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In The Footsteps Of Darius

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I started my exploration of Iran at 35,000 feet. Sitting next to an Iranian woman on my flight bound for the Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, I was educated about her native country’s recent past. Living in Los Angeles, she was part of the huge diaspora that took place in the late 1970’s due to the turmoil regime change. She said that I would be surprised by just how much curiosity and open-mindedness I would be greeted with as I explored her native country. The following three weeks and 2,000 miles were to prove her right.

Nomad couple living near Yazd

Nomad couple living near Yazd © Emanuel Luttersdorfer

This country of 75 million people located between Iraq in the West, the Stans in the North, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the East and the Persian Gulf to the South has a landscape as diverse as its people.  I started in the heart of ancient Persia, journeying from Tehran by plane down to Shiraz, known as the city of poetry, then making my way back to the capital exploring the ancient city of Persepolis, and the magnificent architecture of Yazd, Isfahan and Kashan along the way. After exploring the capital, I continued to the Caspian Sea visiting the bird sanctuary near Behshahr then to climb, 19000-foot Mt. Damavand, the tallest mountain in the greater Middle East. 
 
What I experienced was far from what I expected. My seatmate was right. It´s certainly not a country dominated by Mullahs and burqa-draped women. Yes, there are more formal dress codes especially for women now then in the pre-revolution years, but a sense of fashion and style is just under the surface both figuratively and literally.  In spite of being under various embargoes for decades the country still makes an excellent and well-developed impression with a solid infrastructure. The streets are clean, the accommodations basic, but comfortable, and the people – from the man on the street to the waiter in the restaurant always friendly and helpful.
Shahyad Tower in Tehran

Shahyad Tower in Tehran © Emanuel Luttersdorfer

As I toured Tehran – the Golestan Palace, Shahyad Tower, the palaces of the Pahlavani dynasty and the nearby Grand Bazaar, endless parades of school children became the subjects of my photos and I became the willing subject in the pictures of countless domestic travelers. To be in a picture with a foreigner seemed to be a popular souvenir and a great way for human interaction. 
 
Each day’s exploration ended with a fabulous dinner of kebab, Ghormeh Sabzi, Fesenjan or Dizi followed by a good smoke with a Narghile, the Farsi word for a Shisha or Hookah. This après-dinner time gave me a chance to process the mind-boggling impressions from each day’s events. As applicable to so many things in life, seeing is believing. There is no substitute for the wonders of travel.
The dome of the Lotfollah mosque in Isfahan

The dome of the Lotfollah mosque in Isfahan © Emanuel Luttersdorfer

Photo Credits

All Photographs Are © Emanuel Luttersdorfer

Emanuel Luttersdorfer Photographer Bio

biopic-002Austrian-born Emanuel Luttersdorfer is a medical doctor based in Beijing working with the international community.  His interest in foreign cultures and places led him to study Tropical Medicine in Thailand which was the starting point for a life as an expat in Asia.  After studying photography with internationally acclaimed travel-photographer Mark Edward Harris, the camera became an essential tool for his life abroad, always on the lookout for special places and moments to record.

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Comments

  3. Dr. Emanuel, great article and lictures about country, my first diplomatic post in 1994 and where met my wife Doris Fida.

    Best wishes frim Dublin.

    Bernard Šrajner

    Reply

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