picking your (iranian) brain

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picking your (iranian) brain

salaamz!

i'm planning on visiting iran at the end of june. the first part of my trip is set, insh'allah, i'll be studying persian at the university of isfahan. i was planning on doing the IEB (islamic education board) program in Qom for four weeks after that because i'd get to study at al-Zahra and go to a lot of different cities with a big group of people, including mashad. but recently i've heard ieb is not so great (rich paki's who send their kids to qom hoping they'll find religion etc, and the classes are like "namaz 101").

i am now inclined to find some other interesting and challenging academic program or a travel-based program that enables me to see and stay in various parts of iran.

do you have any ideas??

is it possible for women to travel alone (i mean without men) in iran? which cities? i've heard tehran is just like a european city, but what about the others?

how much do you pay for plane tickets? i'm finding a lot for around 1400, is that a good deal?

thanks so much for your input!!
rock on,
saba

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I lived in a tourist town (corpus christi) and most of the locals didn't like the tourist. If thats comparable. Also my friend said it's better to vist Qum and Mashad in winter during the down time.

I am hoping to visit Iran soon, and Qom is a must see. I know many people who have moved there from here and they really like it. I can't wait to experience its atmosphere for myself.

Hey brother, It's also the Prophets tradition to speak nicely to musliminas. No matter how off they are in there politics or religion.Play nice

hey u poor excuse for a so called shia. do u know that the sister of Imam Ridha (as) is buried in Qum? what is the point of goin to iran if u dont do ziyarat there.

Hey Nababa

It's not just Tehran there are many other cities like: Shiraz, Esfehan, Mashhad, Kish, etc.
but hey do NOT go to QOM oh my god i can't believe u're planning to go there.... trust me u'll regret it big time, qom is definitely the worst part of iran and average iranians all hate qom for some reason
if u're into religious places go to Mashhad

The crime rate in Qom is very low, at least when I was there last.

We have a specific guy we call when we go to Iran who pretty much takes us anywhere we want for the duration of our trips. He understands our poor farsi and we understand his poor urdu so it works out well. :)

It may help to find someone like that you can pay for the time you are in the city just to have that comfort.

Also we flew into Tehran, but drove from there to Qom, so that may have been cheaper. We got there in like 3 hours I think. I don't know how far Isfahan is from Tehran, so you probably are better off flying.

Also lonelyplanet has a real good travel book that you may consider purchasing.
www.lonelyplanet.com

Salaam, can you let me know if you find any good religious or academic programs in Iran, because i'm planing on being there this summer as well. I've asked a few others but haven't had much luck yet

thanks for your help!

A person who cud definately fill you in is DR. Sachedina...he's a professor of Islamic studies at the university of Virginia and is currently in Iran (Mashad I think) doing some research...his email is [email protected] pls double check it from the university's website....he would be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Qom is a very conservative city obviously. they will think you are a prostitue if you aren't.

why do women have to wear a black chador?

btw - hejab is required in iran, but chador that is required in Qom is that long black one from head to toe... u know which one im talking about.

ok let me see if i can address your points. 1. women can travel alone in iran, i did. 2. tehran is like a european city, but other cities have different standards - for instance in mashad you want to be much more conservatively dressed than in tehran. and in qom you need to wear a chador. 3. plane ticket cost from wash dc to iran varies with season, last august i paid about 1200 roundtrip, and i got to fly business class on iran air one of the ways, its most expensive in summer - i can put u in contact with an iranian travel agent i know if u like. and finally the academic programs - i dont really know too much about them, you may want to contact the head of the islamic institute of new york iiny.org cause they were trying to organize some program last year where students would go to different parts of iran to learn about islam and stuff.....

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picking your (iranian) brain

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Village Journals

Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.