This document contains photos and captions from Jason Lee's travels through Iran in 2013. Copyright, and opinions expressed in captions, belong exclusively to him.
This is my first photo of Iran. I escaped from Turkmenistan and within minutes of being in Iran I was offered a celebratory cup of non-alcoholic-beer.
Mashad, Iran
This was surprisingly normal to me; by the time I got to Iran I had already spent four or five months in the world of Islam.
The Golestan Palace was used for formal royal receptions durig the Pahlavi era in Tehran. More interestingly, the structure on the right is called a 'windcatcher' which is a 'traditional Persian architectural element to create natural ventilation in building'. I call it an OG AC, sucka.
Tehran Bazaar, Iran
The walls of the now abandoned American embassy feature anti-American murals commissioned by the government of Iran. I never include photos of myself, but felt like it would be fitting to put an American in the foreground of this photo.
They actually renamed the former embassy to something that roughly translates to 'The Den of Espionage' or 'Nest of Spies'.
Note: I didn't meet a single local that actually felt this way.
Argo, Iran
I only usually eat at restaurants with locals present to copy and point at their food to order. When my food came, I took a breath and started mashing my chickpeas with the designated tool like I did it every day.
I love the working man's food.
Tehran, Iran
Iran may have been full of the friendiest people I have ever met ... except this old man. This guy must have been scamming people since tourism opened up again. He literally tried every scam I have ever encountered within minutes:
"My grandson collects foriegn currency. Do you have any? He actually needs a $5 bill to complete his US collection."
I gave him the equivalent of $.05 in Uzbek notes and he asked me how many dollars it was worth. When I explained how it was just a few cents he just balled it up and shoved it into his pocket.
"There is a great traditional teahouse over there with an amazing view great for photos."
The tea house scam ironically covers the entirety of the Silk Road. It is the worst in China.
"I want to show you something really amazing in my country. Ever night there is a..."
I stopped him somewhere at this point. I think he kept losing his place and starting a new scam. I snapped this photo somewhere between scams two and three.
Esfahan, Iran
It is okay, as people just assume I'm Chinese, or even Afghan. I was told that my visa to Iran was only approved because I'm "Asian face". Read: not White.
Whenever I ventured into a holy shrine I would just tell people I was Malaysian...
Tehran, Argo, Iran
This was the ancient entrance of Tehran updated a few decades ago with Gatling gun and RPG.
Tehran, Iran
I love it when someone want me to take a photo of their food. It happens more than you would think.
Tehran Bazaar, Iran
I had a really nice conversation with an older gentleman while taking this night shot. He explained to me how a few years ago the government built a dam up the river halting all the water in the river. He continued in an even more nonchalant sort of way: ' ... but we went and tore it down, so now we have water here again'.
Lesson: don't mess with Iranians and their rivers.
Esfahan, Iran
"In the winter of 1993, miners came across a body with long hair, a beard and some artifacts."
1,700 year old miners preserved in a collapsed salt mine!
Tehran, Iran
"Ayatollah Khomeini, was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. Following the revolution, Khomeini became the country's Supreme Leader, a position created in the constitution as the highest ranking political and religious authority of the nation, which he held until his death."
This is the Imam Khomeini Mosque on the outskirts of Iran. Khomeini's face is plastered on every single public building in Iran. I assumed his mosque and final resting place would be a bit more ornate. It is a pile of concrete and steel towering over the countryside.
Tehran, Iran
When Westerners imagine Iran, they just think of chadors and hijabs. Even though the state may have horrible international relationships, the people inside the country are progressive and want change. Boys rock tattoos and leather jackets while the girls are fashionable, even sometimes wearing a bit too much makeup.
The center of Tehran is all guitar shops.
Iranian architecture is the most exquisite I have ever seen. This is the sixth floor music hall in the Ali Qupa Palace. I left Iran with chronic neck pain because it was always cocked upwards.
Isfahan, Iran
Iran may be the safest I have ever felt in any country I have been to. That includes the US, Canada, and Europe. Every single conversation I had included 'Welcome to Iran' somewhere. These guys didn't speak a word of English when we met. They disappeared for a bit and found me as I was walking out to 'Welcome to Iran' me proudly. When they'd disappeared, they'd gone and found someone who spoke English, and learned.
Esfahan, Iran
This photo was taken from the famed 'Shaking Minaret' in the middle of the ancient abandoned city of Karanaq, Iran. You have to climb the tower through something that resembles a tunnel shooting straight up. At the tower, you well, shake. I popped my camera over the lens and couldn't help but mumble to myself how 'this photo is not worth $1000 if I drop my camera'.
"In the Zoroastrian tradition, once a body ceases to live, it can immediately be contaminated by demons and made impure. To prevent this infiltration, Zoroastrians purified the dead body by exposing it to the elements and local fowl on top of flat-topped towers in the desert called dakhmas. According to a tradition dating back over 3000 years, bodies were arranged on the towers in three concentric circles. Men were placed in the outer circle, women in the middle and children in the inner-most ring. Bodies were then left until their bones were bleached by the elements."
So, you're telling me that when Reagan was being sworn in as Governor of California, Zoroastrians living in Iran were leaving corpses in a tower at the top of a mountain to have their flesh cleaned off by desert vultures as an ancient tradition before burial...!?
I love history.
Yazd, Iran
This is the tight climb through the Shaking Minaret in Karanaq. As I was trying to wiggle my way up through dusty tunnel, I realized I couldn't keep my camera bag on my back. I had to hold it on top of my head to be able to fit and get to the top.
I only ordered the camel stew because it was the cheapest thing on the menu. Who knew camel was the working man's meat?
Kerman, Iran
This is my favorite photo from Iran.
Meybod a tiny town in the Southern region of Iran. In this town there is this very unique weaving method that only the men are allowed to use to create cotton Persian rugs.
Tangent: I grew up looking at street photography at 35mm. A decade ago people started shooting wider around 20mm. Now my favorite is 14mm. It looks like I am creeping in through the window but I am really leaning on this guy's loom.
Guess. Is this:
- an ancient Iranian bird tower used as a home to house 3000+ pigeons to collect their feces as fertilizer
- A famous Gaudi building?
This is the Imam Square in Esfahan, Iran.
There is a very special technique to take photos of horse-drawn carriages. If you just stand in the middle of the road near the carriages path the drivers always steer their horse away from you. But if you jump out of the side of a bush like I did...you freak some people out, but you get a nice wide-angle shot.
Probably one of the things I never thought I would leave in photography.
So usually having one or two minarets means which type of mosque it is: Sunni or Shi'ite. This mosque has none because it is meant for both.
Kerman, Iran
This is my Kurdish friend I met in Iran, climbing a massive hill leading to the most famous Zoroastrian fire temple, carrying a baby that looks like a balloon filled with ice cream...
That is how you smash a thought out.
"Hey do you want to ride a lame horse around this square like dumb tourists for a dollar?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"I hope no-one else sees us."
Imam Square, Esfahan
So this looks Muslim but it is really an Armenian Church wearing a mosque type hat.
Shiraz, Iran
Interesting Iranian fact: Christians and Catholics have to wear head scarves, not just Muslim women.
The scary thing about how amazing the architecture in Iran: everything looks like this.
Random fact: Kerman is a small town close to the hottest place on Earth: Kaluts (photos later)
Kerman, Iran
Persians could have had slushies around 1700 BC:
"Ice houses are buildings used to store ice throughout the year, commonly used prior to the invention of the refrigerator. Some were underground chambers, usually man-made, close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes, but many were buildings with various types of insulation.
During the winter, ice and snow would be taken into the ice house and packed with insulation, often straw or sawdust. It would remain frozen for many months, often until the following winter, and could be used as a source of ice during summer months. The main application of the ice was the storage of perishable foods, but it could also be used simply to cool drinks, or allow ice-cream and sorbet desserts to be prepared. During its heyday a typical commercial ice house would store 30,000 tons in a 30 feet by 100 feet by 45 feet high building."
Meybod, Iran
I was walking down the street and noticed some delicious Khoresht-e Bademjan launching its savory aroma out of its windows. Jokes, I was actually starving and figured 'that gooey and pretty gross looking stuff may be the only food I see in awhile'.
Shiraz, Iran
These ridiculous plastic clacker toy things are an epidemic in Iran. Every single child/grown as man has one.
Random: this kid isn't actually Iranian, but a displaced Afghan. Kerman, Iran was apparently a dangerous place a few years ago and Lonely Planet warns against 'going outside at night because many people are addicted to drugs'.
Neat.
" ... but we have oil up to our eyes! Not our necks but up top to our eyes up here!"
Esfahan, Iran, talking about polictics
See! America and Iran used to be pals.
What world the world look like if everything just listened to the pin?
Shiraz Bazaar, Iran
This is the Vakil Mosque in Shiraz. The only thing more impressive than the 48 enormous columns here is that each one is made from a solid piece of stone.
Masjid Jameh, Yazd, Iran
This is the Lut Desert in Iran and is, on and off, the hottest place on Earth. It is apparently a toss up between Lut, Death Valley, and Turpan, in China.
I am actually standing on a river coming from the mountains in the background. It carried salt down into the basin which the sun dried and cracked.
Lut Desert, Iran
Here are some of the salt rivers that cover Lut Desert, which is the current hottest place in the world.
Lut Desert, Iran
I cannot even describe Luts. It is the hottest place on earth and, not surprisingly, the hottest place I've ever been. The day consisted of hiding in the shade until 7 pm, running around borderline panicking taking as many photos as I could handle, then immediately falling asleep in an air conditioned car, drinking water.
I really cherish the odd interactions I had in Iran. I came into this restaurant every day three days in a row to order chicken and rice. Chicken and rice was the only thing I knew how to say in Farsi at the time, so I just kept telling every one I really liked chicken and rice. The first day the owner said 'OK' as I was grabbing my food. The second evening he proudly greeted me with a 'Good morning!'. And on that third day he smiled, shook my hand, and told me how I was his friend.
Shiraz, Iran
This is the alien landscape of Kaluts in Iran.
This was one of the fake shooting locations that 'Argo' was supposed to be filmed in.
No-one can actually explain the odd rock formations in Kaluts. Some say it is wind errosion, while other speculate the surface was carved by water. I think magic.
" ... people always think they see an ancient city from far away as they drive towards the Kaluts (kalut means castle) in Iran."
By the time I got to Iran from Beijing to Tehran I had already taken over 17,000 photos in 3.5 months. I still had the energy to crawl into a cubby and taken a photo!
Nasir-el-Molk Mosque, the most photographed mosque in southern Iran
There is Beach House Barbie. There is Rollerblade Barbie. And now there is an Islam Barbie.
Shiraz bazaar, Iran
I have been backpacking for something like 29 months and now this is what it looks like when a hotel offers free breakfast. You end up throwing a trash bag in a backpack you cleverly name your 'food sleeve', which sits by your feet during the meal.
Ahwaz, Iran
Cool fact: This food was stolen in Ahwaz, which is one of the top ten hottest cities in the world.
This is Sara Elsabagh and that is the Rushdie book she ironically smuggled into Iran. We briefly met in India over a year ago, celebrating the New Years in Goa. She met me in Beijing, where we both backpacked overland from Beijing to Tehran.
We traveled over 4,000 KMs in China, rode horses in Kyrgyzstan, hitchhiked the Pamir Highway, leading us into Afghanistan where we had to cross a snowy mountain pass to avoid the Taliban, emerging in Uzbekistan to see what was left of the Aral sea, rushing through Turkmenistan to stand at the gates of hell, and finally parting ways in Iran.
She is now the toughest woman I have ever met.
Persopelis is an ancient city that dates to around 515 BC, and not just that French movie...
No-one will ever understand how it feels to run and climb through a desert that is coincidentally the hottest place in the world snapping photos like a mad man before the sun sets. This landscape is unique to only Iran.
Kaluts, Iran
Sometimes the story is a simple one: cute kid, genuine smile, f/1.4
Shiraz, Iran
This is the famed Persepolis, or what Alexander the Great left of it.
"When Alexander returned several years later and saw the ruins, he regretted his act."
"So how many letters in Farsi can you fit on that copper stamp?"
"Three. What do you want on it?"
I stood there thinking for a few minutes and after awhile just laughed out loud, "YYF" (Yo-yo Factory)
Shiraz, Iran
I was accidentally let into Iran during the elections which surprised everybody. Hassan Rouhani was elected, people celebrated in the streets, and all was good.
Part of me expected protests at some point and the rest of me was embarrassed because I thought it would make for good photographs.
Tehran, Iran
This is Chogha Zanbil: the best preserved stepped pyramid in the world. The only country that could possibly rival the sites in Iran is Egypt.
Azadi Square, Tehran, Iran
This is the last photo I took in Iran and also the last one I will post.
The election was a couple of days ago and I think I was accidentally let into the country at the wrong time. On my way out, the immigration police detained me for a few hours and interrogated me.
Grand Bazaar, Tehran, Iran
Daniel notes: Jason came to visit me after his trip to Iran, and gave me Rushdie's Fury. Here we are at Tempelhof.
I met Daniel for the first time briefly in Morocco. Six months later after some coordinating we met in Bulgaria where we backpacked together through the Balkans. Now almost a year after, I've left Iran, and am crashing on his couch in Berlin.
Small world.