Iran - Curious, Interesting, Remarkable Part 3

Saving in the local currency is impossible.

The official currency is the Iranian rial. The value of the currency depreciates rapidly, which we also notice in our almost 3 months. If we got 54,000 riyals for 1 dollar at the beginning, by the end it was well over 61,000 riyals.

People tell us that they can't save at all, at least not in their local currency. Dollars, euros, gold or property are much more stable in value. Savings are therefore melting away in terms of value, if they are available in riyals at all. High inflation is also doing its bit to make life increasingly expensive and unaffordable for many (not all, there are also rich Iranians).

Secrecy, what nonsense!

There are cameras everywhere, surveillance is a top priority. As we work remotely (on a laptop), we always look around three times to see where we are being "watched" from. That's why we usually work in our Felix, so many cameras make us feel insecure. But the crowning glory of public privacy is and remains the constant calling out of our credit card PIN. We were never allowed to type in our four-digit number ourselves. You hold the card over the counter, then the amount is entered and you are asked loud and clear to say the PIN. The first time we went to the Iranian embassy in Ankara, we thought it was an exception. We now know that PINs are not for personnel identification number, but for public identification number. Everyone listens, everyone knows your number. Waiters and shopkeepers memorise the numbers, of course, and you don't need to give the number again when you make a second purchase.

Learning to love your own country

Iranians keep asking us why we are travelling to Iran. Yes, good question, why actually? Because of the people, the beautiful landscape, the culture, the history and because of the magic that the word Persia alone radiates.

It's hard to believe that people set off to travel to this, their country. They tell us that it's not worth seeing, that we can go to more beautiful countries. Somehow we sense that they often think their own country is incredibly bad.

Then we explain that as travellers, we perhaps have a different focus than holidaymakers who want the full relaxation package in 14 days. And we remind the Iranians pretty much every time we talk to them what a beautiful, truly beautiful country they have. And then they nod. Oh yes, that's right, the Mountains! The North! The Desert! The South! The beautiful cities, their eyes light up at city names like Shiraz or Isfahan. They go into raptures when we talk about the regions Loristan and Khuzestan tell. We show pictures of stroking the Camels, from Sama' dance in the desert and from the Zurkhaneh-Sport in Yazd. And then they start to shine, yes, Iran is great. Then there are the famous poets, the great music, the Family cohesionthe long History of Persia.

And then we simply try to contrast the part that dominates life, the government, with the many things that are really wonderful. And of course we also know that it's difficult to weigh everything up against each other, but it's worth a try, isn't it? We hope that the country will eventually overcome the government. Because one sentence has been running through my mind for months, which a doctor we met in the desert told us: "No dictatorship has ever survived permanently!"

We hope and pray for the best!

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Merci for "travelling with us

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Date: 24 - 28 October 2024 (exact dates to come, but definitely on a weekend day!)
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