Farewell Iran

Tabatabaei House, Kashan

The Iran trip came to an end and time went by so fast. I've traveled within Iran and got to do some things that I like. It feels like I haven't had time to absorb everything yet. I’m glad I take lots of pictures and that I write about my experiences so I can go back to it and relive it.

One amazing experience during this trip, which has been a dream of mine for a long time was to Para glide. Para gliding is flying in a kite off a mountain. We drove 3500ft up the Alborz Mountains on the north side of Tehran and flew down like an eagle with the city below us. I've realized I really enjoy to fly, I must been a bird in the past! I would love to do more Para gliding and get certified. 

Furthermore, I got to do a little project in my parents cottage close to Astaneh Ashrafieh in Gilan. Since I am a water person, I thought our orchard needed a little fountain. A fountain in a little pool would create a sound effect of water running down the stones and it would be a great add on to our home. The fountain project was a good learning experience. I made a 2 feet tall fountain wall with different size river rocks that I collected. This project will be 100% completed next time I visit my parents.

Fin Garden

 I also had the opportunity to give a day visit to "Kashan" with my close friend Peggy. Kashan is located couple hundred kilometers ( 120miles) south of Tehran. Kashan's history goes back to few thousand years as well as many other cities in Iran. Recently in Kashan archeologists found a human mummy, which is estimated to be 7000 years old. This city has many beautiful old architecture. In Fin garden you see water running from a well through creeks among tall pine trees with a classic persian home in the middle of the garden. Kashan is a place worth to see in Iran.

Iran is such a beautiful country with so many resources. Iran lies in a strategic geographical location and it has been the connection between east to west. This land and it's people has been under many different powers and ruled by many different government. This country has been taken advantage off and robbed so many times throughout history. Few weeks ago news released that $3billion is missing in the central bank system. Last week CEOs from 3 major banks resigned. Iran has become an extreme materialistic society. You are judged by who your parents are, what kind of car you are driving, where you live, what you do and how much you own. I have been trying to detach myself from this materialistic world and live only by my needs. I like beautiful things and comfort, but I don't want to find happiness with the things under my possession. I simply have nothing to show, it's just me! In Iran you can't just be you, you have to be somebody else!

People on our planet right now live in controlled societies. We live in a police world and the degree of that is really high on the scale in Iran. Today the situation in the Middle East is in chaos. All the countries in this region are very tense and concerned. In Iran the communication system is controlled. News and social websites like, BBC, Blogspot, and Facebook are filtered. The phone lines between major cities in Iran get interrupted and internet gets shut down during special events. Subconsciously, people in Iran are under constant fear. People are worried about their future and their children's future. People are worried about health care, work, and education. It's kind of part of the culture to be worried.

When you practice compassion, you can feel other people's pain or happiness. In some situations I think I feel worse than the other person since they don't really know in what degree of closed society they live in. For example, when I see a 10 year old girl covered head to toe in black "chador" I feel sorry and wish she could live just a 10 year old child life and had the opportunity to live in a less controlled world. Many people in this society are used to the system and don't realize the little cubical they live in. We all live in a cubical. Our cubical world has different thickness. The walls are very thick in Iran. I hope we can break these walls and let some light in and find peace and freedom. As an Earthling we don't need any borders between the countries on our planet. Everybody should be able to go wherever they like to whenever they like to. When we are not allowed to cross a line then we are more eager to see what's on the other side. I feel bad for many people in Iran and other countries in the world that can't get permission to go to other countries and see the world outside.  When the amount of resources available on our planet is equally distributed between everyone and it’s in harmony with nature then we can live where ever our hearts take us. Then we would not fight, kill, steal, lie, and we all would live better lives in a better world. I am looking forward to that day in my life time.

Love from Iran

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