Iran for Beginners....

After many months of discussing it with my husband Bobby (Mehran) and countless hours of pondering on my own, I finally made the decision to go to Iran and meet my in-laws, even though I would be travelling on my own. I pushed aside the nervousness about speaking only a few words of farsi, or having to wear the traditional muslim dress of a long loose overcoat and headscarf. Even though I have not met any of my in-laws, I am anxious to meet them. I know them to be very loving and welcoming. I'm sure they must have some trepidation about meeting me too, as Bobby's brother and nephew are the only ones to speak a little English.

I have long since wanted to see Iran as the history and culture fascinate me. The thought of landscapes that have been around since 5000 BC utterly mind boggling. The Persian civilization is considered to be the second oldest in the world. The Persian empire was once a major superpower and had frequently been invaded and occupied by Arabs, Turks, Mongols, British and Russians who left their influence on the country. Even so, Iran has managed to reassert it's national identity and maintain a distinct political and cultural entity. The Islamic conquest of Persian around 633-656 BC was a turning point in Iranian history.

After centuries of foreign occupation, Iran reunified as an independant state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty. Iran was ruled as a monarchy by a shah (king) until the 1979 Iranian revolution when the country became an Islamic Republic, and stands as such today.

People are uninformed when it comes to the middle east and the various people and cultures you will find there. Iranians are not Arab, and they do not speak Arabic. They are Persian.... and speak an ancient language called farsi.
You will find the people of Iran and the government, for the most part share very different views. Iranians are a very warm and welcoming people, full of hospitality and a natural curiousity about foreigners.

I hope you will enjoy my thoughts and photos and maybe even a short video or two of my journey. I have posted a few photos here that I discovered online but will soon replace them with my own as I make my way around the country.

I will start my trip, leaving from Atlanta and making a stopover in Amsterdam, Holland. A colleague of mine from the American Cancer Society has a sister who lives there and has willingly agreed to pick me up from the airport and take me around the city for a bit of sightseeing. I'm very happy about that as I'm sure Amsterdam has many beautiful sights.

Canada played a crucial role in liberating Holland from the Germans near the end of WW2. To show their appreciation the Dutch people have donated thousands of tulip bulbs to Canada for the nation's capital, every year since the war's end.

As my departure grows closer, I'll update you with everything it takes to prepare for my trip. There is much to be done with choosing the right gifts to take to the family I've never met and know very little about. There are outfits to be chosen that will not raise the 'ire' of the morality police! There are scarves to shop for that are large enough to cover all of my hair: and learning how to tie them so they will stay on is a story in itself!

Stay tuned......