Our first day in Iran--Tehran, of course

beautiful 7-color tile work at the Golestan Palace

 Tehran seems to go on forever--a huge city of 8 million people and growing, spread across a desert landscape and up the sides of the stark mountains that block it on the north.  Driving out of Tehran this morning towards the Caspian Sea, we saw hundreds of enormous apartment blocks under construction, with highways and a subway system being built to connect these cities-within-the city to its manufacturing areas and multiple economic centers.  I know Iran's economy has been in a long slump because of the sanctions imposed by the rest of the world, but the lifting of those sanctions seems to have sparked rapid economic growth and a population surge in Tehran.

3000 BC pottery wine (?) vessel at the National Museum

The traffic at all hours of the day is pretty horrendous.  We spent an hour driving from our hotel 12 miles to the historic center.  Tehran was a village 150 years ago, but you'd never know that today.  It became the capitol of Iran late, mostly because its location provided some protection from what the shahs perceived as a large Russian threat.
We started our day at the National Museum, with its well-displayed artifacts from 4000 years ago.  I particularly liked what appear to be pottery wine vessels in whimsical animal shapes.  Marble friezes from palaces destroyed long ago fill one wall.  It's not a large museum, but worth a visit to understand the long history of this country.

Walking from the National Museum to the Golestan Palace (a "must" visit) is something I wouldn't recommend without an Iranian at your side.  Pedestrians are prime targets crossing the crowded streets with their speeding drivers who don't stop for anyone or anything.  Our guide showed us how to thread our way among the cars, motorcycles and buses filling 4 to 6 lanes of determined drivers, none of whom gave us an inch.

tiled facade at the Golestan Palace

Across from the courthouse, we passed men with old typewriters huddling with 2 or 3 people.  They are like paralegals who know the intricacies of Iranian laws and write complaints or legal documents for their clients as they sit together on the sidewalk.  They type the papers and hand them to their clients, who proceed across the street to present them to the courthouse clerks.
We loved the Golestan Palace.  It is a mid-18th century palace and fortress complex, built mostly during the Qajar dynasty, that used to be 10 times larger than it is today.  There is still a beautiful garden at its center reflecting the importance of gardens in Persian culture.  The tile work on the remaining buildings is beautiful.  Unlike architecture and artistry in most of the Muslim world, Persian decoration contains images of people, animals and flowers.  The best tile work has 7 colors, as you can see in these photos.

Tehran's grand bazaar

Next--to Tehran's huge bazaar which is centered in a sprawling, arched building with countless alleyways crowded with shops and people.  Like the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, the various trades and artisans are concentrated in specific parts of the Bazaar.  The actual area spreads way beyond the old center, however, filling the streets for 5 kilometers.  Obviously, it is a major retail hub in the city.  We had a typical lunch in one of the small restaurants in the Bazaar, complete with yoghurt, olive and walnut salad, lamb kebabs and lots of saffron rice.
For my generation, the standoff with the Iranians over the U.S. Embassy hostages they held for 444 days in 1979 and 1980 is something we'll never forget.  Neither will the Iranians, who continue to take pride in their takedown of the mighty United States during their Revolution (the kindness and welcoming attitudes of the Iranian people towards Americans notwithstanding).

former U.S. embassy, now the Espionage Museum

About a year ago, the now-dilapidated former U.S. Embassy was turned into an espionage museum, with the rooms used by embassy staff for spying and secret negotiations opened to the public.  There are rooms with old typewriters, computer equipment, shredders and photos from the assault on the embassy.  Several photos show mountains of shredded paper spilling out of the shredders.  The students who took over the embassy pieced together 70 [small] books of shredded documents.  I remember reading that the U.S. Defense Department once had some of its experts reconstruct shredded documents to see if it were possible.  They put back together a multi-page document in something like 40 hours.  The museum guide was delighted to have Americans visit and told me how much he likes talking to Americans and answering our questions.  If you remember the ordeal as vividly as I do, I highly recommend a visit if you come to Tehran. 

Don and schoolgirls

From our first contact with the immigration and customs officials at the Tehran airport, we have been treated with warmth and words of welcome from every Iranian we've met.  Despite our political differences, they seem very genuinely happy to have Americans visit their country and to engage in conversations with us.  The other Americans we've run into here all are having the same experience.