Our shooting is finished, our crew is home, and now we set about to editing all the footage into a one-hour TV special. Without telling you all the details of our show, here are some excerpts from the script that (especially if you can imagine the gorgeous footage we captured to illustrate these words) I hope will give you that Iranian sense of place:
[1 OC (on camera)] Hi, I’m Rick Steves — in what just might be the most surprising and fascinating land I’ve ever visited. We’re in Iran — here to learn, to understand, and to make some friends. Thanks for joining us.
[3 OC] Like most Americans, I know almost nothing about Iran. For me, this is a journey of discovery. What’s my hope? To enjoy a rich and fascinating culture, to get to know a nation that’s a leader in its corner of the world (and has been for 2,500 years), and to better understand the 70 million people who call this place home.
[9 with POVs from car, motorcycle taxi, pedestrian crossing] Traffic is notorious here. Drivers may seem crazy, but I was impressed by their expertise at keeping things moving. Many major streets actually intersect without the help of traffic lights. It’s different…but it works. Helmet laws are ignored. To get somewhere in a hurry, motorcycle taxis are a blessing. But wear your helmet. I’d rather leave a little paint on passing buses than a piece of scalp. Pedestrian fend for themselves. Crossing the street is dangerous. Locals say it’s like “going to Chechnya.”
[10 general chaos cut-aways] Just wandering the teeming streets here is fascinating and endlessly entertaining. And having survived Chechnya, I’m ready to celebrate with a refreshing local treat.
[11] This isn’t just any ice cream sandwich — it’s got rose water, saffron, and pistachios…a Persian specialty.
[14, face montage] Of Iran’s 70 million people, about two-thirds are under 30. People are mostly Persian. While there are minorities, we’ll focus on Persian population. The local ethnicity reflects the turmoil of its 2,500-year history. Local blood comes with Greek, Arab, Turkish, Mongol, Kurdish, and Azerbaijani influence. These are not Arabs, and they don’t speak Arabic. They are Persians and they speak Farsi. This is an important issue with the people of Iran — don’t call them Arabs. Each face seems to both tell a story and beam with warmth…especially when they see a film crew from the USA. We found that the easiest way to get a smile was to tell people where we’re from.
[16 OC] Another communication challenge: people here need to keep track of different calendars: Persian and Muslim (for local affairs), and Western (for dealing with the outside world). What’s the year? It depends: After Muhammad — about 1,390 years ago, or after Christ — two thousand and some years ago.
[23] Walking the streets of any city here, it’s clear that Iran is ruled by a theocracy. They may have a president, but the top cleric, a man called “the supreme leader,” has the ultimate authority. His picture — not the president’s — is everywhere. Religious offering boxes are on every street corner. The days when the shah’s men boasted Iranian mini-skirts were shorter than those in Paris are long gone.
[24] While the Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocracy rather than a democracy, I was surprised at the general mellowness of the atmosphere compared to other Muslim countries. I barely heard a call to prayer. Skylines aren’t broken by minarets. And — except for women’s dress codes and the lack of American products and businesses (because of the US embargo on Iran) — life on the streets here is much the same as in secular cities elsewhere.
[41 Isfahan] Isfahan, with 1.6 million, is a showcase of ancient Persian splendor. One of finest cities in Islam and famous for its dazzling blue-tiled domes and romantic bridges, the city is also just plain enjoyable. I’m not surprised that in Iran, this is the number one honeymoon destination. Isfahan is the cultural heart of Iran. School groups come from all over the country to appreciate their roots. Iranians come to connect with their heritage and celebrate it.
[43] The Chehel Sotoun Palace is a vivid reminder that Isfahan was the capital of Persia 400 years ago. With its reflecting pool, fine gardens, and portico of twenty delicate wooden columns, this gives you a sense of Persia’s 16th- and 17th-century Golden Age.
[44] Stepping inside, you are struck by the elegance and grace of Persia at its zenith. Tender dancers, flowing hair, dashing moustaches, and sumptuous riches, it comes across in these fine paintings.
[45] Frescoes in its grand hall tell how the shah maintained, defended, and expanded his empire. Here the shah and his troops quell a revolt against his rule by the Uzbekis. Then, defending his empire, the shah battles the Ottoman Turks — with their frightening new artillery — and manages to stop their eastward juggernaut. Waging what I would imagine was very high-powered diplomacy, the shah threw extravagant banquets in this very palace. Here Turkmans, of today’s Turkmenistan, were treated to wine, women, and song — with traditional Persian instruments. The dancing girls that worked up a thirst…and a refreshing watermelon. And in this banquet, the shah of Persia welcomed the emperor of India with a similar lavish banquet…and then, a century later, the shah invaded India anyway.
[53 cemetery] Whatever the root causes — faith or nationalism — the Sunni and Shiite Muslims share a bloody past. And the killing continues. Like cities throughout Iran, Isfahan has a cemetery dedicated to the 400,000 martyrs — as anyone who dies in a religious or national war is called — of the Iran/Iraq War. All the portraits and all the dates are from 1980 to 1989. Over two decades later, the cemetery is still very much alive with mourning loved ones. While the United States lives with the scars of Vietnam, the same generation of Iranians live with the scars of their war with Iraq — a war in which they, with one quarter our population, suffered six times the deaths.
[54] We meet two families sharing a meal at a grave site. They each lost a son in the war. They met here at the cemetery nearly twenty years ago and became friends. Their surviving children married. And they’ve shared memorial meals together here at the tombs ever since.
[88] Traveling through Iran teaches many things. This ancient land is a complex center of many civilizations through the ages. All along the way we met people: warm hospitality, spontaneous, gregarious, and curious. While they generally didn’t like our government, they seemed inclined to genuinely like Americans. Just like my country, there’s a dominant ethnic group and a dominant religion, with plenty of ethnic and religious diversity at the same time. And just like my country, there’s a not-always-graceful synthesis of influences: modern and traditional, liberal and conservative, secular and religious. Like in my hometown, people of great faith are threatened by people of no faith or a different faith. And, as with my neighbors, in the interest of being close to God, people of great faith treasure their time-honored rituals as a defense against the onslaught of modern materialistic society that threatens the moral fabric of their society.
[89 OC] I came to Iran a little nervous. I leave struck more by what we have in common than by our differences. I’ve overcome my fear by getting to know the Iranian people. Granted, there’s no easy solution to the problems confronting our two nations. But surely getting to know this culture is a step in the right direction. I’m Rick Steves. Happy travels…and as they say here, “May peace be upon us.”
