same frantic speed as they drove before. So, crossing the road is exclusively the problem of the pedestrian himself!
Drivers also do not behave well with each other: they cut, go into oncoming lanes, turn around where it is difficult to even guess about such maneuvers, etc. etc. As a result, car accidents happen frequently. I saw with my own eyes how two cars collided - without casualties, however, but the wings crushed each other notably. Another time we saw an ambulance that had already arrived and a puddle of blood at the scene of an accident ...

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See you;)

In this note, we will talk about how we spent the evening in an ordinary Iranian family and about the life of ordinary Iranians: about family, food, religion, difficult relationships with alcohol and between the sexes. You will also learn what the people of Iran think about Russia and why Russians eat lamb heads for breakfast.

We are incredibly lucky! We managed to spend one of the evenings in an ordinary Iranian family in the suburbs of Isfahan, which is located 40 km from the city. We got to the town by minibus from one of the bus stations. The audience in the salon at first frightened.

But it turned out that despite the menacing black robes and the creepy music that the driver sounds, these women are not at all harsh, and the transport does not pull on a jihad taxi. The young ladies looked at us (we were sitting on the last seats) and chatted quietly among themselves, occasionally chuckling, probably at the miracle that the Europeans got into their minibus.

By the way, the transport was very comfortable and fast. Comfortable chairs, high speed and no stops, so in about twenty minutes we were already standing at the bus station of the town of Zerrinshahr in the company of such minibuses.

Our new friend and our host, Bagher, met us in a car and took us to the house where his family lives. Iranian families are large, there are also many guests and relatives, so our photo as a keepsake can be called quite small. Later, five more relatives came to visit Bagher and his parents.

On the left in the photo is the mother of our host, next to Ivan is his smiling father, next to the father is his daughter, and in the background is his granddaughter, Elina. Frankly, she is one of the few whose name we managed to remember and not forget after a while, because. others are very difficult to pronounce.

Elina is very nimble, playful and constantly smiling. First, she brought gifts from previous foreign guests to show us, and then she brought her pet chicken into the room.

Islam forbids keeping pets that eat meat, i.e. predators. Therefore, you will not meet cats and dogs in the houses of Iran (but in free Istanbul, the Turks already walk their dogs along Istiklal). The chicken is not given a name, apparently, after some time it will fall into the soup.

Everyone wants to take a picture with the chicken :) In the photo below you can see a fragment of the interior of the main room.

The room is a huge hall, about forty squares, with several sofas and floors covered with the purest beautiful carpets. This is not a family of oligarchs, so the carpets are not handmade, but mass-produced.

On a huge plasma screen, many channels are shown through a dish, including Iranian, which is broadcast abroad and on the air of which women without headdresses and with a decollete flicker every now and then. The neckline, however, in some cases is shown pixelated to hide shame.

Throughout the house, except for a piece of the hallway and the bathroom, it is customary to walk barefoot or in socks. Slippers must be put on in front of the bathroom (an Iranian-style toilet is a hole in the floor) and removed after leaving. The cleanliness of the floor is very important: they pray on the floor, they dine on the floor (laying a tablecloth), they even sleep on the floor on a warm mattress. Everything in the toilet is shiny and there are no unpleasant odors.

A typical dinner in an Iranian family looks like this:

The main dish is a huge portion of meatless rice with vegetables and fragrant spices. It is customary to eat vegetable fermented milk sauces with osh, in this case cucumber and pumpkin. They eat directly from the patterned tablecloth laid on the carpet. It's a bit weird to eat off the floor. The pilaf is very tasty, we have not tried anything like this anywhere. In Uzbekistan, it’s also delicious, of course, but more familiar to us :)

The meal was followed by a very unusual Islamic dessert "falude" - frozen threads of food starch with rose water, which are poured on top with sweet and sour lemon sauce.

In general, sweets in Iran are very sweet, with an excess of sugar, it seems that it is two times sweeter than in Russia. Sugar is also always put in tea, and a lot.

After dinner, conversations about culture and life in Russia and Iran followed, as well as viewing the Iranian atlas of the world. Here, for example, is the page with Russia.

We looked at the map of Iran for a long time. Our host said that in the southern part of the country there are many Arabs, in the north there are Turks (as the Iranians call Azerbaijanis), and in the western part, in addition to the Arabs, there are also many Kurds.

After dinner, our host's cousin came and we went for a walk in the local park. The guys described the scheme of the Iranian evening in this way: a lot of people gather (the whole family, friends, relatives), eat, eat, eat, and then go for a walk :) They ate so much at dinner that Lena joked about “getting drunk in Iranian”.

The park with the lake was large, very well maintained and well lit. By Iranian standards, it was late autumn, and the sights of Pasha and Vanya walking at +20 in T-shirts shocked the guys wrapped in warm jackets.

We were sent to spend the night in a room on the first floor. Check out the size of the room.

It is customary to sleep on the floor, there are no beds, but there was no wind on the floor, so it was warm and we slept well. In this room, after the wedding of our host, he will live with his wife and children. The huge hall has several outbuildings-rooms, a separate equipped kitchen and a bathroom.

In the morning we woke up with an alarm clock and found outside the window a small pen where two chickens were walking.

Despite the fact that a large family lives in a townhouse without their own garden, village habits remain, and the chickens are kept in the old fashioned way.

In the morning, our host was already at work, but his parents served us a great breakfast. Kuku is the name of an Iranian omelet.

At breakfast, we managed to have a pleasant conversation with them, despite the complete non-intersection of the languages ​​​​familiar to us and them. Ready for China :)

Then the host's dad took us to the bus station, talked to the drivers, put us in the minibus, finally smiled with his sincere smile of a happy person and was like that.

Below we will tell you a few facts about Iran that we managed to learn from our host, guide and other people during our trip.

1. Iran, despite the status of the Iranian Republic, is not such a religious country. Many young people are quite skeptical about the faith, mosques in many cities are empty, and part of the population secretly sympathizes with what is more familiar to the Persians. One of the features of the followers of this religion: exceptional honesty and the inability to take someone else's. According to our guide, if you give a Zoroastrian a million and leave for ten years, then when you return, at the first request you will receive your million back, even if there were no witnesses and evidence.

2. In Iran, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Sunni or a Shia, but in the Arab countries they attach great importance to this, and for the murder of eleven Shiites by a Sunni, they promise the believer a comfortable place in paradise.

3. When we were walking through Isfahan late in the evening, we suddenly saw smoke ahead, waving black flags, a large crowd of people and heard strange creep music. This is how the celebration of numerous religious holidays takes place, on which it is customary to distribute free tea and sweets to everyone you meet. We tried to slip through quickly unnoticed, it all looked very creepy, but they called us and treated us to tea.

They insistently offer to put three or more pieces of sugar in tea, like, you don’t feel sorry for anything on such a day.

4. Girls are massively dissatisfied with their nose and dream of having plastic surgery. After the operation, a band-aid is worn for a very long time to show that they have gained access to the sect of beautiful people. Sometimes they can glue the patch even without surgery. Previously, operations were done at the age of 25, now they start at 18. Medicine in Iran is good, so plastic surgery is done in their native country, even from Azerbaijan they fly here. According to local men, not all women need such operations, but any woman immediately goes to the surgeon at the first opportunity. Yes, Iranian women are very fond of wearing makeup :)

5. Men in Iran dress very strangely: many wear tight pants and other body-hugging clothes, it looks unusual, men don’t wear this in our country. Maybe they take the rap for women who go only in overalls :)

Our host noted that Lena dresses like a local modern non-religious Iranian. Europeans, he said, wear different outfits in Iran.

6. Let's orient by the value of real estate: apartment 100 sq.m. in the large city of Shiraz costs about $100,000. There are almost no small apartments, except in Tehran, throughout the rest of the country it is customary to live in large apartments or houses with one big family.

Under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Kindness project was launched to help young couples get an apartment in installments in four years. The project turned out to be a failure, seven years have passed, and the apartments are not yet ready, while monthly payments still need to be made. Over the years, each family has already contributed more than 10 million rubles (counted from rials)! Residents are very unhappy with the former president himself and call him a monkey.

7. Iranians love beautiful furniture, like in palaces. Just look at the photos from the furniture. Not armchairs, but real thrones. True, not everyone can afford such a luxury - in the house where we lived, the furniture was much more modest.

8. The family for Iranians is not an empty phrase: families are very friendly and numerous, the family helps the young, it is not customary to separate from the family even after marriage, and marriage cannot be entered into without the consent of the parents on both sides.

The law states that in the event of a divorce, a man must pay a compensation to a woman, and this amount is negotiated by the newlyweds before marriage. But in modern world such a scheme does not work well: mercenary modern women They began to deliberately breed in order to get rich. Later, the law introduced a limit on the maximum amount of such payment - 40,000 euros.

By the way, there used to be a lot of divorces, as young people could not check each other in a relationship, because before marriage, communication is very limited.

It is not customary to get married a second time, often women after a divorce, having received compensation, live without a husband.

A girl must marry a virgin, for this you even need to bring a special piece of paper from a doctor.

9. Boys and girls are separated from childhood: in kindergarten and school are taught separately. Only at the university does a young man see a girl closely for the first time, it’s good if he had relatives with whom he could communicate in his home before. You can imagine how difficult it is to start a harmonious relationship after such a break. For example, our host's grandparents barely knew each other before they got married.

It is customary to invite a lot of guests to weddings, 200 people minimum. The wedding itself cannot be organized without the financial support of parents and relatives. At weddings, they often drink alcohol that is completely prohibited in the Islamic Republic - something like homemade wine and "ethanol", as our hosts explained.

We have suspicions that due to so many obstacles in communicating with women, homosexuality is widespread in the country. This is evidenced, for example, by large windows in the doors of cubicles in men's public toilets. This is not the case for women.

10. However, times are changing. Ten years ago, this was impossible, but now, thanks to the Internet and to the annoyance of the religious police trying to control the sphere of relationships, almost all girls have boyfriends.

11. The Internet in the country is very limited. But there is a way out: the whole country sits through a VPN and has access to many Western resources. Having a computer and knowing English, you can find out the whole truth about Iran and Western culture.

12. The concepts of decency are somewhat different from European ones. For example, we were immediately told that a little girl, Elina, had diabetes, it seems like it’s not customary for us to immediately talk about sores when we meet. When Pasha refused another addition of pilaf under the pretext that he could no longer eat, he was told that he was fat and would fit a lot more into him, so let him eat :)

13. Many Iranians want a regime change, a move towards capitalist values, a reduction in the role of religion in society. Although not all, our host, for example, did not even understand our question about when this would all end. Society as a whole violates many prohibitions (alcohol, relationships) and does not show high loyalty to the current system, although few dare to speak out openly.

14. Five years ago in Iran happened economic crisis due to the imposed sanctions, the currency depreciated four times in just a week.

15. A liter of gasoline in Iran costs the same as a liter of water in a bottle in a store: about 20 rubles. Therefore, a taxi can be traveled relatively inexpensively.

16. About Russia, the average Iranian thinks that it is the same great power with a highly developed economy and technology as the United States. According to the Iranians, the US and Russia are the two most powerful countries in the world, and America is afraid of a more powerful Russia. This opinion is based on the fact that Russia helped to build, and also established industrial production.

On TV, propaganda works from the heart: they constantly scold the United States and the Saudis, show the war in Syria, flash the names of Putin and Shoigu. It was from TV that the Iranians learned that Russia is a great friend of the country. There are few Russians in the country, and you can meet them only where there are joint international enterprises.

Little is known about non-political Russia: they know that it is cold, they know both our capitals, and that Napoleon went to Moscow somehow (they don’t know why). Also in the conversation, information flashed about the most popular dish in Russia - lamb heads, which Russians eat for breakfast :)

17. Alcohol is openly prohibited, it cannot be bought, and its use is punishable by caning. Our taxi driver in Azerbaijan told us about how two of his friends came to the north of Iran, drank vodka all night, and in the morning, still dated, went for a walk. They were stopped by the police (apparently religious) and asked why they looked so strange and if they deigned to drink alcohol. The simple-hearted Azerbaijanis confessed everything, thinking that they were guests of the country and nothing would happen to them. The police immediately tied them up, took them to the department, where they punished them with sticks, and the drinkers woke up already in the hospital.

Nevertheless, the locals do not have any particular problems with buying alcohol, many people know the contacts of the alcohol dealer. However, the prices are high and the quality is low. The guide, after half an hour of communication, already offered us to get alcohol :)

In the absence of alcohol, everyone smokes weed, despite the severe punishment.

As soon as an Iranian gets abroad, he immediately begins to try alcohol and does not know the measures, just like Russian schoolchildren drink for the first time. Our 29-year-old host enthusiastically told us how he got so drunk in the UAE that he missed the plane. When an Iranian lives abroad for several years, he does not become a drunkard, having gone berserk in his alcoholic youth, he will drink very moderately.

18. In 2016, the flow of Iranians visiting the main alcohol country of the former USSR, Georgia, increased by 500% compared to the previous year. Guess who dabbles in vino on these trips. Despite this, Iranians do not like Georgians, quite rightly considering them. Other popular holiday destinations are the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

19. Of the world powers, respect is given to Russia and Turkey. We have already talked about Russia, Turkey stands for a highly developed economy and progressive development. They do not like Arabs and Azerbaijanis, considering both of them to be narrow-minded. Arabs are also disliked for having brought Islam, hated by many, to Iran. The Arab is associated in Iran with the wealthy but surprisingly undeveloped jerk who drives his sporty Lamborghini barefoot. The Iranians are sure that once the Arabs run out of oil, they will immediately return to their original wild state.

Neighbors from the east, Pakistanis and Afghans, play the role of guest workers in Iran. There are almost no other northern neighbors, Armenians and Turkmens, in the country.

20. Tea is drunk everywhere and a lot. In the case of a large company, water is boiled in a samovar. The words "tea" and "samovar" are the same in Farsi and Russian, the latter came to Iran from Russia.

21. Iranians almost always have breakfast and lunch at home, and at lunch they don’t have lunch, but have a snack with fast food. Fast food is mostly tasteless, the buns look like they're made of rubber, and the cutlets don't shine either. When McDonalds and other fast food chains come into the country, they can become very popular overnight.

22. Iranians often smoke hookah, at home and at picnics, but in some parks it is forbidden. For a week we did not find a cafe where you can smoke a hookah.

23. Women in Iran dark hair Therefore, any hair color lighter than black is considered very beautiful. The cousin of our host, having learned that the hair can burn out in the sun and become lighter from it, said that now she will specially sit in the garden under the sun so that her hair burns out and becomes lighter, like Lena's :)

part 6:
part 7:
part 8:

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