short trip to tehran, any suggestions.

[raytoei@gmail.com]

the tour agency suggested the following for 2 half-day tours
during a short trip next week:

Day 1- Sunday: Visit Golestan palace & saad abad palace & museums
(In the way can ask your driver to take you to take photo of Azadi tower
& Millad tower( just a short stop to take photo from outside in the street.)

Day 2- Visit Carpet museum, National museum, Tehran grand bazaar,
Farahzad or darbanad or darakeh where you can see lots of traditional
tea houses & restaurants & people go for pleasure.

I intend to shoot street, any suggestions where to go ?

raytoei

 

[Mark T]

Two days is a short visit. I haven't been before but am rather jealous. Close friends of mine have visited and they left me firmly of the opinion that Iranians are very good people. Enjoy yourself, take lots of pictures and show them here... So we can all visit vicariously!

PS. The tour agency probably knows as well as anyone what sites are to seen.

 

[loneranger]

Lived there 30 years ago, I hear that now Isfahan is the place to see if you have just a little time.

 

[morback]

Lived there 30 years ago, I hear that now Isfahan is the place to see if you have just a little time.

I second that.

My suggestion is go somewhere else than Tehran. It's an ugly city that is even uglier if you don't have friends to take you around.

Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, are all much better. People are much more friendly in the south.

Driving in Tehran is nonsense. This will just spoil your experience.

 

[Kent]

A good friend of mine is Persian. And he also always mentions Isfahan as the most beautiful city over there.
Make sure not to appear conspicious. That will put you in trouble.
And if you have female travellers accompanying you, they must wear a head scarf!

 

[Ronald M]

Stay away from all those countries. Iran will slap you in jail if they feel like it and charges do not have to be remotely true.

Just look at what they did with some mountain hikers who wanders a few yards over an unmarked border. They have done similar things to US citizens or Iranian decent.

 

[pakeha]

Stay away from all those countries. Iran will slap you in jail if they feel like it and charges do not have to be remotely true.

Just look at what they did with some mountain hikers who wanders a few yards over an unmarked border. They have done similar things to US citizens or Iranian decent.

??????? and you are from where? you have been where?
all those countries..hahahahaha, dumbest quote around here for some time

 

[Filzkoeter]

I want to support the statement of trying not to appear conspicious. I once talked to a photographer who was in Iran for holiday.
The religious police had him and his girlfriend arrested, brought both to seperate places threatened and accused them being western journalists (because he was carrying pro-equipment I guess).
They were kept in arrest for several hours, without possibility to contact anyone... I was told it was a very scary experience.

Other then that, a friend of mine who was there on a business trip told me that Persians are very very friendly and hospitable people.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

hi. i am back, still developing the negatives.

here is an image.

Leica m4 with Goggled Summaron.
Neopan 400.

 

[Mark T]

So how was the trip? Did you enjoy yourself or did they "slap you in jail" as was suggested above?

 

[jonmanjiro]

I want to support the statement of trying not to appear conspicious. I once talked to a photographer who was in Iran for holiday.
The religious police had him and his girlfriend arrested, brought both to seperate places threatened and accused them being western journalists (because he was carrying pro-equipment I guess).
They were kept in arrest for several hours, without possibility to contact anyone... I was told it was a very scary experience.

What did they do to cause that? I bet they weren't just walking down the street minding their own business.

hi. i am back, still developing the negatives.

More photos please!

 

[jonmanjiro]

I loved Iran and found the people very friendly and hospitable. I had a very memorable experience while in Isfahan.

I was photographing Khaju Bridge one morning after a night stuffing myself with delicious kebabs when suddenly my stomach started acting up. I needed to find a toilet fast. The first person I found was a young policeman carrying an AK47 at a nearby traffic roundabout. I asked him in English if there was a public toilet anywhere close by. He spoke zero English and didn't understand a word of what I said. So I simplified my question... I said "WC" and indicated that my stomach was acting up. He understood that but didn't know where a toilet was so ran over to his command post about 20 metres away and spoke with his superior officer (judging by the uniform). He came running back still carrying his AK47 (quite an intimidating sight) and pointed me in the direction of a toilet and said "300 metres". I thanked him and took off as fast as I could.

The next think I know I heard yelling behind me and turned around to see the policeman running after me waving a truncheon over his head. He had traded his AK47 for a truncheon and was following me. My first thought was "5hit what have I done?", but I soon realised that he just wanted to show me the way. He took me directly to the toilet and when we arrived he gestured that he would hold my camera bag and wait for me outside. Without thinking I handed him my camera bag with my cash and passport and raced in to the toilet. It was a close call but I made it. While in the toilet I remembered reading stories about people in fake police uniforms extorting tourists for money, and wondered for a moment if I'd see my bag again. But much to my relief he was still waiting outside when I had finished.

On the walk back to the roundabout with the young policeman, he asked several people something in Farsi, and by the third person I realised he was looking for someone to translate into English for him. The third person he asked spoke English quite well and translated for him. He got them to translate "I'm sorry that I cannot speak English. From now on I will study English hard so I will be able to answer next time something like this happens". He said his name was Reza. We then parted ways and I went back to my minivan where my group was waiting for me. I explained what happened to the group but they didn't believe me. But it so happened we drove around that roundabout on our departure and I and my small tour group (just three people in total) waved to the policeman. He noticed us and ran from one side of the roundabout to the other waving goodbye to us, all while carrying his AK47. It was quite an experience.

P.S. Fred, its a fallacy that Americans (or other westerners) need to be more careful travelling in Iran than for example Asians. The Iranians are quite capable of distinguishing between a country's government (and its policies) and that country's people.

 

[morback]

P.S. Fred, its a fallacy that Americans (or other westerners) need to be more careful travelling in Iran than for example Asians. The Iranians are quite capable of distinguishing between a country's government (and its policies) and that country's people.

+1

My first experience in Iran, after the boat trip from Dubai, was to be taken aside at the customs and straight into a police station. It was not very reassuring, especially after having passed so many Navy vessels before docking... Was it a military base? You can imagine the run down passenger terminal, the decrepit rooms with baleful halogen light, people in uniforms not talking english... Basic Hollywood East vs West script. It turned out all they wanted to know was if my friend I was travelling with had shot the used rolls of films himself or if he was importing them. After that they let us go. And as an additional bonus, a young female police officer who was translating for us slipped me her phone number and told me to call her if we had any trouble in the city...

Later that day a cab was taking us to the bus station to the tune of "Tears in Heaven."

 

[Filzkoeter]

What did they do to cause that? I bet they weren't just walking down the street minding their own business.

It was simply the wrong time for them being there. As far as I remember it was 2009 at the time of the presidental election where protests against the government started to rise.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

I was only in Tehran for 42 hours, but I had a great time.

I didn't go to the fabled Shiraz or Isfahan but I shot around
8 rolls of Neopan 400 mainly on Street Photography.

"Cleric reciting a prayer off the iPhone "

The above was taken from Dubai on EK971 flight to Tehran.

Coming with a Singapore passport, the visa was applied on arrival.

The customs stopped to check my stash of 35 and 120 film,
as well as my rolleiflex. As the film were unopened and still in the box,
there wasn't any issues. The customs ladies were more curious than
being strict.

"en route to hotel" Leica M4 with Summaron 35f2.8

Tehran is a modern city built from years when it was flushed
with oil revenue. However, the recent years has not been
kind, the 80% decline of its currency against the greenback
and and drop of oil revenues from 6m barrels a day down to
under 2m daily.

Yet the city is clinging on, garbage disposal trucks
operate daily by uniformed crew, people go to work, the
traffic jams are notorious (similar to Jakarta or Bangkok
on a busy day but not as bad a Dhaka traffic). Banks
offer atm, phone and internet banking.

(to be continued).

 

[jonmanjiro]

The customs stopped to check my stash of 35 and 120 film,
as well as my rolleiflex. As the film were unopened and still in the box, there wasn't any issues. The customs ladies were more curious than being strict.

When I asked for hand inspection of my film at Tehran Mehrabad Airport, the security guys were a bit surprised but heeded my request and took me aside to perform the hand inspection. They gave me a cup of coffee while I waited 🙂

 

[alan davus]

In the '70's I spent a year travelling through Asia from Oz to Europe. Found people everywhere friendly and hospitable ESPECIALLY in Islamic countries. Also hitched through Africa for 15 months, spent time in South America and of course Europe and the USA. To be absolutely honest the only place I felt unsafe was in the States. Had several bad experiences there and except for a trip to Hawaii a few years ago for my daughters wedding (I loved the place) I haven't been back.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

Tehran has a good mix of the modern, and traditional. Women dress
conservatively, but spend money on the hair and face. I have
heard that more than 50% of the young population go for
cosmetics surgery. (I saw more than eight individuals with
bandages across the nose on the 2nd day).

Woman walking past a poster remembering the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

"My Hotel Front Desk"

"Street"

The above picture was shot with the camera slung on the right shoulder,
while I pretended to look at my phone on my left hand,
i remember switching the aperture beforehand to f8
and focusing on 3-5 metres ensuring I got the focusing correct.
The framing is off, although the effect isn't too bad.

(To be Continued)

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

I spent an afternoon at the Holy Defence Museum,
this is a newly opened Museum documenting the
eight year war with Iraq back in the '80s.

I saw lots of Russian made tanks and American F-4 Phantoms,
Cobra attack helicopters and lots of mechanized vehicles.

Inside, the Museum was no less impressive, made with German
audio and visual technologies, it was a very interesting to see
photos, exhibits and video clips of the war.

Plaster-cast of the debris found after the bombardment of Khorramshahr,
one of the first cities under attack by Iraq early in the war.

(to be con't)

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

(The following images are not meant to offend,
if you are offended, please let me know and I
will remove them).

Officially, Iran has a strained relationship with the West,
and in particular, the USA. Billboards and Murals warn
the masses about the "Great Satan".

Poster of US President posing next to a 7th century Villain
with the caption ""Be with us, be safe."

An "Argo" moment at the former US Embassy.

The former US Embassy, surrounding walls.

(to be continued)