Tehran, In The News

There were two hot topics at every dinner party. Number one: The Obama / McCain presidential election. Number two: The merchants in the bazaar went on strike. The strike was significant because the last time the bazaar’s lights went dark, it signaled the start of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. This time, the government wanted to impose a three-percent value-added tax.

Evidence of the strike really hit home when we were spending time with our family friend, who happens to be a jeweler. We sat in his store one afternoon drinking tea and eyeing all the gold, as the jewelers began locking their doors. I went outside to witness the commotion and noticed that one by one storeowners were bringing down their storefront gates. Our friend explained that his choices were dim, “It’s wrong for us to close our doors, but it’s even worse for us if we don’t.”

Tehran has also become synonymous with traffic. Whether you are driving to the airport, cruising on Africa Boulevard, or visiting the Borj-e Azadi (Freedom Tower), chances are you are stuck in one of the busiest cross sections of the city. You have to give yourself hours of buffer-time whenever you leave your house (if you are brave enough to endure the traffic, that is). And as far as the rules of driving in Tehran… there are none. Three-lane roads turn into five-lane roads, and the goal of every driver is to avoid hitting any pedestrians. And yet, I repeatedly heard my uncle claim that “Iranians are the best drivers in the world.”