At the airport in Tehran, waiting to head home

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Seriously, insanely long journey. Left hotel 5.20am local time, now 9.15pm local time and still not even time to check in. Got as far as Tehran without incident, but then getting to the airport was stressful in the extreme, and a major rip off. Still, here we are, ensconced in aircon with internet access and a snack stall to spend our last rials.

Earlier . . .

Saw Narjes for lunch on 11th, and dinner on 12th. Stayed with her at her uni accommodation on 12th. Had my fortune told (very good actually!), tried Iranian pizza (amazingly bad), watched the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice ( . . . ) and played whist (we won each hand - luck of my Nan there!), also played possibly the warmest game of badminton ever (35 celcius and climbing). It was good to see her, and really good to spend some time around normal Iranians. However, she was keen to get on to the topic of religion, and I had the horrible feeling that I was subject to a mild conversion attempt. She was being extremely pro-Iran, pro-Islamic law, and critical of the UK. She cited the example of an englishwoman who converted several times. She explained that she did not want Iran to allow non-muslims freedom of dress etc. as then non-muslims might come and live in Iran; she feels it is better to keep groups seperate. I argued for cultural and religious diversity, and at least got her to concede that this might lessen conflict, but that was my only success. I was too busy being polite and diplomatic, admitting the UK has its faults etc. Meanwhile, she was claiming that 7/7 either did not happen or else did not involve Muslims. She suggested that those who did not like the laws in Iran could simply leave (somehow doubt it's that simple!). Oh, and women should dress modestly because men can't help themselves! All this with a wonderful slogan on a poster above us: "A woman modestly dressed is a pearl in its shell". Seriously, these guys have not hear of Freud - what do guys do to pearl clams again? So I ended that session with decidedly mixed feelings.

On the plus side, she did help me with my souvenir shopping, including some honey which I suspect is now slowly leaking all over my luggage, and some carrot jam (would love to know if you can guess who's getting that!).

All in all, while I've had a good time, I'm looking forward to being back in the UK: the heat, hijab, and frankly the religion has been getting to me a bit (being ill hasn't helped). I still hope to come back for a third trip, but perhaps in cooler weather and in luxury, and scheduling my time with Narjes more carefully.

The trip has also taught me several useful things for my gap year:
- 45L is a good size of back pack, but I really need to be disciplined about shopping (I have had to buy a suitcase)
- not planning is perfectly doable, and not a major problem
- solo travel rocks! Mike has been a great travel companion: fascinating discussions, good pace, and frankly it was such a relief to see him after Narjes. But I've really noticed how guys have talked to him and ignored me (to the point where I showed my airline ticket to a guard, who read it, then went to hand it back to Mike - I intercepted and glared, probably without effect). Outwith the Middle East, this would obviously be less of a problem, but to some extent I think it is just less stressful to only have yourself to worry about.
- the travel pillow was a REALLY good purchase, as was the washing line, the swiss army knife and the micro-towel. A sink plug might be worth considering.
- my MP3 player does not have quite the battery life I would have hoped
- my camera batteries are more or less immortal
- when travelling in countries with insane currency inflation, I will require a larger purse
- rice and yoghurt are my friends, camel burgers are not

Ok, I promise the next entry will actually include more photos and less waffle.

Only 5 hours until flight departs, and about 13-14 before I reach the UK :-( I wonder how much a taxi from Manchester airport to home would cost???

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Comments

[deleted_49612]

Camel Burgers? Ugh!!!! At least I did not meet any religious types while I was in Iran. It would be interesting to hear what they have to say but I think I would get bored if it happend too frequently. Yeah, the Iranians ignore women who are with men in all conversations. I think it is sexist but at the same time I was relieved to not have to answer all the questions that I was asked over and over again when I was out alone. :D I did enjoy my visit to Iran, but thank goodness to be living in Europe is what I say. :)

[hass]

The reason why the guard handed the ticket to him rather than you, and why men will interact with him rather than you, is as a SIGN OF RESPECT not because they're ignoring you. Men who aren't family or friends, or haven't been properly introduced first, do not initiate contact with women (without her prior express approval.)

[Medb]

tes, but . . .
Thanks Hassani, and I should have put that in the blog - I do know the guy wasn't MEANING to be rude, patronising etc. He was behaving like a gentleman. In this instance, I had initiated contact by asking him about the check in, so possibly he could have handed it back to me. In other instance though I do understand why men ignored me. That doesn't make it any less frustrating, or any less symptomatic of some serious issues with gender equality.