Iran 1

(see dutch version and/or photo links for pictures)

Mister, please come to my house!

Crossing the border is done in just a few minutes. Janneke quickly changes clothes (fully covering shirt and headscarf) and before we know it, we are in Iran. Apparently the colourful clothes of Janneke draw a lot of (laughing) attention, so in the first city we buy headscarf number 2.

Many times we are begged to come and drink tea (only one sir, please!) or to stay for dinner or the night. Sometimes difficult after a long day of cycling and you just want to be left alone.

The Iranian people really love to talk to foreigners and they are very interested in what we think about the country. To only answer 'we like it' is not enough, because they'll ask the next question: can you please give a few examples to justify your answer? Here they are:

• A car pulls over to give us two cool cans of orange juice which he has just bought. The man says 'for you' and takes off again.
• When we stop to make a picture, we are given two pieces of bread by a man pointing to the sky.
• A couple helps us to find a hotel and to carry our luggage. The next morning we hear a knock on our door; its the couple to ask if we've enjoyed the hotel.
• At dinner we have a conversation with a couple. When the man hears we come from Holland he says ' your governemt enemy of Iran'. For a moment we don't know what to say, but 5 minutes later we are invited in their house and Janneke gets a new headscarf (number 3).

The best times we have in Tabriz where we visit family of an Iranian living in Holland. For 2,5 days they spoil us, show us all the best places and sites of Tabriz and around. Like the little mountain houses in Khandovan, the huge bazaar with a lot of carpets and gold, and we hang out in the beautiful Elgoli park. We visit al family members and after the magnificent dinners we dance on the perzian carpet.

On our way to Teherean the landscape gets drier. We pass many fields where the working men wave their thermoscan "cai!" (tea). The parked donkeys normally think we are one of them (they are almost right!). We pass the Virgin Bridge in the surroundings of Miyaneh, an important bridge of the ancient silkroad. Next to the river we see beautiful flowers and orchards.

In the cities other "sisters" sometimes aplaud for Janneke and the man yell "mister, welcome to my city" or even "merci". As you can read, we really like Iran. The justification for our answer is set out in this text!