From the moment I lined up at the Iran air counter I felt more comfortable. I immediately met people who readily smiled, who were polite, open and sensitive, so different from the Chinese who made me think of the drab culture of communist states where the concept of "service" may be almost unheard of., and work is performed in an sullen way.almost all the Chinese that I observed emitted this distinct vibe of being down to earth, materialist, atheist and physical. A country of peasants?
Iranians on the other hand make me think of the moon and the stars, poetry, intelligence, and some of the women I saw were dressed like sisters of Scheherazade . Their rich, wavy dark hair tied up on the back of their head and further enhanced by a thick band of ruffled fabric draped around it like a wreath, enlarging the volume of their bun considerably. Over this they draped their scarf, I had a chance to observe the whole process of how this was done as many of them only put on their headscarves when they got ready to board the Iran air plane. For some the scarf would hang from this pile of hair on the back of their head, exposing their entire head, most of their hair, the line of their checks and jawbones,the chiffony scarf loosely looping around their slender neck. Others draped their scarf over their hair piled almost on the top of their head, a silken veil enhancing their exotic faces and moreover they were dressed in colorful oriental clothes, a tunic with tight Indian style pants, they positively reminded me of Genie, the US series starring the young and beautiful Barbara Eden whose character, I now realised, must have been modeled exactly on these women. They had it all, but for the pink bolero and the semitransparent harem pants. These women sat gracefully in the airport lounge with a slightly sulking expression, like a slightly withdrawn passive beauty, and they had the typical nose jobs too that are so popular among young nubile women in Iran , one of them still had the bandage on her nose from a recent operation. In Iran girls proudly and unashamedly walk the streets with their bandaged newly shaped downsized and straightened nose, which seems to be done in preparation for marriage, and every time I look at them I wish they would leave it, as they often have beautifully curved noses, in a line a Western girl could never achieve, no matter what her genes are. But lo, they want to look like us!
The men were often friendly and helpful, one helping me check in and offering to give me his card so I can contact him if I have any questions while in Iran.
Another one giving me advice what to get my hosts as a present when I asked him. The most popular gift in Iran is perfume, he told me, and the most popular perfume among Iranians is Chanel Blue. I did not quite buy Chanel, but buy perfume I did, hoping that the husband would be content with smelling the fragrance on his wife or daughter.
Then another young Iranian man sat down near me, he smelled of beer, told me he lived in London and asked if I too was headed for Iran. I wondered if he thought if I was waiting at the wrong gate but he was just curious why I was going there. I answered :"Iran is the only country where everyone asks me why I go there, including the Iranians themselves. What on earth do you want in Iran?they ask me, it is sad, really" I told him, and he agreed.
Before at the check-in the other man had told me that now, just four days ago, the president had changed. Ahmedinejad was out and Rouhani was in, and now hopefully everything would get better. His company used to do business with Mercedes Benz in Germany until four years ago , and he had been to my country many times, he told me, but the sanctions changed all that. I wished him well for the future and said, yes, I know the whole country seemed really happy when Rouhani won the elections. He said, it would be easier for me too now to travel in Iran.
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