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I come home a different person
A little more in touch with my Iranian identity

July 6, 2006
iranian.com

I've been in Iran for about two-and-a-half months now and it has been the longest time I've ever been in another country other than the United States. Ten weeks is not a short period of time, but I really didn't need that much time to feel at home here. Iran has become such a familiar place to me that just after a few weeks, I had to remind myself that I was abroad in another country. Needless to say, Iran has become my second home.

It is here that I met the first barber who knew my Iranian name and remembered it the next time I came to get a haircut - a first for me. Majid is by far the most pleasant barber I've ever come across, not only because he is so warm and welcoming, but also because he recites Persian jokes one after another. Where else would you get a haircut and have the barber entertain you with Persian jokes? I know this can seem like such a nominal experience to many, but the simple story of my barber is very symbolic of how much I feel at home in Iran. I even attended class here like other Iranian students, albeit it was a Persian language course for Iranians from abroad and foreignors.

My six-week Persian language class ended a week ago and its conclusion provided me a opportunity to further explore my homeland. In my opinion, no trip to Iran is complete without a stay in Esfahan and Shiraz, therefore, after my class ended I departed for the two historic cities.

Esfahan is one of the world's most famous cities and Iranians commonly refer to it as "Esfahan, nesfe jahan" (Esfahan, half of the world). The historic city has been designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a world heritage site. I had read and heard all about Esfahan and I was very curious to see it for myself and once I did, I understood why UNESCO had classified it as a world heritage site. Si-o-Seh Bridge and Khajoo Bridge are absolutely stunning, so much so that I visited the former five times and the latter three.

Naghshe Jahan (also referred to as Imam Square) is the second biggest square in the world next to China's Tianamen Square and is a glorious spot to visit. The square includes the beautiful Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Ali Qapu Palace, and its most prize worthy offering, the Imam Mosque. Its grand Islamic architecture is captivating. The square itself has a entrance to Esfahan's main bazaar at the Qeysarieh Portal.

The best view of the square can be captured from atop Ali Qapu Palace. The view was so captivating that I went back to the palace the next day to see it all over again. Chehel Sotoon Palace, Menar Jonban, Masjid Jameh, Vank Catheral, Shahrestan Bridge and Choobi Bridge are many more reasons why Esfahan is one of the most prominent cities of the world. From Esfahan I took a comfortable IranAir flight to Shiraz in the province of Fars.

In my room hangs a huge protrait of a hill top view of the ruins of Takhteh Jamshid and I've been yearning to see it with my own eyes for years. As we drove near to the historic site, the ancient columns grew visible and I felt my heart just drop. Needless to say, I was entralled. I hiked up the same cliff and took the same picture that hung in my room. There was a part of me that was extremely sad to see it all mostly ruined but then again, I was happy to see that at least some of it had survived the ages. The Takhteh Jamshid project was first started by Darius the Great around 518 B.C. and successive kings kept adding to it for about 150 years. It was finally destroyed by the Macedonian King Alexander in retaliation for the Iranian destruction of ancient Greek sites like the Acropolis.

After visiting Takhteh Jamshid, I went on a one hour drive to Pasargadae to pay homage to Cyrus the Great's tomb, the founder of historic Iran and reputed to be the first king to scribe a human rights scroll nearly twenty-five centuries ago. Cyrus the Great earned himself immortality via the ancient Hebrew texts for his tolerance and humane treatment of his empire's subjects, a concept unheard of to many rulers of the ancient and even contemporary worlds. Thus, it was an honor to visit his tomb.

I fly back to the US with a sense of relief - I finally visited my homeland. I tried my best to see much of Iran's dynamism and not to only limit myself to what might be suitable to an Iranian from America, as is the tendency of many Iranians coming from abroad. I spoke with Iranians from all walks of life, I saw northern Tehran as well as southern Tehran, which are two worlds apart, I went to Shomal (the North) three times and most importantly, I visited Esfahan and Shiraz. I really wanted to visit Sanadaj, Mashad, Yazd, and Hamadan, but I took my mother's advice and left some cities unchartered for my next visit to Iran.

I come home a different person, one a little more in touch with his Iranian identity, a little more experienced and worldly, and whole lot more complete for having visited the land of Iran.

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