What we're reading, part 3: Lonely Planet: Iran

Lonely Planet: Iran
Originally uploaded by rastapopolos

Lonely Planet: Iran, 2008.

The guide book which leaves the others in the shade. Aisling gives out to me for my reliance on this publishing house, but I've seldom been let down by their guide books in the eighteen years I've been using them.

The Iran guide is particularly useful for the information it provides on the culture and mores of Iran. Apart from that, you'll have a superb amount of completely practical information at your fingertips: Where do I get the bus from? What's the routine with taxis? (...arrange a fare, take the ride, feel like you got skanked - it's the same all over the world!) What can I eat? How do I say "Help! I've lost my wallet!" in the local language?

Lonely Planet guide books have become more visually pleasing in the last few years but haven't diverged from their original dense, information-packed two-column layout for the sections on travel in the country - this layout is superb for rapid scanning. The sections on context are in a more familiar single-column layout for reading and absorbing at a more leisurely pace.

The two things about these guide books which have caught me out before are the maps which almost-but-not-quite match the layout on the ground; maybe LP include trap streets on every map? Certainly feels like it sometimes.

The other point, unsurprisingly, is prices. Often you'll find that prices have inflated by a substantial proportion since the guide book was published. As inflation in Iran is currently running at over 24% for the first four months of 2008, it's probably safe to add another half again to any prices you see in the book. We'll report on this as we go.

What we're reading, part 2: "Iran: Everything You Need To Know"

img_8113
Originally uploaded by rastapopolos

"Iran: Everything You Need To Know by John Farndon, 2006, 128 pages, large type.

This is a short, light history of Iran written (as far as I can tell) without too much of a slant. It's especially useful for the quick summary of recent Iranian history and the structure of the political system. You'll read it in a couple of sittings. Useful for getting a quick overview of the country and its history.

I picked this up almost as an afterthought while buying a bunch of other books on Iran from Amazon. I'm glad I did; It's cheap and accessible, even if history and politics aren't your thing.

Magic Carpet Ride

Magic Carpet Ride
Originally uploaded by Stars*Go*Blue

For as long as I can remember I have had a fascination with magic carpets and the wonderful concept of being able to fly off to any corner of the globe at a moments notice. I suppose this childhood fantasy has evolved into a love of travel and a desire to see some of the most amazing places in the world. So when Ben suggested Iran as a possible trip, it immediately conjured up a variety of different images for me.

As Ben has mentioned, there is a contrast between the almost mystical and magical Persian association which I visualise in a kaleidoscope of rich vibrant colours and patterns and present day Iran which if I am honest, I see as being more black and repressed. As a woman I find it hard to 'see' Iran in my mind without dis-associating it from images of women wrapped from head to toe in black loose-flowing robes.

It has been really interesting to dig deeper and research this country more so that I can dispel some of my initial pre-conceptions about Iran. My experience though will undoubtedly be different to Ben's as there are many restrictions and etiquette for female travellers that must be 'religiously' followed. This trip will challenge me in lots of different ways but I am looking forward to having a new persona for thee weeks and am thinking about this trip as a 'Fancy Dress' adventure!

Get around the Internet blocks in Iran

The Iranian state has a tight control on which web sites its citizens may visit. (China and Turkey are two other countries whose governments are fearful of a medium whose content they cannot control.) Among the websites 'filtered' are Blogger and Flickr.

However software systems have the wonderful property that if something is disabled through software, it's possible to get around that in software too. Enter Access Flickr!, a Firefox add-on which, when installed in Firefox on my virus-proof bootable USB stick, will allow me to blog from anywhere where I can find an internet-connected computer - including Iran. Yes, the web truly is subversive.

Midnight's Children

Salman Rushdie's book, Midnight's Children, is to be made into a film by Deepa Mehta. I look forward to it!

Rushdie's infamous in Iran for The Satanic Verses. I thought it was a very funny book. As Poe's law states:

"it is impossible to create a parody of Fundamentalism that someone won't mistake for the real thing"

Signs of a thaw...

I'd mentioned in this post that Iranian president Ahmadinejad had conveyed his congratulations to president-elect Obama on winning the US election; I wasn't aware at the time that this was the first time since 1979 that an Iranian president had congratulated the winner of a US presidential election.

Perhaps it's the first sign of a thaw in relations between the two countries? Obama has stated:

"We met with Stalin, we met with Mao. The idea that we can't meet with Ahmadinejad is ridiculous. This is a bunch of Washington-insider conventional wisdom that makes no sense. We should not run from this debate. We should have it."

Ahmadinejad congratulates Obama on election victory

Straight from the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's state-controlled media service:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a message on Thursday congratulated the US president-elect Barack Obama on his election victory.

He also said that it is expected basic and clear changes would take place in Washington's foreign and domestic policies, as demanded by all nations worldwide and the American people.

"As you know the opportunities provided by the Almighty God, which can be used for elevation of nations, or God forbid, for their collapse, are transient," the message read.

"I hope you will prefer real public interests and justice to the never ending demands of a selfish minority and seize the opportunity to serve people so that you will be remembered with high esteem," he said.

"On the other hand, the Americans who have spiritual tendencies expect the government to spend all its power in line with serving the people, rectify the critical situation facing the US, restore lost reputation as well as their hope and spirit, fully respect human rights and strengthen family foundations.

"Other nations also expect war-oriented policies, occupation, bullying, contempt of nations and imposing discriminatory policies on them to be replaced by the ones advocating justice, respect for human rights, friendship and non-interference in other countries' internal affairs.

"They also want US intervention to be limited to its borders, especially in the Middle East. It is highly expected to reverse the unfair attitude towards restoring the rights of the Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans.

"The great nation of Iran welcomes basic and fair changes in US policies and conducts, especially in the region," President Ahmadinejad said.

Ahmadinejad also wished success, health and welfare for all humans and for the rulers to seize the opportunity to administer justice and eliminate tyranny from the face of the world.

Read the full story.

Robin Yassin-Kassab: "My wife wears the hijab. I wish she didn't"

Monika brought an article in last weekend's Observer magazine to our attention: Robin Yassin-Kassab, author of Road from Damascus (which Aisling read and thoroughly enjoyed) has written a piece entitled "My wife wears the hijab, I wish she didn't". His wife Rana replies in a follow-on piece on the next page. One phrase of Rana's leapt out at Aisling:

"...you have to believe in a superior power that knows better than you do."

Eh, no, you don't, actually. What a disempowering thought.

Robin Yassin-Kassab also blogs here on blogspot. His pieces are always interesting and thought-provoking. He's posted the unedited version of this article too.

Iranian Coffeenets: protect yourself from viruses

The following paragraph jumped out at me from the guide book over the weekend as I was blobbed out on the couch doing 'research':

Unfortunately, Iranian coffeenets are badly infected with viruses. During this research trip our USB memory stick picked up more than 50 viruses, worms, Trojan horses, key-loggers and other nasties. So be careful about doing internet banking unless the anti-virus software is up to date, and scan carefully before sticking anything into your your own computer that has been in an Iranian machine. (July 2008 Lonely Planet Iran)

I don't use Windows on any of my computers - I use Linux. Recent advances in Linux mean that it's now possible to have a complete, bootable installation of Linux on a memory stick, with room left over for another partition for your data - photos, text, whatever. It struck me that a very useful option would be to use a bootable USB stick in Iranian coffeenets (Internet cafes) - it'll just depend on how amenable the owners are on letting me reboot their boxes and fiddle with BIOS boot-order settings. Assuming that some at least will be cool about it, I've made myself a bootable, writable Linux distro on a stick by following these short, simple and clear instructions.

The newest Ubuntu distribution, 8.10, includes a utility for making a bootable USB stick too, though I haven't tried this yet.

sligo hejab

Here's a friend of Marek's in Sligo a couple of weeks ago - she's a Polish catholic. It put me in mind of how Iranian women tend to dress when elsewhere in the middle east: