IRAN

...

Depressed you say?

It's all in your head.

Pics are depressed!

Dirty streets, polluted air, miserable people, blind beggar with violin, Typical tehran! I mean the place looks like crap!

Glad, glad, glad

Enjoyed your comment Mola.  Reminded me a little of the Cat in the Hat.  :)

Nostalgic . . .

Great nostalgic pics; thanks for sharing!

Each shot speaks of stories untold, volumes of life tales longing to be shared.

آفرین

آفرین، آفرین، آفرین، آفرین، و آفرین.

Most Real I have seen

Thanks Kam for sharing your views with us! I could smell each spot, I could have a conversation with each character, I could feel the motion.... I was at least in part there!

I will definitely see your flickr page for the captions. (Thank you Yolanda for the info : )

Re: Repeat After Me..

"Iran is bad, bad, bad

women are fat, fat, fat

men wear hat, hat, hat"

I looked at the pictures a tad

and asked again: 

Why Iran is bad, bad, bad?

"Their dogs are mad, mad, mad

and they hate cat, cat, cat

the trees are sad, sad, sad

that's why Iran is bad, bad, bad."

Repeated the alienated, delusional crowd

on this Iranian website.

But as for Hazrate Shotor and me

these pictures are wonderful to see.

Are you addressing me Mr. Ala?

Where did I say the pictures are not places in Iran?  I said I would like to bet if you find them. 

If you're addressing me, where did I say that you said such a thing?!!!  All I said was that the IR has made the conditions of the country such that people do not want to return.  People don;t want to give up political and personal freedoms, and also, they cannot invest in Iran because of IR's policies which have brought on sanctions.   

Where?

Where did I say the pictures are not places in Iran?  I said I would like to bet if you find them.   Every country has ghetto’s.  It is unfair to put those pictures up and take a shot at Iran.Yes, everything is IRI’s fault such as tons of trash in streets, doing anything to get ahead, not respecting each other or caring for our heritage. 

Repeat after me:

 everything in Iran is bad bad bad.

infant mortality has nothing to do with poverty index

everything in Iran is bad bad bad

in Iran 70million people don't exist

everything in Iran is bad bad bad 

Mr. Ala

Many of the South Koreans who I know returned to their country to build it or help it to change for better.  South Koreans care about each other and put their country ahead of their personal interest(s).  I hope you get my drift . . . Iran will not change for better by criticizing it.

The government of South Korea is not a theocracy.  It doesn't jail, rape, hang and torture its citizens for their political opinions.  It also doesn't force women into a compulsory dress code.  So, you will have to forgive the diaspora Iranians for not wanting to leave free societies and return to a place where they can spend a year in Evin just for saying that Khamenei's turban should be yellow instead of black.  Plus, South Korea doesn't have a billigerent government that has brought sanctions upon its country in a way that would discourage investment by expats (that would be North Korea). What I'm trying to say is that the atmosphere in Iran is not conducive to mass return of Iranians abroad, and that is IR's fault, not anyone else's.    

......

If you go to the photographer's flickr page....every photo has a caption! The photos are from Iran....no doubt!

South Koreans vs. Iranians

If betting was permissible, it would be practical to bet on many of these pictures if people can find their locations.  How can someone be away from Iran for 33 years or call himself Michael but criticize other elements in Iran?     Several weeks ago, I took a bus from Ghodes square to Toopkhoneh, then I went to the bus terminal behind Park shahr, to catch another bus to Nazi-abad.  Even in Nazi-abad I did not see these sorts of pictures.  The pictures are depressing to look at especially if one lived outside of Iran.   

I also have been to South Korea and know many of them.  South Koreans who live in the USA, for example, do not own 40% of Beverly Hills or drive fancy cars to impress others.  Many of the South Koreans who I know returned to their country to build it or help it to change for better.  South Koreans care about each other and put their country ahead of their personal interest(s).  I hope you get my drift . . . Iran will not change for better by criticizing it.

.......

Thank you, Vildemose!

Iran is better than N. Korea (except in enriching uranium), but no way better than S. Korea! If Mullahs were not in power, Iran could have been better than S. Korea!

Thank you, MG, for your last 2 posts! Great job!

Someone is travelling between US and Iran.....he claimed he also visited Jordan, S. Korea, and Israel! I wonder who paid for his air fares!

The feeling is very mutual, to say the least

What I'm about to write goes gainst Iranian creed of hospitality and all that but:

good riddance and stay out  of here. Never liked you 'avatar' or the content of it. The last thing anyone here needs is another confused Cyber Basij going back and forth to Islamic Republic and yet having a hard time spelling  T H E O C R A C Y. Shame on you. No love and kiss for Sandis crowd around here.

dont care dont need this!

mash gahasem, ok, dont know exactly what you mean but have fun with someone who really knows iran like yolanda does. while at it maybe she can tell you all about s.korean healthy suicide rate and depressed population! maybe their depression comes from their worries about iri!!!
i get it, iget it, this aint a place to talk about serious stuff, this is a place to rant!!!! hopefully ya all get what you want.
good luck to you all. i am outa here b/c to me this ain a place for cultural exchange. this is fox news of iranian kind! love and kisses.

Joe L. don't kid yourself Iran under Islamic Republic

has been one big hell/jail/torture chamber/... for the past 32 years. No matters how much you love her, if you don't oppose IR and fully support Iranian people's life and death struggle against mullahs, you're really as good as those Sandis crowd.The way you're going back and forth to Iran and the US, my wild hunch would place you on the side of Sandis crowd.

Hmmm...

You sure do see the grammatical prefix "Al-" before a lot of words in the signs and ads! Didn't know this was ever part of OUR language!

NOT NICE

"I recall JoeL is a devout, mosque-going American muslim."

and that means? if i was a church going american christian would you like me more? are you answering my call to talk realistically about iran or are you confusing the issue? let all people be the judge if your approach is right?! anyone here find her comment racist (and her a bigot)? lets talk for real. lets start with my christian (assumption) friend here vildemose, can i ask you when was the last time you visited your country? maybe i can communicate better with people who have been there. this way we can first establish some commonality before talking further.

my love for iran goes

my love for iran goes further than words. i love iran to be free and people be happy. my emphasis is that iran is larger than government alone. i hate people who dont know that country talk like our ignorant politicians and our media. if this site was balanced then we could talk about all the problems in iran. if i never was in iran, coming here i would think its hell. well its not! does that make me iri agent?

.....

i have been all over iran and s.korea not all over the place on political spectrum. if i sound like iri to you is b/c ive been there back and forth. ive been to israel too. jordan too. south asia too. i search for cultures and see the situations from historical and cultural perspective. on the other hand you sound like a typical pro israeli and those confused americans (if you are one) who agree with liberals on one hand and support conservatives in israel! make sense?
look, your lack of vision about where iran is and where is going points to your lack of understanding of cultures and people. if you think a simple worker in s.korea is better off than a simple worker in iran is because you are simple minded! its b/c you view the world from your lens and your values! thats WRONG. if you think quality of life for the majority is based on having large corporation with rich owners vs health care and relaxed life style for the majority then you are a teabagger.
i see a lot of issues when i travel around and get to know the countries and people. iran is no exceptions. but if for one second you think that society in s.korean is soft and relaxed, you are simple minded and shallow. the issue goes far deeper than you think.
iran and s.korea have their own traditions. so does india, pakistan, iraq, jordan, syria, and all the other countries. you compare the richest lifestyles of anywhere (americans for example) vs the poorest in iran!!!??? lets compare iranian general lifestyle vs s.korean and then talk. a news for you, an iranian middle class has more in iran than a middle class american! why dont you research middle classes and lifestyle of the region and the world (not the western europe! then get back to me) you be amazed how iranians live! you and probably some people here are confused when it comes to iran. i hear all the problems when i visit iran and thats different than when i hear you talking about iran! i am not defending the mullas in iran in anyway but the country is not only the mullas and government. its far from it. its richness is not based on gdp of s.korea vs iran. far from it. its hard to explain these things to people like you. for me is like telling a first grader about advanced math. you wont understand. i would rather be a simple worker in iran than in s.korea, or anywhere in that region. that tells you how i view iran!
**i am FORCED to bring the positives b/c there are ONLY negatives about iran in this site. its NOT BALANCED AT ALL. i understand iranfirst and others who care a great deal about iran, the country belongs to them. i dont believe you are iranian, so whats with you? if they have a negative lens is b/c they are from there and already are aware about the positives, but you seem to only look at negatives without even having a clue as where and what iran is!? thats puzzling.
i want my country and government to understand iran better and people like you are in the way. you are the g.w.bush of this site.
i will be in iran next week. i have a choice to go many places and try to make it at least once a year to iran. how about you? take it from me that once you visit somewhere many times, you have more to say (my words carry more weight) than someone like you. you got one thing right, iran is not s.korea, s.arabia, gulf states, egypt, germany, japan, afghanistan (should i go on?) but its own. the beauty and greatness of iran goes much further than your shallow comments about them iranians. your absolutism in regard to iranians and their "horrific" life shows me that you are not interested in iran but have some sort of political agenda! whether you are from israeli or not, you sure sound like someone from there. unless you have another explanation that i would love to hear.
alles klar?

spot on, Yolanda. S.Korea

spot on, Yolanda. S.Korea does not have oil and gas. It's really a pity why IRI apologists keep peddling the same garbage all the time on IC.

I recall JoeL is a devout, mosque-going American muslim.

...........

S. Korea's GDP ranks #25 while IRI ranks 72 in the wolrd. They don't have forced hijab, stoning, 76 lashes for no hejab, hand amputations! S. Korea does not have gender apartheid! S Korea does not do the weird stuff like seeing "Zion" in "2012"!

In 2008 Olympic Games, S. korea won 31 medals, IRI won 2 medals! S. Korea made it to WC, Iran did not! Come on, lets be honest!

Joe, You have been all over the places....you sound like IRI's career diplomat! Wow! You operate under the American flag......you must be yearning for freedom and fond of global arrogance!

Fantastic series

these are the best collection of Iran pictures.
i dont understand those who see dark or under develop in these pics. iran is wonderful the way it is. people are great and so is the country. iran is a pro capital country and naturally has different level of income. iran is far more developed than you give it credit!

yolanda, i have been in s.korea and iran. been all over. have you been in s. korea and iran? how much do you know about the culture and people in both countries? if you do, then think clear and let us know why there are differences. if you dont then learn instead of talking none sense.
that goes for other weird posters here too. whats wrong with all of you? iran has one of the most progressive welfare system in the world, and the production and products are superb. s. korea is full of free cash from west to show off to north. leave iran alone and see which is more progressive. population in s.korea is very submissive and workers are treated very badly, you cant say that about iran! s. korean women cant stand up against the men, iranian women kick men's behind if they treat them wrongly. i am talking about the people and culture not government alone. s. korea has a lot of problems, but you dont have s.korean.com with negative comments and articles 24/7, do you?

i am beginning to think that this site is ran by some groups that are working hard to turn every part to a negative and ugly picture of iran. thats sad. are you the enemy of iran? how can anyone be so negative?
i dont care if you dont like the government, but you dont have those eyes living in your own neighborhood in the west or america, do you? really? lets talk about poor...

............

Hi! MG,

     You wrote

We're not underachivers, we're late bloomers.

Hopefully it will not be too late......people both inside and outside Iran started to run out of patience.......I agree with both Reader1 and OnlyIran........Iran should do way better than the current situation......I have no idea what natural resources S Korea has besides Kimchi..........but S Korea is better than Iran in Economy, standard of living, air quality, auto industry, airline safety, human rights, number of Olympic medals, and soccer, etc..... I hope Iran catches up very very soon!

Thank you for your post! Thank you!

Only Iran, me begs to differ,

A) We're not underachivers, we're late bloomers.

B) 72 millions is not exactly under population. It's a respectable mid size country.

C) Iranians (including the diaspora) are the most educated in ME, per capita, currently and historically, it just  seem that more are outside of Iran!

D) The condition we seem to be suffering from is called, excuse the expression,

Goh Gijeh Tarikhi. Some claim it as  actually a General Human Condition ( it's a bit more pronounced in Iran), every single country has its own unique social, historical pathology.

E) Last but not least, as long as we have honorary Iranians like Yolanda there's really nothing to worry about. This photographer is really good.

Good point Reader1

 a nation stuck in the past. This is how I remember the country when I left it  well over 3 decades ago -  poor then and poorer now. 

A monumetal testament to our incompetence as a nation, which is due to many, many different socio-political factors.  We should be awarded the award for being the biggest underachievers on this plant.  An under-populated nation that floats on oil and gas and has every resource in the world, including a highly educated population.  What's wrong with us?!!   

Photo #40

Priceless

what an honest compilation

دست شما درد نکنه

Dear Yolanda:"refers hammer and sickle!"

As you may have found out yourself, we're a plastic bag-loving nation. Here she is carrying the hammer and sickle for one of my cousins.

Thanks for the links. Seriously.

Never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything.