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Top Posts & Pages

  • Yalda Night in Iran: 5-Step Guide to Celebrate the Longest Night of the Year
    Yalda Night in Iran: 5-Step Guide to Celebrate the Longest Night of the Year
  • How I Learned Persian
    How I Learned Persian
  • Worst Books and Movies About Iran
    Worst Books and Movies About Iran
  • Learn Persian Online
    Learn Persian Online
  • Qazvin Guide-1
    Iran Travel Guide

    Travel Guide to Qazvin: City of Ornaments

    November 27, 2016 /

    Qazvin is a city of ornaments and gorgeous tiles, “a city in the middle of a garden” (that`s how Nasseredin Shah depicted it to his European counterparts). Finally, Qazvin is the gate to amazing Alamut valley with its impressive castle. Although, it shouldn`t be missed by those who`re heading there.  I`ve prepared a travel guide for you where I`ll tell you about the atmosphere in the city, its people, main tourist attractions, share some useful tips and my own experience of traveling to Qazvin. Hope you enjoy! Qazvin was once a capital of Iran (only for 57 years though!) and, maybe, it owes its beauty to that time. Every sight you visit…

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    Katya 2 Comments

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  • Vardij mountains
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    One Day Trip From Tehran: Vardij & Varish Villages

    March 28, 2016 /

    Seeing spring coming, it`s almost impossible to stay home. That`s why at the end of March, on the first day off, my husband and I picked up a backpack, hopped in the car and drove out of the city. This time, we were going to a place recommended to us by our friends years ago. And finally, its time came! We set off to two small villages lost in the mountains right outside Tehran: Vardij and Varish which are famous for human-shaped mountains formed by the wind and beautiful gardens (look for the map in the end of the post).

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    Moghaddam Museum of Tehran: An Oasis of Peace in the Hustle of Tehran

    May 19, 2016
  • It`s a pleasure to have a picnic by the river.
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    One Day Trip From Tehran: Shahrestanak

    November 25, 2014 /

      Iranians love travelling! Every time they get a couple of days off, they head for the North of Iran to enjoy beautiful landscapes and find peace away from hectic Tehran. However, even if there are no public holidays in the sight, some grab their backpacks at the weekend, fetch their friends and get off to one of the nice spots around Tehran for a day trip. One of these places is Shahrestanak in Alborz province which can be an amazing getaway destination during spring, summer and autumn. Shahrestanak is a village with lots of fruit-tree gardens and a Qajar palace which can hardly be called a palace now – unfortunately,…

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    Guide to Tehran Palaces: Niavaran Palace

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About Me

I`m Katya, living in Tehran with my Iranian husband for almost 10 years. I am here to share my insights on life in Iran as well as tips and tricks for travelling Iran!

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I have a confession to make. I've been thinking a I have a confession to make. I've been thinking about how I learned Persian a lot recently (you can read about it on my blog - tap the link in bio). And I remembered a funny thing. When my Persian reached a point when I could read novels in Persian, I started to read them while commuting to university (we, Russians, read a lot in the metro). But to be honest, I was always uncomfortable about taking out a Persian book out of my bag. Because as soon as I did, people would start staring at me. And believe me, you wouldn't like this kind of looks! The thing is Russia has a long history of terrorist attacks commited by Muslims, and I remember, after one of those attacks, the hatred to Muslims became so wide-spread that some people would even attack Muslims in the metro! So when I was reading a romantic novel in Persian, I felt that people around me were thinking I was reading a tutorial on how make a bomb or something. Later I came up with a trick - I would read only magazines with lots of pictures. It's Persian, meow 😁 Have you ever been uncomfortable about telling people that you are learning Persian or reading something in Persian in a public place? PS This story dates back to 10-15 years ago. I hope the situation isn't that bad right now. Although I don't pay attention anymore. #learningpersian #persianlanguage #persian #farsi #персидский #фарси #persianlearning #persian_language #персидскийязык #learninglanguages #autumnmood #autumncolors #autumnleaves #hikeinthemountains #hikemore #hikevibes #fallseason🍁 #neverstopexploring #welivetoexplore #exploretehran #lifeiniran #lifeintehran #everydaytehran #everydayiran #iranogram #iranogramers #letsfeeliran #seeyouiniran #middleeast #tehrangram
#myths_about_iran Before moving to Iran, the more #myths_about_iran Before moving to Iran, the more Iranians I met, the more persuaded I became that Iranian women are educated, progressive and keep up with men. Because every Iranian I met would tell me that more than a half of students in Iranian universities are women. BUT! Don't expect to see many women at work. Because according to the statistics, only 15% of Iranian women work. Is it their own choice or is it the consequence of a patriarchal society. Let look into it together. You might think that the reason is obvious - discrimination against women. And you are probably right. At some positions men are definitely more welcome than women, and some men prefer their wives stay at home. But that's a bit more complicated. What I have figured out about working as a woman is that the society on the whole is overprotective towards women. They are supposed to be taken care of everywhere. Some parents don't let their grown-up unmarried daughters come home late, some need to approve of the place their daughter is going to work at. For married women, it's husband who has to protect his wife, and the easiest way to do that is to make her stay home. At workplace, the employer is supposed to take care of female employees - they can't stay late at work, can't participate in any physical work (if it's not initially required by the job), of course under these circumstances employers prefer to hire men. On the other hand, many girls, following the long-established tradition, simply prefer to dedicate their life to family rather than a career which is completely understandable. I have to admit though that while in Iran you will see not only young women who don't work but also many young man which to me is more important and alarming. But that's another story. What do you think with all this situation? Why do you think there are so few working women?
A couple of years ago around this time we set off A couple of years ago around this time we set off on the most spontaneous trip ever! We went to the bus terminal in Tehran and bought tickets for the first bus available. Luckily for us, it was Isfahan. We had travelled to Isfahan before but I always wanted to go back there again. We ate a lot of food (the best part of any trip if you ask me!), walked a lot around the bazaar area and the Armenian quartier and watched the everyday life of Isfahan. It was a totally new experience to go somewhere for the weekend without any planning at all, without booking a hotel or doing research about places to visit. Fortunately, you, my dear followers, shared a lot of recommendations which made this trip one of the most memorable trips we ever had! What was your most spontaneous trip? >>> Swipe left for the highlights of our trip to Isfahan. #spontaneoustrips
Having reached 13,000 daily Covid-19 cases, Iran i Having reached 13,000 daily Covid-19 cases, Iran is finally applying more restrictions this Saturday (it will cover only cities with high Covid-19 rates though). In Tehran, shops (except supermarkets), shopping malls, restaurants, all cultural & entertainment businesses and religious sites are going to be closed for 2 weeks; companies and offices can operate only with 1/3 of employees. Using the car from 9 pm to 4 am is prohibited (unless it's a taxi). Driving between cities is also restricted (although you can hop on the bus or train). The universities and schools have been working online for a while already. So no new restrictions here. However, no restrictions can make people more responsible. Just a few days ago, I saw a family saying goodbye to their guests in front of their house in the street. They would take their masks off, kiss each other goodbye and put the mask back on. Are there any restrictions in your country? Are people readily following them? #stayhomestaysafe
#myths_about_iran You might have heard on the news #myths_about_iran You might have heard on the news about girls of 9 being married to grown-up men in Iran. And no wonder - only shocking news like that make the headlines. But is it a tendency in Iran or rather an exception? That's true that in Iran marriage age is quite low compared to other countries - for girls it's only 13 while for boys it's 15. However, you shouldn't think that young people get married as soon as they reach that age. The latest statistics (first 3 months of the current year) show that the average marriage age throughout the country is 22.8 for women and 27.4 for men. What's more, the situation is the same even in more traditional provinces. For example, in South Khorasan and in Sistan & Baluchestan the average is 20.5. What age do you consider the most appropriate? Some of you chose 21 on the quiz in Stories, and I'd love to hear out your opinion! #marriage #marriageisforever
I decided to embrace autumn, so we went for a hike I decided to embrace autumn, so we went for a hike to the mountains in search for the #autumnvibes🍁 And here is what we found✨
Silence is what distinguishes a public holiday fro Silence is what distinguishes a public holiday from any other day in Iran. You wake up in the morning and you don't hear any cars, construction or 'kharidaram' van roaming the streets. Normally, people wake up later and don't go out until afternoon. However, in the evening streets become busier, people heading out for dinner, a walk in a park or visiting family. Today was a public holiday in Iran, this time a real holiday (not a death anniversary which are probably even more than half of all public holidays) - the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. Location: Tehran Book Garden, Honar Lake. More photos & videos ---> Stories. #iranianscelebrate
Unlike most of the countries in the world (the ave Unlike most of the countries in the world (the average among 195 countries is only 11), Iran has the record number of public holidays in the world. The countries that could get the closest to Iran are Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Malaysia with 19 holidays. That's what you can read on various websites and would probably think that Iranians do nothing but celebrate all the time. However, there are a few things you may not know about. First of all, Iranians work 44 hours a week that most of the time are divided between 6 days of the week with Friday being the only day off. Compared to other countries around the world, this is a very high number; in most countries it doesn't exceed 40 hours per week. Of course, Iranians may not work hard all these 44 hours but that's another story. With all this information in mind, I suppose they deserve this number of public holidays to achieve the standard set by other countries. #myths_about_iran Location: @samcoffeeroasters
I always used to look forward to autumn. It was al I always used to look forward to autumn. It was always the time for traveling, festivals and various cultural events, meetups with friends in cozy cafes and socializing. But this fall is different. While in spring everyone was discovering online life with excitement, now, it feels, people already got used to limiting their social life, reducing their contacts, isolating themselves from each other. The third wave that started in Iran last month doesn't leave any hope for social life getting back on track. As the result of all that, I can't let go of summer (luckily, the 20+ degrees outside help to believe nothing has changed), of all those trips outside Tehran, the sense of lightheartedness. Or am I just low on endorphines? I shouldn't have cut out my weekly ration of ice cream! How do you feel about fall? Are you excited about it more than me? #autumnblues
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