Iran??? Yup, I came to the Mother Country!!!

I know it wasn’t scheduled or on the list, but hey, what’s another country on the list? So as I was at Rohit’s house in New Delhi deciding on what to do next, I came to the split decision between Goa, India or Tehran Iran. Goa is a beautiful place and is more of a touristy area filled with exciting restaurants, exotic beaches, and any drugs you want to get you to your spiritual destination lol. Then there is Iran, the home country and another opportunity in my struggle to obtain a visa for Pakistan. I decided upon Iran and bought my ticket that night, the next flight leaves the next morning at 4:30 AM.

So I didn’t sleep all night as I spoke with Ali Jamali to secure a taxi for when I arrive, and I was off to Iran without anyone knowing. I remembered how to get to my Grandmothers house and they were very surprised when they found out I am at their doorstep. I love surprising people :) After a little while I started feeling really sick and threw-up. I was afraid I got malaria because I was bitten by some mosquitoes the night before at Rohit’s place. So I slept the whole day and all night and Alhamdullilah in the morning I felt much better. Family is so awesome to be around, brings back all the old memories and smiles. My cousin Payam found out I was there so he came over and we went to Borg-e-Milad which is the 5^th highest communication tower in the world. Afterwards I bought some nice kabob and gosht (chicken) and we had a nice family dinner.

The next day was the B-day of Imam Ali so me and my aunts went to Can, a really religious town where there are 5 Imam Zadeh (burial sites of family members of the Imams). The area was all still rural-like and wouldn’t allow it to become urbanized like the rest of Tehran which gave it it’s own authentic beauty. The people were in the streets celebrating Imam Ali’s B-day by clapping with the loud poetic music, giving out sweets and juice to people passing by, and blowing Esfand smoke all over the streets (a smoke that has religious values against the evil eye). At each of the Imam Zadeh burial sites were also other burials of people from that area, with specialized area for those who died in the Iran/Iraq war. Here people gave away sweets and juice as well and prayed for the souls of those who lost their lives.

6/17 – Today was pretty crazy. Majid (my Iranian friend from 2 years ago) picked me up and took me out with his friends. He has a brand new car but drove it as if he was invincible. First we went to a park but didn’t stay for long, so we headed to the Shah’s old palace which is now a coffee/hookah shop. We chilled there a bit, eating sweets and joking around. We had planned to go to the movies but left a little late, but Majid thinking he is superman was determined to make it on time. We flew across Tehran finally making it to the theatre but the parking was backed up badly, so we decided to head to another theatre. We made it to the 2^nd theatre but all the tickets were sold out till midnight. So we headed to another theatre where on the way he ran out of gas. Luckily we weren’t far from a gas station (which are not as available as they are in the states) so we pushed the car till he reached the gas station. So after pumping some gas we made it to the theatre where we watched a funny movie called “Voorod-e- Agaiyun Mamnoo” (No male entrance). It was super funny and we had a good time watching. Afterwards it was getting late so we decided to head home, but on the way Mr. Majid superman over-relied on his tires to stop quickly, but they ended up sliding and we crashed into a car in front of us. Thank God we were not going that fast, the car in front didn’t really have anything wrong with it and they took off, but Majid’s front end of his new car was messed up, but still ran. So he drove good after that and took me home and went on his way. Hopefully he learned his lesson and wont drive like a maniac, but from what I hear that’s the 3^rd accident in the last year so I don’t know.

6/18 – Next I took the taxi to the Pakistan Embassy. I had a bad experience because taxi took me to the Afghanistan Embassy and dropped me off, so I had to find another taxi to take me to Pakistan Embassy – when I went back to the taxi service they wouldn’t give me back my money. Anyways, the Pakistan embassy said they can give me a visa but required me to bring in some extra forms and needed a davit-name (invitation letter) from the family in Pakistan that I will be staying with. I got the information and forwarded it to Dannesh so once he completes that I can go again and get my visa Inshallah. From here I went to my cousin Poorya’s house. He is studying Erfan and plays the guitar, and for work he teaches people how to play guitar and gives tennis lessons. At night I got to see the rest of the family and have dinner with all of them.

6/19 – I got the address to my aunt Nasrin’s house (Payam’s mom), and found my way there via bus and asking around. Then at night me and Payam went swimming and I spent the night there.

6/20 – I got ahold of Erfan, a long time friend of Shannon (my sister for all those who do not know), and I came to his office where I was able to access Facebook and update this blog… yay. Anyways, I am just waiting to finish up the paperwork to bring to the Pakistan Embassy then maybe I will be able to head to Shiraz or Isfahan before attending Dannesh’s wedding in Karachi. Regarding Iran, it is much better and cleaner than when I came 2 years ago… TII - This Is Iran.