Note: This is the first of several blog posts covering a trip to Iran for two weeks in November of 2019.
When my husband ran into old friends at a park restaurant in mid-summer, he learned that the man, Jeremy Iggers, was planning to lead a trip to Iran in the fall. He had led the first one in spring 2019, and had previously traveled on his own another four times. Were we interested? Phil immediately said “I am, but I have to check with Carol. “ I was visiting my daughter in Helena, MT at the time. When I heard, I immediately said “Yes!” When a man comes by offering to sell a unicorn, I don’t hesitate to buy, if the price is right. I hadn’t thought it possible for Americans to tour in Iran, but there it was. The Persian empire dates back before the Common Era and is listed as one of the ten oldest recorded civilizations, dating back to the Bronze age Elamites who developed cuneiform writing.
Getting into the country as an American tourist is not an easy process: First, an application for a VISA needs to be sent in with a copy of the face page of one’s passport and a bio detailing all jobs back to the lemonade stand. The decision can take two months, and we had less than three months until the trip started. Then we booked tickets from Minneapolis/ St. Paul Airport to Tehran, via Austrian Airlines. Then we bought travel insurance, in case the VISAs didn’t come through. We included a four day layover in Vienna after the trip, since it cost less than $100 more. Jeremy booked the two week tour through an Iranian travel agency. 
The requirements were a fixed and approved itinerary and a local guide. Our trip would be focused on the southern half of the country which is the drier and more desert-like. The itinerary would emphasize ancient Persian and Islamic sites and other modern cultural experiences. Our group would number twelve Americans.
This blog generally emphasizes planning one’s own travel and staying away from group travel. The rewards are an itinerary that caters to personal interests and the opportunity for unexpected interactions and happenings that are surprising, delightful or challenging. This was not an option for this trip, but our group gelled nicely, our Iranian guide was terrific, and we managed to choose and buy a wonderful nomadic carpet without dragging the whole group along through persistence and a little help from our friends.
Two other steps in the VISA process upped my anxiety level. After sending in the VISA applications using my current passport, I realized that the six month window before expiration required for foreign travel would close a couple of days before we flew back. I panicked and decided to get a new passport. I sent an expedited passport renewal request that included saying good-bye to my current passport. Our departure date was October 29th. On Oct. 10th I got my new passport. Of course it did not match up with the number from my old passport on the VISA approval letter sent back to us. It did have the same picture that I had used to get my new passport. The final step was to send the authorization and both passports to Washington to the Iranian interests section at the Pakistan embassy with an explanatory letter. One week before departure, the passports were returned with VISAs pasted into our passports.
By 8 pm, October 30th, Iran time, our group had all met each other and landed in Tehran. No woman could leave the plane without the requisite heading covering, legs covered to ankles, arms below elbows, and butt concealed by some kind of loose garment. Thus began our journey with surprises galore.
November 2nd is my birthday. The subject came up, as we twelve were getting to know each other. By Nov. 1st we had left Tehran for the city of Kashan, with a stop along the way to see the over-the-top shrine to Iman Khomeini, the leading cleric of the Iranian revolution in 1979. 
That was my first experience being loaned a full body cover, or chador. The penalty for not bringing one in simple black was that we were draped in a flowered sheet, not the most somber garment, in order to enter the shrine. Women and men are separated within the shrine main area. In case one strays too close to the separation line or does something else improper, there was a woman with a large feather duster to shoo us back. All very low stress and friendly. On the way out in the parking area we saw a row of tents and with some people picnicking. Our guide said that it was a common stopping point for lower income people on their way from point to point. It was covered to keep out the sun a bit and up on a small platform.
By Nov. 2nd we had moved on to Naein for sight-seeing and the old city of Kouhpayeh where we would stay for dinner and an overnight at an updated Abbasi Caravanserai 
Earlier in the day, when we stopped for lunch I had observed a pomegranate seller nearby. There were four different kinds so I decided to celebrate my birthday by organizing a tasting contest before dinner that night. The four were surprisingly different and so much more flavorful than the ones we get in the States. I think we had a clear winner. 
After dinner, to my surprise, someone had organized to provide a birthday cake. Here it is and it was DELICIOUS! Dense and layered and full of flavor. A trip like this was notable for all the expectations I had that came up against reality. “Iranians don’t eat cake”. “Iranians might be unfriendly because we are trying to destroy their economy with our government’s sanctions”. More on this in the next blog post on gender.
Other states, other lives, other souls 