East Meets West

Reflections on the past week

2009-06-21T17:43:00.000-07:00

We've had a few comments from people lately who knew we were recently in Iran asking us "aren't you lucky you aren't there now?" and "what do you think of what's happening in Iran?". I'm not sure lucky is quite how we feel at the moment. Of course, we had planned to leave Iran prior to the elections; at the same time, our feelings right now are more of helplessness at being so far away. And frustration when others do not seem to grasp the magnitude of what's taking place right now in Iran. At a rally in Bellevue in support of the people's voice in Iran, most passers-by were supportive. But there were also some who clearly were not. And I have to ask myself, why would they not want Iranians to have the freedom to express themselves, to free press, to being able to democratically elect their leaders? All of those things only benefit the rest of the world through improved relations. Do the people here who scowled, and made rude gestures or comments towards those who rallied want Iran and US-Iranian relations to stay the same? Really?!

The people of Iran turned out in unprecedented numbers to vote for their next leader. When there was doubt cast on the legitimacy of the election proceedings, and the people began to demonstrate and make their voices heard, they were killed, beaten, arrested. Having just been in Iran, it is my view that the people there definitely do want change. They no longer want to be the enemy of so many countries. They do not want to be viewed as terrorists. They want better relations with the West. They believe in so many of the same principles we do here and the Iranian people recognize how much they have been isolated from the world.

People had a strong sense of hope with this election - that things could really change. Many Iranians have been inspired by the American people, in electing an African-American president for the first time, as well as the message by President Obama - a message of hope. Many people in Iran have felt so hopeless for so long, and Obama's message spoke to them. In fact, the two leading reformist candidates - Mousavi and Karoubi - used President's Obama's messages during their own campaigns. Karoubi's message was change, and Mousavi emphasized hope as he spoke to the people. In addition, both candidates expressed their beliefs in individual rights and freedom of speech.

It feels strange to be finishing our blog about a very enjoyable trip to Iran now that the past week's events have taken place. It's been difficult and surreal to watch the events unfold on the streets of Tehran - streets we walked peacefully just a few weeks ago. To now see people being killed and persecuted on those very streets is heart-wrenching. This last Friday, we attended a candlelight vigil with about 300 other Iranians and non-Iranians alike to honor those who have already died or been beaten in this struggle, as well as show support for those still continuing to make their voices heard. It feels like so little when they are giving their very lives for the dream of a better world. I hope that at least through continuing to talk to people about Iran, through this blog, and by not losing hope that things in Iran can change, we are contributing some small part to an improved future - both for them and for us.

Days 20 and 21 - Returning home

2009-06-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days in Iran were fairly low-key; mostly spent with last-minute shopping, visiting with friends and family and preparing for our return trip. Although I always look forward in many ways to being home in Seattle again, with everything that is familiar and comfortable to me, it is also always very difficult to leave, first and foremost because we are leaving our family knowing it may be a couple of years before we can see them again.

The whole family came again to mom and dad's house for the afternoon and evening. Mom made Ash-e-Reshteh, a noodle, bean and herb soup which is traditionally made and then given away to neighbors after a loved one has already set out on their journey. But because mom knows how much I love Ash-e-Reshteh, she always makes it for us ahead of time, so that we can eat it as well!

The last couple of days, mom has also spent a great deal of time preparing and cooking nearly 50 pounds of herbs for us - the base of a couple of different Persian dishes which we both like. After the herbs were cooked for several hours, she put together several individual portions into freezer bags. They stayed mostly frozen, or at least cold until we reached Seattle. Each time we have a meal with one of these little packets, it will also remind us of mom and home in Iran. I was a bit worried about the little bags of chopped herbs making it through customs in the US, so I clearly labeled the bags with the ingredients - leeks, parsley, cilantro, etc.

There is no easy way to say goodbye at the end; we literally have to tear ourselves away and force ourselves to get in the cars to go to the airport. Akram, Mariam, Mahsheed, Behrooz and Massoud all came with us, and we had a long wait before we could finally board our flight and take off at 2 am. We were surprised to find at the security check-point a large number of Americans traveling on American passports - something I've never seen in Tehran before. We came to find out they were not only Americans, but also mostly from Seattle. They were part of a UN-sponsored delegation to build bridges between the Iranian and American people. They had been in Iran and had the same two-week itinerary that Rick Steeves had followed during his recent visit there. All of them reported having a wonderful time, and were planning on hosting talks and presentations about their experiences once they returned to the States.

After about 26 hours of travel time, we landed back in Seattle around noon on Sunday. Neither of us slept much during the flights, which meant we'd been up about 40 hours or so by the time we landed. However, in order to deal with the jet lag, we forced ourselves to stay up until 5 pm. I took a walk to the store, and found my senses overwhelmed by springtime in Seattle. Granted, Seattle on a sunny day in May is always spectacular, with the multi-hued rhodies and azaleas, the various shades of green everywhere, and the bright blue, clear skies above. But after being in Tehran, where there is less greenery, and most of the cars and buildings are fairly neutral colors, I felt somewhat like Dorothy stepping into the land of Oz for the first time. I noticed how many colors of cars we have - a yellow Volvo here, a red Toyota there - as well as how quiet and empty the streets were after the hustle and bustle of Tehran. And I felt extremely fortunate - to be living here, to have this paradise surrounding me, and to have so many freedoms that others around the world don't have. At the same time, I feel a piece of me is back in Tehran, with our family, in a land I have come to love.

Day 19 (5/13) Kashan - home of ancient monuments and rose water

2009-06-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

Today, Nick and I borrowed his brother’s car early in the morning and drove to Kashan, about 2.5 hours south of Tehran. It is a beautiful drive, with the rugged outline of the Zagros Mountains to the right along the autobahn. Driving on the autobahn is very interesting. Just as it is in Tehran, nobody pays much attention to the lane markers. While in Tehran, one can explain this as being due to having just too many cars on the road, this is not so along the autobahn. In fact, we saw several lone cars driving right down the middle of the lane marker.
But, as Nick pointed out, it actually provides some measure of safety, as it gives the driver more room to maneuver on either side. Plus, if you want to pass somebody, all you have to do is honk and/or flash your light, and they’ll pull over into the right lane with no fuss.
We left Tehran at 6:30 a.m., and once we got out of the city, there were few cars the road. We did pass a couple of buses carrying tourists south. The most interesting one was a bus full of men. They were obviously listening to some good music, because a couple of them were dancing in the back of the bus. Another man was taking pictures of his dancing friends. We were so amused, and since we had the music turned up in our own car, my arms started dancing as well – they thought that was very amusing and they all started to look at us. Realizing it was probably not the best way to call attention to ourselves, we sped up and overtook the bus! The small Kia, “Pride” model we were driving is a great car, and very popular in Iran, along with Hyundai’s and Peugeots, as well as a few Nissan’s here and there. However, the new Kia Prides have one drawback – if you drive above 120 km/hr, there is a warning bell that goes off – a constant beeping. It doesn’t stop until you drop back below 120 km/hr. Since we were virtually alone on the highway, we were naturally going above 120 km/hr at times, but we found a solution. Put in a good CD and turn up the volume. Not only are you now listening to great music, but viola! - no longer can you hear that annoying beeping!

Kashan's history reaches back thousands of years. As such, there are a great many historical sites to visit. We first drove to Fin Garden, a royal bath/garden complex. It was here in the mid-1800’s that a very popular prime minister, Amir Kabir, and brother-in-law to the king was murdered on the king’s orders, as the king was afraid he had grown too popular. I'm always interested in what types of "Western" items sometimes pup up here. I think the most amusing by far was the one we saw at Fin Garden. There, among reproductions of ancient Kashan pottery and other handicrafts, sat a leather baseball glove. No explanation at all, just a baseball glove cradling a pottery vase.
After Fin Garden, we visited two historical houses - huge compounds with multiple courtyards, gardens and living spaces. Kashan, which sits on the edge of a vast desert, can get quite hot, and the way these houses were designed was ingenious. They were two stories, but they also had below-ground rooms that stay very cool on the warmest days. The houses also had towers that acted as air conditioners, pulling down cool air from the outside. The below-ground rooms were a welcome relief from an increasingly warm day.
By the time we visited our next destination, Sialk Hills, it was becoming quite warm, which for me gets a bit uncomfortable with my scarf and manteau (a short coat or loose long-sleeved shirt which reaches to at least mid-thigh). So we did not get to spend as much time there as I would have liked. Sialk Hills is the most ancient site in Kashan; its settlements date back to 5500 – 6000 BC. There are several settlements over thousands of years at Sialk Hills, and there is an ancient ziggurat, built by the Elamites around 2900 BC.
We were actually able to climb to the top of the ziggurat, from which there is a splendid view of Kashan. But the sun was intense at the top, and I scrambled back down pretty quickly.
Kashan is also the center of rose water and other distilled waters from various flowers, herbs and spices. Much of the distilling actually takes place in a town about 30 km in the hills northwest of Kashan: Niasar. The town is famous for its spring water used in the distilled waters, and a waterfall that cascades down the hill into the town from the spring. We were able to visit two homes where distilling takes place, and ended up buying several bottles of various waters – cinnamon water, cardamom water, rose water, mint water, lavender water.
As you can imagine, the fragrances that waft throughout the town from the numerous bubbling vats of flowers and herbs are magnificent . We hiked up to the waterfall, which has a beautiful park built around it. Above the park, where the spring emerges from the ground, there is a Zoroastrian fire temple. While it didn’t look very old, and there were no markers or plaques to provide any history, I learned later it was built sometime during the Sassanid dynasty, which reigned from about 200 – 650 AD. For being so ancient, it was very well preserved!
From the temple, we had a fantastic view of the surrounding hills and the village of Niasar below.
The drive back to Tehran was even more beautiful than the morning as the sun was setting over the Zagros. I found that my own challenges and frustrations in life seemed to grow much smaller under their shadows as I considered how many events throughout history those jagged peaks had witnessed in this, a cradle of mankind's civilization.

Day 18 (5/12) Lap swimming at an all-women's pool

2009-06-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

Today was a new experience for me. I have always wanted to find a pool to go to when in Iran, so that I can get my normal workout, since I normally swim at least a couple of times a week back in the U.S. these days. One of my sister-in-laws, Akram, has a friend who is a swim instructor at a pool and club for women only. It was fairly close to home, so Nick drove Akram and me over there. The pool was very large, and while there were not people lap swimming as rigorously as they might in the U.S., I was still able to get quite a few short laps in. I was definitely a bit of a curiosity there. As I came up for air and to turn at one end of the pool, I noticed about 6 people sitting on the side just watching me go back and forth in the water. I smiled and said “Salaam” rather breathlessly. By my next lap, I noticed that most of them were back in the water swimming as well. The pool was fairly crowded and warmer than I was used to, but it was great to be back in the water again. The club also had a sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi as nice as I would find back home. While I found that it was actually somewhat refreshing having only women there, at least one women I spoke to indicated it would be nicer if it could be men and women. At any rate, the club is very cautious that nobody from the outside gets a peek of women in their bathing suits. Cell phones are strictly not allowed in the club - apparently there have been problems at some clubs before with pictures being taken by cell phone and then distributed. While this perhaps doesn't sound like such a big deal for somebody from the West (after all, who hasn't had their picture taken in a swimsuit at some point?), it would be mortifying for a women who chooses to practice full hejab.

When we got home that afternoon, Nick staged a photo session with me and our nieces, Mahsah and Parisa. We put on different outfits and adopted different poses - both inside as well as in the back garden. It was a fun way to connect with them both. I cant' believe Parisa is now as tall as me, and I'm sure will soon be taller! She is studying very hard for her university-entrance exams. It is very difficult to get into university here, much like many other countries, and there is an exam to select those who will have the opportunity to attend. Students generally spend an entire year, 12 hours a day studying for the exam. Parisa was telling us that she has 44 books that she has to study - 44! No wonder students spend so many hours for days, weeks, and months just studying.
Women here know that getting a college education is a key to a better future for them. Depite the difficulty of the exam, they have actually outpaced men in recent years in gaining admittance. They now make up approximately 60% of university students. In fact, the government has recently passed a law to make sure there is more balance between men and women in colleges - now it must be 50/50. So even if a man scores lower on the exam than a woman, he may get accepted to the university where she may not if the 50% quotient for women has already been filled.

The education has paid off for women. Each time we come here, we see and hear about more women with careers, making their own way in the world. We are very proud of our other niece, Mariam, who not only has a full-time job with a French company in Tehran, but who is also pursuing her Master's degree in commerce. Contrary to some misconceptions about Iranian women, there are women bankers, doctores, lawyers, and a full range of other occupations. Is there still a glass ceiling? Yes, absolutely. But it's changing slowly. The status of womens' careers now doesn't seem to me all that different from what it was in the 1960's and 1970's in the U.S.

Day 17 (5/11) Dinner with family

2009-06-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

This evening, we went to visit Nick’s aunt in Karaj. She had invited us to her home, and invited her whole family as well – Nick’s cousins. When we arrived at Nick’s “zan-daie” (maternal aunt), not everybody had arrived yet; after all, it was only about 6:00 p.m., and those coming from work would probably not arrive until after 9:00 p.m. So we took a walk towards the shopping area for a while, and then went outside in the back yard amongst all the roses in bloom - heavenly! But slowly the family filtered in and as they did, we chatted with various relatives – all of whom it was good to see again after several years.

In Tehran, people often live in homes or apartments much smaller than most Americans. However, there is usually a large open room - our equivalent of a living or family room. For large gatherings such as tonight, when there were about 20 people around, the furniture is moved to the sides, and a large cloth of "sofreh" is spread out on the ground. The "sofreh" is then set like a regular table - no table extensions or card tables needed! Everybody sits around the sofreh. It's actually fairly comfortable.
The general menu for large gathering meals such as tonight is usually a "khoresht" (a stew to be served over rice - of which there are multiple varieties); plain rice with saffron; another rice dish with herbs; baked chicken, fish or kebab; green salad and yogurt salad.

I wish some people back in the U.S. could have observed this whole family gathering, because it is the side of Iran most people in the U.S. just never see; a close-knit, loving family who has always treated me with the utmost kindness and respect. Our gathering for a meal together was not so very different from a large family or holiday gathering back in the States. It was a celebration in our honor – for a nephew living in the U.S. and for me, and me his American wife. It was a beautiful gathering that brought me to tears knowing how much love there was for us there.

Day 16 (5/10) An alternate view

2009-06-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a mostly quiet day at home with mom and dad. It was warm out during the day, so we mostly stayed inside. In the afternoon, when everybody else was taking a nap, I searched the airwaves with my IPod to see what I could find. I located some classical Persian music stations, and a Persian dance station. Most Persian dance music, as well as videos, are recorded in Los Angeles and then shipped to Iran, as there is a huge Iranian population in S. California. But then I located the most interesting station of all – the news, in English. Yet it wasn’t BBC or Voice of America (both of which are extremely popular on television through satellite dishes); rather, this was obviously Iranian government-controlled media in English. I always enjoy listening to the government sponsored news in Iran on television or radio. It is like taking the U.S. media's reports on the Middle East, with all their biases and and slant, and turning them on their head. For example, while our media has often ignored the role the U.S. played in Afghanistan many years ago, which eventually led to the creation of the Taliban, Iranian media will openly refer to the Taliban as the “U.S.-created Taliban”. Rather than referring to “civilians killed in Afghanistan”, the Iranian media discusses the “massacre of women and children”. Another example was when the station talked about Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Iraq, describing it as secret, due to “fear of dear life” given the “hatred of Iraqis for U.S. occupiers”. As harsh as it sometimes sounds to my American ears, I have to admit there’s occasionally some truth in how they describe some events. They certainly don't sugar coat it at all. At the same time, some of it is also exaggerated to make the U.S. look as bad as possible.

Day 15 (5/9) Trying out the bus system

2009-06-01T21:31:00.001-07:00

Today, Nick and I took a quick taxi ride to Behrooz’s business. From there, we hopped on one of the new rapid transit buses to head to Engalab square for some shopping. On the bus, men and women ride separately – women in front. While that sounds extreme to us in the West, it’s really only a short metal bar that separates the genders, and I was easily able to stand right next to Nick. The buses are great; they run on electricity from overhead wires and have their own dedicated lane, so they zip through congested Tehran. The new bus passenger platforms are also very nice - they are surrounded with clear tinted glass and are equipped with flat screen monitors with travel information. Unlike in Seattle, nobody actually checks passengers' tickets - people are more or less trusted to pay, although some random checks do take place. And the buses are extremely inexpensive – only about two cents per rider. They are heavily used, especially at peak times. From where we got off, we walked a fair bit. Being from a city one seventh the size of Tehran, the crowds, noise, and smoke does tend to tire us out after a while. We walked near the University of Tehran, where Nick studied for his Bachelor’s degree. We stopped at a bakery that Nick used to visit as a student – it’s been in business about 70 years, and they still serve the same gigantic cream puffs – these things are bigger than one’s fist. For old time’s sake, we just had to have one – yummm!

We decided to take a taxi home since the buses were crowded by that time. Taxis are fairly cheap as well – about $1.50 for a half-hour ride back home. We had a couple of funny experiences along the way. At one point while stuck in traffic, the taxi driver needed change. He rolled down his window, yelled across to the car next to him to see if that driver had any change. So they exchanged bills right there while in traffic. At another point we were stopped at a traffic light. The traffic lights in Tehran have a digital countdown above them, so you know exactly how many seconds until the light will turn – usually about 60-80 seconds. A driver ahead of us needed to grab some cigarettes, so as soon as he stopped at the light, he hopped out of his car, leaving it running, ran into a small shop along sidewalk, grabbed a pack of cigarettes, and was back in his vehicle by the time the red light had reached only 3 seconds left on the clock. Quite impressive!

Day 14 (5/8) A view of the mountains

2009-06-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

It’s Friday, and the weekend. This morning, our nephew Hooman, Nick, Behrooz and I took a long hike up into the forested park near his parent’s home early in the morning. The forested park (park-e Jangal - literally translated "jungle park") is about a half mile from mom and dad's house, and has a steep climb to the top of a hill. On a clear day from the top there is a spectacular view of the Alborz mountains, which run along the north side of Tehran, as well as the highest peak in the Alborz, Damavand. We followed our hike by playing around on the exercise machines in the park. These machines are terrific - you can actually get quite a workout on them!
We spent most of the day with the family, giving gifts we brought from the U.S. and chatting – catching up on four years of news and events. Tonight was a late night, as it often is on the weekend. Dinner is often late in Persian households; 9 or 10 pm is not at all uncommon. With more visiting after dinner, the evening can run well into the midnight hour and beyond. However, Saturday is a regular school and work day, so we finally had to cut our visiting short so that Farshad, Mariam and Hooman could return home around 11:30 p.m.

Day 13 (5/7) Working out in the park

2009-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday, the afternoon of which is the beginning of the weekend. The weekend is essentially half of Thursday and all day Friday. Nick’s youngest brother (Farshad), his wife (Mariam)and son (Hooman) all came to mom and dad’s tonight. Before they got here, Nick and I took a walk to Behrooz’s business to check our e-mail. Along the way, we passed a rug store where I found some handmade “poshtis”, small carpets with a backing that allows them to be stuffed into large pillows. Traditionally, they were used as backrests before sofas and chairs became more common. They are not very popular anymore, and handmade ones are harder and harder to find, so I was very excited about finding a couple of them.
Along our way, we also passed a brand new kiosk that provides bicycles for residents to borrow. We had seen something similar in Rome (and in other major cities), but those were usually for a fee. These are absolutely free to people living in Tehran. All of the bicycles are painted green and there are special green bike lanes on the wide sidewalks now as well in many locations.

We also took a walk to the park close to mom and dad’s house. We were surprised and pleased to find outdoor workout equipment along one side of the park – machines for sit-ups, stretching, weightlifting (using one’s own body weight) and even an elliptical machine. What a great idea – and people use them. We saw men in suit jackets and women chadors getting their exercise. They have been installed in several of the parks across Tehran – another effort by the government to focus on a greener, healthier lifestyle, I guess.

Day 12 (5/6) Flying back through the storm

2009-06-01T20:48:00.000-07:00

Today was probably the worst day of our trip thus far, as I woke up quite ill. Nick took me to a doctor near the shrine in Mashad. They gave me some medicine and sent me home – well, back to the hotel anyway, where I slept until about noon. While I was sleeping Nick took his parents one last time to the shrine and did some shopping for spices – especially saffron. Mashad is the capital of saffron production, and there are whole stores that sell absolutely nothing but saffron in different grades – kind of like fine tobacco shops back in the U.S.
I find it interesting that when I am in Iran, my life feels like it is suspended for the time we are there. Although I can understand much of what is being said, and generally follow most conversations, I can’t speak Farsi very well. As a result, I am much, much quieter than I normally would be at home, and spend a great deal of time just listening, learning and observing. Time alternately slows down or speeds up during days we spend with family, especially when others are orchestrating the agenda. I find I easily lose track of days. It’s an odd feeling, as I am normally so regulated by my calendar and the clock. Yet it’s also a different feeling from the only other times when we are not regulated by clock and calendar - when we are out backpacking for a few days. While we also lose track of time during those trips, we are both still in complete control of our time and our days.
By this time, during our third trip to Iran, I’ve learned to just sit back, let others do much of the planning, and go with the flow. I’m finding now that rather than it always grating on me not to be in control of my time, it is instead a good exercise for me in patience and in setting my own perceived needs aside for others – in this case to make sure mom and dad have a very memorable trip to Mashad.

Our trip back to Tehran was a bit eventful. We boarded our flight, after which the pilot came on and said that because of a high level of air traffic in Tehran, we would be delayed an hour or so, and that we would have to all disembark. People started to get out of their seats, only to have the stewards come down the aisles seconds later telling people to sit back down and that we’d be taking off soon. So we all returned to our seats, and just as they said, we took off about 10 minutes later. The IranAir plane was a Tupolov, a Russian-made aircraft, and not my favorite. I always seem to feel the turbulence more in the Tupolovs than in a Boeing or Airbus. Although I rarely get nervous flying, as we approached Tehran, we skirted very close to the outside edge of a lightning storm. It was a bit unnerving in that jet to see lightning bolts every 10-20 seconds outside my window! But we managed to land safely. The storm continued well into the evening with heavy rain, lightening strikes and the accompanying thunder every few seconds - much more than we ever see in Seattle.
As we drove home, we talked about how much Tehran has done over the past few years to be greener. They have been planting hundreds of trees and other green space all over the city along major roads. There are many more new cars on the roads than a few years ago – mostly Peugeots, Kias, and the Iranian-made Khodro. On our last couple of trips, driving in Tehran was miserable, because there would be black smoke billowing out from 40 year old cars. Come to find out, Iran has basically refused to license any cars over 30 years old now. So gone are the days of the ancient Paykan (another Iranian brand) billowing out clouds of choking fumes. The government has also greatly expanded the Tehran subway (which, by the way, is the cleanest subway I’ve seen in any major city!), as well as installed a network of rapid transit buses, with their own dedicated lanes. They have also made a huge push for everybody to replace their light bulbs with energy-efficient florescent ones by giving them to every household. The result is a city and country much cleaner than it was just four years ago.

Day 11 (5/5) Nishapur

2009-06-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today our taxis and drivers came back and we took another long trip – this time to Nishapur, a very old city along the Silk Road. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of historical sites to see. Many have been destroyed, or simply forgoten with time. Sometimes from the side of the road, one catches a glimpse of what looks to be the remains of a very old structure, but it’s hard to tell whether the ruins are 2000 years old or 200, since until recently, building materials and designs did not change a whole lot in rural areas. But we did visit some interesting sites.

First we stopped at a spring where it is said Imam Reza stepped off his horse, and where his foot touched the ground, it is said a spring started to bubble forth. There is indeed a spring, and there is naturally a small shrine. People gather water from the spring to drink or take with them.
Next, we visit a very small mosque dedicated to a lesser Imam along the road. It was a good break from the long drive and mom and dad stopped to pray and rest. There are many of these small shrines throughout the country.
After that, we headed towards Nishapur to have lunch. Mom called her good friend in Tehran who runs a restaurant and her friend directed us to a restaurant in Nishapur that they either own or which was owned by friends. It was a good lunch, though other people in the restaurant were very curious about me.

I have to admit there are days when it sometimes takes all my patience to endure being stared at so blatantly, but I also understand how different I look. When possible and appropriate, I try to overcome the discomfort by saying hello or talking with people, which is sometimes all people want - to know more about me. This is especially true of groups of children – they’ll sometime venture a shy, barely audible “hello” when they come near to me. If I say hello back, they get very excited and start to whisper and talk amongst themselves. It’s quite endearing when it comes from them. When it's adults just staring at me, I find it somewhat more trying.

After lunch, we visited a wooden mosque. While this might not sound unusual to those of us who are used to wood as a building material, one has to understand that wood is not commonly used in building in Iran. In fact, I think this is probably the only wood building I've seen in Iran. Most buildings are brick - either bare or covered in stone such as marble or granite. But this mosque and its adjoining library and house was built by a former UC Berkeley engineering student who, once he graduated, moved back to Iran and built this mosque. Everything is made of wood – kind of like a slightly refined log cabin with minarets.
We also went to an archeological site where they have uncovered a 1200 year old city, including skeletons. Unfortunately, we could not take any pictures.

Lastly, we visited the tomb of Omar Khayyam – poet, philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. At the tomb, we met a group of tourists from Holland. There were also lots of school groups everywhere, some of whom we'd seen at the other sites along the way as well. I learned that once a month, each class has a budget to take kids on field trips to historical or other interesting sites.
We returned to the hotel at 6:30 – it was a long day, but very interesting. Unfortunately, I seem to have finally caught whatever dreaded illness I usually come down with. I guess it was just a matter of time!

Day 10 (5/4) Coca Cola, Kenny G, and the Ferris Wheel of Life

2009-05-31T15:17:00.000-07:00

This morning at breakfast, we met two German tourists who are travelling the whole Silk Road. She is an architect, and he is a pilot for Lufthansa. He took a voluntary year’s leave during the economic downturn to travel. They’ve spent several days in Iran, but were unable to get into the shrine – small wonder as they really stood out. So we offered to meet up with them later when we would be going to the shrine if they wanted to come with us.

We hired two taxis with drivers to take us all for a drive to the countryside near Mashad. We stopped for lunch at Shandiz, a very famous restaurant that it seems like everybody who visits Mashad raves about. And no wonder – it has a wonderful setting with seating platforms covered with Persian rugs, creeks, plenty of trees and beautiful landscaping, and great food! However, I did find it amusing that with my lunch I was drinking a Coca Cola, and over the musak playing was Kenny G!

Along the drive home, we passed a huge park with a ferris wheel. Mom looked at it and quietly remarked on how much it was like life- sometimes up, sometime down. I just loved her perspective - especially as she has seen a lot of those ups and downs in her own life.

It’s interesting being in Mashad as opposed to Tehran. Because it is does not have as much foreign business or tourism going on here, and many people visiting here are on a pilgrimage, often from rural areas, I get a lot of people looking at me here. Actually, I have people staring at me most of the time. I never feel it’s particularly malicious, just intensely curious. I suppose most westerners don’t think of coming to this corner of Iran, as close as it is to Afghanistan, and yet it's a world away too. When I tell people back home I've been to Mashad (we came here 7 years ago) and describe where it is, they ask me if I am afraid here. The answer is no. Iran is not Afghanistan - plain and simple. I am no more afraid here than I would be in Phoenix right now with all the violence that's been happening south of the border in Mexico.

In the evening, we returned to the shrine. Stephanie, our new friend from Germany, came with me – luckily a group of women was going into the shrine at the same time, so we kind of piggybacked with their group and were not asked any questions (I was also careful to leave my purse at home!).

It’s hard to describe the shrine. The entire ceilings and walls are covered in mirror mosaics, there are crystal chandeliers, and then the gold "zareeh" or tomb of Imam Reza. The whole place sparkles with light dancing off tiny pieces of mirror and crystals, and underneath one’s feet is the softness of intricately patterned Persian carpets in reds, blues, golds and greens. Simply put – it’s breathtaking. One can’t help but be in awe. But as I mentioned before, it’s also comfortable – I can sit down on one of the carpets and just think, read, pray or talk with others. Or, as I found on a previous trip, if I’m really tired, I can pull the chador I have to wear in the shrine over my head and take a short nap!

As we were finishing up our visit to the shrine, I saw something very interesting. During Azan, the call to prayer, I noticed a young woman in the courtyard holding up her cell phone or MP3 player (I couldn’t tell which), apparently recording the Azan. I am told - and from what I have heard myself I believe it’s true - that the Azan in Iran is different from other places; that it’s more musical. I can’t blame the young woman for recording it. As a musician, I actually find the Azan enchanting and lyrical. I remember an Iranian friend of mine in the States telling me once she really missed the Azan each day, even though she was not particularly religious. I couldn’t understand it at the time, but interestingly enough, now that I’ve been to Iran a few times, I find the same thing. And if I hear a recording of Azan when I’m back at home, I find it makes me a little homesick for Iran. It’s just part of the fabric here, part of the landscape, part of the sensory experience that I know I’ll miss when I return.

Day 9 (5/3) Cartwheels, carpets and courtyards

2009-05-31T15:10:00.000-07:00

Nothing like just getting here and then leaving again! Today Nick and I, as well as his brother Massoud and Massoud’s wife Mahshid, took mom and dad to the holy city of Mashad . We left for the airport around 8 am and arrived at our hotel in Mashad at 2 pm. The hotel is very nice inside, though it’s off a small alley, but it is quite close to the Shrine of Imam Reza, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam. After a busy couple of days, we all needed a break, and took a siesta (there’s no equivalent word that I know of in Farsi!) in the afternoon. After getting a couple of wheelchairs for mom and dad to make it more comfortable for them, we headed to the shrine in the evening. Women and men have to enter the shrine complex through separate security entrances, though what security it really provides I’ve never quite figured out. As I had my purse with me with a compact and a lipstick, and because I look different, the women at the entrance gave me a bit of a hard time getting into the shrine, but mom and Mahshid argued with them and finally they let me go. The shrine has expanded since the last time we were there about 7 years ago. There is a huge new courtyard – when I say huge, I mean it is about the size of a football field. I was told the space for the new courtyard came from a graveyard. Apparently, they just built it over the graves. I tried to imagine the outcry if something like that happened in the U.S.! As mom and dad prayed inside, Nick, Massoud, Mahshid and I wandered around the complex. What I love about visiting the shrines in Iran is that in many ways, they are much less formal than the churches I grew up with. There are families sitting together on large Persian rugs, reading, praying or just talking. There are some areas that are separated men or women, but also many areas where men and women can sit together. I even saw children turning cartwheels amongst those who were praying or reading. Other than at the formal prayer times, it feels very relaxed. And when the call to prayer comes, the Shrine staff roll out wooden carts full of large Persian carpets and spread them out in the courtyards. Not everybody who comes to pray there can fit inside the shrine, so the carpets are laid out to accommodate the hundreds of people who wish to worship there. After the prayer time, the carpets are rolled back up and re-stored. I wondered where all the carpets came from. Many of them are made for the mosques to meet a person’s “nazr”. A “nazr” is when a person makes a promise to God that they intend to keep if their prayers are answered. And they do carry out their promises; people take their “nazr” very, very seriously. So, some of the rugs we saw at the mosque were woven to fulfill a “nazr”.

Day 7-8 (5/1 - 5/2) Getting settled into Tehran

2009-05-31T15:02:00.000-07:00

Since we got in so late, we didn’t get up until about noon yesterday, and it was generally just a day at home visiting and relaxing with our family. Today (5/2), Nick’s cold that started in Rome seems to have gotten worse – we’re not sure if it’s a virus or allergies, or both. It never fails, we always get some kind of head or chest cold when we’re here. So far, I’m OK, but taking my vitamins just in case! Our luggage finally arrived, so Nick’s brother, Massoud, took us all the way back to the new airport that they built south of the city to pick it up. The airport is large, and clean and nice, but there's not much air traffic there. Nick was telling me it was planned over 25 years ago, and the plan was for a huge development with hotels, restaurants, etc. However, after the Revolution in 1979, it was never built – until now. Now it’s just an airport. I suppose eventually, Tehran might sprawl all the way down this far, but for now it seems like it’s abnormally far away for an airport. In the afternoon, we took Nick to the doctor and also stopped off at his other brother’s (Behrooz’s) business to quickly check our e-mail. Plans are in the works for us to take mom and dad to Mashad - perhaps even tomorrow!

Day 6 (4/30) Traveling from Rome to Tehran

2009-05-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today was just one very long day of travel. First, we had to haul our baggage all the way back to the airport via Metro and the train. Then we flew back to Amsterdam, had a couple of hours of layover, and finally boarded our flight to Tehran. It is 6 hours from Amsterdam to Tehran, and Tehran is about 3 hours ahead , so we did not arrive until 11 pm.

Once the airline touched down in Tehran, and before disembarking, I had to make sure I was appropriately dressed according to the government's regulations in Iran. This is not as difficult as one might think. I get a lot of questions back in the States about how women have to dress in Iran - many people think women are forced to wear chadors (long black robes) or even burqas. Well, I've never seen anybody wearing a burqa in Iran, although many women do wear chadors - some by choice, others for their work (especially if they work for the government in any capacity). But by and large, many women dress pretty casually. For example, I generally planned to wear the mid-length light coat I had been wearing in Rome (since it came down to mid-thigh) as well as pants or jeans, and a scarf or shawl. In Rome, I'd been wearing my scarf around my neck most days - now it just covered part of my hair - not a big change. And at home, people dress more or less like we do in the States.

But back to our arrival - the airline lost one of our bags on the way, which means we had to return to the airport later in the week, so that took some time to sort out. It was a wonderful sight to see many of our family at the airport. Our nieces, Parisa, Mahsah and Mariam all came in shawls of orange, teal and pink with beautiful bouquets of flowers for us – like three bright birds with fanciful plumage. And how they’d changed – 4 years fly by for us, and we forget how quickly the kids grow!

We arrived at Nick’s parent’s home at about 2 am. There were lots of tears of joy and smiles. I don’t think anybody who can easily see their family within a few hours of flying or driving time can understand what it is to be so very far removed – literally on the other side of the world – from one’s family and the sharp pain as well as joy with each homecoming and each leaving. So it's good to be here again. After much catching up, we finally headed to bed around 4 am.

Day 5 (4/29) Last day in Rome

2009-05-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

This morning, we decided to get up early and take another stab at trying to see St Peter’s. We arrived promptly at 8:15 to find lots of security as well as chairs set up in the square. We suddenly realized it was Wednesday, the day the Pope holds an address in the square if he is in residence. Naturally, it meant St. Peters was closed until the afternoon. I supposed many tourists would have been thrilled to see the Pope in the flesh, but it would have meant waiting in the square for a couple of hours with thousands of others. Since time was precious to us, with so many other sites to see, so we quickly rearranged plans and headed for Castel St Angelo.
We were glad we did so, as we may not have made time for it otherwise. Castel St Angelo was originally a mausoleum for Hadrian, and eventually other emperors as well. Later, it was added onto by various Popes and it became a fortress, the residence of a Pope and later a prison. A such , it is an interesting combination of an Etruscan style tomb on the bottom and a renaissance living space on top with fortress walls and ramparts all around it. It is quite a structure and not to be missed! At the top, there is a café with wonderful views of St. Peters. We stopped for an espresso and some fresh-squeezed orange juice and could just barely hear the Pope’s address from St Peter’s.
After Castel St Angelo, we took the train to Repubblica station to see the Baths of Diocletian. This is another example of Romans creatively using ancient Roman ruins as the foundation for new buildings. The Baths of Diocletian were once the most beautiful of over 900 public baths in Rome. Much of the ruins are still standing, but a large church has been built entirely inside of them! The church was unique in that, upon close inspection, what looked like marble columns actually turned out to be tromp l'oeil. Some were real, some were painted – and one had to see them from fairly close range to tell the difference!

From there, we travelled back to Piazza Spagna. On our first evening there, we had spotted several street vendors with scarves (which I love) and other nice wares. But they seemed to have all evaporated. The only vendors around were selling sunglasses. We found it amusing that the same vendors who were out in droves with umbrellas a couple of days ago, had so quickly been able to change their product to fit the weather!!
But while we didn’t find the scarf vendors at the Piazza Spagna we were rewarded in the end. When we were heading back St Peters, walking from Ottoviano station, we came across a vendor with absolutely beautiful scarves and shawls at superb prices! Of course, I went crazy and made Nick buy about 8 of them – mostly as gifts for Iran, since they are much used there – but also 1 or 2 for myself! Nick even got very brave with his Italian and tried to negotiate for a better deal, ultimately without success, but it was fun neverthelessAfter a booster of gelato, it was on to St. Peter’s and the very long flight of 551 steps to the top of the dome. What a sight from there – all of Rome was stretched out before us. Inside St Peter’s was stunning. I love mosaic, and St Peters has it in abundance.
But the crowds eventually got to be overwhelming. Tired after such a long day, we sat in St Peter’s square for a while, soaking up the blue skies and brilliant sunshine. As we did so, a one-legged pigeon hopped over to us. The poor soul, it truly couldn't walk, having one leg severely crippled. So we fed it with some bread we had with us until it decided to fly away to a higher perch. We said our good-byes to Rome that afternoon, and headed back to the hotel. Naturally, I couldn’t resist and bought another couple of scarves on the way back as well as a small souvenir to hang on our holiday tree as a memory.

Day 4 (4/28) - Just how many miles did we walk today?!

2009-05-31T13:41:00.001-07:00

We started today at the Vatican museums since the weather was still overcast and light rain. We arrived early and got to the Sistine chapel before it got too crowded. There are no words to truly describe this great work of art. To see it in person was a treasure I’ll never forget. We then spent several hours wandering through much of the rest of the museum. The sheer number of status and busts was amazing. But what was even more interesting was how many of them were labeled as copies of Grecian originals. I always knew the Romans learned a great deal from, and even borrowed from the Greeks, but I didn't realize the extent to which they simply imitated works of art.

Unfortunately, we did not get to the Raphael rooms until later; by that time it was absolutely packed! This, combined with the fact that once you decide to start to go in the direction towards the rooms, you are squeezed through small passages with no way out amde it very claustrophobic for about 50 minutes. Once we reached the rooms there was a large crowd, so we were really not able to enjoy the room as we had hoped.

From the museums, we had hoped to tour St Peters, but when we arrived there at about 1:30, the line stretched all the way around the square. We decided to try again the next day and headed into Rome instead. We took the metro to Piazza Spagna and came out an entrance we were not familiar with, next to the Villa Borghese park. From there, we walked down the hill by the Trevi fountain again. Naturally, we stopped off at our favorite pizzeria/gelateria and continued on to find the Pantheon. Our map was very poor, and so we spent a fair amount of time lost and wandering in different directions – but what better way to truly experience Rome! We finally came upon the Piazza Navona and found the Pantheon from there. I think the Pantheon is truly one of my favorite places in Rome. Because so much of it is still intact, I felt closer to the history of the ancient Romans than I did among ruins. Plus, we loved the shape – that you can fit a perfect sphere inside of it – what incredible engineering! We headed back through the Piazza Navona and toured the church of Sant’Agnese in Agone. We then went to the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, which my sister said was a “must see” for a status by Michelangelo housed there, but which does not (unlike the Pieta in St. Peter’s) have hordes of tourists visiting it.

From there, we continued to wander through the streets to the Campo Fiori coming out along the river. Along the way, we came upon a Jewish festival celebrating the state of Israel. There were lots of police around, although everything seemed very peaceful. We continued on, and came upon the Portico of Octavia, once of the grandest monuments in Rome. Only the entrance porch now remains. What amazes us most about Rome, as I’m sure it does for every tourist, is that every time one turns a corner there are more ruins, and more history to be discovered. When we turned to our right, we realized we were at the Teatro di Marcello, built around 11 BC and once the second largest theater in Rome. Centuries after it was abandoned and then resurrected as a fortress, a noble family turned it into a palace on the 16th century and built additional living quarters atop the two tiers that remained of the theater. As it was early evening, there were few tourists around. It is a singular sensation to walk by a ruin or building that has been standing for hundreds of years, and realize you are not only small in comparison to the sheer size of the monument, but also only one miniscule person among millions who, throughout so many centuries, have also gazed upon these ruins with awe. The hurry and break-neck speed with which we normally live our daily lives suddenly seems to stop and carry far less importance.
Subdued, we wandered through quiet roads and alleyways to the top of the Capitolino hill for a beautiful view of Rome and the Forum, and then a golden-blue sunset over Vittoriano Emmanuel.
But this beautiful day had one last gift for us – as we strolled back towards the Colosseum, we captured – in our hearts, though not terribly well on film, a brilliant rainbow stretching from the Forum, over the Colosseum and disappearing into the busy nightlife of Rome.

Day 3 (4/27) - Our first full day in Rome

2009-05-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

On our first full day in Rome we wanted to hit some of the ancient sites right away. The most obvious choice to start was the Colosseum. It’s truly amazing how much is still standing despite years of neglect and rampant vandalism. We were also impressed by how much the design, with all of its entrances and exits, has influenced stadium design throughout the rest of history.

From there, we headed up to the Palatine to walk around and view Augustus’ palace, looked down on the Circo Massimo and explored the various ruins. Unfortunately, a massive wind storm started while on the Palatine hill. The problem with being amongst ancient ruins in a wind storm is that there is a lot of,… DUST! Since we literally had dust and dirt blowing in our faces, we headed back down the hill into the Roman Forum. I especially liked the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, which was once a temple – the front portico of which is still standing. However, within the enclosure of the old temple ruins, the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda church was built centuries later.

What we didn’t realize is that as the storm picked up, the Forum acted as a virtual wind tunnel. We took refuge in the Curia and hung out with Trajan and the other emperors whose statues are housed there for a while. But there’s only so long one can examine the details of roman costume, hair styles and weaponry as carved into marble, and we ventured out again. After snapping a few pictures, our friendly storm brought us something we are very used to – rain. However, this was not the steady drizzle of the Pacific NW; rather, it was a heavy downpour. We took refuge in the Vittorio Emmanuel, and wandered through an exhibit on the history of Rome (all in Italian), before they finally kicked us out at closing time. Thankfully, vendors had appeared at every doorway selling umbrellas. As we headed back toward the Coliseum, the rain started to abate, and we walked along the Imperial Forum, taking in the sights and considering where we might score some tasty gelato. But the storm wasn’t done with us yet, for as we neared the Colosseum, the rain began again in full force, drenching us just as we reached the Metro station. However, it was not cold, and since we still had an appetite for gelato (who doesn’t?!), we bought some from the gellateria in the station and waited for the rain to subside so we could take some pictures around the Colosseum at night. The storm had other ideas, however, since the rain continued and did not look like it would stop anytime soon. In the end, drenched and shivering slightly after our gelato, we headed back to our hotel.

Day 1 – 2 (4/25 - 4/26)

2009-05-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

We are finally on our way! After months of planning, shopping, as well as delaying our trip last year, we are once more headed to Iran to visit Nick’s family and homeland. It’s a long trip to Iran – generally about 25-35 hours in just travel time, so we decided to break up the trip and get some rest and relaxation before arriving in Tehran by taking a slight detour to Rome. We left Seattle around noon on Saturday and arrived in Rome via Amsterdam mid-afternoon on Sunday. The only challenge with stopping on the way is that it limits how much baggage we could take to one bag of maximum 50 pounds each, plus a carry-on. While this seems like a lot, when you consider that gift-giving is in Iran, as in many other countries, a very important part of social etiquette, 50 pounds when buying gifts for a large family is actually not really adequate. But Nick and I severely trimmed back our own personal clothing to the bare essentials – I was actually quite impressed with how little we took along personally, as we both have a tendency to over pack!

Since we only had one large bag each, we decided to take all of our baggage to our hotel in Rome with us. What we didn’t count on was that there are not escalators or elevators running at all metro stops. So after our long flight, we did end up lugging the bags up and down a couple of flights of stairs where the escalator was broken. But we eventually managed to get to our hotel just south of the Vatican. Nice place – it caters to a lot of tourist groups from Europe. We were even pleasantly surprised that we not only had our own bathroom, but that it had a deep bathtub – just what we needed after the long flight! After a quick wash-up, we decided to head out for our first evening in Rome. We hopped back on the metro to the Piazza del Popolo and walked along the Via del Corso, a shopping passage that seemed to be closed off to traffic that evening until we turned left and arrived at the Piazza Spagna and the Spanish Steps. What a great place to just relax amongst other tourists, locals, and pots upon pots of azaleas up and down the steps.

Tired, but still excited about being in Rome, we decided we just had to visit the Trevi Fountain as well, as so off we went. We not only found the fountain, which is a spectacular site lit up at night, but also discovered a great little pizzeria and gellateria near the fountain, where we naturally delighted in our first pizza and gelato in Italy!

Our latest trip to Iran

2009-05-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

As much as I love Iran, it's been nice being back in Seattle again. There is so much here that I often take for granted - beginning with how beautiful it is! Since we returned two weeks ago, the weather has been fabulous - a very early summer for us. Since we spend so much time doing outdoor activities when the weather's good, that has made it much more difficult to sit down and post to our blog about our trip. Since we got back, we've also gotten into square foot gardening - and put in four gardening boxes. If the good weather is here to stay, we might as well get a jump on growing our own vegetables!

But back to our trip - I'm finally taking a few minutes each day to post our daily experiences on our trip to Iran. We were gone a total of three weeks, spending the first few days in Rome to break up the very long flight from Seattle to Iran, and the remainder of the trip in Iran.

Our first adventure in Iran

2009-02-10T21:42:00.001-08:00

It's a great feeling to hear so much about Iran these days in a more positive light than over the past few years. Naturally, it remains to be seen what will come from these warmer words between our new president and the government in Iran, but at least we do not have to sit here every week wondering if our family overseas would be safe from our own country. No longer do we have to hear about the Iran being part of the axis of evil. What a change!

I haven't figured out how to post our original newsletter from our first trip to Iran in its pdf form with all the nice graphics, but at least I can post the words and some accompanying pictures. We had so many friends tell us how much they enjoyed this newsletter. Our hope in writing it back in 2003 was to give people a different glimpse of Iran - one they were not likely to see on CNN or FOX news.

We were in Iran the first time together late in 2002 for nearly four weeks, but we began our trip with a visit to Amsterdam for a few days and then Paris. Both were wonderful cities which we enjoyed tremendously. I have to say, however, our most interesting experience there was one evening in Paris. While wandering on the Champs Elysees we stopped to talk to a Persian gentleman who was there with his family to inquire as to whether he knew where Iran Air’s offices were. After speaking with him for a while, he gave Nick his name and work telephone number, stating that he worked at the Iranian consulate and telling us that if there was anything we needed to give him a call. Before parting, Nick happened to inquire what he did at the consulate. It turns out the gentleman was actually Iran’s ambassador to France! What a small world!

From France we flew with Iran Air to Tehran. We arrived late at night, but two of Nick’s brothers, Massoud and Behrooz, as well as Behrooz’s wife, Akram, and Massoud’s daughter Mariam were there to greet us. We went straight to Nick’s parents house in Tehran Pars (in the east part of Tehran). It was wonderful for Marisa to finally be able to meet the family! We spent a few days just relaxing with family and getting caught up on sleep, partly because we were tired from the weeks before arriving in Tehran and partly because Iranians stay up much later in general than do Americans. Supper is usually served quite late by our standards – around 9:00 at night, if not later. So with tea and conversation afterwards, we usually did not go to bed before midnight at the earliest.

Massoud came to pick us up a few days after we arrived to take us to some of the palaces of the late Shah as well as to a couple of Tehran’s parks. One nice feature of visiting the palaces was that there was a guide at the entrance of each one to guide visitors through with commentary of the various sites. We saw the “Hall of Mirrors” in Niavaran Palace. It is entirely decorated with mirror mosaics and is quite spectacular! The downstairs “hoz” room (a “hoz” is a small pool in the center of the room) had a great deal of beautiful plaster decorative work which made it look like a very fancy wedding cake! The same day, we went to a trailhead that leads into the mountains. For about one mile along the trail, there are dozens of tiny shops selling dried fruit; cooked beets (which are sliced and served to customers with a little fork); spiced, cooked fava
beans; and tea houses along the stream where one could sit on Persian carpeted platforms to have
tea.
The next day, we left for Isfahan and Shiraz. We spent two nights in Isfahan and saw the Chehele-Sotoun, or the palace of forty columns. There are actually only twenty columns, but they are reflected in a pool just in front of the palace to look like forty. We also visited See-o-Sepol – the bridge that has thirty-three arches over the river, as well as an Armenian cathedral, the Friday Mosque, Medan-e Nagsh-Jahan, and the "shaking" minarets. The Medan-e NagshJahan is a huge square where polo games used to be held for the king’s viewing pleasure. There is a palace on one side with a large platform where he could sit and watch. There are also two mosques on the square, and a bazaar which links most of the buildings together the entire way around the square. We stayed in the Abassi hotel, which is fabulous. It was built in the style of Shah Abbas (1571--1629) at the site of one of his former caravan stops. The décor inside was beautiful, with a great deal of intricate painting, mosaics, and mirror work. It had an immense inner courtyard, and a nice teahouse at the opposite side yard from our room. There was an indoor pool with separate hours for men and for women to go to the pool. Marisa went one day and made several acquaintances through a mixture of Farsi and English.

From Isfahan, we traveled south to Shiraz. We stayed in what used to be the Sheraton, which overlooks a large park. We had a tour guide to ourselves for two days who was wonderful. On our first day, we spent the morning exploring the city by ourselves. We visited the citadel of Karim Khan. It has recently been opened up to visitors. Once a palace, it was badly abused over many years as government offices and even a prison. They are slowly bringing it back to life. One of the pavilions and former guesthouse of Karim Khan near the citadel has been turned into a museum. The decorative painting on the ceiling is quite beautiful. We also visited the Shrine of Shah Cheragh, which is a mausoleum for the brother of a great Shi’ite Imam who died in Shiraz in 835 a.d. Men and women must enter separately and are separated by a wall down the middle. After we had both seen our respective sides, Nick inquired as to whether there was anybody who could show Marisa around. After learning that Marisa was American, they allowed her into the men’s side with Nick and the guide so that he could give us a tour of the shrine. The entire inside is covered in mirror work and the light from the chandeliers reflects off the walls and ceilings.

We also visited a teahouse which is located in a very old public bath located half a stairway down from street level. It was very cozy with carpeted platforms surrounding the central “hoz” (pool) and the ice cream we had there was delicious! We met up with our guide in the
afternoon to tour Bagh-e-Eram palace from the outside and the surrounding gardens which are huge. They were so beautiful in winter – they must be amazing in the spring! We also went to the tomb of Saadi – a great poet who was born in Shiraz in 1189, as well as to the mausoleum of Hafez, another great poet who was born in Shiraz in the early 1300’s. Hafez’s poetry is very popular to this day, and we were surprised to see many teenagers at the mausoleum reading Hafez aloud with their friends. One of his books is even said to be able to predict the future when opened randomly. At the entrance, there was a street vendor with a parakeet. When holding it, the parakeet is trained to reach over and pick up one of many verses of Hafez. The parakeet did not seem to like being held by Marisa, but it did provide her with a good fortune!

We had tea with our tour guide at the mausoleum and talked politics. We were very surprised at how openly people discussed the government in power today.

The next day was one of the highlights of our trip: Takht-e Jamshid (Persopolis) and Naqsh-e Rostam. Takht-e Jamshid is a huge palace complex that was started by Darius around 518 b.c. and served as the base for the Archaemenian rulers through Artaxerxerxes II (359 - 338 b.c.) Alexander the Great conquered Takht-e-Jamshid in 330 b.c. There is much discussion as to whether or not it was an accident. In any event, what remains are the huge columns that supported the palace ceilings, the immense stone gates, hundreds of intricate and beautifully detailed carvings and the tombs of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III carved into the hills above. Since many of the carvings and walls were not excavated the late 1800's or early 1900's, many of the carvings remain as fresh as though they were completed last year! Several of them show people of the nations that used to belong to Persia – from Babylonians to Egyptians to Ethiopians. The sheer size of Takht-e Jamshid, as well as the knowledge that all the masonry work was done by hand with only simple tools is overwhelming. The stones, to this day, fit together precisely.

From Takht-e Jamshid, we went a few miles down the road to Naqsh-e Rostam, the sites of the tombs of Darius I (521-485 bc), Darius II (425-405 bc), Artaxerxes I (465-424 bc), and Xerxes I (485-465 bc). Like Takht-e Jamshid, the tombs are intricately carved into the mountain face.

Once we went back to Tehran, we began planning for the wedding. Since Nick’s family could not join us in the U.S. when we were married, we decided to have a whole wedding ceremony while we were there. Within a week, and with a great deal of help from our family, we had arranged for the caterer, the photographer, the hair and make-up, had the wedding dress altered, and all the other preparations. We had the wedding at Massoud and Mahshid’s house, and everything was perfect!

The night before the wedding is the “Henna-Bandon” with the close family. The bride and the groom’s hands are marked with henna paste, as well as anybody else in the family who wants to join in. The hands are then wrapped up for about a half hour and, once unwrapped, the henna is washed off. The designs were semi-permanently on our hands for the next couple of weeks.

During the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom sit facing the guests. Before them is the Sofre-Aghd, which has symbolic items such as nuts, a mirror, candles, gold coins etc. Women of the family stand behind the bride and groom holding a scarf over the happy couple’s heads. Over the scarf, they grind together two pillars of sugar. The sugar sprinkles down on the scarf to bring sweetness to the marriage. To the side of the bride and groom, respectively, sits somebody to represent each. Nick’s father represented Marisa and his uncle represented Nick. His father read the ceremony and then asked Marisa, the bride, whether she wished to marry the groom. The tradition is that the bride remains silent when this is asked, and one of the women behind her gives an excuse for her, such as “the bride has gone to pick flowers”. The ceremony is repeated, and the bride remains silent a second time. Only on the third time does the bride say “Yes”. After the ceremony, there is a reception with dancing and food. The caterers made the food look absolutely gorgeous, with many carved fruits and vegetables. After eating and dancing, we then had a wedding cake. The tradition is a young girl dances forth with the knife to cut the cake. The groom must give her money in order to obtain the knife, but as soon as she has the money, she then gives the knife to a friend, who does the same thing. After a long while, we were finally able to cut out cake!

Most of the guests at the wedding were family – cousins, uncles and aunts, many of whom had not seen Nick for several years. It was a wonderful celebration!

Two days after the wedding we tried to go skiing at Dizine, a couple of hours’ drive from Tehran. Along the way, we ended up in a traffic jam. It seems they had closed the road due to a boulder that had fallen on it north of the Dizine exit. They had traffic stopped about ten miles south of that point. After much pleading with the officer in charge, he finally let some of us go who were trying to get to the ski resort. We had lost about 2 hours, and were only able to get a few runs in, but it was still worth it. The snow was very dry, the runs were quite long, there was virtually nobody on the slopes, and the scenery was spectacular!

The next day, we flew to Mashad, a very holy city in Iran. The main attraction in Mashad is the Shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Shi’ite tradition who died in 809 a.d. The Shrine is a huge complex with the mausoleum, mosques, libraries, schools, various courtyards, museums, hospitals and administrative offices. One cannot take any pictures inside the complex, which is unfortunate, as there are many beautiful areas. The dome of the shrine is entirely covered with gold and is quite magnificent. Our hotel overlooked the shrine. We went to the shrine for a couple of hours our first day and again during our second day in Mashad. We were there during the afternoon prayers on our second day, and were amazed by the numbers of people there praying. There were more people than could fit in the mosque, so the staff had to wheel out wagons full of Persian carpets which are spread on the stone floor of the courtyard for people to pray on.

While in Mashad, we also hired a driver to take us to Tus, about 19 kilometers away to visit Ferdowsi’s tomb. Ferdowsi was the author of the Iranian national epic, the Shahnameh, and is very important to the survival of the Persian language and history.

Saffron is grown near Mashad, and there are numerous places to buy saffron. There are even
entire shops dedicated only to saffron. They have enormous containers of it in the windows. It was a surprise to Marisa to learn that there are all different grades of saffron, just like there is for teas, coffees, or even fine wines!

Once we returned again to Tehran, we tried to spend as much time with family as possible. We spent a couple of days sightseeing with Massoud and his wife Mahshid or daughter Mariam. On one day, we visited a place where movies are made. There were sets there showing what streets in Tehran looked like 100 years ago, as well as ancient Jerusalem and Medina. We also visited the Azadi tower, and went to see the Iranian crown jewels. The crown jewels included the famed peacock throne, a globe made entirely of 51,000 precious stones, and cases upon cases of tiaras, brooches and other adornments.

We also tried to go skiing at Tochal on a Friday (which is like a Saturday here). But because it was a beautiful day, there were literally thousands of people at the mountain, which lies at the north edge of Tehran. Most were there for hiking, so we started the 5-mile long gondola ride up the mountain. We got to the second gondola stop, which is where one rents skis, only to find that they had rented every pair already. But the view was still fantastic. The top of Tochal sits around 10,000 feet above Tehran, and the gondola is about five miles long. We went back to Tochal on Sunday. Since that is a weekday in Iran, there were fewer people and we were able to rent skis and continue to the top. At the top (over 13,000 feet), it was incredibly cold and windy. At this time of the year, the ski runs were short and unchallenging, but just the feeling of skiing that high was completely worth it. When we stopped for lunch in the ski lodge (there is also a hotel there, on top of the mountain), we were amazed to find that the crowd of young men and women were dressed pretty much like at any ski hill in the US. Women wore typical ski outfits, and either a ski hat or nothing at all on their heads. Even more surprising was the loud, western-style techno dance music blaring from the speakers.

The last couple of days of our trip were difficult. It was hard to think about leaving. We had become so accustomed to enjoying time with our family in Tehran, that to think of not seeing them for several months or years was almost unbearable. Some of the best times we had in Iran were when the whole family was gathered around. There was so much love and warmth, and everybody was so relaxed, that we felt very much at home and at peace. Our last night in Tehran, the whole family gathered again at Nick’s parents’ house. We celebrated our niece, Parisa’s 12th birthday, and our nephew Mobin’s 13th birthday. In addition, we got a cake for Nick’s parents’ 50th anniversary, which was later in the year. We had made up a small scrapbook for them as well as one for Massoud and his wife, Mahshid for their 22nd anniversary. Along with a few tears, we shared laughter, and danced hand in hand throughout the evening. Pretty much everybody stayed up with us until we had to leave at about 3:00 in the morning.

After a long flight, we arrived at home and and our lives were pretty much the same as when we left (if not busier!). We were very sad to leave, but we truly came back with a new sense of appreciation for everything we have here. Leaving and returning home was a bit like one of the traditions that we performed at our weddinin Iran. The bride and groom are brought a glass filled with heavy sugar water on the bottom and lighter tea on the top. The sugar water represents the sweetness and happy times in life. The tea represents the difficult or bitter times. The bride and groom stir the two together and drink it. It is naturally very sweet. This represents that, although there are tears and difficult times, the sweetness and the good times alway outweigh the others until all one is left with are sweet memories. We were sad to leave our family and have experienced great homesickness for Iran, yet we have so much to be thankful for here in our life together and in the knowledge that we have two families – one in Iran and one in the US – who love us very much. The wonderful memories from the time we spent with our family and traveling in Iran will stay in our hearts forever.

Introduction to the East

2009-01-01T23:04:00.001-08:00

One of the reasons we started this blog was to share some of our experiences traveling in and around Iran, as we often are asked questions about what Iran is like, whether its safe there, what people think of Americans, and so on. There are so many misunderstandings between Iran and America, that we want to do what we can to build bridges, and hopefully demystify Iran just a little bit for those reading our blog. We’ve made two trips to Iran together so far – in 2002 and 2005. Both were fantastic, not only because we had a wonderful time with Nickrooz’s family, but also because Iran truly is a beautiful country with terrific people. We’ve still trying to figure out how to post the newsletter from our first trip (2002) to Europe and Iran here, and hope to also have highlights from our second trip in 2005 posted soon. In the meantime, here's a few pctures from our last trip to Iran.

When people learn we’ve traveled to Iran, I (Marisa) am often asked if I feel safe there. The answer is yes – I have never had anybody treat me with anything less than the utmost kindness and respect while I have been traveling in Iran. In fact, when we are in Iran, and people find out where I’m from, they go above and beyond to make me feel welcome. The fact is, Iranians know how they are portrayed in the major western media outlets, and people there are anxious to show me who they really are – a people with a proud history and culture, kind hearts overall and a desire to be understood.

White Christmas in Seattle

2008-12-28T20:35:00.000-08:00

Wow! What a month! We went from a beautiful fall where we were cycling every weekend to sudden blizzard-like weather in Seattle. About a week before Christmas, we got over a foot of snow at our home and the temperature got down to 15 - 20 degrees some days. Very unusual for our area! But it was actually a nice change. We had a wonderful moonlit walk one evening - the absence of cars and the quiet around our neighborhood made for a magical stroll.
We spent Christmas with Marisa's mom at our home. We almost didn't think she would make it due to the weather, as she was taking the train from Eugene, but Amtrack was up and running again after weather-related issues. We spent a lovely, quiet Christmas here at home, but also took in Bellevue Botenaical Garden's light display and Pike Place Market while mom was here over the weekend.
We wish all our friends and family a wonderful holiday season and best wishes for the New Year!

First time bloggin'!

2008-11-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here in Eugene, Oregon with my sister Robin, a world-class blogger (check out HER blog!) and learning all about how to set up our own blog. We've got so much to share and to learn from others - about travel, about other cultures, about work, about hobbies - that we thought this might be a great way to go about it!