Of course one of the most interesting aspects of visiting Iran is to get to know better Shiism and Islamic culture. It is interestingly a modern yet religious country, where you discover the history of Shahs and the Islamic revolution, and people who are willing to share their thoughts about both. The question of religion in Iran is hard to disentangle from the questions of gender equality, women's rights, democracy, and politics in general. But before getting into this heated topic, let's look at the beauty of Islamic art and design in Iran.
The Imam Square in Isfahan is among the UNESCO World Heritage sites and said to be the second largest square in the world after the Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is a lively square dominated by the Masjed-e-Shah mosque and Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah mosque (above in the picture). The latter was a mosque for the women in the harem of Shah Abbas I, the king that made Isfahan the beautiful and important city it still today is. Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfollah is wonderfully decorated with blue and yellow tiles, and the cupola was among the most beautiful ones that I saw during our visit in Iran (picture below).
The Masjed-e Shah at the Southern end of the square is equally impressive.
A local young man in Masjed-e Shah wanted to have many photos with me, maybe he presents me as his foreign girlfriend to his friends... Perhaps, I should do the same, the Iranians are not that bad looking after all... :)
For me, the most beautiful mosque in Iran was Masjed-e Jameh in Isfahan. It is a showcase of Islamic art from 800 years during which it was constructed. It is also the biggest mosque in Iran. Taj al-Molk dome of the mosque was gorgeous and as I was wandering alone in its sublime majesty, I got this very humble feeling that you often get in these places that are at once spiritual and great examples of human engineering and craftsman work.
Taj al-Molk dome, Masjed-e Jameh, Isfahan.
The beautiful ceiling of the South Iwan of Masjed-e Jameh, Isfahan.
It was possible to visit all the mosques as a foreigner and as a woman (well, as foreigners we always paid more for the entry, usually something between 100 000 and 150 000 rials, equalling to around 3 euros). In the holiest places they offered me (and also local visitors) a chador that covered me from head to toes. I think that wearing this chador I was ridiculing the holy place more than I would have without it ("Is that a tent for 4 or 6 people?", my sister asked of the chador I was wearing in a photo), but I was glad that there were no other restrictions to visit the mosques.
Wearing a chador inside the Masjed-e Jameh mosque of Yazd.
And from chador to the issue of head scarf... The questions I got most from my friends and colleagues in Europe were about the head scarf. Did I need to use it? Yes, I did. When landing to Tehran, we were announced that the female passengers are reminded that the Islamic Republic of Iran obliges women to cover their hair. Women looked for their handbags and adjusted their scarves, me included. Some of the Iranian women wore it very loosely at the back of their head as an accessory, but others also told us that the moral police did warn them every now and then for showing too much of hair...
Wearing the head scarf didn't bother me - as it was only temporary. Awful to say, but two weeks of wearing a scarf just increased the "exoticism factor" of Iran (luckily it wasn't too hot). But obviously during the trip there were plenty of moments when the absurdity of the legal obligation of covering women's hair and body shapes frustrated - even outraged - me. Honestly, the men cannot control themselves so they make women hide their body, isn't this just fucked up? Woman is not pure if she shows her hair or body shapes? What about the men with the dirty thoughts, why aren't they blamed for? This also reminded me of the great film Timbuktu that we saw just before traveling to Iran: a woman is told to wear gloves by the jihadists and the women replies that her parents already brought her up respectfully and they did so without wearing gloves.
This is of course a debate that is very heated in Europe and elsewhere, but seeing a place where it is compulsory to wear a head scarf, you understand better the profound inequality in the system.
And what craziness is this? A baby wearing a head scarf because otherwise she's not pure? Come on!
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