Iran is one of the Middle East's most diverse countries, a crossroads of peoples in whose traditions are written the region's history, both ancient and modern. For all of these traditions that are very much a part of modern life in the country, there is a unifying Iranian identity. Forged through shared histories, centuries of constant proximity and the struggles and conflicts of recent decades, this sense of being Iranian keeps all these disparate peoples discernibly part of a bigger whole.

Persians

Persians are the descendents of the original Elamite and Aryan races who arrived in what is now Iran during the 3rd millennium BC. The Persians, or Farsis, were originally the tribes that came to establish the Achaemenid Empire and, when Gilaki and Mazandarani people are included in the number (their language is a variation on Farsi but they are still ethnically Persians), they now make up about 60% of the population. Persians are found across Iran, but Tehran, Mashhad, Esfahan, Yazd and particularly Shiraz have the highest concentrations. Farsi is the main Iranian language and Persian culture is often considered Iranian culture.

Azaris

Commonly called ‘Turks’ in Iran, the Azeris make up about 16% of the population. They speak Azeri Turkish, a dialect mixing Turkish with Farsi and have strong cross-border links with neighbouring Turkey and Azerbaijan. They are concentrated in northwest Iran, in the Azerbaijan provinces around Tabriz, and are predominantly Shia Muslims.

Kurds

Iran has more than seven million Kurds. The Kurds lay claim to being the oldest Iranian people in the region, descended from the Medes who ruled the region from Iran in the 7th century BC. The wider Kurdish homeland is a largely contiguous area split between southeastern Turkey (Kurds represent around 20% of Turkey's population), northeastern Syria (7% to 8%), northern Iraq (15%) and northwestern Iran. There are more than 20 million Kurds in total and they comprise the largest ethnic group without their own country. In Iran, Kurds (who are predominantly Sunni Muslims) live in the mountainous west, particularly Kordestan province near the Iraqi border.

Arabs

Arabs make up about 2% of the population and are settled mostly in Khuzestan, near the Iraqi border, and on the coast and islands of the Persian Gulf. They are often called bandari (bandar means port), because of their historical links to the sea. Their differing language (a dialect of Arabic), dress, music and faith (many are Sunni Muslims) often keep them on the margins of mainstream Iranian life.

Lors

These proud people constitute about 6% of Iran’s population and are thought to be descendants of the first peoples in the region, the Kassites and Medes; they have strong historical ties to the Kurds. Many speak Lori, a mixture of Arabic and Farsi, and a significant minority remain nomadic. Whether nomadic or settled, most live in or near the mountainous western province of Lorestan.

Turkmen

Making up about 2% of the population, Iranian Turkmen are descended from the nomadic Turkic tribes that once ruled Iran. They live in the northeast of the country, especially around Gorgan and Gonbad-e Kavus and close to the border with Turkmenistan. They are, however, present across the north of the country and have ties to Turkmen people across the border in Iraq. They speak their own Turkic language.

Baluchis

The population of Iran's southeastern dry, barren Sistan va Baluchestan province is largely Baluchi. Baluchis comprise around 2% of Iran’s population and are part of a greater whole that spreads into western Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their culture, faith, language and dress are more associated with Pakistan than Iran.

Nomads

About a million people still live as nomads in Iran despite repeated attempts to settle them. Most migrate between cooler mountain areas in summer and low-lying warmer regions during winter, following pasture for their goats and sheep. Their migrations are during April and May, when they head uphill, returning during October and November. The majority of nomads are Turkic Qashqa’i and Bakhtiyari, but there are also nomadic Kurds, Lurs and Baluchis, among others.

Sidebar: Iran's Youth

More than 40% of Iran's population is aged under 25 years old and about 25% is under 15. Although things have improved in recent years, Iran's economy is still unable to keep up with youth unemployment at around 27% in 2016, although real figures are thought to be much higher.

Sidebar: Education

More than 97% of all children are enrolled in schools, with almost as many girls as boys.

Sidebar: Ethnicity

As the largest and most influential ethnic group, Persians fill most of Iran’s senior government posts. However, people from most other ethnic groups (as opposed to religions) can still reach the top – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, is an ethnic Azeri.

Sidebar: Iranian Film

Bahman Ghobadi’s film A Time for Drunken Horses, a co-winner of the Cannes’ Caméra d’Or prize in 2000, is the story of Kurdish orphans living in a border village. Ghobadi has since had hits with Turtles Can Fly (2004), Half Moon (2006) and Rhino Season (2012).

Sidebar: Gabbeh

Gabbeh (1996), directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, is a beautiful film centred on a gabbeh, a type of Persian carpet made by Qashqa’i nomads, and the love story of a nomad girl with the same name.

Like any people in a dynamic modern society, Iranians live a multiplicity of lives that make generalisations dangerous, especially at a time when the conservative-liberal divide that runs through Iranian society is as significant as ever – there are as many ways of being Iranian as there are Iranians. Even so, there are some mainstays – the importance of religious faith, the significance of family, and a proud attachment to local culture and traditions while generally remaining warm and welcoming to outsiders.

How Iranians Live

Life is a struggle for many Iranians and often bears little resemblance to the lives lived by their parents and grandparents. The majority of Iran’s urban dwellers live in flats, and in major cities homes are rapidly being replaced with apartment blocks. Land in Tehran is as expensive as many North American and European cities, and the cost of living is increasingly prohibitive. With prices for rental properties outstripping salaries more with each passing year, the struggle to make ends meet means many Iranians work more than one job and, in the case of the middle classes, often both men and women work. Many couples live with parents for years before they can afford their own place.

Rich & Poor

The gap between rich and poor is huge. Teachers, earning not much more than US$300 a month, are the sort of middle-class state employee hardest hit by inflation rates running at more than 8% per annum (although it has hovered around 20% in recent years). On the other hand, a fortunate minority live in lavish villas or marble-and-glass apartments in the wealthy northern suburbs of Tehran. It is not uncommon to spend US$100 on a meal for two at a trendy northern Tehran restaurant, an amount most Iranians could not even dream of spending. The women of such families tend not to work but instead lead lives revolving around their children, visiting parents and friends and working out with personal trainers.

In contrast a middle-class couple may leave their modest apartment together in the morning after the typical Persian breakfast of bread, cheese, jam and tea. Their children, if small, will mostly be looked after by grandparents while the couple go to work. One or the other may make it back for lunch, unless living in Tehran where distances are greater and traffic hideous. In the evening the family meal will be taken together, often with the wider family and friends. Iranians are social creatures and many visits occur after dinner.

In poorer or more traditional families it is likely that the woman will stay at home, in which case her whole day revolves around housework, providing meals for her family and shopping (in ultraconservative families the men may do the shopping).

Iranian meals take time to prepare and though supermarkets exist and some pre-packaged ingredients are available, many women spend a decent chunk of each day just buying, cleaning and chopping the herbs served with every meal. Working women generally see to these tasks in the evenings, when they may prepare the next day’s lunch. Mostly it is safe to say that men’s role in the home is confined to appreciating the quality of the cooking. Which they do well, Iranians being true gourmets.

Family Life

Family life is of supreme importance to Iranians and often a family will include children, parents, grandparents and other elderly relatives. As a result, Iranian society is more multigenerational than Western society, something that’s most obvious on holidays and weekends when you’ll see several generations walking, laughing and picnicking together.

Living alone is extremely unusual and unmarried children usually only leave home to attend university in another town or for work. Although the young people of Iran long for independence and their own space, just like their Western counterparts, there is not much cultural precedence for this. Those who do live alone – mostly men – are pitied. Women living alone are regarded with extreme suspicion. Being married and having a family is regarded as the happiest – not to mention the most natural – state of being.

For the most part, the average Iranian family is a robust unit and, despite economic and social differences, most operate in broadly the same way. They provide an essential support unit in a country with no state benefit system.

Education

Education is highly regarded; adult literacy is well above average for the region at 86.8% (91.2% for men, 82.5% for women), according to Unesco. The average years children attend school is 15 (the same for men and women), again one of the highest in the region. Many middle-class teenagers spend up to two years studying for university entrance exams, though the sheer number of entrants, ideological screening and places reserved for war veterans and their offspring make it very hard to get in. And once out of university, there is no guarantee of work.

With the sexes segregated at school and boys and girls discouraged from socialising together, trying to get to know members of the opposite sex is a huge preoccupation for Iranian teenagers. They hang around shopping malls, in cafes and parks, parade up and down boulevards and spend lots of time cruising around in cars.

Sport

Football is a national obsession and Iran has been competing internationally since 1941, winning three Asian Cups during the ‘60s and ‘70s and qualifying for four World Cups (1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014). Many Iranians of a certain generation can tell you where they were when Iran defeated Australia in dramatic fashion to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, their first appearance in two decades. The men’s professional league has 18 teams in the top division and runs from August to May, with games played most Thursdays and Fridays.

You’ll see kids playing football in streets and squares across Iran, but you won’t see too many pitches. This is partly because religious strictures mean women should not see unrelated men in shorts, so most grounds are behind large walls. Women are barred from attending men’s sporting events even though they are, conversely, free to watch them on TV; this oft-debated issue is dealt with in Jafar Panahi’s film Offside. Wrestling, skiing, tae kwon do and archery are also popular.

Modern-day restrictions aside, Iran does have an interesting sporting history. Polo is believed to have originated in Iran and was certainly played during the reign of Darius the Great. Shah Abbas the Great also enjoyed polo, and today you can still see the burly stone goal posts at either end of Esfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Sq. Another ancient sport peculiar to Iran is the zurkhaneh (literally, ‘house of strength’).

Zurkhaneh

Unique to Iran, the zurkhaneh literally means ‘house of strength’ and is a mix of sport, theatre and religion that dates back thousands of years. As it was refined through the ages, the zurkhaneh picked up different components of moral, ethical, philosophical and mystical values of Iranian civilisation. The zurkhaneh itself is a small, traditional gymnasium often decorated like a shrine, and what goes on inside incorporates the spiritual richness of Sufism, traditional rituals of Mithraism and the heroism of Iranian nationalism. Typically a group of men stand around a circular pit and perform a series of ritualised feats of strength, all to the accompaniment of a leader pounding out a frenetic drumbeat. The leader sings verses from epics such as the Shahnameh and recites poetry by Hafez. Most zurkhaneh are open to the public and it’s usually free to watch. You won’t see many local women, but Western women are welcomed as honorary men.

Women Through the Ages

Historically, women have lived in a relatively progressive society and enjoyed more equality and freedom than their neighbours. In Iran women are able to sit in parliament, drive, vote, buy property and work. There is a long precedence for this. Archaeological evidence suggests that in pre-Islamic women in Iran were able to work, own, sell and lease property and that they paid taxes. Women managed work sites and held high-level military positions.

Ta’arof

At the end of your first taxi trip in Iran, there’s a good chance you’ll ask the driver ‘chand toman’ (how many tomans?) and he’ll reply ‘ghabeli nadari’. His words mean ‘it’s nothing’, but the taxi driver still expects to get paid. This is ta’arof, a system of formalised politeness that can seem confusing to outsiders, but is a mode of social interaction in which everyone knows their place.

Despite the apparent contradictions in the taxi, you’ll soon learn that ta’arof is more about people being sensitive to the position of others than routine politeness. So for example, an offer of food will be repeatedly turned down before being accepted. This gives the person making the offer the chance to save face if in reality they cannot provide a meal (they will stop offering after the second or third time). A good rule is to always refuse any offer three times but, if they continue to insist, do accept. When a shopkeeper, restaurateur or (less often) a hotel manager refuses payment when asked for a bill, do remember that this is just ta’arof – don’t leave without paying! If you accept an offer that is in fact ta’arof, the shocked look on the vendor’s face should soon reveal your error.

Ta’arof also involves showing consideration of others in your physical actions, so try not to sit with your back to people and expect to be delayed at doorways as Iranians insist that whoever they’re with goes through the door first with repeated ‘befarmayid’ (please). Be prepared for small talk at the beginning of any exchange, as the health of every member of your family is enquired after. Returning this courtesy will be greatly appreciated. Also be prepared for questions considered personal in the West, such as your salary, marital status, why you don’t have children and so on. This is quite normal. Steer away from politics or religion unless your Iranian host broaches the subject first.

And don’t forget to pay the taxi driver…think of it this way: it would be bad form for the driver not to offer you the trip for free, and worse form for you to accept his offer.

Iran’s Age-old Celebration of the New Year

No Ruz literally means ‘new day’ and while the celebration is for Persian New Year, much of the traditional ceremony is about renewal and hope for the future. The roots of No Ruz stretch deep into history, with the spring equinox (usually 21 March) having been celebrated since before Achaemenid times. It’s a peculiarly Persian tradition that has nothing to do with Islam – a fact many Iranians are proud of but which doesn’t sit well with the Islamic theocracy.

Haft Seen

No Ruz festivities stretch for about three weeks. Apart from frenzied shopping, the outward sign of No Ruz is street-side stalls selling the haft seen (seven ‘s’es; seven, or sometimes more, symbolic items with Farsi names starting with the letter ‘s’). Like a Christmas tree, they are supposed to be set up at home, though you’ll see them everywhere from TV news studios to taxi dashboards. Today’s most commonly seen seen, and their symbolic meanings:


sabzi (green grass or sprout shoots) and samanu (sweet wheat pudding) represent rebirth and fertility
seer (garlic) and sumaq (sumac) symbolise hoped-for good health
sib (apple) and senjed (a dried fruit) represent the sweetness of life
sonbol (hyacinth) is for beauty

On many tables you’ll also see sekeh (a gold coin, symbolising adequate income), serkeh (vinegar to ward off bitterness), a mirror, a Quran and candles. You’ll also see sorry-looking goldfish in tiny bowls symbolising life – until they die in their millions after No Ruz.

Chahar Shanbe-soori

On the Tuesday night before the last Wednesday of the year chahar shanbe-soori, (Wednesday Fire), people sing, dance (men only) and jump over fires. The jumping symbolises the burning away of ill luck or health, to be replaced by the healthy redness of the flames. Unfortunately, actually finding a fire can be tough.


No Ruz

When No Ruz finally arrives, families gather around the haft seen table to recite a prayer seeking happiness, good health and prosperity, before eating sabzi polo (rice and vegetables) and mahi (fish). Mothers are also expected to eat symbolic hard-boiled eggs – one for every child. At the moment the sun passes the celestial equator (announced on every radio station), people kiss and hug and children are given eidi (presents). For the following two weeks Iranians visit relatives and friends in their home towns.

Sizdah be Dar

No Ruz celebrations finish on the 13th day of the year, Sizdah be Dar (usually 2 April). Everyone goes picnicking out of town, taking their haft seen sabzi with them. The sabzi is either thrown into water or, in some cases, left to blow off the roof of the car. Either way, the sabzi is meant to have soaked up the bad aspects of the previous year, so this ceremony symbolises getting rid of bad luck.

Sidebar: Habitation

The area of land that is Iran has been continuously inhabited by a single nation for longer than any other land.

Sidebar: Land of the Nobles

The name Iran – from the Middle Persian ‘Eran’ – comes from the term for Aryan, ‘the land of the nobles’. It was first used in the 1st millennium BC.

Sidebar: Drugs

Iran has more than one million drug addicts, even though drug dealing and drug use can be punishable by death. Iran also has enlightened policies for treating addiction, including methadone programs and clean needles for addicted prisoners.

Sidebar: Football Rivalry

Iran’s biggest football rivalry is between Tehran clubs Persepolis (pronounced ‘Perspolis’ and playing in red), known as the working-class team, and Esteghlal (blue home strip), the villainous wealthy club.

Sidebar: Film

A Separation (2012) is Asghar Farhadi’s complex portrayal of the emotional challenges a Tehran couple face as their marriage falls apart. It won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for best foreign-language film, and was nominated for an Acadamy Award for original screenplay.

Sidebar: Urbanisation

Nearly three-quarters of Iran's population live in urban areas, one of the highest rates of urbanisation in the region.

Sidebar: Adolescence on Film

Female director Samira Makhmalbaf made her first film The Apple (1998) when she was just was 18 years old. It tells the story of two adolescent girls locked away in their house by their father.

Sidebar: Birth Rate

According to Unesco, 96.4% of births in Iran are attended by a skilled attendant, and in 2016, the average number of children per woman was 1.83, down from around six during the early years of the Islamic Revolution.

Sidebar: Olympic Medal

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Kimia Alizadeh became the first Iranian woman to win an Olympic medal, taking bronze in the under-57kg tae kwon do class.

Iran's food is one of the enduring highlights of any visit to the country. Mastered over three millennia, the cuisine is a reflection of the very soul of the country and its varied terrain. Think camel kabab and dates in the desert, fish on the Gulf coast and a huge variety of vegetable dishes (with meat, of course) in the fertile Caspian provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran.

Staples & Specialties

While tastes are broadening, it remains that outside Tehran restaurant menus are dominated by kababs and fast food. To enjoy the best cooking you really need to be invited into an Iranian home. There’s a good chance that will happen and when it does, just say ‘yes’. As a guest you will be honoured as a ‘gift of God’ and the fabulous food and humbling hospitality should make for a meal you’ll remember for a lifetime.

Bread & Rice

Almost every meal in Iran is accompanied by nun (bread) and/or berenj (rice). Nun is cheap and usually fresh. There are four main varieties:

Barbari Crisp and salty and more like Turkish bread; often covered with sesame seeds.

Lavash Common for breakfast and is flat and thin; it’s mouthwatering when fresh but soon turns cardboard-like.

Sangak The elite of Iranian breads, long and thick and baked on a bed of stones to give it its characteristic dimpled appearance – check carefully for rogue chunks of gravel.

Taftun Crisp with a ribbed surface.

Chelo (boiled or steamed rice) forms the base of many an Iranian meal, and especially at lunch is served in vast helpings. Rice cooked with other ingredients, such as nuts, spices or barberry (small, red berries), is called polo and is worth asking for specifically. Za’feran (saffron) is frequently used to add flavour and colour. If rice is served with a knob of butter on top, blend this in as the Iranians do. Tahdig, the savoury crust from the bottom of the rice pan, often including slices of potato, is a national favourite.

Kababs

Even in a restaurant with a long menu, most main-dish options will be kabab. These are served either on bread or as chelo kabab (on a vast mound of rice). In contrast with the greasy doner kebabs inhaled after rough nights in the West, Iranian kababs are tasty, healthy and cooked shish-style over hot charcoals. They are usually sprinkled with spicy sumaq (sumac) and accompanied by raw onion, grilled tomatoes and, for an extra fee, a bowl of mast (yoghurt).

Common kabab incarnations include:

Bakhtiyari kabab Lamb chops and chicken, the king of kababs.

Chelo kabab Any kind of kabab in this list served with chelo (boiled or steamed rice); the default option will be kubide if you don’t specify.

Juje kabab Grilled chicken pieces marinated in sumaq.

Kubide kabab The cheapest, most common version made of minced mutton, breadcrumbs and onion ground together.

Non-Kabab Meals

For a change from kabab it’s worth asking for common stand-bys zereshk polo ba morgh (chicken on rice made tangy with barberries), ghorme sabzi (a green mix of diced meat, beans and vegetables, served with rice) or various mouthwatering vegetarian dishes made from bademjan (eggplant).

But it doesn’t end there. Certain (usually downmarket) eateries and many chaykhanehs (teahouses) specialise in underrated dizi (a cheap soup-stew meal). Most restaurants will also serve one or another variety of khoresht (thick, usually meaty stew made with vegetables and chopped nuts, then served with rice and/or French fries). However, in some less popular restaurants khoresht can live in big pots for days before reaching the plate, so if you have a suspect stomach think twice.

Dolme (vegetables, fruit or vine leaves stuffed with a meat-and-rice mixture) make a tasty change. Dolme bademjan (stuffed eggplant) is especially delectable. The Persian classic fesenjun (sauce of pomegranate juice, walnuts, eggplant and cardamom served over roast chicken and rice) is increasingly found in restaurants, but it's rare enough to feel like a prize when you find it. Or you might get lucky and be served fesenjun in an Iranian home, which is quite an honour.

In western Iran, along the Persian Gulf coast and elsewhere, chelo mahi (fried fish on rice) is quite common in season, while on the Caspian coast (and sometimes elsewhere) it’s relatively easy to find mirza ghasemi (mashed eggplant, squash, garlic, tomato and egg, served with bread or rice).

Dessert & Sweets

While after-meal dessert is often a bowl of fruit, Iran produces such a head-spinning array of freshly made shirini (sweets) that sweet-toothed travellers might remember the country by its regional specialities:

Isfahan Gaz, rose water–flavoured nougat, often with pistachio; prices vary greatly according to the percentage of pistachio, whether honey or sugar is used, and to what extent angevin (extract from the tree called gaz, hence the name) is used.

Kerman Kolompe, a soft, date-filled biscuit.

Orumiyeh Noghl, sugar-coated nuts.

Qom Sohan, a brittle, toffee-like concoction of pistachio and ginger.

Yazd Baghlava, like Turkish baklava but thicker, and pashmak, candyfloss made of sugar and sesame.

Other widely available sweets worth trying include refreshing paludeh or falude (a sorbet made of rice flour, grated fresh fruit and rose water) and bastani (Iranian ice cream).

Persian Food Philosophy It’s ‘Hot’ & ‘Cold’

Ancient Persians believed good diet was light on fat, red meat, starch and alcohol – these transformed men into selfish brutes. Instead, fruit, vegetables, chicken and fish were encouraged as the food of gentler, more respectable people. In practice, this philosophy was governed by a classification of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods, which is still widely used today.

Similar to China’s Yin and Yang, the belief is that ‘hot’ foods ‘thicken the blood’ and speed metabolism, while ‘cold’ foods ‘dilute the blood’ and slow the metabolism. The philosophy extends to personalities and weather, too. Like foods, people are believed to have ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ natures. People with ‘hot’ natures should eat more ‘cold’ foods, and vice versa. And on cold days it’s best to eat ‘hot’ foods, and vice versa.

So what’s ‘hot’ and what’s not? The classification has nothing to do with temperature, and regional variations exist, but it’s generally agreed that animal fat, wheat, sugar, sweets, wine, most dried fruits and nuts, fresh herbs including mint and saffron, and most meats are ‘hot’ (but not beef). ‘Cold’ foods include fish, yoghurt and watermelon (all ‘very cold’), rice, many fresh vegetables (particularly radishes) and fruits, beef, beer and other nonwine alcohol. Some foods are hotter or colder than others, and some, such as pears, feta and tea, are neutral.

As you travel, you’ll see the balance in dishes such as fesenjun (sauce of pomegranate juice, walnuts, eggplant and cardamom served over roast chicken and rice), where the pomegranate (cold) is balanced by the walnuts (hot). On the table, mast (yoghurt), cheese, radishes and greens – all cold – are balanced with ‘hot’ kababs, chicken and sweets. Getting the balance right is what is most important. Too much ‘cold’ food is thought to be particularly unhealthy, so be careful of eating watermelon and dugh (churned sour milk or yoghurt mixed with water) with your fish meal, unless the dugh comes with chopped herbs to balance it out. ‘Hot’ foods are apparently not so dangerous: too much ‘hot’ and you might end up with a cold sore, if you’re prone to them.

Getting Dizi

Known alternatively as abgusht (or as piti in Azerbaijan), dizi is a cheap soup-stew meal named for the earthenware pot in which it is served. It’s considered by many Iranians as the food of the poor, but assuming you’re neither a vegetarian nor obsessive about cholesterol, it’s actually a delicious and filling dish. There is, however, an art to eating it.

First, tear some bread into bite-sized morsels, put it into your bowl and drain the soupy broth from the dizi over the top of the bread. Eat this then turn to the main ingredients left in the dizi: chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes and soft-boiled mutton. Grind these together using the provided metal pestle; do include the inevitable chunk of fat, which while looking unappetising does add taste and texture. Eat the resulting mush with a spoon or bread.

If it gets too hard, fear not, the waiter will show the way.

Vegetarians & Vegans

Vegetarianism is growing in popularity among educated urbanites, particularly in Tehran. But for most Iranians, it remains a foreign concept. Sure, there are a lot of good vegetarian dishes in Iranian cuisine, but most restaurants don’t make them.

Solace can be found, however, in the felafels, samosas and potatoes sold in street stalls, and in the Persian mastery of all things bademjan (eggplant), especially the meatless Caspian dish mirza ghasemi. The various kuku (thick omelette dishes) make great snacks, served hot or cold. Varieties include kuku-ye sabzi (with mixed herbs), kuku-e-ye bademjan (with eggplant) and kuku-e-ye gol-e kalam (with cauliflower). In cheaper restaurants, watch for adas-polo (yellow rice with lentils, sometimes cumin flavoured).

Vegans will struggle to find anything completely free from animal products; even rice is often served with butter. Fortunately, fresh and dried fruit and varieties of nut and vegetables are widely available. Cheaper hotels might let you use the kitchen.

Habits & Customs

For Iranians, breakfast is a simple affair, consisting of endless tea served with leftover (ie rather crisp) lavash, feta-style cheese and jam – often carrot-flavoured. Most hotels usually throw in an egg. Lunch is the main meal of the day and is eaten with mountains of rice between noon and 2pm. Dinner is usually a bit lighter and eaten from about 7pm onwards. Many restaurants close earlier on Friday. On religious holidays, almost everywhere selling food will shut for the morning at least.

If you've never travelled in an Islamic country before, you may need to reset your artistic eye. In Iran, Islamic art (there is rarely any other kind) favours the non-representational, the derivative and the stylised over the figurative and the true to life, primarily because Islam forbids the representation of sentient beings. That doesn't mean Iran's art is not beautiful – very often it's exquisite and intricate and glorious all at once with geometric shapes and complex floral patterns especially popular.

Carpets

The best-known Iranian cultural export, the Persian carpet, is far more than just a floor covering to an Iranian. A Persian carpet is a display of wealth, an investment, an integral aspect of religious and cultural festivals, and part of everyday life.

History

The oldest surviving carpet is the ‘Pazyryk’ rug, believed to date from the 5th century BC and discovered in the frozen tomb of a Scythian prince in Siberia in 1948. Its exact origins are unknown, but some scholars believe it is in the style of carpets found in the Achaemenid court. Today it is in the Hermitage Museum (www.hermitagemuseum.org) in St Petersburg.

Early patterns were usually symmetrical, with geometric and floral motifs designed to evoke the beauty of the classical Persian garden. Stylised animal figures were also woven into carpets, and along with human figures (often royalty), became more popular in the later pre-Islamic period. After the Arab conquest, Quranic verses were incorporated into some carpet designs, and prayer mats began to be produced on a grand scale; secular carpets also became a major industry and were prized in European courts. However, little remains from before the 16th century.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, carpet-making was patronised by the shahs and a favoured designer or weaver could expect great privileges. Carpet designs were inspired by book illumination and the whole process reached a peak during the reign of Shah Abbas I (Abbas the Great; r 1587–1629). As demand for Persian carpets grew, so standards of production fell and designs became less inspired, though they still led the world in quality and design.

According to the National Iranian Carpet Center, today more than five million Iranians work in the industry and carpets are the country’s largest non-fossil-fuel export by value. The trade relies on the prestige evoked by the term ‘Persian carpet’, but maintaining the brand is increasingly difficult with cheaper ‘Persian carpets’ being produced in India and Pakistan, and fewer young Iranians interested in learning to weave.

Types of Carpets & Rugs

To most people (including us in this section), the words ‘carpet’ and ‘rug’ are used interchangeably. But there is a difference – a carpet is bigger than a rug. Anything longer than about 2m is considered a carpet, while anything shorter is a rug. As well as carpets, which are made using thousands or even millions of knots, you will also find kilims, which are thinner, flat-woven mats without knots and thus, no pile.

Carpets come in a huge variety of designs. Some are inspired by religion, such as those on prayer rugs, usually displaying an arch representing the main arch of the Al Haram Mosque in Mecca and perhaps a lamp symbolic of the statement in the Quran that ‘Allah is the light of Heaven’. Other common motifs include amulets to avert the evil eye and other, pre-Islamic motifs, such as stylised Trees of Life. They may also be inspired by whatever surrounds the weaver, eg trees, animals and flowers, particularly the lotus, rose and chrysanthemum. Gardens are commonly depicted and, in the case of a tribal nomad, such a carpet will be the only garden the weaver will ever own.

In general, these designs are classified as either ‘tribal’ or ‘city’ carpets. Tribal designs vary greatly depending on their origin, but are typically less ornate. City carpets are the classic Persian rugs, usually highly ornate floral designs around one or more medallions.

Most Iranians aspire to own fine, formal city rugs of Tabriz, Esfahan, Kashan, Qom or Kerman. They consider tribal carpets the work of peasants, and those who cannot afford hand-woven city carpets would buy a carpet made on a machine using chemical dyes and inferior wool (or even synthetic fibres) before they’d buy a tribal carpet.

Weaving

Most handmade carpets are woven from hand-spun wool. Each rug is woven around a vertical (warp) and horizontal (weft) foundation, usually made of cotton – the skeleton of the rug. The best are made from sheep wool though occasionally goat or camel hair is used, usually by tribal weavers in the warps or selvedges (edge bindings) of rugs, kilims or saddle bags to give them strength. Silk carpets are magnificent but they’re largely decorative, while wool and silk mixtures are more practical and look beautiful. Weavers are often, but not always, women.

Dyes

Dyeing is often done in large vats in small, old-style buildings in the older parts of towns; walk the old town streets of Kashan, in particular, to see it in action. The dyes themselves are the product of centuries of innovation and experimentation. Colours are extracted from natural, locally available sources, including plants (such as herbs, vegetables and fruit skins), insects and even shellfish.

In 1859 chemical dyes such as aniline and chrome were introduced. They caught on quickly because they were cheap and easy to use. Not everyone abandoned the old ways, however, and some weavers, notably those in the Chahar Mahal va Bakhtyari region west of Esfahan, have continued using natural dyes almost uninterrupted to the present day. Today Iranian rug producers big and small are turning back to natural dyes.

Looms

Traditionally, nomadic carpet-weavers used horizontal looms, which are lightweight and transportable. Designs were either conjured up from memory, or made up as the weaver worked. These carpets and rugs were woven for domestic use or occasional trade and were small because they had to be portable. In villages, many homes or small workshops have simple upright looms where weavers can create better designs, with more variety.

Over the last 150 years larger village workshops and city factories have begun using bigger, modern looms. Some still require people to do the weaving, while others are fully mechanised – producing ‘machine carpets’ that cost about half as much as their hand-woven equivalents.

Knots

You may come across the terms ‘Persian (or senneh) knot’ (known in Farsi as a farsi-baf) and ‘Turkish (or ghiordes) knot’ (turki-baf). Despite the names, both are used in Iran: the Turkish knot is common in the Azerbaijan provinces and western Iran.

As a rough guide, an everyday carpet or rug will have up to 30 knots per sq cm, a medium-grade piece 30 to 50 knots per sq cm, and a fine one 50 knots or more per sq cm. A prize piece might have 500 or more knots per sq cm. The higher the number of knots, the better the quality. Nomad weavers tie around 8000 knots a day; factory weavers about 12,000 knots a day.

Buying Carpets & Rugs

Iranians have had more than 2500 years to perfect the art of carpet making – and just as long to master the art of carpet selling. If you don’t know your warp from your weft, it might be worth reading up before visiting Iran, or taking an Iranian friend when you go shopping (bearing in mind that professional ‘friends’ who make a living from commission are a fact of life).

If you know what you’re doing you might pick up a bargain, but unless you’re an expert, don’t buy a carpet or rug as an investment – buy it because you like it. Before buying, lie the carpet flat to check for bumps or other imperfections. Small bumps will usually flatten out with wear but big ones are probably there to stay. To check if a carpet is handmade, turn it over; on most handmade pieces the pattern will be distinct on the underside (the more distinct, the better the quality).

Taking Them Home

Export regulations for carpets are notoriously changeable; ask a reputable dealer for the latest. At the time of writing there was no limit to the number of carpets you could take home. However, some larger, older and more valuable carpets cannot be exported without special permission.

Sanctions mean the customs guys in your home country might frown upon purchases from Iran. One reader reported US customs are ‘quite strict’ about anything bought in Iran for more than US$100 – meaning most carpets. Carpet sellers know this and will offer to give you a receipt for less than you paid, or even to indicate you bought it in Dubai.

Carrying carpets is usually cheaper than posting because you’re less likely to have to pay duty if you can get them through airport customs at home. Alternatively, most carpet dealers can arrange postage and costs are not outrageous. If there are no sanctions, most countries allow you to import up to 25 sq metres of Persian carpets before they start charging you as a merchant; though you will probably still have to pay some duty.

Where to buy your Persian rug

Persian carpets come in almost as many different designs as there are ethnic groups and major urban centres. Usually the name of a carpet indicates where it was made or where the design originated. The bazaars are the best places to buy and the experience of shopping, haggling and eventually buying is a memorable part of travelling in Iran.

• Tehran With more than 3000 carpet merchants, this labyrinthine bazaar has the biggest range, most competition and lowest prices.
• Esfahan Many travellers buy here because shopping around Naqsh-e Jahan (Imam) Sq is so enjoyable. Prices are a bit higher. Plenty of Esfahani city carpets are available, and the widest selection of Bakhtiyari rugs from the nearby Zagros Mountains.
• Shiraz Another pleasant place to shop, with evenings in the bazaar particularly atmospheric. Shiraz has the best range of Qashqa’i rugs, runners, kilims and saddle bags, with their distinct geometric patterns, including stylised animals and birds and floral designs in the borders, and fine gabbeh, small, thick flat-woven rugs with loose pile.
• Tabriz Huge range of carpets, from fine works in silk or with silk highlights, to simpler weaves from regional villages and tribal groups.

Painting

The earliest known distinctively Persian style of painting dates back to the Seljuk period (1051–1220) and is often referred to as the Baghdad School. Early painting was mainly used to decorate Qurans and pottery, and during the Mongol period (1220–1335) all sorts of manuscripts, especially poetry books.

In the 16th century an important school of Persian art developed in Tabriz, under the guidance of Sultan Mohammed, and its distinctive designs and patterns also influenced carpet design. Persian painting reached its apex under the Safavids, when Shah Abbas I turned Esfahan into a centre for the arts. The demise of the Safavids deprived artists of their patrons, and coincided with growing influences from India and Europe. Persian artists rarely signed their works so little is known about most artists.

Calligraphy

With the arrival of Islam, several distinctly Persian calligraphic styles emerged, some of them so elaborate that they are almost illegible, eg nashki and later, thulth. The Quran was faithfully reproduced as a whole in calligraphic form, but you’re more likely to see Quranic verses, and the names of Allah and Mohammed, in tiles and deep relief stucco in mosques across the country.

By the 16th century, Shiraz and Esfahan were producing some of the finest calligraphy in the Islamic world. Some of the best examples can be seen at Tehran’s Reza Abbasi Museum, named for the renowned 16th-century calligrapher and painter.

Miniatures

The Persian miniature-painting (minyaturha) tradition began after the Mongol invasion, influenced by artisans brought to the royal court from China. It reached its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries. Later, artists from eastern Iran, who had studied under the great Mohammadi in Herat (now in Afghanistan), also influenced this art form.

Persian miniatures are now famous throughout the world. Favourite subjects include courting couples in traditional dress (usually figures from popular poetry), polo matches and hunting scenes. Esfahan has dozens of miniaturists and is the best place to buy.

Contemporary Art

Iran has a thriving contemporary art scene, with most of the action centred in Tehran, where a small but sophisticated community of artists produce and exhibit work in a variety of media. Their work is not always appreciated by the authorities, and several, including Tehrani artist Khosrow Hassanzadeh, have found greater acclaim internationally than at home.

Photorealist painter Afshin Pirhashemi is another name to look out for, with his paintings casting sometimes uncomfortable light upon the contradictions of modern Iranian life, particularly when it comes to women and their role in society. Farhad Moshiri somehow manages to blend pop-art and advertising influences with religious iconography and paintings of antique urns.

Of Iran's contemporary women painters, Golnaz Fathi is a renowned calligraphist who uses performance-art installations in her work. Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian is a veteran of Iran's artistic scene and her style reflects Iran's journey through the 20th century – she uses deeply traditional forms such as geometric patterns and cut-glass mosaics but her work has also been deeply influenced by everything from Western expressionism to Sufi imagery; she went into exile in the US in 1979 but returned to Iran in 2004.

Despite the limited resources available to Iranian artists – there are few professional galleries and institutions capable of launching an artist’s career – the restrictions themselves seem to inform their aesthetic. The art has a distinctive Iranian flavour that several experts argue is impossible to classify in terms of Western contemporary art.

Crafts

Glassware

Small, translucent glass vessels dating back to the 2nd millennium BC have been found at Choqa Zanbil and by the Sassanian era Persian shisheh alat (glassware) had become a sought-after luxury traded as far away as Japan. By early Islamic times, two principle techniques were used: mould-blown to produce thicker items, and free-blown for more delicate articles. Glassware was usually green, lapis lazuli, light blue or clear with a tinge of yellow, and decorations were cut into the glass. The art reached its peak during the Seljuk era when the manufacture of enamelled and gilded glassware flourished.

Under the Safavids, Shiraz became an important centre of glass production, with rose-water sprinklers, long-necked wine bottles, flower vases and bowls particularly popular. By the reign of Karim Khan Zand, the famous wine from Shiraz was exported in locally crafted jugs and bottles.

Lacquer Work

Some consider this the most interesting of Iran’s decorative arts; it can be traced back to early Islamic times as an independent art form. Wooden or papier-mâché objects are painted, then a transparent sandarac-based varnish is applied in successive layers from three to more than 20 coats. The result gives an impression of depth and provides great durability. Common designs are the popular Persian motif of the nightingale and the rose, flowers and classic love stories. Pen boxes are the most common form of lacquer work.

Marquetry

One of the most intricate styles of woodwork is a form of marquetry (moarraq) called khatam. A Persian style of marquetry slowly developed through the centuries and by the 17th century khatam was so prestigious that several Safavid princes learned the technique.

Several different woods, including betel, walnut, cypress and pine, are used, with the inlaid pieces made from animal bones, shells, ivory, bronze, silver and gold. The final product is coated with varnish. Genuine Persian khatam contains no paint; the colours come from the inlaid pieces. Khatam can be used for furniture but visitors usually buy it in the form of ornamental boxes or picture frames. Most of what you’ll see for sale in souvenir shops is not genuine, as they are often made with the use of machines.

Sidebar: Persian Carpets

Arguably the most famous Persian carpets are the twin ‘Ardabil carpets’, vast rugs (10.7m x 5.34m) woven with 30 million knots in the 16th century for the Sheikh Safi-od-Din Mausoleum. They are now kept in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (www.vam.ac.uk) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (www.lacma.org).

Sidebar: Carpet Tomes

The pocket-sized Oriental Rugs in Colour (1963), by Preben Liebetrau, includes an explanation of the carpets and rugs of Iran and Turkey and remains a classic. The Persian Carpet by A Cecil Edwards was re-released in lavish colour in 2017 after being out of print for decades – if you like carpets, you'll love this book.

Sidebar: Natural Materials

During the Safavid period sheep were bred specifically to produce the finest wool, and vegetable plantations were tended with scientific precision to provide dyes of just the right shade.

Sidebar: Carpet Museum

Tehran’s Carpet Museum of Iran has a priceless collection from around the country and is the best place to see rugs without going to a bazaar.

In 2006–07 some 1200 Iranians produced the world’s largest hand-woven carpet for the vast Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan mosque in Abu Dhabi. It measures 5627 sq metres, weighs 35 tons and includes 2,268,000,000 knots.

Sidebar: World of Carpets

The Root of Wild Madder: Chasing the History, Mystery, and Lore of the Persian Carpet (2006), by Brian Murphy, is a fascinating and informative journey through the world of carpets in Afghanistan and Iran.

Sidebar: Bihzad

Bihzad, Master of Persian Painting (1995), by Ebadollah Bahari, is the lavishly illustrated life of Kamal al-Din Bihzad, the great 15th-century Persian artist and manuscript illustrator.

Sidebar: Modern Artist

One of the best-loved modern Iranian artists is Sayyed Ali Akhbar Sanati, whose sculpture and paintings are on display in the Sanati Museum of Contemporary Art in Kerman.

Sidebar: Khosrow Hassanzadeh

Tehran Studio Works, The Art of Khosrow Hassanzadeh (2007) details some of the Tehrani painter’s acclaimed work, which now hangs in galleries around the world.

Drawing in equal measure on the many sophistications of Ancient Persia and the dynamic cultural space that is modern Iran, the country's writers, musicians and, perhaps above all, film-makers have created bodies of work that are as popular at home as they are acclaimed by critics around the world. Wherever you get started, whether with the great poets whose works seemingly every Iranian can recite or the latest release film by a director whose films sell out for weeks, you're in for a real treat.

Literature

Iran is a nation of poets and overwhelmingly the most important form of writing is poetry. Familiarity with famous poets and their works is universal: ask and almost anyone on the street can quote you lines from Hafez or Rumi.

Poetry

The 9th century AD saw several poetic styles born in Persia. These include the masnavi, with its unique rhyming couplets, and the ruba’i, similar to the quatrain (a poem of four lines). Poems of more than 100 nonrhyming couplets, known as qasideh, were first popularised by Rudaki during the 10th century. These styles later developed into long and detailed ‘epic poems’, the first of which was Ferdosi’s Shahnamah.

Moral and religious poetry became popular following the success of Sa’di’s most famous poems, the Bustan and Golestan. By the 14th century, smaller qazal poems, which ran to about 10 nonrhyming couplets, were still being used for love stories; the most famous qazal poet is Hafez.

Early in the last century modernist Persian poetry changed the poetic landscape. This style is exemplified by the work of Nima Yushij. Ahmad Shamloo’s Fresh Air, a book of poems published in 1957, marked the introduction of a lyrical style that was also political and metaphoric.

The Great Iranian Poets

Iranians venerate their great poets, who are often credited with preserving the Persian language and culture during times of occupation. Streets, squares, hotels and chaykhanehs (teahouses) are named after famous poets, several of whom have large mausoleums that are popular pilgrimage sites.

Ferdosi 940–1020

Hakim Abulqasim Ferdosi, first and foremost of all Iranian poets, was born near Tus outside Mashhad. He developed the ruba’i (quatrain) style of ‘epic’ historic poems and is remembered primarily for the Shahnamah (Book of Kings), which took 33 years to write and included almost 60,000 couplets. Ferdosi is seen as the saviour of Farsi, which he wrote in at a time when the language was under threat from Arabic. Without his writings many details of Persian history and culture might also have been lost and Ferdosi is credited with having done much to help shape the Iranian self-image.

Hafez 1325–1389

Khajeh Shams-ed-Din Mohammed, or Hafez (meaning ‘One Who Can Recite the Quran from Memory’) as he became known, was born in Shiraz. His poetry has a strong mystical quality and regular references to wine, courtship and nightingales have been interpreted in different ways (is wine literal or a metaphor for God?). A copy of his collected works, known as the Divan-e Hafez, can be found in almost every home in Iran, and many of his verses are used as proverbs to this day.

Omar Khayyam 1047–1123

Omar Khayyam (Omar the Tentmaker) was born in Neishabur and is probably the best-known Iranian poet in the West because many of his poems, including the famous Rubaiyat, were translated into English by Edward Fitzgerald. In Iran he is more famous as a mathematician, historian and astronomer.

Rumi 1207–1273

Born Jalal ad-Din Mohammad Balkhi in Balkh (in present-day Afghanistan), Rumi’s family fled west before the Mongol invasions and eventually settled in Konya in present-day Turkey. There his father (and then he) retreated into meditation and a study of the divine. Rumi was inspired by a great dervish, Shams-e Tabrizi, and many of his poems of divine love are addressed to him. He is credited with founding the Maulavi Sufi order – the whirling dervishes – and is also known as Maulana (‘the Master’).

Sa’di 1207–1291

Like Hafez, Sheikh Mohammed Shams-ed-Din (known as Sa’di), lost his father at an early age and was educated by some of the leading teachers of Shiraz. Many of his elegantly phrased verses are still commonly used in conversation. His most famous works, the Golestan (Rose Garden) and Bustan (Garden of Trees), have been translated into many languages.

Music

Aside from traditional music, which is played in teahouses across the country, it’s not easy to find musical performances in Iran. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any musicians. But government restrictions mean every public performance needs a licence,Women performers were banned for many years but now women-only concerts are commonplace.

And lovers of music will love the new Isfahan Music Museum with traditional Persian instruments and live performances by folk musicians.

Classical

For Iranians there is no distinction between poetry and lyrics, and traditional Persian music is poetry set to a musical accompaniment. Like epic poems, some ‘epic songs’ are very long and masters can spend most of their lives memorising the words.

Classical Persian music is almost always downbeat and can sound decidedly mournful or, as one young Shirazi told us, ‘depressing’. Despite this, it remains hugely popular and you’ll hear it in taxis and teahouses across the country. Two singers particularly worth listening out for are Shajarian and Shahram Naziri, both of whom have helped promote interest in classical Persian music internationally.

While the voice is usually central to this form of music, it is backed by several instruments that have deep roots in Persian culture. Among the most common:

• tar – a six-string instrument, usually plucked
• setar – similar to the tar but with four strings
• nay – generic name for various types of flute
• sorna – similar to an oboe
• kamancheh – a kind of four-stringed viola played like a cello
• santur – dulcimer played with delicate wooden mallets
• tombak – vase-shaped drum with a skin at the wide end
• dahol and zarb – large and small drums respectively

Folk

The most appealing and melodious traditional music is heard among ethnic minorities, such as the Turkmen in northern Iran. Azeris favour a unique style of music, often based around a love song, whereas Kurds have a distinctively rhythmic music based mainly around the lute and their own versions of epic songs, called bards.

Folk music employs most of the instruments mentioned above, with regional variations; along the Persian Gulf a type of bagpipe called the demam is popular. The music of Sistan va Baluchestan is understandably similar to that of Pakistan and typically uses instruments such as the tamboorak (similar to the Pakistani tambura, a type of harmonium).

Pop & Rock

Nine-piece Arian was the first mixed-gender band to get official approval after the revolution. Their debut album, Gole Aftabgardoon (The Sunflower), was released in 2000 and soon they were playing to crowds of more than 50,000. Other favourite artists include Benyamin Bahadori, Moin, Omid and current favourites Mohsen Yeganeh and Barobax.

Other Genres

Electronica is another popular musical style in Iran, but most of its artists live and work beyond Iran's shores. Popular names include Deep Dish (Ali 'Dubfire' Shirazi and Shahram Tayebi; US), DJ Aligator (Denmark) and Arsi Nami (US).

Iran's best-known jazz musician is Ardeshir Farah. In 1991 he won a Grammy as part of Strunz & Farah, and he is perhaps Iran's premier crossover artist, collaborating often with Western performers.

Cinema

Before the Islamic Revolution

Iran’s love affair with cinema started at the dawn of the last century and in 1900 the country’s first public cinema opened in Tabriz. Though Iranian films were made earlier, Esmail Kushan’s 1948 The Tempest of Life was the first film to be made in Iran and, since then the home-grown industry has not looked back.

It was not until the 1960s, however, that the first signs of a distinctive Iranian cinematic language emerged, with poet Forough Farrokhzad’s 1962 film of life in a leper colony, The House Is Black, and Hajir Darioush's second film Serpent's Skin (which was based on D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover) setting the scene.

In 1969, the release of Darius Mehrjui's The Cow (1969), directed by Darius Mehrjui, really set Iranian cinema on the upward trajectory along which it still travels. A dark, poignant and deceptively simple tale of a man's love for his cow and the trauma he suffers when it dies, the film is set against the backdrop of Iranian village life. In its use of the simple details of daily life in Iran to subtly tell a larger story of love and loss, to make nuanced social commentary on community life, it set the standard for Iranian cinema's central motif.

The first ‘new wave’ of Iranian cinema that followed in the 1970s captured the attention of art-house movie fans around the world: Abbas Kiarostami (who died in 2016), Dariush Mehrjui, Bahram Beiza’i, Khosrow Haritash and Bahram Farmanara.

After the Islamic Revolution

The second ‘new wave’ of Iranian cinema was made up of post-revolutionary directors such as Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Rakhshan Bani Etemad, Majid Majidi and Jafar Panahi. It helped develop a reputation for Iranian cinema as art house, neorealist and poetic.

The newest generation, which mostly refers to directors still working today, is known as the ‘third wave’ and its most notable exponents are Asghar Farhadi, Bahman Ghobadi and Mani Haghighi. Whatever the number, Iranian new wave is consistent in looking at everyday life through a poetic prism that is part fictional feature, part real-life documentary – an Iranian specialty.

Iranians love their own cinema and flock to it in droves. Some Iranians feel the masters are making movies specifically for foreign markets and film festivals. Dozens of films are churned out every year for the domestic market, many of them action flicks, though the appetite for films looking at social issues is increasing.

Of these the most notable is A Separation, the 2012 winner of the Academy Award for best foreign language film and nominee for best original screenplay. Asghar Farhadi's masterfully told film looks at a Tehran couple’s dissolving marriage and how the hiring of a carer for an ill parent complicates matters further. Other Iranian films to receive recognition with an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign-Language Film include Majid Majidi’s film Children of Heaven (1998) and The Salesman (2016).

Sidebar: Hafez

Faces of Love: Hafez and the Poets of Shiraz (Hafez and Jahan Malek Khatun; 2013) is like a greatest hits of Hafez' work, ideal for getting a taste of what all the fuss is about.

Sidebar: Kurdish Folk

The Kâmkârs, a Kurdish family ensemble, have been celebrated for their concerts featuring traditional Iranian music and rousing Kurdish folk songs. They tour in Iran and worldwide. Living Fire (1995) is the easiest of their albums to track down.

Sidebar: Iranian Arthouse

For movie trailers from the latest releases of Iran's art-house film directors, check out the Iranian Film Society (www.irfilms.com). It also has interviews and general industry news.