Pieroad - Welcome to Iran

Pieroad - Welcome to Iran

A CHOICE TO MAKE
Where to begin when describing the two months spent in Iran? As I approached it by crossing the Persian Gulf desert, a whirlwind of questions, some rather unsettling, began swirling in my mind. They must be the same for anyone, or at least any Westerner, who embarks on a journey to debunk the myths of modern Persia.
They all started the same way: what happens if...? If the police stop me? If someone sees me camping alone at night on the side of the road? If war breaks out with Israel? Paranoia feeds on misinformation, and the desert is a place of redundancy, where, in the absence of other voices, the ones in your head grow louder, bouncing back like echoes from a mountain.
However, judging by the comments of the country’s closer neighbors (Arabs and Iraqis), crossing Iran on foot would be nothing more than a walk in the park. It seemed like it could be as ordinary as a final exam, a rite of passage that, once behind you, only the good moments are remembered—those that resurface every time you meet up with old companions. Anxieties, conflicts, and fears, once overcome, are invariably downsized by hindsight, which needs experience to take shape.
Thus, I crossed the Iraqi border with a good dose of hope and made my way towards Iran.



FINDING ONE'S WAY
The first days in a new country are all about getting your bearings. Local SIM card, money, basic words to learn. The internet works only with a VPN, and many apps are blocked. No credit cards, not even for cash withdrawals: it's a cash-only game here, and the best exchange rates are found on the black market. One euro was worth 600,000 rials, about twenty times the official rate. Inflation in Iran is through the roof, worsened by an economic crisis fueled by international sanctions.
At the border, they check everything—alcohol is strictly forbidden, we are in a Muslim nation.
In Khorramshahr, a border city, it became clear that hosting foreigners wasn’t common. After just a few days, I noticed an aspect of Iranian society that makes everyday life more flexible than one might expect: despite strict rules, there is a certain elasticity in enforcement. For example, Instagram is blocked, yet every shop displays a sticker with its profile handle right next to the opening hours.




WELCOME TO IRAN
I began discovering the country step by step, slowly as usual, and I was struck by the wonders hidden here, seemingly forgotten in the history books. I was captivated by Shushtar, a city with a 2,000-year-old hydraulic system that still works today, providing electricity to half of the population. One of the bridges, which also serves as a dam, was built by Roman legionnaires who had been captured during a battle with the Parthians. The system of locks and channels carved into the rock is impressive, with waterfalls cascading in the area around the water mills. This was the first UNESCO World Heritage Site I visited in Iran.
Despite political isolation, this country is part of the UNESCO convention. I was beginning to understand that its isolation was more of a political rift with certain nations than a refusal to engage with the world.



PERSIAN HOSPITALITY
What surprised me most was the incredible hospitality of the Iranian people. Every time I met someone, I was welcomed with great kindness. People were curious to see a foreigner, and it was enough to announce my arrival to be flooded with invitations to meet. I was treated like an honored guest, almost as if I were part of the family. The enthusiasm was contagious: relatives from first to second degree gathered to greet me, asking for photos and videos where I said hello to a friend in Farsi. And then they would thank me, always with big smiles, as if it had been an honor to meet me.

One thing that particularly struck me was the complete trust Iranians place in each other, especially when it comes to money. In Iran, bargaining is common, but not in the way one might expect. Instead of trying to raise the price, the seller often tries to give you the goods for free. This behavior, known as taroof, is a deeply ingrained cultural form of courtesy. And it seems that the custom is to insist three times before the shopkeeper finally agrees to accept payment. At that point, you hand over your credit card and tell him the PIN out loud, letting him enter it along with the amount. You read that right—the credit card PIN is spoken out loud in a shop full of people. And nothing more happens. The honesty of Iranians is beyond comparison.





EPILOGUE - A THOUSAND AND ONE STORIES
At the end of the first month, I renewed my visa at an immigration center. It turned out to be quite an eventful experience, requiring three attempts to get the extension. But as usual, I’m digressing. I arrived in Tabriz as the second month was drawing to a close, but decided to stay a few extra days. Six months earlier, in India, I had met two Iranian girls, and we had kept in touch. We walked along the tree-lined avenues of the city, discovering the Blue Mosque and the ancient bazaar, the last World Heritage Site I visited in Iran.
Tabriz has always been a crucial hub along the Silk Road. From its original caravanserai core, it expanded into a commercial center long before its time, welcoming men and goods from all over. Even amid the bustle of bargaining, the voice of the muezzin could be heard clearly from the minarets.

Tabriz was the perfect conclusion to an extraordinary journey, but the best moments were those spent with my Iranian friends, with a steaming cup in hand—this time, though, it was Turkish coffee! We promised to meet again, but we knew it would be nearly impossible: the Iranian passport holds little value, and visas are hard to obtain. We settled for a hug and shared dreams.

With three days left and 150 kilometers to the Armenian border, my journey through ancient Persia had come to an end. In these months, I met different peoples, from devout Arabs to nomadic shepherds, from nostalgic Persians recalling imperial grandeur to Kurds and Turks. Along the way, waterfalls, volcanoes, salt lakes, and mountains became silent companions of the journey.
Now, alongside Chile, Iran has found a place in my heart: a country of immense cultural and human wealth, where all it takes is some chai and a carpet to create stories worthy of A Thousand and One Nights.