Signs of the Time

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

View of Tehran approaching from the south with the Alborz in the background. The geographical setting of the city was stunning and, like its inhabitants, comparable to Los Angeles. All of Iran is great, but Tehran has to compete with Bombay, London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco for the status of a great world city. No I'm not impressed by New York.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

View of Esfahan.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Random peaceful garden in the middle of the Shiraz bazaar.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Iran's freeways put the US to shame. I definitely had a moment here where I felt I could be going to Vegas along I-15. And like half the people going to Vegas, everyone speaks Persian!

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

View of Yazd. Contrast this with the green in other pics.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Anar are infinitely tasty but also extremely attractive landscape plants. Considering similarities in climate, I don't understate why Californians have failed to import anar for widespread use along with everything else from Iran.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Traffic in Tehran lived up to expectations. This is the Hemmat Freeway at 9pm. Driving also seemed to be last hold out of "being third world" left in what is otherwise just another European country. At one point near Natanz my guide insisted on making a turn off the freeway into the bush instead of going 500m to the exit.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Valiasr (Pahlavi) Avenue in Tehran. I was constantly amazed by how green everything is, especially set in contrast to the surrounding aridity. Iran struck a fine balance between great moderninfrastructure and "simpler" technology such as the ability to build an awesome garden.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Musavi in the Shiraz bazaar. Bazaris seem to have come out in force for Musavi as posters were everywhere. This proabably has something to do with economics, which Ahmadinezhad doesn't see the importance of. While Musavi is broadly liberal, the other two candidates both have talking points emphasising economic reform in contrast to the current pres. For Karrubi it's distributing oil-wealth to individuals like in Alaska and Rezai talks about scaling down state ownership.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Khamenei, seen here on the Modarres Freeway, is generally portrayed as the calming father figure with lots of spiffy statements on reform. Here he's extolling the virtues of the country's justice system.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

Karrubi posters in Vanak Square in Tehran. These are what aroused the interest of the police. Karubi, who's advertising seems to be restricted to Damavand and North Tehran, is running a campaign that says 'hey I'm here'. One bystander pointed out that this photos is interesting because he doesn't appear high on opium in it.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

I ended up milling around with a bunch of Musavi supporters and helping them distribute election materials. It seems most of Musavi's stuff has Khatami on it. I asked a lot of people if Khatami might not be a hindrance as he would serve as a reminder of frustration. Surprising no, and the guy is viewed by North Tehranis and rural villagers as something of a rock star and great politican. Another comment I heard across the spectrum was that people liked an uncorrupt cleric who reminded them the clergy should be a force for good.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.

1 comment

A huge portion of the election material is focused on advertising for the system as a whole. This poster, near the Borje Azadi, shows the political spectrum, with former pres Khatami, former pres Rafsanjani, and of course dear old Khamenei. Cynical people chilling around the borj with me pointed out that it reminds them that everyone is on the same team anyway. Of course I consider Obama and McCain to both be conservatives so who am I to judge? The state was spending a lot of time "getting out the vote" even though I only met two people who said they weren't planning on voting.

Taking a trip through Iran in May, 2009.