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Published: August 15th 2007
Qashgai outfit!
getting rid of my japanese kimono hejab for Qashqai tribal wear. Was it my driver's stash of Marijuana that stopped the police? The forbidden
Titanic soundtrack we were listening to in the car? An Iranian officer barked at me to get out of the car. I panic. Is it the japanese kimono i'm wearing? Is this not acceptable as hejab alongside my headscarf? The bearded man holding a kalishnakov yells at me and I hesistantly meet the 45c degree heat outside the car.
A bunch of local guards stare at my bizarre outfit and glare at me. 'Where are you from?' they ask in Persian. I squeal 'Japan!' while i try to cool myself with my folding fan, and wonder - should I bribe them with my abundant supply of rare japanse sweets, or Iranian riyal notes?
Neither proves to be appropriate. the officers smile in glee and give me a low bow. 'Welcome to Iran! Good time in our country!' they say, and i'm back in the car along the common opium trade route towards Kerman. With my heart about to give out, I pass out in the A/C-ed car as my driver offers me his huge supply of fruits. Almonds in their original shells, the
Kimono-clad in a Qashqai nomadic tent
enjoying dinner as i listen to the sweet nomadic live performance, gasping at the aged handwoven carpets. fresh pistachios in their soft pink layers, the damp dates draining juice in the plastic bag.
My third journey to Iran as a solo Japanese woman proved to be full of jolly surprises and happy moments. Ladies, don't fear travelling here alone as this is actually one of the safest countries in the world for women. According to a good tourist guide friend (who would never lie to me, revealing many national secrets - whoops) only one foreign woman has been raped in Iran since 1989, although the case was rather complex due to the fact that the Japanese woman in 1991 was drunk and a nymphomaniac.
Furthermore, unlike Arabic countries, you need not worry about hiding your face with a black cloth alongside your 3 meter long black Abayah. You are more free here than in Saudi!
So here, i will once begin another travel blog collection depicting the wonderful sights I missed at cities I had previously visited. Iran, full of treasures, is a remarkable place to travel in due to the huge endless number of sites. No city will ever be exhausted of sightseeing. Islamic, Zoroastrian, Christian, Jewish sites, they're at
Qashgai outfit!
getting rid of my japanese kimono hejab for Qashqai tribal wear. your feet. You won't need to worry about guarding your backpack as you take photos...for the locals fear of being given 80 lashes for theft, or rather, they are respectful and sweet people in heart.
I was never criticised for my kimono, as it hides all body lines and also covered my shoulders and legs. Although i attracted local attention as 'Oshin' (a japanese drama series of a poor geisha girl) and Yang-gon (Korean actress of a popular series today), it definitely gave me the chance to survive the hot Iranian heat in the best way. Although the thick belt chocked me a little, the thin cotton offered me the coolness of the breeze.
Hejab in this country is lax for the foreign woman - I saw many an ancient European tourist wearing a see-through blouse, bra-see-through. Iran's definitely not a country full of horrors and fears...honestly. Three trips there in 2007, and many more to come.
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Ailie Connell
non-member comment
Wow
Your blog was featured on the front page, as I was logging out... It sounded interesting, had pretty pictures, so I opened it and read the first entry (this one)... and couldn't stop reading. Thank you!