We had been prepared for this, yet it reminded us of what the Persian poet Rumi wrote in the 13th century: "Beyond our ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there."
Our trip in October was sponsored by a group dedicated to the idea that cultural exchange is the way to bridge unfamiliarity, suspicion and mistrust that arise between groups that have not communicated with each other, as is the case between the West and the country of Iran.
The sponsoring group, San Francisco-based Global Exchange, contracted with an Iranian tour company to show us the ancient historic sites and artifacts, products of three Persian empires that stretch back more than 3,000 years. These sites are associated with such familiar (and not-so-familiar) names and personages as Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes. Artaxerxes, Queen Esther, Ali, Hussein, Shah Abbas and others. We visited the cities of Tehran, Yazd, Shiraz and Esfahan and the ruins and rock reliefs of Persepolis, Naqsh-e-Rostam and Pasargadae. Our Iranian tour guide was most helpful in explaining what we were seeing and experiencing; he comes to the United States annually to promote business and to visit relatives.
Our interest in visiting Iran springs from a long involvement with student exchanges and work projects requiring close contact with people of different cultures. We have hosted high school and language students from all over the world in our home for periods of up to one year, and sometimes visited them and met their families in their home countries.
We also have participated in work and research projects involving archaeology and labor patterns in places such as Malawi, Ecuador and Hungary. Our experience in Iran confirmed observations made elsewhere that people need to understand each other and appreciate each other's cultures and that cultural differences are important and interesting and something to be celebrated.
Iranian people are known for their hospitality and friendliness, and we were encouraged to engage in conversations. The people we encountered wanted to talk to us, especially when they learned we were from the United States. There are few American tourists in Iran. Most who travel from the U.S. are Iranian-Americans visiting relatives. Most other tourists are from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, China and Japan.
Iranians have great difficulty in obtaining U.S. visas, in part because there is no U.S. diplomatic presence in Iran — the closest consulate or embassy is in Turkey or Dubai. Our Iranian visas were processed in Washington, D.C., where the Iranian government maintains a diplomatic presence as a "special interests" section in the Pakistan Embassy. On both sides, unexplained denials of visas and other delays are common. (Most European tourists seemed to breeze right through.) The only other American tourist group we encountered was a small group from Alabama.
Iranian people we met expressed exasperation and unhappiness about the current government administration in Iran and about the current inflation, especially in food and gasoline prices. The bazaar vendors recently went on strike about a newly imposed 3 percent sales tax, which the government quickly rescinded. We spotted a bumper sticker on an automobile in Tehran reading, "Democracy Now."
We felt no fear or concern about our safety except when crossing congested streets. We sensed no surveillance of our activities, which was commonplace before the 1979 revolution. We were, of course, warned against propagandizing and against political discussions — unless invited. Most people we met were curious about the then-upcoming U.S. presidential election and asked us about that.
We had friendly conversations with all manner of people — immigration officials, business people, soldiers, police, students of all ages, people wanting to be English translators, a pilot ferrying oil field people around the country, teachers, a university professor, a woman lawyer, a woman civil engineer, a woman artist and several painters of Persian miniatures. In Esfahan, I took a daily walk that led me past a police station. I met an armed career soldier in front of the station who wanted to learn about the U.S. Every day, he looked forward to my passing by and the brief conversations we had.
We observed three schools — two informally and one in a formal visit. Preschool is in a mixed-sex setting until age 6 or so. After that, the genders are separated. We were impressed with the school facilities we visited, level and sophistication of the teaching and enthusiasm of the students.
Many infrastructure-improvement projects are under way in the country. We observed new natural gas pipeline construction, modern highway construction and high-speed rail construction as well as mass transit subway construction in the cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Esfahan. Traffic is a serious problem in the large cities. There is no U.S. involvement in these projects. Whatever outside contracting exists seems to involve Germans.
During the time of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Iran absorbed a large number of Afghan refugees. At one time, Iran had the largest number of refugees of any country in the world, both from Iraq and Afghanistan, according to University of California-Berkeley professor Hamid Algar. The Afghan refugees are a source of cheap labor for Iranians and a large working class.
Although the "moral police" were much in evidence in high-traffic areas, some young people pushed the limits of the dress code. Young woman with bouffant hairdos would push their head scarves way back on their heads to exhibit those hairdos. Young men would exhibit elaborate hairdos beyond what are seen in the U.S. Supposed shapeless manteaus could become very shapely.
Although alcohol could not be obtained or served in public, it was available if one knew where to ask. We encountered few street vagabonds and beggars; they were generally benign drug addicts. Prostitution is not practiced openly, but we were informed that it is a problem.
Women are set apart in the Iranian society. They ride in the backs of buses; however, they go about their business without male accompaniment and drive their own cars. Burqas are not common in Iran. Several women pointedly stated that they hated wearing head coverings. We met a young woman civil engineer who expressed great concern that she would not be able to practice her profession. She was concerned about her safety in as much as she would have to work in an essentially all-male environment out in the field and was concerned about what we call sexual harassment — or worse.
We came away from our experience convinced that it is in the interest of our two peoples to promote contact and foster mutual understanding. Changes in culture can come only from people themselves, but outsiders can encourage dialogue and openness. We must keep focused on what the 13th-century poet Rumi called the field beyond our differences where we can meet.
Earl Dolven is a retired lawyer. Evelyn Dolven is a retired teacher. They moved to Charleston from California two years ago.
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