What to pack (or what not to pack)
Trip Start
Jul 09, 2008
1
9
Trip End
Aug 03, 2008
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
So, as you are by now aware, we are off to Turkey for 9 days, followed by 16 days in Iran . I know the question you are asking. Admittedly, this is a question that very few people have not asked. It's definitely not your typical tourist destination. To most people, Iran is known as a place that is sandwiched between two nations with quite tumultuous recent histories ( Iraq and Afghanistan ), another nation with very recent political unrest ( Pakistan ), and is close to a fellow axis-of-evil nation ( Syria ). (It also shares a border with Turkey , Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan , incidentally). Furthermore, to most people, it seems synonymous with Iraq , because - I've tentatively concluded - the first three letters of both countries are the same. Thanks to the Western propaganda machine, images of chador-clad women, bearded mullahs and Ayatollahs have come to represent not just Iran , but it's supposed theocratic and repressive society. So why Iran ? I thought, perhaps, the best way to begin - and only begin - to explain is to tell you all about what I am packing in my backpack. Just as sun-screen and bikinis can tell you all about a beach holiday in Hawaii, so can the objects going (or not going, as the case may be) into my backpack this time!
To begin with, I am bringing a headscarf - actually, four headscarves. Islamic law in Iran dictates that all women - whether Iranian or foreign - must wear good hijab . Now through my reading, I have learned that "hijab" is not exactly limited to what we in Canada understand as the headscarf. In reality, hijab just means proper modest and Islamic dress. In a place like Saudi Arabia , this might translate into a full length black abaya and niqab. In Afghanistan , it might translate into a burqa. In Morocco , it may mean simply long skirts or pants and a loose fitting top. In Turkey , it might mean "try not to show cleavage". So what does it mean in Iran ? Ironically, most people assume that because Iran is one of the few nations to actually dictate - legally - how people must dress, it translates into repressive conservativism. And fifteen years ago, this may indeed have been the case. But today most young women wear what is known as a manteau, which mostly looks like a spring coat (hence the use of the French word for "coat") and covers a woman to mid-thigh, knee or ankle. I am told that many women in the summer months just wear a bra underneath, and for that reason I am also bringing with me a bright lime green lace bra so that I can feel smugly and secretively subversive on a hot and sticky day. From there on in, designer jeans and nike shoes are pretty much the rule (of fashion, that is). Even the headscarf is not as rigid as many think; colourful designer headscarves are worn back from the forehead, allowing bangs or fringe to show suggestively. I must say I have somewhat romanticized the idea of wearing a hijab, and have even purchased two very snazzy looking manteaus; the women of Tehran are known to be elegant, fashionable and drop-dead beautiful, and I am determined to look the part. In reality, I suspect that after a day of heat and hijab, I will look anything but, and will be facing an emotional breakdown. But this, after all, is part of the adventure. I've learned that a little bit of hardship brings great rewards!
I am not bringing any copies of "Not Without my Daughter" or "Satanic Verses" into Iran . Now, I personally feel that Sally Field's abysmal whining that she tries to pass off as acting, and the blatant in-your-face Americanism displayed in that film is reason enough not to subject it upon any self-respecting Iranian, but in addition to that, it happens to be highly illegal for its un-Islamic and anti-Revolutionary spirit. It is punishable by prison sentence and/or public lashing, so - okay, twist my arm - I wont bring any copies in. Not surprisingly, Iran has one of the worst records on banning books in the world, and the list of banned Western novels is so extensive that I'm afraid to bring any book in with me. But I may be too busy to read one, anyway. Iran is a veritable Disneyland for history-junkies like Michael and I. Ruins of ancient Persian civilizations, Zoroastrian temples and Silk Road relics adorn this country of 70 million inhabitants. Left virtually untouched and undiscovered by most tourists, places like Persepolis become your private playground for as long as you wish to explore. I may be too busy soaking up the history to turn pages in a banned Western novel.
I am bringing an appetite. Any good adventure must involve some ecstasy-of-the-culinary-kind. Michael and I have delved into the world of Persian cooking this year. Persian food is as ancient as it is exquisite, and is considered among the top cuisines of the world. It is not a spicy cuisine in general, but rather combines the finest textures of herbs, flowers, vegetables and fruits into a most complex palate. Iran is also the birthplace of wine. The first vineyards were thought to exist not far from the purported location of the biblical Garden of Eden, and my favourite grape, Shiraz (known by the Persians and modern Californian wine producers alike as Syrah), was first grown near none other than the Iranian city of Shiraz. Not that you will find it there anymore. Iran is a dry nation, and possession of alcohol is highly illegal, punishable again with (you guessed it) prison or lashing. Interestingly, Christians are allowed to legally drink in Iran ; you just can't import it, buy it, or sell it. So unless I want to become an overnight bootlegger, I am not bringing my usual wee bottle of scotch to chase a dodgy street meal. But that's okay, too, because Iranian tea - or chay - has a nose and finish to rival any Islay single-malt, only without the elicit substance.
I am bringing some sturdy shoes for walking and hiking. Throw out any images you have left over from the war on Iraq . Iran is not a vast wasteland of oil fields and desert like some of the middle eastern nations it is so often conflated with. Rather its landscape is as diverse as its people; snow capped mountains, verdant valleys, almost-tropical beaches, lakeshores, green rolling hills, windswept deserts, dense alpine forest and Eden-like gardens dating back a thousand years all cover this nation. Aside from the fact that women aren't really able to get away with wearing sandals outside of the big cities (there is something so alluring about a woman's toes, I do admit), I expect the soles of my shoes to be worn down on mountain slopes, forest paths and cosmopolitan city streets.
And finally, I am not bringing any preconceived notions from the Western media, the conservative Right, or the many people who think Iran is Iraq because they share the same first three letters. Iran gets a bad rap in the media, there's no denying it. But I am also not starry-eyed enough to believe that it's Eden , either. Iran , like any nation, embodies a million contradictions. Why the bad rap - apart from the obvious, that G.W. has been itching for another war until the election crept up and the fear of republicans not getting re-elected reared its ugly head? Iran was the location of an infamous Marxist revolution-gone-sour. The Islamic Revolution of 1978-79 began as a quintessential uprising of the proletariat and burgeoned into something quite unexpected when Marxist ideology mixed with religious fundamentalism - the hostage crisis at the US Embassy has come to symbolize this so-called evil transformation. Today it is a theocracy, but a theocracy approved of and chosen by - however tacitly - the people (after the competition was barred from running - minor technicality). So to a fair-weather socialist like me, it's a fascinating story, and to the US media, it is further proof of evil, darkness and repression.
There is an allure associated with venturing into a nation that has the dubious distinction of having been named the "Axis of Evil." On the one hand, you can't help but feel like that makes you a character in a Hollywood action hero film, because where else but in Batman or Spiderman would you hear a term like "axis of evil"? But also, George W. Bush's proclamation that Iran is a member of the axis of evil translates, for me, into an open invitation. You see George W and I have what I like to call a mutually-exclusive relationship. In other words, if he hates something, a natural law dictates that I should like it. If he calls something evil, I should think it is good. If he says "don't go there", well, can you see where this is leading? But in all seriousness, I am a big believer in seeing for myself. I resent being told what to think, and what it all boils down to for me is a massive and somewhat insatiable urge to see and know for myself. I spend endless hours wondering what the spices in the market will smell like, what the sound of the call to prayer will evoke in me, how the hot sun will feel on my covered head, and how the sweet tea will taste on a breezy evening in Esfahan. And so I think I will leave you here, on the eve of our departure, with a quote I found by Mark Jenkins. Until I see and know for myself, it perhaps best articulates my answer to the "why Iran ?" question: "Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it... In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.
