Tehran
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Some samples of Iranian currency. The Ayatollah Khomeini appears on the front of bills while images from the country's major landmarks decorate the reverse. Iran has the distinction of having the world's least valued currency unit (the lowly rial) as well as rampant inflation, no doubt caused by the crippling international sanctions the country has been subjected to. The check for a nice lunch could easily top six digits; on the flipside, it was nice to finally be able to say I was a millionaire!
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Tehran has a pretty extensive subway system. Unfortunately photography is not allowed underground for some reason, and we were stopped by secret police as soon as our cameras came out. This picture survives only because I happened to be standing next to someone taller and wider than me who ended up inadvertently blocking their view. While he was accosted and forced to delete the pictures he had just snapped, I quietly lowered my camera and pretended it had never been used.
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Tehran subway commuters.
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First stop on our tour, the National Museum of Iran for a crash course on the country's thousands of years of history.
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Many government buildings in Iran are festooned with passages from the Koran, thoughtfully translated into English for foreign passers-by.
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PDAs are strictly outlawed in the Islamic Republic. That being said, it was quite common to see couples enjoying quiet time together.
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Tehran's largest bazaar, great place for bargain hunting and people watching.
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Everything in the Islamic Republic is seemingly done "in the name of God", as instructions and directions always attest. Now we are ready to head inside the National Jewelry Treasury -- home of the imperial crown jewels -- in an underground vault of Iran's Central Bank. This treasure is the largest set of displayed jewels in the world in state ownership in one location. Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside, so I am using a couple of the official postcards below to show only the briefest of glimpses of this glimmering collection.
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We did a lot of walking in the city, which afforded fantastic views of the hustle and bustle of this bulging metropolis.
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The highlight of most American tourists to Tehran, the elusive wall of the former USA embassy. It is now a military base and photography is prohibited in the area. Surveillance cameras line the wall to enforce rules. Tour buses will usually drive tourists by the wall for a quick look, but they will tell their clients to not take pictures out the windows. Fortunately for us, our hotel in Tehran was just down the street from the old US embassy, so we took a few walks by during off-peak times in order to grab a few quick snapshots before anyone would notice.
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That Iran is a Muslim country is a fact that is reinforced on nearly every street corner.
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Traffic in Tehran is horrendous, and at peak times it was common to see motorcycles come up onto the city sidewalks to escape the crunch.
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The Golestan Palace is the oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran and is a UN World Heritage site. Golestan Palace became the official residence of the royal Qajar family, who rebuilt it to its current form in 1865. During the Pahlavi era (1925�1979), Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions.
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Locals dress up in period costumes at Golestan Palace in Tehran.
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Lifelike models in the Museum of Ethnology on the Golestan Palace grounds.
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Everyone who saw the doll below had the same initial reaction: this was clearly the inspiration for the fanatical Muslim radicals in the movie Team America: World Police.
