"Trove of Pollacks"
Some teenage girls are throwing coins into the reflecting pool at the tomb of the great Persian poet Sa'adi, hoping to find husbands. They all laugh when one of the girls misses and runs away shrieking. Someone has thrown in paper currency.
As we enjoy the special brand of ice cream only found in Shiraz down in the teahouse, the girls come over to us and ask where I'm from. "Amrika."
"Oh! Brad Pitt!"
On the way back our cabbie drives with the headlights OFF, then misses the turn to our hotel and backs up the entire length of the street into oncoming traffic. Lest you think this is uncommon, our cabbie the next night does the same thing, driving in reverse on the busiest avenue in this city of 1.5 million.
*
I'm addicted to the ticker. IRINN is the Iranian version of CNN - its pretty much straight news delivered with the same level of propoganda that you'd find on CNN. I'll let you decide what that is.
It features the ubiquitous ticker - not one, but two - the English version moving left to right, in Farsi below moving from right to left. Most of the scrawl in English is dedicated to the latest news about the cartoon row, sports and scientific breakthroughs. Any and every headline concerning bird flu around the world is mentioned. Its stance on the nuclear program is that the West is unjustly trying to keep the Islamic Republic from simply conducting scientific research.
Olympic scores scroll by, including women's "hokey" - its okay to talk about women's hockey in Iran because all the players have their heads covered.
My favorite headline thus far: "Trove of Pollacks found in New York may be fake".
*
I'm riding my bike along the bike path and have to stop when Tiger Woods and two cohorts are blocking the way. I don't have anything against him, he's seems like a decent enough fellow, but his friends are kind of arrogant as well as inconsiderate. I'm about to ask why he thinks there are fewer African Americans playing professional golf now than at any time in the last 30-40 years when he and his colleagues disappear. I look for a cop, not to sue - I don't care about his fame or his money - I'm just a prick when it comes to blocking the bike path. I ask the cop if there are cameras anywhere that will prove my version of events and she says she doesn't know before driving away on an APB. I walk to my boyhood home in southern Minnesota.
Steven Spielberg walks across the driveway promising to explain everything. He says I've unwittingly been involved in the filming of a new verite-style advertisement and that if I just sign the release form I'll be handsomely compensated. I'm not sure I want to sign it. An old, beat-up 50s Ford pulls up and Paul Newman invites me to get in.
He's very cordial, apologizes and says they're just in a hurry to get the ad on the air. I don't really care about any of that anymore. "Mr. Newman, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that my mother is a huge fan of yours and if I was to pick one film from each decade that portrayed the life and times of America, I'd choose 'HUD' for the pre-Vietnam era." He seems genuinely moved. I'm trying to remember Melvyn Douglas' line towards the end of the movie, Paul Newman mumbles something but its not the line I'm thinking of. He shakes my hand and lets me out at Dysthe's garage. I'm going to walk home past Norgaard's old place near the elementary school, but the neighborhood is chained off.
I wake up.
*
We've hired a driver to take us around the circuit that makes up the heart of the first Persian empire. I've misspoke several times to several people when I say that Persepolis was its capitol; of course, Pasargadae was.
There's a dusty little town lying on the outskirts of Pasargad. As we near the end of the tree-lined boulevard, the first site is unmistakable: the Tomb of Cyrus the Great. Yes, there is scaffolding, but its still impressive. Cyrus has been inside for over 2500 years. Even as Alexander was busy burning everything else down, he demanded that the Tomb be repaired.
There are few remnants of Pasargad left, but imagination can take you far. Like the Greeks and other ancient civilizations, the Persians knew how to pick their spots, the site tucked inside the surrounding mountain ranges. Unlike other ancient civilizations, the Achaemenids didn't use slave labor to build their cities - everybody got paid.
Before moving on, our driver pulls out his portable tea set from the trunk of his car and pours each of us a cup. He asks if I'm single or married. I'd explain that most women think of me as little more than a curiousity to be observed at arm's length, but my Farsi isn't that good.
Its a gorgeous drive through the mountains to Naqsh-e Rostam & Naqsh-e Rajab, allegedly the tombs of Darius I, Artaxerxes I, Xerxes I and Darius II, built into the side of the rock. Sassanian stone reliefs have been carved into the mountain right underneath the tombs.
From there, its only 4 km to what was once the center of the known universe - Persepolis. The palace and ceremonial ground was started by Darius as an annual gathering place for his 28 subject nations. It was used only once a year around the time of the Persian New Year (No Ruz), the spring equinox. For the rest of the year it was probably deserted.
I'll spare you my amateur dissertation on Achaemenid history that you can easily Google and just say that Persepolis is indeed grandiose and even played a part in Persian history as recently as 35 years ago.
In 1971, the Shah spent an exhorbitant amount of money to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy. The festivities were lavish - too lavish his opponents claimed - and was attended by dignitaries from around the world. One problem: he forgot to invite Iranians.
In many ways, it was the beginning of the end. The people, many of whom lived lives with meager resources, saw where the Shah's priorities lie. By the end of the decade, the Shah was deposed, the Persian monarchy came to an end and the Islamic Republic - which celebrated its 27th anniversary last Saturday - was born.
The US still had a presence in Tehran after the Revolution. It was only after the Shah entered the US for medical treatment that young revolutionaries stormed the Embassy, took the hostages and the two countries 'official' love affair ended. Our governments refuse to speak to this day.
Shortly after the war, Saddam Hussein saw an opportunity to attack his weakened neighbor. Most Americans have probably seen the famous photo of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand early in the 1980s. You may have heard the joke, "We know Saddam has WMD - Rummy kept the receipt!" Chemical weapons were used during the Iran-Iraq war which lasted most of the 80s.
Its estimated that a million Iranians died, an entire generation of men wiped out.
After the war, the Islamic Republic encouraged the nation to repopulate. Of the 70,000,000 people living in Iran today, 70% are under the age of 30.
*
"Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire. You're just going to have to make up your own mind one day about what's right and wrong."
- Melvyn Douglas as Homer Bannon, HUD (1963)
As we enjoy the special brand of ice cream only found in Shiraz down in the teahouse, the girls come over to us and ask where I'm from. "Amrika."
"Oh! Brad Pitt!"
On the way back our cabbie drives with the headlights OFF, then misses the turn to our hotel and backs up the entire length of the street into oncoming traffic. Lest you think this is uncommon, our cabbie the next night does the same thing, driving in reverse on the busiest avenue in this city of 1.5 million.
*
I'm addicted to the ticker. IRINN is the Iranian version of CNN - its pretty much straight news delivered with the same level of propoganda that you'd find on CNN. I'll let you decide what that is.
It features the ubiquitous ticker - not one, but two - the English version moving left to right, in Farsi below moving from right to left. Most of the scrawl in English is dedicated to the latest news about the cartoon row, sports and scientific breakthroughs. Any and every headline concerning bird flu around the world is mentioned. Its stance on the nuclear program is that the West is unjustly trying to keep the Islamic Republic from simply conducting scientific research.
Olympic scores scroll by, including women's "hokey" - its okay to talk about women's hockey in Iran because all the players have their heads covered.
My favorite headline thus far: "Trove of Pollacks found in New York may be fake".
*
I'm riding my bike along the bike path and have to stop when Tiger Woods and two cohorts are blocking the way. I don't have anything against him, he's seems like a decent enough fellow, but his friends are kind of arrogant as well as inconsiderate. I'm about to ask why he thinks there are fewer African Americans playing professional golf now than at any time in the last 30-40 years when he and his colleagues disappear. I look for a cop, not to sue - I don't care about his fame or his money - I'm just a prick when it comes to blocking the bike path. I ask the cop if there are cameras anywhere that will prove my version of events and she says she doesn't know before driving away on an APB. I walk to my boyhood home in southern Minnesota.
Steven Spielberg walks across the driveway promising to explain everything. He says I've unwittingly been involved in the filming of a new verite-style advertisement and that if I just sign the release form I'll be handsomely compensated. I'm not sure I want to sign it. An old, beat-up 50s Ford pulls up and Paul Newman invites me to get in.
He's very cordial, apologizes and says they're just in a hurry to get the ad on the air. I don't really care about any of that anymore. "Mr. Newman, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that my mother is a huge fan of yours and if I was to pick one film from each decade that portrayed the life and times of America, I'd choose 'HUD' for the pre-Vietnam era." He seems genuinely moved. I'm trying to remember Melvyn Douglas' line towards the end of the movie, Paul Newman mumbles something but its not the line I'm thinking of. He shakes my hand and lets me out at Dysthe's garage. I'm going to walk home past Norgaard's old place near the elementary school, but the neighborhood is chained off.
I wake up.
*
We've hired a driver to take us around the circuit that makes up the heart of the first Persian empire. I've misspoke several times to several people when I say that Persepolis was its capitol; of course, Pasargadae was.
There's a dusty little town lying on the outskirts of Pasargad. As we near the end of the tree-lined boulevard, the first site is unmistakable: the Tomb of Cyrus the Great. Yes, there is scaffolding, but its still impressive. Cyrus has been inside for over 2500 years. Even as Alexander was busy burning everything else down, he demanded that the Tomb be repaired.
There are few remnants of Pasargad left, but imagination can take you far. Like the Greeks and other ancient civilizations, the Persians knew how to pick their spots, the site tucked inside the surrounding mountain ranges. Unlike other ancient civilizations, the Achaemenids didn't use slave labor to build their cities - everybody got paid.
Before moving on, our driver pulls out his portable tea set from the trunk of his car and pours each of us a cup. He asks if I'm single or married. I'd explain that most women think of me as little more than a curiousity to be observed at arm's length, but my Farsi isn't that good.
Its a gorgeous drive through the mountains to Naqsh-e Rostam & Naqsh-e Rajab, allegedly the tombs of Darius I, Artaxerxes I, Xerxes I and Darius II, built into the side of the rock. Sassanian stone reliefs have been carved into the mountain right underneath the tombs.
From there, its only 4 km to what was once the center of the known universe - Persepolis. The palace and ceremonial ground was started by Darius as an annual gathering place for his 28 subject nations. It was used only once a year around the time of the Persian New Year (No Ruz), the spring equinox. For the rest of the year it was probably deserted.
I'll spare you my amateur dissertation on Achaemenid history that you can easily Google and just say that Persepolis is indeed grandiose and even played a part in Persian history as recently as 35 years ago.
In 1971, the Shah spent an exhorbitant amount of money to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the Persian monarchy. The festivities were lavish - too lavish his opponents claimed - and was attended by dignitaries from around the world. One problem: he forgot to invite Iranians.
In many ways, it was the beginning of the end. The people, many of whom lived lives with meager resources, saw where the Shah's priorities lie. By the end of the decade, the Shah was deposed, the Persian monarchy came to an end and the Islamic Republic - which celebrated its 27th anniversary last Saturday - was born.
The US still had a presence in Tehran after the Revolution. It was only after the Shah entered the US for medical treatment that young revolutionaries stormed the Embassy, took the hostages and the two countries 'official' love affair ended. Our governments refuse to speak to this day.
Shortly after the war, Saddam Hussein saw an opportunity to attack his weakened neighbor. Most Americans have probably seen the famous photo of Donald Rumsfeld shaking Saddam's hand early in the 1980s. You may have heard the joke, "We know Saddam has WMD - Rummy kept the receipt!" Chemical weapons were used during the Iran-Iraq war which lasted most of the 80s.
Its estimated that a million Iranians died, an entire generation of men wiped out.
After the war, the Islamic Republic encouraged the nation to repopulate. Of the 70,000,000 people living in Iran today, 70% are under the age of 30.
*
"Little by little the look of the country changes because of the men we admire. You're just going to have to make up your own mind one day about what's right and wrong."
- Melvyn Douglas as Homer Bannon, HUD (1963)
posted by s. at 11:09 PM
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