Stranger in Tehran

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What Is the Best Ice Cream Shop In Tehran, or Ultimate Guide to Iranian Ice Cream

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About Me

I`m Katya, and I am here to share my insights on life in Iran as well as tips and tricks for travelling Iran!

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The language is definitely something that brings I

The language is definitely something that brings Iran and Turkey close to each other.

Although these languages have a different origin, they've had such a strong effect on it other that you can't be very sure whether some of the words originate from which language.

What's more, both languages experienced influence of other countries, so both of them have a huge number of common Arabic words and a few French words.

On the trip to Turkey, I made a long list of similar words and here are just some of them.

Emlak املاک
Vitrin ویترین
Tepe تپه
Kale قلعه
Belediyesi بلدیه
Sehir شهر
Sulh صلح
Taze تازه
Adet عدد
Kasap قصاب
Balkon بالاکن
Bahce باغچه
Vatan وطن
Devlet دولت
Tane دانه
Dünya دنیا
Mirasi میراث
Merkezi مرکز
Gümrük گمرک
Tesekkür تشکر
Sikayet شکایت
Siparis سفارش

#languagenerd

Many people think that Iran is a very religious co

Many people think that Iran is a very religious country, it`s an Islamic republic after all. But in Turkey I realized that Iranians are mostly far from religious. Here are a few examples that made me think so.

The first thing you notice is a very loud azan that is performed live at mosques 5 times a day. (Outside city center a recorded azan is played, but still 5 times a day.) For comparison, in Iranian cities azan is never performed live, and it is played only 2 times a day (will never wake you up early in the morning). Also, you really need to have a mosque down your street to hear it (which is quite rare in residential areas).

Another thing is hijab. Let`s start with the perception of hijab in Iran and Turkey. Turkish women may wear short blouses, dresses or long skirts, but they will make sure their hair is hidden under the scarf. In Iran, though, having a little bit of hair out of the scarf is acceptable which is, I think, how Iranian women used to wear scarf traditionally.

Also, I was very surprised by the number of women (especially young ones) wearing hijab, even in its cosmopolitan capital. It`s hard to predict how many women would wear a scarf in Iran if it wasn`t compulsory, but something tells me that it would be less.

#realiran

Modern Art in Tehran Art has long ago gone outsid

Modern Art in Tehran

Art has long ago gone outside museums and galleries, public spaces, streets has created even more opportunities for artists.

In Iran, however, the relationship with modern art is not that simple. That is why this story seems like a miracle to me! An abandoned factory was removed from the list of cultural heritage to be demolished to free space for more residential buildings. But somehow it was turned into an art space.

This exhibition was up for a while now, so don't miss the chance to visit it before it's too late! Go to @kahrizak.sugar.factory for visiting hours and address.

#iranianart

Music: Sunrise
Musician: Ilya Marfin

5 FACTS ABOUT TEHRAN METRO Tehran metro has 7 lin

5 FACTS ABOUT TEHRAN METRO

Tehran metro has 7 lines.

One-way ticket (inside the city) costs 10 cents.

Metro connects the city to Imam Khomeini International Airport.

The construction of Tehran metro started in 1978, but it started operating only in 1999.

The first and the last carriages are only for women, while the rest of the carriages are mixed.

#tehranmetro #iran #nextstopiran #seeyouiniran #iran_tourism #metro #subwaystation #metrostation #irancumentary #tehrandailylife #everydaytehran #lifeiniran

I constantly receive questions what to read or wat

I constantly receive questions what to read or watch in Persian, so I thought I'd share with you what I read, watch and listen to.

I'll appreciate it if you let me know if this kind of stuff is useful for you!

#iraniancinema #streetsoftehran #tehrandailylife #everydaytehran #lifeiniran #iranianliterature #iranianpodcasts #podcastsinpersian #persianlanguage #irecommend

In today's vlog, I'm taking you to the movies! The

In today's vlog, I'm taking you to the movies! The latest film of Mehrjui, rise in price of cinema tickets and some footage from 1970s - all in less than 3 minutes!)

#iraniancinema #streetsoftehran #tehrandailylife #everydaytehran #lifeiniran #vlog #iranvlog #tehranvlog

We hardly know our own religion, not to mention ot

We hardly know our own religion, not to mention other people's religion.

Not many know what Chistianity actually is in Iran. And very few know that just like Islam, Christianity has a few branches, that not every Christian celebrates Chrsitmas the way it's shown in American movies.

And of course, hardly anyone knows that not all Armenians belong to Armenian church (photo 2) and not all Catholics in Iran are Europeans.

I have seen many Armenian churches all over Iran, but that was a true revelation to me that Armenians have also a Catholic (photo 3) and Evangelical churches (photo 5) in Tehran.

And again, not only Armenians are Catholics here. There is an Italian and Assyrian Catholic churches as well. Besides, there are Greek (photo 7) and Russian (photo 8) Orthodox churches.

What also struck me is that most of them were built in 50s or 60s. I'm really curious to see what it was like to live in such a diverse society!

On the first photo, you can see the Assyrian Catholic church. Look how different it is from any other Catholic church. You know why?

Assyrians claim descent from Assyria, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, dating back to 2500 BC in ancient Mesopotamia. And in this church they have shown their historical background - it resembles the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

#iranianchristians

Happy to bring my very first vlog to you! Looking

Happy to bring my very first vlog to you! Looking forward to your comments - do not hesitate to tell me what you think about it!

#streetsoftehran #seeyouiniran #traveltoiran #discoveriran #housesoftehran #everydayiran #everydaytehran #tehrandailylife #exploretehran #middleeast #iran #traveltoiran #tehranphoto #tehran_iran #lifeiniran #cityexplore #welivetoexplore #neverstopexploring #ramadan #ramadanvibes #vlog #iranvlog #vlogginglife #lalezar #cinemamuseum

Sardasht, a city in West Iran with a 10,000 popula

Sardasht, a city in West Iran with a 10,000 population. Year 1987. An ordinary day in June. Iran has been at war for 7 years already, so people got used to the sight of warplanes. Seeing the bombs not exploding is a relief to the people. However, straight away they start coughing and feeling pain in the eyes.

In 1987, during Iran-Iraq war, the city of Sardasht was bombed with chemicals that killed 110 civilians and left 8,000 more suffered serious complications for all their lives.

This chemical bombing doesn`t appear a lot on the media outside Iran. Probably the only case was the hearings at the Hague court against a Dutch trader who had sold chemicals to Iraq at the time.

Only recently, a feature film was shot in Iran dedicated to this tragedy. The Walnut Tree tells the story of Ghader Mollanpoor who lost his family in this bombing, a story that shouldn`t be forgotten.

#peace #iranianhistory #iraniraqwar

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