In winter, take a heavy coat, hat, scarf and boots to negotiate heavy snow. A guidebook and a Farsi-English phrasebook will be invaluable. One dollar equals about 3,000 rials in banks, but a dollar fetches about 8,000 rials in the open market. Credit cards are rarely accepted. Tipping is not sought but is appreciated.
Bargaining is common.
Men must wear trousers not shorts. Beards are respected. Carpets, decorative swords, pistachios. There are restrictions on the size and number of carpets you can take out of the country. In July 1999, violent anti-government demonstrations took place in Tehran and other cities around the country.