SeriesAll in all I ended up spending almost half my time in Iran in the capital, Tehran. I have to say that this city can be quite fun... I have been going out regularly to dinners, private parties, restaurants; even a diplomatic cocktail party... Its not the city itself that did it for me, but the quality of the people I met there. I have made some new friends and I hope that we will manage to stay in touch...
There are many things in Iran that I would like to still see... I have only marginally seen the Northern and Western parts of the country: Sush, Choka Zambil, Tabriz, Kandovan, Rasht, Massouleh, the Caspian Sea and Mt Damavand all remain on my list of places to see in Iran. And I would be glad to return to Esfahan or Shiraz any chance I get in the future.
Shahriar, my most accomodating host, had a large part to play in how I enjoyed my stay in Iran. He arranged all the logistics of my trip: visas, internal flights and even provided me with his driver when he was able to. He provided much insight into Iranian society. He even organized a little gathering with the animation students at the university, where we had an interesting exchange: I ended up talking about my experiences working in film and computer games, while Shahriar was translating from English into Farsi. Communication was a little difficult and we had to steer away from anything too technical, but it was interesting and fun.
All I can wish for Iranians is that the next president (elections are not so far away) will take the reforms of President Khatami even further; easing the restrictions on their day to day lives. But I am convinced that no matter what happens in the future, the spirit of the Iranian people cannot be crushed by a regime. They have survived many invaders in the past; including Arabs, Turks, Mongols and Afghans. In the end they have always managed to assimilate them, to bring them to their culture and move on. The Islamic Revolution will be survived by the people of Iran, and it will become just another obstacle in the long and rich history of the country.
As I head for the airport, ready for new adventures I feel sad to leave a country that is so attaching, so different from what I had expected. To complete this melancholic picture, snow started falling on the city during the taxi ride to the airport. A final gift of subtle sensitivity from this wonderful contry. I will miss Iran greatly and I hope to have the opportunity of coming back in the future.