Do you think the Disney lawyers would care to take this commercial artist on?
Posted on 08/28/2004 5:34:45 AM PDT by Khashayar
It's pretty hard for Americans to get visas to visit Iran. My friend Mohammad had his scientific institute invite me to give a talk, which made it possible for me to go.
Due in part to my own errors and in part to inadequate directions from the Iranian consular people, my visa was delayed. I got it less than 20 hours before my flight.
The main reason for my trip was to visit my friend Mohammad, who is from Iran but who went to college and grad school in the U.S.
Here he is in the mountains south of the Caspian Sea. The scenery through the mountains is striking---arid hills, with green in the irrigated valleys, and little farming (mostly sheep and goat herding, I think) in small villages.
Farther north, closer to the Caspian, the climate is very moist---in fact, it's a major rice-growing area.
(Excerpt) Read more at creekcats.com ...
FROM HIS WEB PAGE:
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and then one of his friends who had just gone off-shift realized I was a foreigner and invited me into the office for tea. He and his friends (pictured above) gave breakfast to the three of us, and made small talk. When they invited me to come in for tea, they just knew I was a westerner, but they became even more welcoming when they found out I'm from the U.S.
I encountered no anti-Americanism at all, arguably with one exception discussed below. Several taxi drivers asked if there's a job for them in America (I said "Hey, if you can get to New York, you can start tomorrow.") Many of the grad students at the institute expressed interest in studying in the U.S. and asked about opportunities to do so. Several merchants said they wished more Americans would come, since business has never been the same since the revolution. And some ordinary people said to please let everyone in the U.S. know that we are all welcome there.
The only exception to the generally welcoming attitude took place at a hotel in Esfahan (somewhat surprising, since Esfahan is Iran's most popular tourist city for both Iranians and foreigners). Mohammad, his wife Shahla, and I checked into the "Hotel Tourist", where the guy at the desk expressed some concern about my U.S. passport---"He's from America...I'm not sure if this is OK...is it really OK?" My friends assured him that there's no problem, and he gave us a room. But later, when we passed the desk he expressed some reservations, and finally he said "I should call," and picked up the phone and called the police. According to my friend, his side of the conversation was something like "Hello, this is the Hotel Tourist. I have a guy staying here who is from America. Is that OK? Yes, he has a visa. Yes, it hasn't expired...yes...yes...so it's OK? Really, it's OK? He's from America and he can stay here? OK, thanks." And he gave me my key.
Mohammad was irritated by this, but Shahla was just furious. As we went up to the rooms, she said "we are NOT staying here", and sure enough, she went to their room and started calling other hotels to find one for us. (All of these calls had to be placed by the guy at the desk, by the way). Finally she found a hotel for us. We went down to leave, with her a little ahead of Mohammad and me, and by the time we got to the desk she was giving the guy a piece of her mind: "This country has enough problems without people like you behaving this way. Americans think they aren't welcome here, and everyone in the whole country tries to show that isn't true, and then we come here and some idiot like you spoils it..." and so on. In a way, this exchange was informative about women in Iran as much as anything: there was certainly no feeling that she couldn't act this way because of her sex.
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PING!!!
TRAVEL TO IRAN!
What's the big deal? I thought that's what hotel clerks are supposed to do.
His webpage:
http://www.creekcats.com/pnprice/pportsplash.html
I want to see Desert One, and that famous nest of spies, the US Embassy!
You have a cool FR webpage..
My neighbor came here from Iran in the 70s. He just got back awhile ago from his first visit in years. He's got an 20 y.o. son born/raised in the US who had a chance to visit last summer. I keep kidding them that when the regime falls, we should go into business together. Tehran's gonna pump when the US comes back in (ditto for Cuba - same situation).
| Must teach this guy some HTML so his column width is wider than one inch on the screen. It makes it a little difficult to read much. |
So come over here, race!
I will take you to those sites and you will enjoy your trip to Iran.
Not in a country where the government does not recognize COPY RIGHTS Laws.
Interesting Story. I still don't think I'd go being Blond haired and blue-eyed and having a red beard.
Sounds in many ways similar to the trips i've taken into Mainland China. Chaos, nobody obeying traffic laws, the occasional suspicion about foreigners, the friendly attitude of the people, the pollution and the stark contrasts. Everyone also wants to practice speaking English with the Americans too, specially when bargaining at a street bazaar. Heh. The only big difference is that in China, there's hundreds of dishes at the restaurants even though most are combinations of something with rice or something with noodles. Oh and it's easier to get a Visa to China.
Nice story. I'd love to go to Iran someday, but not until you guys get rid of the mad mullahs. I'd stick out like a sore thumb with my bright red hair, scarf or no scarf.
At the top of my list to visit, is Persepolis. Also, Tehran and Isfahan.
I don't think you'd have any problem at all. LibreOuMort (who lived there) just said, "You'll find blond Iranians too." (After all, it was a crossroads.) I'd be in much the same situation as you (except I'm going white) and I'd have no hesitation at all in going. This fellow's report echoes what I've heard so often from so many people -- Iranians like Americans.
Sounds in many ways similar to the trips i've taken into Mainland China. Chaos, nobody obeying traffic laws, the occasional suspicion about foreigners, the friendly attitude of the people, the pollution and the stark contrasts. Everyone also wants to practice speaking English with the Americans too, specially when bargaining at a street bazaar. Heh. The only big difference is that in China, there's hundreds of dishes at the restaurants even though most are combinations of something with rice or something with noodles. Oh and it's easier to get a Visa to China.
Essentially agreed on all counts (from one trip). In Beijing, though, my hosts would not allow me to leave the hotel unescorted, and I was definitely made to feel unwelcome by the crowd at the flag-lowering ceremony in Tiananmen Square. (Though nearby, earlier, everyone wanted their picture taken with the American.)
In Shenzhen, though, there was no such difficulty or concern.
"Here it is -- must read" ping
In Shenzhen, though, there was no such difficulty or concern.
There's certainly a difference from Beijing to ShenZhen. All my trips have been essentially in the Guangdong provence although we've probably tipped into one or another on occasion going to factories that are 4-5 hours from ShenZhen or Shekou. Others in my group spend more time up in Shanghai and Beijing and state there is some difference, but not much.
I've only ever stayed at the Sunway near the Fuyong(ShenZhen) Airport, and while technically still ShenZhen, it's an hour away from the city an a stark contrast from the High rises in ShenZhen/Shekou. It's the travels deep into the countryside that give you a glimpse of China before the development that's come in the past 20 years.
While I have no issues walking down the street during the day in Fuyong, I wouldn't at night. In Shekou/ShenZhen though, it's just like any other big city. The people see us as fabously wealthly(when you make 40RMB a day, I suppose we are) and it's not unknown(although uncommon) for a group of 4-5 to attack a foreigner with bamboo and rob you after a brutal beating. The same could be said about pretty much any slum/ghetto/bario/whatever in the US though. Unless you have a local driver and some contacts, I wouldn't suggest travelling anywhere off the beatin path in China. The same certainly can be said for Iran. It's not that the people hate you, it's just that they know you have money. I personally have never felt the slightest bit unsafe from the people. Their driving habits are another thing entirely. hehe.
I didn't want to Hijack the thread. I just found his observations uncanny when compared to mine in China. We have a great time with the people. We laugh and joke and they laugh at us because we're always laughing and smiling about something. We also tip well, that usually earns us great treatment.
Just for a giggler, we took pictures of a menu. It's pretty funny. Chinese Menu
I hope it happens soon and without any bloodshed or long civil war or silly things like that!
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