Why Iran?

Take a two hour flight North from Doha’s pending stifling summer and you will find Iran’s snow capped Al Borz mountains. In early spring, these mountain ranges to the North of Tehran are peaked with winter’s melting legacy. If you are serious about skiing – take a cable cart to the top and slide your way down. For those who wish to be mesmerized by the image of the massive Tehran city, viewed over an expanse of snow, make a stop at one of the mountain stations , sip hot chocolate and sample Iranian breads with traditional music harmonizing in the background.

Tehran is unfortunately as dense and polluted as ‘they say’. However give it a chance to reveal some of its beauty to you:
- Walk down the streets and stop to buy flowers at the many enchanting flower shops   found on most street corners
- Move through the Bazaar as determined as a Tehrani shopper on a mission, but don’t forget to buy some iced sweet melon juice as you stop to catch your breath
- Stop at the many public parks to watch ladies in chadores exercise on colourful park gym-equipment without any inhibition
- Drive up to the Northern parts of the city and sip coffee with the younger Tehranians, who are extremely fashion conscious and have undoubtedly found a way around sanctions to access MTV.

With the honor of being one of the oldest civilizations known, it isn’t surprising that history follows you as you move through Iran’s distinctly different towns and villages.
There is a famous Persian saying describing Isfahan as being ‘half of the world’.
During the Iranian New Year holiday season, the roads to Isfahan are dotted with families stopping by the roadside to picnic en route to their destination. Isfahan dazzles the unsuspecting visitor by boasting some of the finest architecture that Islamic civilization has to offer.The characteristic blue tiles from the Safavid dynasty leave a most distinct impression. Aside from being saturated with aesthetic delights , Isfahan offers the visitor an array of culinary treats. Enjoy saffron and rose water Ice Cream while sitting by the fountains at Emam Square. Feast on fresh pistachios , almonds, sesame seed candy and ‘Gas’ – a nut filled nougat treat.

Moving South will also take you to Shiraz: the city of poetry, literature and culture.
Traveling even further South , the ancient city of Persepolis with it’s historical ruins awaits. For a taste of the desert, visit Yazd while Qom and Mashad houses the shrines of saints and scholars.

Before leaving for Iran I was repeatedly asked , “You are visiting Iran, why?”
“Why not?” is my reply.
This country which has repeatedly received bad publicity astounds the visitor and allows for preconceptions (of which there are many) to be turned on their head. Economic sanctions have left the country strained in some ways but it has allowed it to draw on its own resources to sustain itself, while maintaining a quaint type of authenticity.
Why Iran?
Because Iranian hospitality must be sampled,
Because there are mountains, forests, deserts and oceans in one beautiful country , Because an Iranian village will take you back to a time of simple living off the land and Because Iran it is just so close to the Khaleej.

Important Travel Tips:
- The Lonely Planet guide to Iran is an excellent travel companion
- Take cash – as much as you need. There are no credit card facilities due to sanctions
- Modest dress for women is recommended
- Persian phrase-book would be helpful

This Week in Doha

‘The Paradigms of Islamic Ethics, Human Rights and Social Justice’
lecture by Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University
When: Monday, April 18, 2011 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Museum of Islamic Art
(RSVP required)

‘Women and Gender in the Islamic Religious Texts and Culture’.
 lecture by Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University
When: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Museum of Islamic Art
(RSVP required)

Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival
When : 21 – 24 April 2011
Where: Doha Sheraton

Rosie Garthwaite discusses How To Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone
at the Al Jazeera Documentary Film festival
When:Saturday, April 23 · 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Where:Doha Sheraton Al Rayyan Hall
BQFP will be selling her books

Sanction This

This love-hate relationship that I have with globalization, seems to
have climaxed in Iran. Under U.S led sanctions since the revolution,
Iranians have had to grow some self- sufficiency : in a big way, and
fast. Necessity, being the mother of invention, has prompted local
industry to fill the gaps in demand. Local name brands dominate
supermarkets and very few international fashion brands flash out at
you from billboards. There’s no running away from China though, as
Chinese goods have found their way directly onto Iran’s shelves.
Despite the attempt to economically suffocate Iran into political
submission, Iran seems to be holding a belligerent ‘middle finger’ to
the United States and other countries who still wish to subscribe to
the archaic ‘axis-of-evil’ rhetoric.There is a sense that instead of
moping about after the United States condemned Iran to the naughty
corner, the people picked up their tools and started working – for
themselves. the country didn’t hang around begging to be friends with
the cool kids.

AN UPSIDE TO THE DOWNSIDE
Unfortunately the pain from this international embargo is palpable.
Mad-inflation and large unemployment statistics (especially amongst
younger people) are some of the symptoms of isolation. This is a
country where international credit cards can’t be used (what, in this
century ? Yes…  ). Iran lacks the equipment to convert natural gas
into liquid gas because of… You guessed it… sanctions. Fuel is
often sold in raw form and bought back after processing. Local
airlines are unsafe because trade restrictions make it difficult to
repair and replace broken airplane parts.
On the up-side, U.S sanctions on the Iranian banking sector in 2007
helped buffer the country from the effects of the global financial
crisis.

LONGING FOR A (GLOBALISED) CUP OF COFFEE
What often makes travel a little easier is seeing familiar branding .
When in India,  a Coca-Cola sign (even in Hindi) is instantly
recognizable and nestle chocolate in any other country would taste as
sweet. It’s a sense of brand comfort:  ’these people and I have a
little something in common’. With LG both mine and this foreign
fellow’s ‘Life’s Good’. There’s not much of this globalised
familiarity in Iran. What adds to this apparent sense of disconnect
with global popular culture is that English is not as pervasive as it
is in many other major world cities. (did I just type that?)

As anti free-market as I am , in Esfahaan , I longed for a coffee shop
(even a franchise store) where I could relax and think decidedly
pretentious western thoughts. (tip: the Armenian quarters in Esfahaan
have some wicked coffee shops). So the Eureka moment was in realizing
that I was craving globalized culture. In a country where social
networking sites like Facebook, twitter and even blogs are restricted,
I am feeling withdrawal symptoms – from the lack of caffeine and
global culture.

(thoughts in progress)

En Route in Rajasthan via Rail

Diary extract: Delhi to Jaipur  20/01/2011
I realize that I am not as comfortable as my distant cousins are in the cross-legged position. Many seem to be as comfortable cross-legged as they are crouching down. It sounds as if I am doing some type of National Geographic study ‘observing the Native Indian in his natural habitat’.

Getting onto this train was tough enough. The station master told me to wait at platform 12 with such certainty that I’d doubt myself before doubting him. So I hope that this takes me to where I need to be. If it doesn’t , I won’t even be able to say that I enjoyed the view because it’s night-time.
I’m sitting on the upper berth (that’s just the upper sleeper bed )of coach A1 going from Delhi to Ajmer via Jaipur. ( I hope).  I’ve previously slept on doctor’s room hospital beds with confirmed bedbugs but although this looks clean enough I suddenly feel itchy. The white sheets look whiter and less stained than those hospital bed sheets but my first-world-third-world bias, leaves me, well … biased (and itchy).

I wonder if young upper class Indians can interchange between these two worlds. I wonder if they even need to. Are they as far removed from rural and urban Poverty as I am back home?  In my two crazed Delhi days I’m really left puzzling over where this booming and bustling Indian economy that ‘they’ speak of is evident. Aside from a glorious metro rail, the infrastructure seems strained, used, re-used and then re-re-used with spare parts to show.
I’m no stranger to economic disparity. In South Africa, I straddled between two worlds. Treating the urban poor by day and sleeping under my duck-down feathered duvet cover in my well fenced-in home by night. India is South Africa’s first cousin in a Gini co-efficient type of way.

The man in the sleeper to the front and bottom of mine is coughing a little too productively for my liking. Closed spaces, itchiness, productive coughing… farting, throat-clearing and loud chewing. If you have personal space issues and cleanliness fetishes, then India may be a little bit of a jolt. I’m pretending a little, it’s not as bad as that. It’s evidence that I’ve gone soft. It’s amazing how the human being (in his natural habitat) can adjust and morph to suit his situation. I’ve become accustomed to cleanliness and convenience over the last few months in Doha.

Doha to Delhi – malls to madness, resources to resourcefulness.

__________________

I wake up in the early morning hours. I wonder for a moment whether this is real or dream-like. I hear the squeaking wheels as they meet the railway track. The rickety motion of the coach shows movement, forward motion towards Jaipur – my destination.
At times the coach slows down to a stop and I picture my coach in the middle of a Rajasthani night, waiting to be picked up by another engine. A faithful reliance on India’s railway system.

I think that back in the day this train may have been something beautiful. Many things in India can resemble the aging matriarch of a family. You can see that she has long past her prime. You can imagine a beauty that is passed, but now the focus is not on aesthetics anymore as survival and functionality become paramount.

Thinking back to the last two crazed Delhi days leaves me wondering, when this week is over, if I’d actually believe that it had happened. Did such a place really exist? is there really such a world which gives a first impression of total chaos. A slightly closer inspection would reveal an intricately woven and functional system of survival, co-operation and interdependence.
India is full and alive.

If there was ever a place in the world where you could be lost to anonymity, India would be it. I have a sense that you would need to be really exceptional or exceptionally lucky to stand out in a place where the crowd moves as an individual. A swarming herd of purposeful motion towards a thousand defined destinations. A friend told me that there is no time to hesitate in India.
Indeed, no time to stop and gather your thoughts.

Thoughts in progress…

This Week in Doha

Architecture + The Loss of Craft

A lecture by architect Sara Shafiei, discussing the relationship of new architectural interventions in order to produce a contemporary style rich in textures, patterns and layers. Includes a presentation of her work that harnesses the use of modern technology and her interest in excess baroque ornamentation to create an ornamental theatre influenced by magic and illusion.

When: SUNDAY 10 APRIL, 2011 | 6:00 PM
Where VCU Qatar

Qatar Career Fair
When: 10- 14 April
Where: Doha Exhibitions Center

TedxRamallah – Livestream Doha
TEDxRamallah aims to showcase inspiring stories and untold ones of Palestine. It also aims to educate and inspire by providing a space for people to share their ideas in any field, whether science, education, literature, technology, design, etc. to contribute to the positive perception of Palestine.
When: Saturday, April 16 · 9:30am – 6:00pm
Where: Student Center – Education City Campus, Doha

SketchCrawl Doha – raising funds for Japan
A benefit drawing marathon for Japan
When and Where: Meet at 12.30pm Atrium Lounge, Sheraton Hotel. Leave about 1.30 to sketch along the Corniche. Finish at Museum of Islamic Art coffee shop around 5pm. Join in at any point

World Book Day Author Talk with Leila Aboulela

When: April 12 5pm
Where: Northwestern University Qatar (EduCity)

This week in Doha

Georgetown University’s monthly lecture series:
Brendan Hill | Monthly Dialogue Series
Dr. Brendan Hill, Associate Dean of Student Affairs at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar speaks about “Sin and Civil Society: Modernity and Moral Regulation in 18th Century England”.
Date:6 April 2011.
Time:6:00-7:30 pm
Location:Faculty Conference Room, Georgetown University Building, Education City

‘Paris la Metisse’ (Multicultural Paris): A photography Exhibition

A glimpse into the many cultural faces that is Paris
Where : Katara Cultural Village
When: until April 10,
Sunday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 5pm to 8.30pm
Saturday from 2pm to 8pm.

‘Golden era of Arabian science’
Where: Katara Cultural Village
When: until April 30th
(not very English friendly, but worthwhile for French and Arabic speakers)

Look out for : happening soon (but not quite This Week in Doha)
TEDxRamallah – Livestream in Doha!

Keepin’ it Real with Omar Offendum

An interview with Omar Offendum written for Khaleejesque http://tinyurl.com/3te9mun