The small things

How to start with telling you about my experiences in Iran? Maybe by looking at details rather than on everything at the same time. Media just shows politics, so I decided to first show little day to day life. Cause there is a normal life, just as you go walking or out for a coffee or sit in the internet now: it's the same in Iran. The same but different....

So, here are some details, which struck me while travelling through Iran, some lovely, strange and interesting things that I wanted to share with you:

It can confuse people, if you tell them, that you'll come on the 7^th of September. Or that you were born on the 23^rd of April. They might first get their calender and look the date up, even though the date might be in two weeks time. Why? They've got three calenders in one! European, Iranian, Arabian. A lunar, a solar and a made up one (the last one being „ours“/european by the way...)

So...what's this?!

On old door you will still be able to find two spot to knock on the door. One is for men and the other is for women. This was made in old times because if a man knocks, the women in the house will have the time to put over their veil before opening the door... how to decide w´this now with just one doorbell?

Advertisement can come in different forms of course...

...like here on doors:

...or here in the subway in Tehran for shampoo...(besides: there's a lot of German shampoo being used in Iran and you'll maybe find yourself staring at product descriptions in german language on the bottle of the host you're staying with like I did...)

I found an astounding appetite for nuts...although they

sometimes

looked like little brains as they were staying in these glasses in water until being sold.

And also the appetite for

sour things.

Because: this looks sweet, but it isn't!

Dummies in the shops can have beards. (but this I didn't only see in Iran, but also in Syria and Turkey. Someone there who saw this in Europe aswell?!)

And one of the most interesting things:

there are places to work out in every park! You don't need to pay for a fitness center, you can just use the ones that are standing around there...

so: visit the country yourself, stay fit, eat some sour things, knock on some doors and find your way through the land of contrasts...