Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig!

We just got home this afternoon and it feels good to be here although we feel like the trip went too fast and we miss our family and friends in Iran and Beijing. Beijing was a ton of fun and it was a non-stop action-packed 4 days. We also spent yesterday in Dubai again lounging on the beach and swimming in the Persian Gulf (it was like swimming in a warm bath with a ton of salt). I think that there are going to be some posts in the near future back-tracking our trip and we plan on putting all of our pictures up on the internet soon, so stay posted for that.

In the mean time I was able to go back to a post I wrote early in the trip and add the pictures that I meant to add but couldn’t because the internet connection was so slow (it’s sooooo great to be back in our apartment with high speed internet – nothing we used on the trip compares to what we have in the apartment). The post is entitled “Iran: Week 1.” Check it out!

Romantic, no?

We are in Shiraz, the birthplace of wine, roses, nightingales, poetry, and calligraphy.  Wasn’t it appropriate then that our cab driver should have shared some of his most favorite Persian poetry on the way to the hotel? 

We are also roughly 50 km away from Darius and Cyrus the Greats’ tombs and Persepolis.  We are thoroughly looking forward to our daytrip there soon.

Esfahan

We spent the last three days in the city of Esfahan taking in the sights.  The historical sights that we saw were absolutely stunning!  I’ve been trying to come up with a way to put in words what we saw, and I don’t think that I can… I don’t even think that the pictures that we took – and we took a ton – do justice to some of it.

Most of the buildings that we visited were at least 500 years old with one or two being close to 900 years old.  The really old stuff is made out of mud bricks covered with mud and straw to smooth out the wall.  One of the most spectacular was an old mosque which had two domes made out of these mud bricks.  One of them was 8 – 10 stories tall and looked even taller when we walked into the room underneath the dome.  The detail was much more exquisite than I could have ever expected a building made of mud could contain.  Some of the architecture was Mongol influenced and had a slight Gothic feel.  The other dome is said to be the most mathematically correct of any dome built by brick.  It was smaller than the other, but no less impressive.

We also saw the mosques that you see in any advertisement or book about Iran.  The tile work is so amazing.  It’s not just made of tiles like we use in our homes, but small pieces of different colored tiles, cut to fit the pattern.  This means that (Leila’s aunt told me this) one of the mosques we were in which had tiled walls from floor to domed ceiling was made of more that 100,000,000 (yes, that many 0’s) tiles.  This mosque was so stunning that when we walked in my jaw dropped to the ground. 

Also in Esfahan we visited a palace of Shah Abbas (Esfahan was the capital at the time – late 1500s me thinks).  If I were to have my own palace it would be modeled after this palace.  The floor of the front porch was made of marble and the roof out of wood with more amazing designs.  The part that I liked was the way the roof was held up: pillars of wood about 5 stories tall which became a little thinner the higher up you look.  The porch is a little larger than a basketball court, though square in shape, with a small pool in the middle.  It was so beautiful and very comfortable.  I can’t wait to build our entrance in our future home!

We also took a side trip to a smaller town about 30 minutes outside of Esfahan, where Leila’s aunt used to work.  The highlight of that trip was walking through the rice fields (can you believe it?!).  They were soooo green and lush.  It was a fun adventure that I hope to be able to write when I have more time.

We are having a blast here.  Everything that we saw there would have made the trip worth it even if we didn’t have family here.  Up next, Shiraz, Persepolis, and the tombs of ancient kings (Cyrus and Darius).

Iran: Tehran Baazar

The Bazaar in Tehran is amazing.  There is so much to see and buy there (anything you can think of, I promise).  If we lived in Tehran this is the only place that we’d shop. 

The Bazaar is set up in sections (carpets, jewelry, clothes, etc.) which are connected by a web of alleys.  There is no way to not get lost there, but there is so much good stuff around every corner that it doesn’t matter if you do get lost.  We entered at the food section.  As we walked in, the smell of dried herbs and spices engulfed us, and I thought to myself, “this is better than I expected.” 

We spent some time in the ring section where Leila was able to pick up some stunning rings at amazing prices.  She bought three rings and we only spent 325 dollars.  One vendor told us that Persians come to Iran from abroad just to buy jewelry in the bazaar.  The prices are so good that they actually save money even with the plane expenses!  I believe it!

We also looked at carpets.  There’re just piles of them everywhere.  The vendors are expert sales people, meaning that I’ve never seen such sweet talking in my life.  Trust me, you’ve never seen anything like this.  They treat you like you’re a long lost brother, walk around with you explaining every detail of the carpet trade and what makes for a good carpet, and never let you out of their sight.  As we looked around, we found a guy selling an antique carpet for 40,000 dollars!

The bazaar looks exactly like any picture that you’ve seen.  The alley ways are narrow and lined with shops.  In the middle of the alleys there was a small trough which channeled stray water away from the people’s feet and out of the bazaar.  The roofs have a shape similar to that of a mosque (a fat triangle) and the walls of the buildings are old and made of brick.  It’s really amazing.

Iran: Observances

Here are some random observances of the Persian way of life. 

DINNER
 
Persians eat dinner late.  For example, when we were invited to a movie and dinner at a family friend’s house, the family that has been hosting us was just getting ready to cook the food at 10pm.  We didn’t actually eat until just before 11 pm.  This practice reminds me of Spain.  Leila’s grandmother, who does most of the cooking with the help of her daughters (she has no sons), usually has dinner ready between 8 and 9 pm.
 
TRAFFIC
 
Traffic in Tehran is amazing!!!  It’s everywhere!  L.A. has nothing on Tehran.  The pollution is so powerful and I get headaches every time we drive in.  Many buses spew out black smoke and most of the taxis are of the older variety (although we’ve seen our fair share of BMWs).  Luckily, because of a week-long holiday, when we went to Tehran on Thursday there was very little traffic–all of the people had gone to the Caspian Sea to “mourn” the death of the great revolutionary leader which started this regime.  We went to Tehran by train a few days later and I didn’t get a headache.
 
LANGUAGE
 
Slowly I’m picking up certain words and phrases that are used a lot.  I’ve created a 20 word vocabulary which allows me to say “please” and “thank you,” “I don’t know,” “water,” “bread,” and various other random words.  As I write this I’m thinking that I should learn how to say “bathroom” as well.  I also know the numbers, at least one through nine.  I mean that I can read them, but can’t say them yet.  Poco a poco I’ll figure this out.
 
BREAD
 
There are four main types of bread that are used with every meal–I had no idea that Persians eat so much bread along with their rice and main dishes.  Usually the bread is bought fresh every morning from a local breadmaker specializing in the type of bread that is desired for the day’s meals.  When you go to buy bread, there are two lines.  One line is the “one piece line” for people who only want to buy one “loaf” (the four types of bread are all made at varying degrees of flat-ness, with none being more than half an inch thick).  The second line is for those who wish to buy multiple loafs at the same time.  It’s slower and can be much longer than the express.  Because each line takes turns being served, sometimes, if we need more bread than there are people in the multiple loafs line, then we beat the system by having all of the people in our group stand in the one piece line in order to get through the lines faster.
 
The bread is delicious and any bread lover would love it here!  Don’t be jealous…
 
MOSQUITOES
 
There are a few and we are constantly making sure that our exits and entrances into the house are done at lightning quick speed.  It’s not like there are just clouds of them everywhere, but there are just enough to keep you on your toes.  It seems like there is always one flying around inside the house (only at night time, not during the day.  I guess that they have to sleep sometime).  Leila is actually really good at catching them, and I’m working on developing my skills in this arena also.  Yesterday I got two, one at the Emirates office (we’re trying to figure out the best way to get to China at the end of the month) and the other at home.  Every time we kill one, there is applause and celebration (10 seconds at the most) – which is great incentive for developing the skills.
 
WEATHER
 
The temperature here has been just the same as any summer day in L.A., which is doable.  There have been a few rain showers since we’ve been here and some fun lightning as well.  There is still a little bit of snow on the mountains above Tehran and the mornings are surprisingly cool.  Today I found myself wishing that I had a long-sleeved shirt on.

Bad Driving?…It’s All In Your Head

I like to think that having visited a few countries and lived in at least two, some of which are still developing, that I have some sort of authority on who truly are the craziest drivers in the world.  Many like to claim their own countries or countries they have visited or lived in.  Given all of this, I’d like to make the declaration once and for all that Tehrani drivers are in every way superior when it comes to the craziness: in what they attempt, in how they attempt it and in how expertly they maneuver through the amalgam of stuff and people.  The snippet below helped me realize the intricacies of Persian cab driver skills, and the over-jerking skills of cab and bus drivers in NY who LOVE to slam on their brakes.  Multiple cars side-by-side in a lane, speed, and disobedience of traffic laws notwithstanding, in Iran, it is a truly fluid, exciting and unique experience as Iranian man, woman and metal weave through each other to get from a to b.

 

Lonely Planet Snippet:

Even for the experienced Asia hand, the traffic in Tehran is likely to come as quite a shock.  Almost anything goes on these roads, and often does.  However, after the initial shock subsides visitors are often surprised there are not more accidents.  You might feel as if you’ve had three near-death experiences in the course of a single cab ride, but in reality drivers are adept at getting you near to death without actually killing you.  As a pedestrian, the best way to ensure a safe negotiation of the mean streets is to do what the locals do.  Safety in numbers is the usual tactic—wait for one or two other road-crossers to appear and step boldly into the flow.

The main problem you face as a visitor on Tehran’s streets is mental: how to deal with this manic mass of metal.  After much testing, we believe the following attitudinal adjustments will not only free you of some of the traffic-induced anxiety, but make your Tehran experience all the more memorable.

 

Try not to think of Tehrani drivers as ‘hopeless,’ ‘crazy’ or ‘stupid’, it will just make you more scared.

 

Instead, look at all the tiny gaps your taxi driver is negotiating WITHOUT recourse to the brakes, the countless sticky situations from which he extricates himself, and you start to realize these guys are actually GOOD drivers.

 

Watch your driver closely: he almost never uses his mirrors, he drapes his seatbelt across his chest at will; he rarely indicates; and he happily makes U-turns in the middle of major roads—all without raising his heartbeat.

 

Then think of how well you’d have to drive to get through this nightmarish traffic without being involved in some kind of accident.  That’s right, don’t fight it, you know these guys are actually REALLY GOOD!

Finally, embrace the chaos!  Head to the corner of Jomhuri-ye Eslami Ave and Ferdosi St and engage a motorbike taxi for a trip across town.  Tell him you’re in a hurry, and hold on.  At Disneyland you’d pay good money for this kind of white-knuckle ride, in Tehran it’s just part of life.  Enjoy it!

 

And we are.

Iran: Week 1

Well, we’ve been here a week and it would take forever to write everything that we’ve already experienced, seen, and heard. I’ll do my best to talk about the highlights. If you have questions, you can either email us or leave a comment on the blog with your questions. That way we can better address your curiosities.

The city we’re staying in is named “Karaj” and is located 40 km to the west of Tehran. It used to be a city of small ranches which have now been replaced with apartment buildings. Leila’s grandmother lives in a four bedroom house next to an elementary school. Every day the children sing their prayers every hour and if we listen closely we can hear them. The floors of the home are covered in carpets (we’d call them Persian Carpets, but here they’re just carpets) and we sleep on layers of blankets that are rolled up in the morning and put somewhere out of the way during the day. We eat our meal on the sofre, a cloth that is spread out on the floor of the living room. Everyone sits cross legged (I have to improvise because my knees and ankles start to hurt after a little while sitting like that – I need to do yoga) around the perimeter of the sofre and we enjoy the delicious foods.

The first 2 days we were here we stayed home adjusting to the time difference (8.5 hours ahead of NYC and 11.5 ahead of the west coast). We adjusted much quicker than we expected, and by the third day I was itching to get out and see the sights. Leila’s mother showed us a DVD that she had converted from old home movies from 1980. They showed Leila as a 2 year old girl. I wish that you could have seen it! She looked very Filipino in these videos, playing with her toys, occasionally saying something in her 2 year old voice, and using her feet to play with a cat. I’m really curious to see what our children will be like.

On Wednesday afternoon we all went on a drive to the north of Karaj and ended up driving on the road which leads to the Caspian Sea. The road leads through the mountains and follows a small river. The river is a beautiful blue-green color that I’ve never seen in river water (the color looks like the blue-grey of the Nooksack River (glacier water) mixed with some green). For about 40-50 feet on each side of the river, the vegetation is thick and deep green. Restaurants and homes line the road to take advantage of the river.

We stopped at a restaurant 6km up the river that everyone reading this blog would have loved. The owners had created an eating area outside, right next to the river bank. The food was good. We had kabobs and abgoosht (that’s what I had).  The abgoosht was served in a small pot and I was also given an empty bowl. Eating this food is a process. First, you pour all of the liquid out of the pot into the empty one. This liquid is the water and oils from the solid food. You put small pieces of lavash (flat bread) into the liquid and then eat it.

Once the liquid is eaten, you take a flat metal tool attached to a long handle and crush the solid foods left in the pot and mix. These solids are tomatoes, meat (I think it was lamb, but it might have been beef), and garbanzo beans. You eat the mixture with a spoon. I’ve had it before, and this time had a slightly sweet flavor. Although the food was good, the scenery was even more delicious then the food!

The eating area consisted of large, low, flat tables covered with rugs and lined with pillows for us to lean against. A sofre was placed down the middle of the table and the food was placed there. Shade for the tables was provided by cherry trees (they served us cherries picked from the trees as an appetizer) and the air conditioning was provided by the breeze coming off the river.

Very ideal!

On Thursday we went on a trip to see Ali Sadr Cave, a 5-6 hour drive. We went with Leila’s cousin Yashar. The drive took us through some amazing scenery – the geography consisted of rolling hills. The temperature was much cooler than I expected even though there was little in the way of vegetation. There were occasional trees and even some groupings of trees, but for the most part it was dry ground. It reminded me of the Cedar City area of Utah. There were areas, however, that were covered in dustings of green grass and even some splashes of yellow and purple herbs growing among the grass.

On the drive we passed small villages with homes made from mud bricks and just plain dried mud.

There were also many abandoned mud buildings and we stopped to explore a couple.

The main mode of transportation in the villages, aside from walking, is the motorcycle. Sometimes we saw up to 4 people riding one motorcycle (In Tehran there are also a lot of motorcycles, which makes sense because they can weave through the intense traffic and get to point B much faster).

On Friday we went to an antique bazaar in Tehran which happens every Friday. Iranians only get one day a week off of work, Friday. The bazaar was located in a 6 story parking structure, with the first three floors devoted to the merchants. Each merchant was allotted an area about the size of a parking spot (some were bigger) and it was soooo crowded. You don’t walk through the bazaar so much as follow the current of the crowd.

There were some amazing things there including large copper pots used to cook food, silver plates and bowls, carpets, and 200-300 year old handwritten books ($200+).

What an amazing week!

Just Smile and Nod

One of the funniest things to watch has been the short but poignant one-sided “conversations” my grandmother has with Neibaur.  She is the only one in my family who doesn’t speak English but she attempts to try Farsi on Neibaur anyway.  Like the time we were watching a documentary on lions and she was expressing some of her comments to Neibaur.

 

The other time was when Neibaur was in the kitchen washing his dish after a late-afternoon snack of cucumbers and cherries.  She entered the kitchen and immediately insisted that he sit and relax and that she would wash his plate.  They were the only two there and so Neibaur had no one to translate for him.  The rest of us sat grinning in the living room too lazy to yell out a translation though Neibaur managed just fine (and usually does) from her hand gestures and his broken Farsi.

 

The most recent funny incident occurred the other night at a party in our honor at a family friend’s home (it is Persian custom to first visit the home of those who have guests visiting from afar and then extend the favor by then inviting said guests to your own home).  After dinner, Neibaur offered to help and so was asked by Sepideh (host’s daughter) to grab the dirty fruit plates (that we had used before dinner) from the living room.  Neibaur thought she meant all the plates and started to grab clean and dirty alike.  My grandmother who was watching him do this tried to explain to him that clean fruit plates stay in the living room because more fruits were to come after dinner. Of course Neibaur didn’t understand this and deferred to the first request no matter the current protest.  I was still lingering at the dinner table and everyone else was either helping the hosts in the kitchen or visiting elsewhere during this brief exchange.  Later on as we settled in the living room and the fruits did come out, my grandmother kindly explained to Neibaur the fruit plate procedure.  Neibaur looked confused.  My exact words to him were, “Just smile and nod,” in respect for the elderly.

Here in Iran: Day 1

So, while we’ve spent the past few days adjusting to the time difference there are a few things to recount.

Yesterday, Leila, Leila’s mother, and I were walking on the sidewalk, running errands, when this little boy ran out of nowhere holding a small book with a blue cover up to me.  He was trying to get me to buy it, but I didn’t want it.  He was very persistant, shoving it in my face again and again, jumping in my way as I tried to go around him, and finally stuffing it into my pant pocket.  This whole time I was trying to say, “no thank you,” but he wouldn’t take no for an answer – it must have been my bad accent.  After he put it in my pocket, I took it out and tried to give it back, but he wouldn’t take it.  I was not going to lose this game so I bent over and tossed it onto the ground in front of him, turned, and walked away.  As I looked back, the boy had a very angry look on his face.  This was when Leila’s mom told me that the book was actually a Koran!  There you have it.  My first day on the streets and I desecrated the Koran by throwing it onto the dirty ground.  I must be an American.

More to come soon!

~N

Ski Dubai

Neibaur and I have managed to take full advantage of our 10-hour layover in Dubai by hitting the slopes and the beach…

There have been no major culture shock moments in Dubai. Economic shocks however are aplenty as we concluded that Dubai = construction zone. There was one point during our drive back to the airport when we tried to count all the cranes we could see in just that one area.  We stopped at 50.

Some highlights during our quick jaunt: hotel al burj, mina a salam, a glimpse of one of the three “islands“–disclosure: not as spectacular when viewed at ground-level, and a pseudo-bazaar named Souk Madinat, aside, of course, from the Mall of the Emirates where the ski slopes were located.

We are now sitting (one of us tried as he might to stay awake in order to preempt jet lag but alas seems to be past the REM stage) in the Marhaba Lounge which Emirates kindly offers its guests with really long lay overs.

Boarding for our flight begins in 44 minutes.  We are due to land in Tehran at 9:15 Sunday evening, 11:45 Sunday morning Eastern time.  Click, click, snap, snap.