IRAN IMPRESSION

"Stories of long ago, past ancient times

are a good word for the people of the future,

let a person know and know without embellishment

different destinies and learn from them.

Let him examine what pleases the human race,

what benefits him or what destroys him,

which is his ruin, by which he has been sinning for a long time

and what order follows for him.

Even these fables are such a good word,

which from long ago comes to our aid,

they come in fairy tale clothes

and they are called: One thousand and one nights."

By reading these stories, we will be transported to the mythical Orient, where the beautiful Shahrazad and King Shahrijar lived in their time. What Orient is it? What does the country where she came from look like? Thousands of these tales come from Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Central Asia and Persia.

The magical spirit of the Orient beckoned me from a young age, and the landscape hidden behind silk scarves and colorful mosaics was just waiting to be discovered. My knowledge of Iran was only general before my trip. You read a few travelogues, study the basic points of history, and look at a map to get a basic overview. I do not recommend reading various Internet sources, as you will rarely come across relevant and practical information. They had more of a fear effect on me.

If you are interested in Iran and the Balkans, you will also find us here.

Islamic Republic of Iran is located in the Middle East. It is directly adjacent to Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. It forms the majority of the country desert respectively 2 deserts (dasht-e Lut and dasht-e Kavir). In addition to the desert, we also find high peaks the Alborz and Zagros mountains with the highest peak Damavand (5670 m.a.s.l.). To the north is the Caspian Sea and to the south is the Persian Gulf. The territory is divided into 31 provinces - the rest¹. If you study the map of Iran, it will be useful for you to remember the most important ones for better orientation cities – Tabriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Kerman, Zahedan, Shiraz, Esfahan, Yazd and seaside Bandar Abbas. There is not a single river or lake in Iran. Watercourses are filled with water only in winter thanks to snow and precipitation. Water is more precious here than gold. The most important river is the Karun. Among the lakes is Orumiyeh.

Even today, this country is also generally known under the name Persia. This name is derived from the historical region of Fars, also called Pars. Language, which is spoken here is Persian or Farsi. Be careful, make no mistake, it is not Arabic, even if it is written in Arabic script. Arabs and Iranians do not understand each other. Iran is the biggest producer of saffron, but it is also a land of spices, nuts, pistachios, figs, dates and tea. Of course, it must not be missing kebab. Across the country the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited.

The official religion is islam. Apart from this, however, the original religion of the Iranians also survived here Zoroastrianism. We can also find several Christian temples here. Even foreigners must respect sharia, i.e. a law which, among other things, requires women to cover their hair, hands up to the wrists, and legs up to the ankles. Men can wear a short-sleeved T-shirt, but their legs must also be covered up to the ankles.

Iran is one of the countries where you can easily become a millionaire. Iranian rial it has an official exchange rate of about 46,000 rials for 1 euro, but in reality you will get about 310,000 rials for 1 euro. So our 50 euros will cost you 15 million in Iran. However, what you will read about below is that people in Iran count normally in another currency, i.e. in tuman. To find out the price in rials, you need to add one zero to the price in tumans. Of course, this can be a complication because few of us are used to amounts like 1.5 million.

They lie beneath the Iranian deserts oil deposits. Gasoline here at the time of my visit (June 2022) cost about 0.10 euros/l. It is the only country that possesses nuclear weapons. In addition to President Ebrahim Raisi, the country also has a spiritual leader called Ayatollah. Ali Khamenei is the current one.

The country has about 84 million inhabitants, rich history and an endless number of monuments, which will take you right into the stories of Shahrazade. Come and listen to my story about the pilgrimage to the mythical Persia.

Khosh aamadid! Welcome

1Provinces of Iran: Azarbaijan East, Azarbaijan West, Ardabil, Gilan, Zanjan, Ghazvin, Alborz, Mazandaran, Kordestan, Kermanshah, Hamedan, Arak, Qom, Tehran, Semnan, Golestan, North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Isfahan, Lorestan, Ilam, Khuzestan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiyari, Yazd, Kerman, Sistan Balochestan, Hormozgan, Fars, Bushehr, Kohkiloye Boyerahmad