Three months, one refusal, seven visits and 26 phone calls later, I had the visa. This, combined with the media hype about Iran, filled me with foreboding. I was brought sharply back to reality as I took a large mouthful of what appeared to be a green bean salad but in actual fact was a chili arrangement. The Alborz mountains to the north are a mixed blessing, whilst providing fertile walking trails and skiing in winter, they do trap the air, making it very polluted. One is constantly aware of the paradoxes of modern Iran.
Women play an integral part in daily life.
Its effect is very disturbing. The women almost appear to be blackouts moving through the city. The government mechanically vomits vitriol aimed at the Americans and Israelis. And yet most of the youth follow American fashions slavishly. In keeping with their government's boycott of Iran, the American Coca-Cola and Pepsi companies have withdrawn their products.