In English:
You might be wondering how it is being a tourist in Iran – if it is easy or difficult, if it is expensive or not, what the traffic is like, what the travel requirements are etc.? As our journey is now almost over, we think we have got a pretty good idea and thought we would do a post about all this.
Travel requirements.
You have to be invited to Iran by someone with an Iranian citizenship or by a travel agency based in Iran, to be able to come here. In our case it was easy since Shaho, who we are traveling with, is from Iran. Swedish citizens then have to apply for an electronical VISA, which a travel agency can help you with in case you are not being invited by one. Due to possible travel restrictions to the US after a trip to Iran, it might be good to know that you do not get a revealing stamp in the passport, but instead it is the E-VISA that get stamped. You need to be able to show proof of your travel insurance to get your VISA stamped, however. Make sure the insurance applies to Iran in particular and that it shows clearly on the insurance paper that is the case. If you do not have a certificate with you, you can buy a travel insurance at the airport for 14 Euro (2019-10-12).
Currency and payments.
Foreign credit cards does not work in Iran so you need to bring Pound, Euro or Dollar, and then have it exchanged to Rial here in Iran. However, the currency is not completely obvious here. The official currency is Rial, but daily Toman is used instead. 500 000 Rial is 50 000 Toman, which is approximately 4 GBP. 1 000 000 Rial is 100 000 Toman, which is approximately 7 GBP etc. It does not end here, however (if this is not tricky enough..). In case something is a bit more expensive you do not see the entire sum in Toman, but instead 50 is in fact 50 000. This means you have to have an idea of what things cost, and use the exclusion principle. We can promise you, that for someone who does not have a clue of what things might cost, it is very tricky.. So what is the cost of things in this country then? Entrance fees to various mosques, museums etc. cost about 1,5 GBP for us and about 0,3 GBP for Shaho. However, Shaho has often received his entries for free as a thank you for bringing along two tourists. Dinners cost from between 2 – 3 GBP per person up to 25 GBP per person at finer restaurants. A whole bunch of bananas and clementines from a fruit stand cost about 2 GBP.
Road network and traffic.
Since we have been traveling through Iran by car, it feels like we have got a good idea of which traffic rules that apply here and which rules that are not. Please read our list with a smile on your face. No harm is meant by it :).
- It is right-hand traffic, just like in Sweden.
- In roundabouts, those who are heading into the roundabout have priority. In other words, it gets pretty crowded in the roundabout itself when you constantly bring in new cars, but do not let anyone drive out.
- There are traffic lights here but they usually just blink, which basically means you can drive but watch out. Chaos is an understatement and the biggest car usually wins.
- Lane change is not something you take very seriously here and you happily change lane before checking if it is actually possible. Ideally, you drive in two lanes at the same time.
- You do not make it easier for others to change lane either. The zipper principle is not something that is included in the driving school’s teaching in Iran. If you can close an opening, you rather do that.
- If the car lacks a rearview mirror or bumper, or if the tailgate cannot be closed, it does not matter. The fact that belts in the back seat of taxis usually lack both the buckle and something to put the possible buckle in, also do not matter.
- Accidents seem very common. We have seen at least two car fires, a boat fire, an overturned truck, a truck where the cab had left the undercarriage and a lot of ”minor” accidents. We have also seen a small grass fire in the middle of the road, but maybe that was meant to be for some reason.
- Having lights on the car seems unnecessary, even if you drive in the opposite direction of traffic when the darkness has set in. If you drive a motorcycle or a moped, preferable you do not use a helmet.
- There are not very good solutions for left turns here. Where there are no roundabouts, instead you have to drive far (sometimes very far) in the wrong direction, then make a U-turn, to finally drive back all the way you just came from. The same principle also applies in city centers so it is not uncommon for several cars to reverse in the middle of the intersection, when the space to complete the U-turn has not been enough.
The people.
We have to say that we are both struck by how nice all (almost) people are. They are friendly and helpful, and not intrusive. We do know that Shaho, who is both man and Iranian, may influence how we are treated (it is difficult for us to decide), but people we meet are usually really nice to him too, and that is a good sign. Of course, the language barrier is often difficult. Some speak English but many cannot, like in many places around the world. Shaho has been teaching us Persian words throughout the journey and certainly we have learned some useful ones!
Salam: Hej
Merci: Thank you
Are: Yes (to someone you know)
Bale: Yes (to someone you do not know)
Bebakhshid: Excuse me
Takhfif: Discount (on price) Berim: Shall we (go)?
We have learned the numbers as well so now we are happy to find out prices, car numbers and so on, on our own. You read texts starting from the back here, and from right to left, but you read numbers just like we do.
The food.
As you may already have understood, you eat a lot of kebab and rice here. It is not kebab as we eat it in Sweden, however, but instead large meat, fish or chicken pieces on a skewer. A large portion of rice is served with it, and maybe some vegetables. Unfortunately it is almost never served with a sauce, which therefore makes it pretty dry. Kristin also thinks that all skewers taste a little lemon-like, as if they, whatever type of meat, have been marinated in the same marinade. Dishes with saffron are other classics. We do like saffron buns, but here everything from rice, ice cream and pastries to drinks and pots have the taste of saffron. It gets a little too much. To it, you drink rose water. Imagine what soap smells like – that is the taste. For someone with a nut allergy it is not easy either. You find walnuts or other nuts here and there in food and pastries, and you cannot expect it to be mentioned in the menu. The thing is, that we have probably never been to a country where the menus have been as savory as here. It can say ”chicken” on four different rows, but no further explanation to what the difference between these dishes are. Shaho has not had an easy job trying to explain to us what we can order :).