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Afghanistan, bucket list, China, Countries to visit, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, travel
After reading a lot of blog posts about ‘places to see before I die’, I decided to make my own list. Now this is VERY difficult because I want to go practically EVERYWHERE. If someone handed me tickets to go to anywhere in the world, I’d say yes in a heartbeat. But this becomes difficult because no one has handed me a ticket yet 
.
So here’s the list of places I want to see before I die. Note that this is not in an order of preference or anything. I probably want to see all these places equally.
Iran:
One of the cradles of human civilisation, this country has some of the most beautiful ancient history. Persepolis, Pasargadae, Bam, lovely mosques and tombs of poets. Sigh. In spite of the country’s current political situation and a complete change following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Iran still remains completely alluring. It is also supposed to have some of the friendliest people! The once great Persian Empire – what a beautiful country.
Armenia (including Nagorno-Karabakh):
Absolutely gorgeous region with a rich, but forgotten history (to the world, not to Armenians). Officially the first Christian country, Armenia was once part of the Soviet Union. It suffered greatly under the Ottoman Empire and in 1915 saw one of the worst genocides in history. Despite the brutal history, Armenian people are well known for their warm hospitality. It is full of lovely monasteries and greenery. I want to go here so badly and though it doesn’t normally feature on such a list, I’m in love with the country’s rich heritage already. Does anyone want to hand me a ticket ?
Georgia (including Abkhazia):
Armenia’s neighbour – again full of history and culture. Imagine going to the land of the Golden Fleece or the abode of the Svans, or the Black Sea. Absolutely fascinating and beautiful country with so much to offer. Yet it doesn’t usually feature on ‘lists of places to go to’.
Afghanistan:
Sounds so much like a death wish, considering the condition of the country now. But isn’t it fascinating, going through one of the most difficult terrains in the world, which has such deep history? The country has seen so much in recent history, the Soviet invasion, the Taliban, the US led invasion. I want to visit this place just once and see the place where the Buddhas of Bamiyan once stood, and where the Minaret of Jam still stands. Visiting Babur’s tomb in Kabul would be another highlight.
Turkey:
It’s strange to put Armenia and Turkey on my list together, considering how hostile the countries are towards one another. The main reason I want to go to Turkey is for the amazing ancient historical sites it harbours. Being a country between Europe and Asia has lent it some very unique history and culture. There’s Troy, the Hierapolis, Istanbul, Nemrut, and a host of other historical sites. Would be a joy to to try Turkish delight or even baklava on a trip there.
Iraq:
Possibly another death wish, but I can’t help ogle at photos of Samarra and Hatra, and I wonder what it would be like to visit Mesopotamia, Sumer and Babylon. It hurts to think what this country has come to now.
Syria:
Here’s another place which has so much to see. I had fixed an itinerary last year in case I made a plan to visit. But what can I say, the anti-Assad protests began and this beautiful country went tumbling down into a state of bloodshed and disrepair. I hope democracy prevails and that Syria finds lasting peace. The reason there is so much to love here is of course the lovely history again. Some of the oldest continually inhabited cities of Damascus and Aleppo are here. Syria is also one of the last places where Aramaic, or the language of Christ, is spoken. Wonderful historical sites such as Palmyra, Bosra, Hamah and Homs are there just to explore and discover. And the food is apparently brilliant. Does anyone know how to make some fattoush?
Indonesia:
Well, this has been on my list for a LONG time. I want to see Borobudur, Prambanan, Raja Ampat, Bali, Sumatra, Indonesian Borneo, West Papua…I could go on. Who’s buying me the ticket?
Laos:
Well this is a place my Dad visited and LOVES. He’s been to many many many countries, so if Laos is on his favourite countries list, it must be something. Anyhow, I personally prefer non-touristy countries. Laos is full of divine sights such as Luang Prabang. The countryside and the forests are beautiful too I hear.
Egypt:
Probably one of the first countries I wanted to go to ever. I was a big Egyptology buff during my childhood and I always dreamed of seeing the Pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Saqqara, Karnak (and can this list ever end? I don’t think so).
Ethiopia:
Technically I’ve been to the Addis Ababa airport too many times, but I never actually made it outside, which is an enormous pity. Ethiopia is one mythical country that is full of incredible history (again). Some of the most unique churches, such as those in Lalibela are here. The country was mentioned in the Iliad and the Odyssey. It was also called Abyssinia in later history. Not only that, the Queen of Sheba was possibly Ethiopian too.
Greece:
Again, another childhood dream. I was also a Greek mythology lover and spent a lot of my time poring though some Greek mythology books written by Robert Lancelyn Green. I also finished reading the Iliad well in time to criticise the movie ‘Troy’ for its inaccuracies. The beaches in Greece were not the first things that attracted me, but sights such as the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena, the Temple of Zeus, and again I could go on, but I won’t. You get the point.
Chile:
Who cannot be interested in Rapa Nui? But Chile is not only about Easter Island. It’s a lovely country, skinny on the world map, and greatly overshadowed by Argentina and Peru. However, it has some amazing colonial history, as well as recent history (Allende and Pinochet for instance). Filled with natural beauty to the rim, the country is probably not as frequently visited as its neighbour Peru, but is not devoid of sights enough to charm everyone.
China:
China has some 43 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, only surpassed by Italy and Spain. But does that say something about the country? Not only does the amazing history and architecture of this country enough to astound anyone, but its natural beauty cannot be surpassed. You just need to take a look at some of its national parks to understand that point. Best thing of all is how these traditional sites and natural beauty are incorporated into this ever-developing upcoming world superpower. I’ve been to Hong Kong (before its official handover), but it’s mainland China that fascinates me.
Japan:
Who cannot love Japan? Apart from the ever-so-frequent earthquakes, Japan is stocked with beautiful traditional buildings and shrines, and stunning Japanese gardens. It is a land of beautiful landscapes and history. The flipside tends to be that you need to be really rich to go there, but it doesn’t cost to dream now, does it?
New Zealand:
Unsurpassed natural beauty everywhere, lots of different kinds of terrain, and untouched nature. How would anyone want to miss that? For me the icing on the cake also happens to be that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot in this beautiful country, but that’s not the prime reason 
.
Right, I’d better stop here because I could go on and on. I’d love to visit absolutely every country and this list is in no way exhaustive. But it’s time to stop. What are some of the countries you’d love to visit?
P.S. I would like to thank all those photographers who took these pictures. The copyrights belong to them. Unfortunately you don’t get a credits page on the internet, so it’s impossible for me to know. But a BIG thank you!
Hahaha I wish someone gave me tickets!
It’s easy to forget how beautiful some of the current ‘no go’ areas in the world are; I always wanted to got to Iraq, just because I love it’s ancient name of ‘Mesopotamia’! so little time in one life to go everywhere, but this post has certainly given me some new ideas
Thank you! I’m so glad you agree with Iraq on this list. It’s so sad that Iraq was one of the cradles of civilisation. There’s just so much to see. Sad that one just has to say Iraq to conjure images of wars and constant suffering and ‘barbarism’ when there’s so much more to it than that. I’m glad this post helped you with some new ideas
.
Thank you for your comment
I loved your thoughts on all the countries. After I read about a country’s traditions, heritage or history, I always dream of going there. But I haven’t bothered to keep a record of the list, since I know there will be no end to it. Almost all the countries you mentioned here have been part of that dream. I get drawn to countries by their history and stuff…Egypt has always been part of my top 10 countries to visit!
Thank you!! Yes, it’s the same for me. I think I want to go EVERYWHERE possible. I wish it were possible. Egypt is one of my oldest loves
. Too bad I haven’t gone there yet
My travel bucket list is: Jerusalem, Turkey, Hungary, Prague, Laos, Cairo, Chile (via Rio)
That’s an interesting one. Even I want to visit Israel and Palestine. And the Czech Republic, and Hungary (but I want to visit every place – that’s true too).
Thank you very much for sharing and explaining these postcard photos that are well taken.
My pleasure
You should see Baalbek in Lebanon should you ever get the chance. It’s the largest Roman temple complex in the world, a UNESCO world heritage site. Of course, I just learned last night that Armenia also has a UNESCO world heritage site–Geghard Monastery. I can’t wait to see that and also the rebuilt Garni pagan temple.
I’ve wanted to visit Lebanon too and see sites such as Baalbek. I’m sure it’s beautiful! Too many countries to visit for sure.
Yes, Armenia has 3 UNESCO world heritage sites as far as I know. I want to see all – and Garni (as you rightly mentioned)!
What are some of the countries you’d like to visit?
I’d love to go back to Lebanon for sure. But besides that, I’ve been itching to go to Armenia for the longest time. I’d also like to visit Syria and Turkey. It would be interesting to go to where my family was originally from, which near the Syrian-Turkish border. Plus, I’m interested in the history and the antiquities. I’d love to visit Greece as well. Italy would be awesome, particularly Florence and Rome. I’d love to see all of the artwork that I studied in an Italian Renaissance class. Sometime, I’d like to visit Mexico as well. Iceland’s been on my list, too. I read the Icelandic sagas, so it’d be nice to see where the action took place. I wouldn’t mind going to Germany and Russia as well. China would be awesome, too. I took just one semester of Chinese, but I find the culture to be fascinating. India would be awesome. I love Indian cuisine, and I’ve learned a lot about the cultures and the religions of the region as well. It’s very diverse.
I’m not familiar with all three of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Armenia. Do you know what they are off of the top of your head? If not, no biggie. I’m sure I can look them up actually.
Actually, I just looked up the world heritage sites for Armenia. One of them is Etchmiadzin, and I’ve been wanting to go there for years now. But it turns out that some Armenian sites in Iran have been added to the list, which I thought was interesting. I’d love to visit Iran and see Persepolis as well. I’m sure that’s probably a world heritage site if any is. Iran and Armenia have great relations, too, but being an American might be problematic for me. Too bad I can’t be a dual citizen of Armenia easily.
Here’s the link about the Iranian Armenian sites:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1262/
Unfortunately I can never remember a lot of the Armenian monastery names (apart from Khor Virap
, but that’s not a UNESCO world heritage site). I misspell Etchmiadzin. But I did remember there were three, but now you’ve already seen the names of course.
Yeah, Iran has a sizeable Armenian community and the Armenian monastic ensembles in Iran are a world heritage site. I think there are a couple of Armenian monasteries in Iran that are included in that ensemble – and they’re situated primarily in the West and East Azerbayjan provinces. I’ve seen pictures and they look gorgeous. There are also some wonderful Armenian monasteries in the city of Isfahan.
I think (If I remember correctly), Iran has some 17 UNESCO World heritage sites, including Persepolis (as you rightly mentioned).
I think it might be just slightly difficult for you to get into Iran as an American, but not by any means impossible. I think for Americans, you have to book with a travel agency or you have to give your detailed itinerary if you plan to travel independently.
Thanks for the link! If someone asked me which country I’d love to visit most at this point in time, I’d have to say Iran.
Iran has such a rich culture! I can’t blame you for wanting to go there. If I were an Armenian citizen, too, it would be no problem to go to Iran with an Armenian passport. I can get an Armenian passport that is good for only entering Armenia. That’s all you can get without becoming a citizen. Becoming a citizen of Armenia is not so easy if you want to keep your old citizenship as well. It would be easy if I wanted to give up my American citizenship, but I don’t want to do that because then I could not come back very easily. Dual citizenship used to be outlawed, but now they allow it, but you have to jump through some hurdles. But it’s easier to get a passport, as I said, to stay and work in Armenia, being of Armenian descent. If I wanted you are right that I probably could go to Iran as part of a tour if I booked well in advance. But it’d have to be a tour that included the Armenian sites and Persepolis for me to be interested
Yes it does indeed! And I’ve always heard from people that Iranians are among the most hospitable people in the world. Additionally, the history of Persia is altogether too fascinating to be missed for anyone remotely interested in history.
I wasn’t aware that it’s that difficult to get an Armenian passport. I wonder how difficult it would be for American citizens with Armenian descent to get into Iran. Considering the complications surrounding the Armenian citizenship process, I wonder how many people get put off with the idea eventually. It’s strange it’s so complicated because the Armenian diaspora is huge and I’m sure so many want to return after being spread all across various parts of the world post 1915.
I think it should be possible for Persepolis and the Western and Eastern Azerbayjan provinces to be included in some tour packages. I think there might be some travel agencies that let you design your itinerary, but I don’t know :/. I’ve also heard it may be possible for American citizens to travel independently, but they must give every detail of their planned itinerary. But I guess that needs to be confirmed.
Well, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. It seems like it would be so easy to combine an Armenia and Iran trip, though, because they border each other, but I’d probably do the trips separately. For now, I’m not going to be visiting either country, though. But some day for sure, particularly Armenia. But most of my family lives in Lebanon, the US, and France. I wish I did have some relatives in Armenia, but as you said, we are spread out all over the place!! I think more Armenians would return if Armenia were better off economically and politically. I mean, the place could be better off. It was one of the better off places in the Soviet times. I’ve heard it was the third richest Soviet republic, but now, it’s poorer unfortunately.
Yes even when I see trips to that region I always think it would be great to go to Iran, cross the border into Armenia and then go through to Georgia as well. That would be lovely – and practical. I understand your deep desire to go to Armenia – I hope you do some time
.
Your relatives are spread out in many places! But it’s great you have relatives in Lebanon too. I hope they’re fine right now as I just read that Syria’s conflict has spilled into Lebanon too
. I don’t think it’s happened in Beirut though.
Hmmm yes that definitely makes sense. Armenia is not very well off economically so that must be one of the reasons people from the diaspora have to re-think the decision of repatriating. I didn’t know it was the richest Soviet republic back then – that’s interesting. It’s had to go through some hard times though being landlocked and then having problems with Azerbaijan and Turkey and then losing a lot (economically as well) due to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict (in recent years I mean).
You know a lot about Armenia. Anyway, it was the third richest republic, not the richest one. But if you look at the former Soviet Union now, I’m sure that states like the Baltic states are all much richer than Armenia, but they are more integrated into Europe.
The conflict in Syria is spilling over into Lebanon. Not too far back, a bomb went off in the neighborhood of Ashrafiya, which was nearby some of my relatives’ place. Thankfully they weren’t hurt.
I’d like to visit Nagorno-Karabagh as well. In Armenian, we call it Artsakh. It seems very beautiful from the pictures I have seen. They recently built an airport in the capital there, but Azerbaijan has threatened to shoot down any planes that attempt to fly there.
Well I try to know bits about countries I’m interested in, but it’s never enough
.
True that. I think the Baltic states would be richer than Armenia. I’ve always wondered – do Armenians think they’re Asian or European? Aren’t there many differences in opinion regarding this?
Oh gosh! Sounds terrible.I’m glad to hear your relatives weren’t hurt. Everywhere innocent people are pulled into wars that aren’t their own.
I would like to visit Nagorno-Karabakh too. I’ve heard Gandzasar monastery is supposed to be quite something. Would like to go there one day. I had no idea they’d built an airport. In Stepanakert? Is the tension growing more because of that? Sounds like that to me
The Baltic states are richer, but they end up getting a lot of ire from Russia. You know, Russian hackers took down Estonia’s computer networks, disabling ATMs and the like.
Armenians from the Middle East, such as Lebanon, Syria, etc. tend to say that they are Middle Eastern, but the ones from the Republic of Armenia tend to say that they are European. This is because they were a part of the Soviet Union for so long. Also, the council of Europe decided to include the Transcaucasia region as a part of Europe. Well, you know that means they are including a second Balkans.
Armenians share a lot in common with Europe for a lot of reasons. For one, they were partly Russified. They share western art and music, too. Also, Christianity is a uniting factor for Armenians and Europe. I rather compare Armenians to people from the Balkans. Not so long ago we were all a part of the same Empire, the Ottoman Empire, so people from Southeastern Europe have a lot in common with Armenians, plus they share the same faith basically. There are national differences, of course, but there are national differences throughout the Balkans. Armenians are closest in culture I think to the Greeks. Greeks and Armenians lived side by side for years until almost a hundred years ago. Armenian minority communities live throughout Europe, and they have lived in Eastern Europe for centuries. Now, Armenians also have a lot in common with Turks, but the religion is different, and there is a lot of hostility between the two sides. But a lot of Turks saved the Armenians lives. A lot of Greeks used to live in what is now Turkey, and that is considered the Middle East, too. I met a Greek in one of my classes, and he said that the Greeks can’t decide whether or not they are European or Middle Eastern.
But you know, if you go to Lebanon someday, you’ll see the European influences there, not only the French culture, but the shared Roman/Eastern Mediterranean culture. The buildings are in the Italian style in downtown Beirut, and there is a lot of Italian influence. Lebanon reminded me a lot of what I had seen of Italy on TV, without all of the artwork. I was surprised because I expected it to be more Middle Eastern like. It was in places. I mean, there were mosques here and there, but there are also mosques in Southeastern Europe.
Just my two cents….if you ask me, Armenians are both European and Middle Eastern, depending on where you are from. For someone like me, I’m probably more American than European or Middle Eastern!!! But I’m definitely Armenian.
Thanks for your concern about my family!!!
I haven’t heard of the Gandzasar monastery, but I’ve seen many beautiful churches in the region online.
Yes, the airport is in Stepanakert. There is some growing tension because of that, but the tension has been growing for the longest time because Azerbaijan keeps violating the ceasefire. Also, I don’t know if you heard about the guy who was an Azeri soldier on during a NATO conference who killed an Armenian soldier with an axe. This took place in Hungary, and Hungary has extradited the man back to Azerbaijan where he was released, given a full pardon, an apartment, a raise, and a promotion. For murder! That also has raised tensions in the region. I don’t know if they will in fact open the airport. It’s been built and is ready to go.
I feel bad about the conflict with Azerbaijan, but they are not guilt-free in this. Plus, the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh) have the right to self-determination. It just stinks that countries had to expel each other. The Armenians from Baku and other places in Azerbaijan were expelled, and the Azeris in Armenia were also expelled. That kind of thing is always sad. But Azerbaijan has not shown it is willing to be peaceful with the Armenians, so it’s hard. It is interesting that Nagorno-Karabagh is its own de facto nation. I’ve wondered if they would accept more easily an Armenian-American to live there than Armenia, that is, I wonder if they are more lax in their immigration policies. They may just have the same policies as Armenia. I did know of a blogger who was from America of Armenian descent who lived in Nagorno-Karabagh. He took some amazing pictures. The area is really mountainous and beautiful.
I didn’t know about Russian hackers targeting Estonia’s networks :O.
Hmmm that’s something. Many people consider Armenia to be Asian, and then some consider it to be European. But of course if compared with its neighbours (apart from Georgia), its Christian roots really do put it into a more European sort of culture. And since you said that Greeks are the closest in terms of similarities in culture, it would seem more European too. I didn’t know Greeks had a problem deciding where they belong!
I know what you mean about Lebanon having European influences. Interestingly many of the Northern African countries share some European history too, but the advent of Islam in those countries really changed that history in some ways, so most people don’t perceive them as having many similarities with the Greeks and Romans for instance.
I guess Armenia is more like a crossroad between Middle Eastern and European cultures. That’s great to be a part of that
.
I heard about that news. There was outrage in Armenia because of that wasn’t there? I heard they hailed him as some kind of hero in Azerbaijan. That’s a terrible thing. Murder is murder – no matter who you murder. Terrible that people justify their actions by targeting people they think are from ‘enemy countries’.
Do you think it would be easier for an American of Armenian descent to live in NK? If the situation gets worse, then it will be terrible. I hope somehow these two countries continue with the current ceasefire. Tensions are heating up but lets hope nothing substantial happens. Why is it that the most beautiful regions are usually the most disputed ones?
I’d love to see those pictures taken by the blogger!
Well, as far as the Greeks go, many of them lived in what is called Asia Minor, the present-day Western Turkey, which is part of Asia. They had lived there for millennia. It was sad because after World War I, the two countries had a population exchange, which was very deadly. But Greece I’m sure still has ties to the Middle East. But keep in mind what was said was by a guy I knew, so I can’t say for sure how Greeks look at themselves. Definitely, Greece is totally within Europe, even though many of the islands are close to Turkey. Cyprus is a part of the EU, although it lies pretty close to the Middle East and Turkey.
My friend from Turkey said that if you just visit Istanbul, it will seem very European, but if you go the countryside, the Middle Easternness is pretty obvious.
Definitely North Africa shares some commonality with Europe through the Roman Empire and plus the French influence opened them to French culture. I remember talking to two Africans who were from Chad, I believe, and they were discussing the poetry of Baudelaire. So French colonization and the closeness to Europe I’m sure gives North Africa some proximity to European culture, but again, it’s hard for me to say not having been there. I have a Moroccan friend who loves to play Chopin, so go figure. But a lot of Iranians, too share some aspects of European culture as well, actually. And this is for a number of reasons, but obviously their turn towards political Islam has pushed them away from Europeanization. A lot of people in places like Iran used to speak French, from what I understand, and to this day, they say “Merci” for thank you. (So does Armenia apparently, according to this one online Armenian language quiz. Armenia used to be a part of the Persian empire before it was a part of the Russian empire.)
Yes of course, Asia Minor had unknowingly slipped my mind. Since Asia and Europe are actually one whole land mass, there are bound to be cultural similarities. It’s all quite fascinating actually
.
The French influence in Africa is very strong (even in countries that aren’t in North Africa). People still speak French and I guess that really shapes the kind of literature and music they are exposed to as well. I’ve never been to the French parts of Africa but that would be an interesting trip to go through the countries in the Magreb especially.
Yes, Iranians are very different in that manner. They have links with their own Persian past, with Europeans, with Indians. They’re really quite unique. The Islamic Revolution changed a great many things concerning the governing of the country, but I still think the people are very different. And you’re right, they do use ‘Merci’ when they say thank you. It’s quite interesting that a lot of them know French or bits of French. Interesting that Armenians say Merci too!
Well, it’s the Eastern Armenians that might use the word “merci.” Well, that and the Lebanese Armenians, because many of them speak French. I had to speak to my uncle in French because he didn’t know any English. Otherwise, my family had to translate. Some of them know English better than others. The kids knew English perfectly and they had no accent when they spoke. (Yes, they had American accents!)
As far as Persians go, I used to know a bunch of people of the Baha’i faith. They were very nice and very interesting. They consider one of the important figures in Hinduism to be a figure in their own faith. Their faith comes out of Iran, but they were persecuted by the Islamic government, as they were not Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Zoroastrian (the tolerated faiths) and they appear to be Muslims who are apostates, rather than being of a different faith, because they do believe in Muhammad as well as Jesus and Moses. They don’t ask people to become Baha’i. Instead, they simply invite people to dinner and things like that where they just talk. It was very nice to get to know them, and I learned a lot about Iran, at least from their perspective.
Oh hey, have you seen the movie or read the books Persepolis? It’s a good movie, and the books are good, too. I sat down in a bookstore coffeehouse and read the entire books. They are graphic novels or comic books. There’s two of them, I think. Although the author has written other books as well.
But in any case, I think that French used to be the language to know. I’m reading a Dostoyevsky novel right now called Memoirs From the House of the Dead, and the people in it often want to know French, as a language of polite society. It takes place in Russia. Russia used to dominate Iran, too, along with Britain. Russia dominated the northern half, while Britain dominated the southern half, I believe.
Iran also has ties to Afghanistan as well. They had ties to the Hazara people, who are Shi’a, like the Persians themselves. That’s where the Bamiyan Buddhas were, I think. It’s been a while. Of course, the Taliban hated these people, so that’s also part of the reason they destroyed the Buddhas. Also, the Tajiks, their language is understandable by the Persians, according to my Iranian friends. They can understand Tajik people.
Ah, right. Is there another word for thank you in Armenian? Eastern or Western? Do you speak French fluently too? I know intermediate French but it’s been a long while since I used it so it’s getting rusty now :/.
There were a lot of Baha’is in Zambia when I was in high school. I actually find the Baha’i faith very interesting. You’re right. I think they’ve included either Vishnu or Krishna as a figure in the Baha’i faith. I like that about them – their tolerance towards all religions. I think the Baha’i faith is also one of those religions which doesn’t have any religious restrictions for women as such.
I’ve read about their persecution in Islam. They’re considered to be political opponents and destroyers of Islam and so on. In fact the most important Baha’i sites in Iran, like the house of Ba’b have been completely demolished. What makes matters worse is that their major religious centre is in Israel. I think it’s the Baha’i house of worship in Haifa. Because of that they’re seen as Zionists by the Iranian government. Just a few days ago I’d heard that a number of Baha’is were arrested in Iran. It’s terrible.
I’ve watched Persepolis. A lot of Iranians weren’t really happy with that but then I think it clearly established the difference between pre-Islamic Revolution Iran and post revolution Iran. She has written other books too but I haven’t read them :/.
Let me know how Memoirs From the House of the Dead is.
Yes you’re right. Russia and Britain did invade Iran during WWII so that Germany wouldn’t get hold of the oil refineries. Then they both divided the oil regions among themselves. That’s one of the things that spurred a lot of later events such as the democratically elected PM Mossadegh deciding to nationalise Iran’s oil and then Britain’s MI6 and America’s CIA planning a coup and overthrowing Mossadegh and putting the outsted Shah in his place.
Yes Iran and Afghanistan have historical links definitely. And right now there are apparently millions of Afghan refugees in Iran.
Tajik and Farsi are mutually intelligible? I didn’t know that
The word for thank you is “shnorhagal em” or “shnorhagalutyun” It sounds pretty much the same in both languages, though I think in Eastern Armenian it’s actually “shnorhakal em” or “shnorhakalutyun” It sounds pretty identical though.
I don’t speak French fluently or anything, but I found that I could understand my uncle for the most part, and also the tour guide for my tour in Lebanon. He was using French and English. He would talk in French first, then he would say basically the same thing in English, so I was able to test my understanding. I understood most of what he had to say, and I knew what he was talking about virtually 100% of the time. I took a placement test for French, and it placed me pretty high–something like 3rd year French in college. (I had three years of high school French, which is not as intense). I could’ve taken for one of my medieval classes a medieval French literature class, but I thought might be a bit too difficult for me considering that the class is taught in French.
That’s interesting about the Baha’is in Zambia. I know the faith is one of the fastest growing ones. I know very little about Zambia!
About the headquarters being in Israel, that has to do with the exile of one of the figures in the faith, and he was exiled to that place before Israel even existed. But you are right, it’s in Israel. But so are a lot of Palestinians and Armenians in Haifa.
Memoirs from the House of the Dead is great so far, but I’ve only read a chapter or two. Dostoyevsky really understands the mentality of the prisoners. He seems to understand something now known as Antisocial personality disorder by psychiatrists (it’s listed in a book that they use called the DSM-IV). He understood the mentality well before this disorder was established. Psychiatry is a newer branch of medicine, and much of medicine was not well understood in Dostoyevsky’s day anyhow. But I’ll let you know how it is once I read some more of it. I’ll probably write about it on my blog eventually.
Yeah, about Tajik and Farsi, that’s what my friend told me. He told me he was watching interviews with people from Afghanistan, and he could understand them perfectly. He was speaking of the Tajiks, I remember. Or maybe he was talking about Tajiks from Tajikistan. Well, it’s the same people, from what I understand. Tajikistan is one of those former Soviet republics that has really had it rough!
You know a lot about Iran’s history. I’m impressed.
I came across documents dealing with Iran some when I was studying archival materials from World War II, trying to uncover the Armenian positions during that war. Of course, there were Armenians in Iran, too, but they weren’t as important as the Azeris. I think the Russians tried to get there to be client parties on their behalf, working towards communism or socialism.
I’d have to learn how to pronounce those words
Well I think it’s pretty commendable for you to be able to understand what he was saying! I mean I don’t know how fast they speak French in Lebanon but when I hear French people speaking French I find it very hard to follow. I understand a few lines and by the time I’m processing the meaning, they’ve already spoken another 4 lines. I lose track.
It’s really quite impressive you know so many languages! A medieval French literature class sounds highly interesting but I would have been mortified if I would have had to follow the whole thing in French.
The Baha’is in Zambia are actually Iranians who had fled from the persecution. Over time they’ve settled in Zambia
. Zambia has many nationalities and is a lovely country. I spent my teenage years there so I have great affection for it.
Really? I wasn’t aware that he was exiled to present-day Israel. That would have been ages back right – when the faith came into existence? Around the 1800s probably. I thought they built the House of worship pretty recently (after 1948 and the formation of Israel).
Wow, gotta give it to Dostoyevsky for getting into the mentality of people at that time. It’s somehow enlightening to discover these wonderful ideas that some writers had. Please do let me know when you put up that blog post. Would love to read it.
That’s interesting. I mean I didn’t really know that Tajik and Farsi had similarities. Tajikistan has definitely had it rough – it’s not doing great even now unfortunately. The poorest country in that region.
I think there might have been a lot of Armenians in Iran that time. There are still quite a lot now in Iran. Armenians have special rights as religious minorities in the country apparently.
I know what you mean about French. I mean, I can’t understand most spoken French, but I guess these people were speaking slowly. My uncle was probably not speaking fast because I knew I couldn’t understand otherwise. I think the tour guide was speaking normally, but it was all within a certain context, so I could understand. He was only speaking so many lines at a time, too, because he was switching back and forth between English and French. I did end up speaking some French with the people while on the bus because their English was not good. A lot of Americans assume that everyone in Europe speaks English, but while they may have studied some of it, they clearly don’t speak it….or don’t want to….
Medieval French literature is awesome, but I’ve only read it in translation! I took a medieval literature class that was in English. But I got an idea of what Middle and Old French are like, and they are not like modern French, so it would’ve been quite a challenge. I would’ve taken the class if it were just the texts that were in Old French and we had to figure it out, etc. and the class was taught in English, with English-language discussion of the texts and such. That I could’ve handled, but I could not have handled an advanced class like that talking about hard to understand texts in a foreign language. Yikes! It would be interesting to audit a class like that though. I don’t know if you know what I mean by auditing a class. Just in case you don’t know, it’s where you take a class, but not for a grade. I don’t have the luxury of doing that because you still have to pay for the class in its entirety, and you are still expected to do all of the work, even though you don’t get a grade for it.
I’ll have to look up more on Zambia. Yeah, I didn’t know if the people you were talking about, the Baha’is, if they were Persians or not. I know that Bahai people I have met, a lot of them got their visas or green cards because they were fleeing persecution. This one guy I knew who was a part-time professor–he had a PhD–several of his mentors back in Iran had been executed!
The Bahais might have built the house of worship in modern times, but one of their prophets was exiled to what was then Palestine in the 1800s, I think. It’s interesting because the Bahai texts are in Persian and in Arabic as well. I happened to have studied Arabic. I have a Bahai book that I believe is in Arabic, but I haven’t tried to read it. It’s still very hard for me to read any Arabic. I have to use the dictionary and search and search and search. Learning Armenian is so much easier in that respect because everything is alphabetical basically, even though it’s a different alphabet. With Arabic, everything is listed according to its root, but it’s hard to know what the root is when you see a word that you don’t know. And all of the words begin to look the same after a while. So unless you know the root well, it’s almost impossible to guess the meanings. But I suppose the language becomes a breeze after you learn all of those roots, which seems nearly impossible though!
Well, as far as Dostoyevsky goes, I do talk about what I have read so far in a blog post I made about recent operas I have watched. I watched one based on that book. If you scroll down to where there is a picture of Dostoyevsky, that’s where I begin to talk about the opera and the book its based on. I then talk about the antisocial personality disorder.
You know, I’d like to visit a country like Tajikistan, provided it weren’t too dangerous to do so. It’s a shame that Tajikistan is suffering so much. I’m very interested in Central Asia. When I read Marco Polo in a class over the Mongol Empire, I found it fascinating. He goes through all of these diverse regions. I’m sure the people have changed some and the names have changed for sure. But it’s interesting nevertheless. I believe he went to India, too, if I’m not mistaken. It’s been a while. People for the longest time did not believe he had really traveled to all of the places he said he had traveled to, but nowadays, we tend to believe him.
Armenians do have special rights as religious minorities. So do Jews actually in Iran. They aren’t treated badly from what I understand, despite Israel and all that. But Armenians and Jews and I’m sure other faiths are allowed to do things that Muslims aren’t allowed to do. For instance, Armenians, Jews, etc. can make their own wine. They can’t buy it, but they can make it. Whereas Muslims cannot have wine. Not legally at least.
It’s funny because I studied Ottoman history pretty heavily when I was in school, and the Ottoman world nearly always had taverns, despite the prohibition on alcohol in Islam. There was a point where they even legalized drinking for Muslims in the 19th century. Islamic law and its history are pretty misunderstood even by Muslims themselves. For instance, this whole thing about chopping off people’s hands for stealing, we have no proof that this actually occurred. We have no legal documents showing that someone was sentenced to have their hand chopped off for stealing. Instead, people would get fined. If they were really bad, they’d get executed, but there were no jails hardly for much of the empire’s history. Things started to change in the 19th century, though.
Well, in any case, that’s another story. We did talk about Iran some in my classes too. They always had a very different history than the Ottomans. Armenia and Iran have good relations. Iran is probably the most stable friendly neighbor that Armenia has, but they share only a 50km border.
Well at least it gave you some French practice
. I often wonder how it would be to use a language you’re learning in real life situations. Hehe.
Do many Americans assume that the whole of Europe speaks English? But at least they’d know that French is spoken in France and Spanish in Spain etc.
I can imagine that it must be awesome. But I’m sure it would be very difficult. Like you said – it’s very different from Modern French. That actually sounds like an interesting class. Well I guess people would audit a class if they were seriously interested in it – not for the grades but just for the knowledge
.
His mentors had been executed?! How terrible! How long back was that? As in was it recently during Ahmadinejad’s presidency? Or even prior to the Islamic Revolution? I’ve heard that it’s been pretty terrible for Baha’is in Iran all the time – revolution or not.
I always had this idea that Arabic would be very difficult to learn. And it sounds like that from the way you’ve described it. Roots seem to be the most important! Yikes. How did you learn Arabic?
I should read that post then. Which one is it? Otherwise, no prob. I’ll go through your blog and find it
.
I’d love to visit Tajikistan too. It seems to have a lot of culture – and it’s a place people don’t usually go to. I like such places. I think it shouldn’t be particularly dangerous to go to right now, but I can’t be sure can I?
Yes, Armenians, Jews and other Christians do have special rights in Iran. That’s a good thing, because like you said, people seem to have this perception that Jews are treated badly in Iran because of its attitude towards Israel.
I was watching a documentary where an American had gone to Iran and was interviewing Jews in Tehran. One of the Jews actually said that he didn’t recognise Israel. The host was shocked that he had said something like that being a Jewish person. Then that Jewish man just said that Zionism and Judaism are different things. The Jewish man also took him to a place and gave him vodka. The host also visited a synagogue. Found that interesting.
That’s interesting – I didn’t know that about the Ottoman empire really. I guess in most religions, some things are pretty misunderstood and misinterpreted. That really makes a difference in practice.
I’ve heard that there’s going to be a railway line from Armenia to Iran soon to boost trade relations between the two countries. If that happens, travelling would become a lot more easier
.
I think Americans know that French is spoken in France, Spanish in Spain and the like, but there is this assumption that everyone learns English in school. Even if it is true, I know that a lot of people really can’t speak English. Maybe they didn’t do so well in their English classes. I don’t know. Plus, so many Europeans actually do speak English. It seems that the Dutch commonly speak English, but my friend went to McDonalds and tried to order in English, and that didn’t work. Thank goodness I was there to use my little bit of Dutch to say the number “two” in Dutch, which is “twee.”
I’m not sure how long ago it was that his mentors were executed. I suppose it was during the 80s. I don’t think it was during Ahmadinejad’s presidency. I think it was a while back. I don’t think it was prior to the Islamic revolution. I think that Bahais were tolerated before that. I think people realized the Shah’s shortcomings, but he was more tolerant of Bahais at least, from my understanding.
Arabic is difficult to learn, but it’s very formulaic in a way, which makes it interesting. You “plug-in” the root letters into certain word structures that are almost like “formulas” and it changes the meaning accordingly. It makes it a fascinating language. The grammar is not all that difficult on one level, but the difficulties come in all of the subtleties of the language. I could write in Arabic pretty well using all of my dictionaries and grammar books, but I can’t read Arabic worth a darn.
I learned Arabic in college. I’ve taken several years of it, and I still can’t speak it. Part of the reason for that is that it’s not really a spoken language.
I’m not sure what post you are referring to.
I’m not sure how dangerous Tajikistan is. Of course, you do have to take into account being a woman in an Islamic country. Some places are safe, others are not. But I am sure that the information is readily available on a number of websites. A good one is on the Lonely Planet website. They have a forum called the ‘thorn tree’ or at least that’s what it was called last time I used it. It’s been a while.
You could be a journalist for your willingness to travel to the more exotic and perhaps dangerous parts of the world! Plus, your English is immaculate, so you could speak to a worldwide audience.
I’m not sure how Jews are treated in Iran. I know that some Jews can’t stand Iran, but I don’t think they live there. But at least they aren’t persecuted like the Bahai people. Judaism and Zionism aren’t identical. There are in fact a lot of practicing Jews in Israel who are indifferent to Israel.
A railway line from Armenia to Iran? I have not heard about that! It would be interesting. It would boost trade for sure. Armenia is friends with Iran. Georgia is not as friendly with Armenia as Iran is, plus Georgia has gone through its own instability. There is an Armenian population in Georgia, too, just like in Iran.
I did a report on the Georgian Orthodox Church for one of my classes in history. It was a fascinating topic. The Georgian Orthodox and the Armenian Apostolic Church do not see eye to eye when it comes to Orthodoxy. Some of the architecture looks similar. Georgia seems like a wild place, though.
Hehe it would be surpising if they didn’t know that. Many people in Europe still don’t know very good English as well. Lots do though, but it’s just that since their own language also functions well officially, English doesn’t really end up being that important. That’s unlike the situation in India, where English is a necessity in official situations. I guess in Europe it would also be a matter of how well people can speak English. I’ve heard the people in the Scandinavian countries speak very good English.
Yeah I think the situation for the Baha’is has become worse after the Islamic revolution in Iran. It’s because everything is so theocratic that anything that seems to go against the regime’s beliefs etc is seen as a threat.
Arabic sounds fascinating but really difficult. I wouldn’t even be able to understand the ‘formulas’ stuff because I have no idea how it would be used in the language. It’s already really impressive that you can write Arabic!
You did so many languages in college. That’s really interesting. I think it would take a lot of patience and skill to handle so many languages at once.
I’m not sure either (about how dangerous Tajikistan is), I don’t think it’s very dangerous for tourists, but I could be wrong. Yes, being a woman in an Islamic country has its own set of issues too.
Lonely Planet is always good for these things.
Well I did do Journalism and Mass Communication for my Bachelors. But I’m by no means a journalist. I respect many journalists, but by actually studying journalism, it opened my eyes to the other side of things – sensationalism, the influence of advertisers on news, the interests of journalists themselves, unethical practices etc. Besides, time and time again, I realise that my style of writing is definitely not journalistic. So that’s why I’ve never tried going into that area. I also don’t have high regard for the current journalists in India.
I’m not too sure either, but I don’t think they are treated as badly as most people are led to believe. Even if the Iranian Government has its own strict Islamic approach, I think the Iranian people themselves are probably quite secular. Jews, Zoroastrians, Armenians and Christians are protected by law, so that’s good. Of couse, Zionism and Judaism are two very different things and lots of Jews are against Zionism. Like I remember reading about those Jews who were originally in Palestine before the Aaliyahs took place. They didn’t like the fact that such mass migration was happening.
Yeah that’s what I heard. Apparently they’re planning a railway line. It would be nice if that happened – as you said it would boost trade. Armenia suffers because it’s landlocked so at least this could help it. It seems to have the best relations with Iran (among all its neighbours). I didn’t know that Georgia wasn’t as friendly with Armenia as Iran is. I thought Georgia and Armenia got on well together!
Also I didn’t know about the orthodox churches from these two countries not seeing eye to eye. I’d like to visit Georgia – particularly the Svaneti region. It’s got a strange allure.
Well, the reason I did so many languages in college has to do with my professor, who suggested that I study both Russian and Arabic at the same time, which was incredibly difficult, and I basically was not able to do it. My Arabic grades suffered, and my Russian was a disaster. I didn’t learn much Russian to say the least. As far as Arabic goes, I basically just gave you the gist of the language. Of course, it takes practice and exposure. I’m sure English is hard for some people to learn. It would’ve been better to learn just one language at a time. When I quit Russian, I continued with my Arabic studies. It probably helps that I love linguistics and languages.
Yeah, in some Islamic countries, it’s fine to wear whatever just about (Lebanon for instance). In others, you want to be more conservative (such as Syria). In others, you have to dress the way they say you do (such as Iran and Saudi Arabia).
That’s neat that you studied journalism. You’d be a great journalist. I know what you mean though about the whole dark side of journalism. I know what you mean as well about not having high regard for the journalists in your own country, but there are great journalists out there. One of them is Robin Wright. I’ve read two of her books, and she is quite knowledgeable about radical Islam. We read one of her book in my history class. There’s also Robert Fisk, who is also a decent journalist. He writes about the Middle East a lot. The best books I read about the Middle East were written by journalists. The history books were rather dry in comparison. It’s as if the study of history ruins one’s writing abilities. It’s something to consider!
The Iranian people may be quite secular. It’s hard to tell. It’s not as if the country is a democracy.
A lot of Jews were Arabs and a lot of Arabs were Jews. But what happened was after the creation of the state of Israel, a lot of Arab countries forced out much of their Jewish population, and those Jews largely moved to Israel. So the Arabs don’t have clean hands either. Then in Israel, they say, you aren’t an Arab, you are a Jew. But Arab is a nationality and Judaism is a religion. Two different things, not opposed to each other.
I’m making murgh khorma by the way as I am writing this.
Georgia and Armenia do get along as far as I know, but I think their relationship is not as good as Armenia’s is with Iran.
Yeah, the orthodox churches are split over the Council of Chalcedon. Basically, the Oriental Orthodox do not accept this council’s decision. But these days, a lot of people in the church and outside of it have attempted to reconcile these differences as relatively minor.
I haven’t heard of the Svaneti region. I’ll have to look it up!
That’s brave. I wouldn’t have ever thought of taking up two very different languages at the same time. Grades are not the most important. It’s great you continued with Arabic because of your love for linguistics. That’s important.
Yeah some Islamic countries are pretty liberal that way. I believe Jordan is one such country. Of course Saudi Arabia is another extreme. Looks like their laws for women are a bit too strict. Iran has imposed strict dress codes but they’re more relaxed than that of Saudi Arabia. But yes, there’s always the moral police in Iran to ‘take care’ of people who flout the rules.
The other reason I probably wouldn’t be able to get into Journalism is because I’m not a person who can be assertive or persuasive in order to get information. Like you said, there are many good journalists in the world definitely, and I have the greatest respect for them. They really know what they’re doing and they do it for the love of giving unbiased reports of situations. They really risk their lives for it as well. Robin Wright and Robert Fisk – I’ll check them out. Haha. That’s actually sad. I’m not sure why history books are dry when they shouldn’t be.
The country isn’t a democracy but I guess it’s been a rather secular country at its core over its existence (apart from the Baha’i persecution especially). It has large minority communities and they have helped it grow as a country, so I suppose it tries to keep that part of its culture intact as well. But it’s hard to say unless you really assess the situation first hand.
I know! It’s like Judaism is considered to be a nationality and Arab to be a religion sometimes.
Murgh Khorma – my my you’re really an expert on Indian cooking! I’ve never attempted making those things ever!
Ahhh – my knowledge of Orthodox Christianity in various countries is very limited I’ve gotta say. I’ll have to read up a lot.
It’s ok to be ignorant of Orthodox Christianity! I wouldn’t expect everyone to be an expert, but it’s one of those subjects I’ve studied and find to be fascinating. It’s hard to separate the culture and the religion of certain people, so it’s worth knowing a few things, but it’s not always a question of this or that doctrine, which you can get bogged down into. Sometimes it’s a question of looking at the architecture of the Orthodox world, or icons, or music, and the like, because they are all expressions of Orthodoxy, not just dogma. Well, that’s my opinion at least.
I love cooking, and I love Indian food, and I save money by cooking, so I just basically make nearly every dish out of this one easier to use cookbook that I absolutely love. I had the chance to talk to the author on facebook, and that was nice.
I wouldn’t say that Iran has been a secular country. Maybe it was under the most recent shahs. I don’t know, but certainly it’s form of Islam and how that played out was quite different than in other Islamic lands, such as the Ottoman world. But when the West started encroaching upon Iranian lands, the Islamic thinkers were faced with the same dilemmas nearly everyone faced–including people from Japan, for instance.
I can’t say how Iranian people are because all of the ones I know live in the US, so they may be biased towards secularism, but what you say may be true. In any case, Iranians are some of the nicest people I have met.
You don’t have to be born a journalist to acquire the skills necessary to be a good one. I had a friend who was not so good at first. I had to help him with his writing, and he was clumsy the way he dealt with people he interviewed, but he stuck to his guns and also interviewed the right people at the same time. He might’ve burned some bridges by saying some things that the people he interviewed didn’t want said, but in the end, he ended up winning some awards for his investigative journalism. He was the kind of person who was inspired by people like Noam Chomsky and Robert Fisk who really look beyond the headlines. I don’t know what he’s doing now, but your command of the English language is really high. I can tell from your writing. Maybe you doubt yourself too much! But I can’t tell you that journalism is your field. You have to decide what is most important to you of course!
As far as me taking two languages goes, it seems that a lot of professors speak several languages. I know in scholarly works I have used, it will often just go from English to French and back to English without even a warning or a pause and certainly without translation. Thank goodness I know a bit of French and can figure out a lot with a dictionary and a good book on verbs. My Ottoman history professor seemed to know fluent Turkish and Arabic. I was going to have to know Ottoman Turkish, which is a more Arabized form of Turkish in order to go into Armenian studies. But I don’t even know Armenian, so maybe this down time is good because I am finally getting that language under my belt. I am good with learning languages, but learning two languages at one time is just too much. I don’t do justice to both languages when I do that. Although in high school, I did take Spanish and French at the same time, but that was only for one year. I’ve always been fascinated by language. I taught myself some German not too long ago, and it really helped with my appreciation of German-language opera and music.
My impression of Iran is that they have more equality for women, but with the restrictions that they feel Islam has for women, such as hijab. Whereas Saudi Arabia doesn’t make any pretense of having equality. In Iran, women can do a lot of things that they can’t do in Saudi Arabia, but sometimes things are separated between men and women in Iran, especially things like exercise. I don’t know. I’m not an expert enough to say. I do think it’s ridiculous that women can’t drive cars in Saudi Arabia. I remember watching the Saudi TV in Lebanon, and it was boring. It was just film from the mosques in Saudi Arabia and prayers. But the Shi’a channel actually had real programming, and they had women newsanchors. They just had to wear hijab.
I’m not sure how liberal Jordan is. I’ve met a few Jordanians, and they seem to be a little like Syrians, somewhat conservative perhaps, but nothing like Iran or Saudi Arabia. Lebanon is more liberal perhaps because it is still perceived by some to be a Christian country, rather than an Islamic one. I remember my cousin insisting that Lebanon was a Christian country. I had asked him if it was ok to wear shorts, and that was his response. So apparently, the whole modesty thing is tied to religion to some extent. But the fact is that Lebanon is majority Islamic, but there is not a single dominating sect. The largest group are the Shi’a muslims, though, but they by themselves are not the majority. Muslims as a whole would be a majority, but they are split between Shi’a and Sunni, and the Christians, though they are not as numerous as they once were, they are still a sizeable population there, so they can’t just be ignored.
I would love to know more about Orthodox Christianity too – sounds very fascinating to me. It’s great you actually studied it.
Cooking is good – I mean I would do it more if I knew how to do it properly
. And it’s great you love cooking Indian food too (it’s something I’ve never gotten around to doing 
). You talked to the author on facebook? That’s great that she actually responded.
Iran’s not a secular country right now, but I have a feeling that at points in its history, it was quite secular. I could be wrong of course. The arrival of Islam meant that Zoroastrians had to flee or be converted. Then of course we know about the Baha’is. But that’s more recent history. But I think pre-Islamic Iran might have been quite secular.
I’ve been in touch with a few Iranians and they all seem very nice. I haven’t met them in person though. They are supposed to be some of the nicest people in the world though.
Wow, I give it to your friend for actually growing in that profession. It’s great that he now knows how to do things. Haha – I guess I’m just not the kind of person who can go interview people! Journalists really have to do a lot – like contact people several times, get behind them so that they can get their stories. I cannot do all that – I can be very timid in real life. Thanks for the appreciation (about my command of English). It’s nice to hear it coming from you (since you have a very high command of the language too
). Maybe I’ll write a book – it’s in the pipeline 
.
Professors really surprise me with the number of things they can juggle at the same time. In school, all the language teachers knew multiple languages. Even my music teacher was a polyglot. Not only did he know how to play many musical instruments, but he was a maths expert and knew 11 languages fluently! I think he was Italian.
What you’re doing is wonderful too – your love for languages is great. That’s one way to really have an internationalist approach too. Wow, you know bits of many languages! I’m sure it would be useful when you’re studying scholarly texts and stuff. Good to hear about how German was useful to you!
Iran’s definitely better off than Saudi Arabia for women – no doubt. But yes, since the revolution it has become progressively worse for women. Very true – in Iran women can do a lot of things they can’t do in Saudi Arabia. For instance I had read that 60% of all students attending university in Iran are women. I think it’s ridiculous that women can’t drive in Saudi Arabia too – I mean they’re women with brains and feelings. Seriously.
One of my former classmates is in Jordan and it seems like (at least from the photos) that it’s not that strict on things like clothing.
The modesty thing is definitely tied somewhat to religion. I found it interesting how many Iranians were flocking to Armenia for holidays because they could be free to choose what to wear there, whereas in Iran women would have to wear headscarves and stuff. Many Islamic countries have their restrictions for women, but again, some are not as strict as others. Again I suppose it depends on their understanding of their religion.
You like mountainous places, don’t you? I’m reading that this region of the Svaneti is the a very mountainous place. I love mountains.
I most definitely do love mountainous places
. You’d probably have read that the Svaneti is a UNESCO world heritage site. I watched a Georgian film called Svani in 2007. That started my interest in the region. Did you read up about the Svan towers and things? They’re so ancient and so much a part of daily life for the Svans. I find that very fascinating.
I don’t think I read about the Svan towers, but then again, I remember watching a documentary travel show where they went to Georgia, so maybe they went to those towers. I should definitely read about them. I didn’t know that it was a UNESCO world heritage site. I’ll see if our local library has that film Svani. I noticed today that they have a film about the Armenian genocide. I think it’s a convention or something, but it’s in Russian, I think, and the description didn’t say anything about subtitles. We have a wealth of Russian films, but I don’t know if that translates into having Georgian films. Then again, they have Parajanov’s major works, and two of those are in Georgian.
You give me the names of so many good films to watch. I’m going to have to pester my library to try to get them if they don’t have them already!
No, they don’t seem to have the film Svani, but I’ll see if they can get it somehow. It didn’t take them too long to get the operas I requested, so who knows? I volunteer there, and I constantly see tons of mindless crap in all sorts of languages, so you’d think they could order a few intelligent things for once.
Yes, you’re right. It’s on youtube. I watched Svani at a film festival here in India. Apparently the directors (two brothers) had come for the festival but I missed them. A lot of my classmates then didn’t enjoy the movie, but I guess one would have to be open to different cultures to appreciate it (if not enjoy it). You’d have no problem there because your knowledge and appreciation of other cultures is so high.
And the music for the film is really nice. I became facebook friends with the composer because I liked the music so much
On amazon.com, they only seem to have the music from the film Svani. I’ll see what I can do. Maybe it’s on imdb.
It does seem to be on youtube. Maybe that’ll be the way I have to watch it. I don’t know.
When did you go to Lebanon? I’d love to go to Lebanon, and Jordan too. I should’ve added them to the list.
Wow, yours is a long list and I also wish to visit all the countries you’ve mentioned here (apart from India because that’s my country of origin and current country of residence).
I like all these not so well known countries. I think they have more charm than overly touristy spots. But yeah of course, every country has its own uniqueness.
Your family is from the Syria/Turkey border? I’m sure that area must be gorgeous! But with all the stuff happening in Syria now, it’s just heartbreaking to imagine what the country has come to.
I agree with Greece and Italy (so many historical sites), and Iceland, and Russia! Gah, it sort of reminds me of all the countries I didn’t put on this list!
I went to Lebanon back in 2003. It was peaceful then. I’m not sure what it’s like now. As far as the many places we’d both like to go, you have to prioritize I suppose, unless of course you come across some awesome opportunity. I can’t imagine what’s going on Syria, and you are right that it is heartbreaking. It reminds me of what happened in Lebanon during its civil war, but I hope it doesn’t last that long. That’s neat that you live in India now. I’m sure it’s just life for you, but as I said, it’s a place I’d like to visit. I’d like to go all over India, not just to the big cities or to the Taj Mahal. I’d also like to visit Afghanistan, like you, despite it being dangerous! It seems like a fascinating place.
Back in 2003, it must have been real nice. I don’t know the current situation either, but I hope things become better slowly. Sadly so many beautiful countries are going through tumultous times currently.
Yes India is a HUGE country. I still have lots and lots to see. There are many wonderful places that are also on my list to go to in India. It’s good you’re not only interested in the Taj Mahal, because though it is a unique monument, I actually find that it’s a bit overrated. And I have to be honest – I completely dislike big cities in India. I believe the true soul of India really lies outside the cities. But of course, if you want to get a feel of how people live in cities in India, visiting the cities is inevitable :/.
Afghanistan would definitely be a fascinating place – it’s been a crossroad of cultures. Sigh – I don’t think it’ll be safe enough any time soon
Yes, Lebanon was very beautiful. If I can get access to a scanner, I’d love to scan all of my photos from then. Baalbek in particular was amazing. I think the place had a real spiritual energy to it, which is probably why the Romans chose to build their temples at that spot. It’s just one of those places that overwhelm you with their majesty. The food was great, too, and the people were so nice. Plus, most people speak English (and French, too). I’m sure it’s still a nice place to visit. By the way, since you seem to be attracted to dangerous places
Baalbek is in the heart of hizbullah territory. It’s not that the people are bad, I think. It’s just that they are shi’a and this is a party that represents them in government, not just militarily. But we were perfectly safe because why would they want to attack tourists who bring in money? It was one of the few places where I came across people who were selling things and would not take “no” for an answer. I was so poor, having spent all of my money just getting there and on the tour itself that I could not afford to buy anything. I might have had I had the money. But that’s beside the point.
Anyway, regarding India, I saw a wonderful travel program on television here, on our PBS (Public broadcasting), which was about rural India. I think they went to Rajasthan among other places. I’d love to visit a place like that and see what rural India is like, particularly if there are interesting monuments to visit, too. I don’t like being crowded Manhattan-style, so I’m sure I would NOT enjoy the cities as much, though I’m sure they have a lot to offer as well. Plus, it’s nice that people in India often speak English!
I speak a lot of languages just a little bit, but the languages of India aren’t among them. Though one day, I would love to learn Sanskrit, but that’s no longer spoken.
Anyway, about things getting better, they do eventually. I mean, the United States went through one of the bloodiest wars in history, the Civil War, in which more American people died in that war than in any other so far, I believe, but now things are peaceful. In Lebanon, too, everyone made up in a way, even though I am sure that there were tensions beneath the surface, things were fine there. I did try to talk to people about the war, but people didn’t want to dwell on the negative things. They looked toward the future. Most people took part, it seems, fighting or defending one side or another. Even people in my family had to defend their neighborhoods, but I think that people there do not hate each other. Maybe when these things get started, it’s hard to stop them. I can’t say with any authority what’s going on in Syria at all. It just makes me sad. I’ve known so many Syrians, and they are among the nicest people you could know–and tolerant, too, often times. But Syria was not a democracy, but it’s hard to imagine that people would do what they are doing just to have a democracy. I don’t know. Time will tell. A lot of Armenians have gotten caught in the crossfire. We didn’t take part in the Lebanese Civil War, though the other Christians got angry with us for that, so we earned the respect of the other groups in Lebanon, and I don’t think that Armenians are taking part in the Syrian one either, but we do get caught in the crossfire, it seems. I’m sure they are trying to defend themselves and their neighborhoods, but it still must be hard for anyone to just be a regular citizen and not take sides.
I asked a Syrian friend about what was going on, and she had no idea either. But her family had suffered as well. I am sure Syria will still be a great place to visit once all of this chaos is over, and I hope by then I can be one of the first in line. The same with Afghanistan, too. I’d love to see place where the Buddhas were. A lot of people don’t realize that the Hazara people inhabit that area, and they are Shi’a, thus they do not get along with the Taliban. So it was the Taliban that blew up those statues, not the local people, who did value them from my understanding. Shi’a people I think are not so much against representations, and I think that the Taliban are just plain ignorant. Just my two cents. Sorry for the novel.
Not at all! I love reading your thoughts.
I would definitely love to go to Lebanon, no doubt about it. Sounds like you had a wonderful time, especially in Baalbek. I love ancient historical sites, I can go crazy about them so I think Baalbek would be my kind of place
. You should post photos of your trip some time!
Hehehe, I don’t know why I’m attracted to dangerous places (though I’m not one of those brave people who can simply head into a dangerous country just like that). However, it turns out that those dangerous countries have some of the most wonderful sites. Take Iraq for example – some of human civilisation’s first creations still exist there (I hope, after the conflict). The more I read about Mesopotamia, the more I want to visit Iraq. Similarly Afganistan is just so alluring for similar reasons – it has so many things. Syria again has some magnificent ruins and archaeological sites. It’s so difficult not to be attracted by the thought of seeing those. I, like you, hope that once all this bloody conflict is over, the wonderful people there can just start leading normal lives. Then these countries would be so lovely to visit.
I think you might like rural India (I like it for sure), and there are lots of monuments alll over India (so no worries about that). India is massive so moving from one state to another brings in different cultures, languages, food and people. It’s quite varied. Take for instance Ladakh, which is a region in Jammu and Kashmir. It’s predominantly Tibetan Buddhist and sooo different from the rest of Jammu and Kashmir. I really want to go there. It’s very breathtaking I’ve heard. I’d have loved to learn Sanskrit myself (it’s not spoken as such but Hindu chants are in Sanskrit and usually Hindu priests know Sanskrit). What languages do you speak? I wish I knew more!
Yes you’re right about the Hazara people – they had nothing to do with the destruction of the Buddhas. For centuries they had lived in Bamiyan with the Buddhas and then suddenly the Taliban just claimed the Buddhas were non-Islamic and decided to blast them off. They threatened the Hazara people and forced them to put all the bombs in the crevices so that the Buddhas would be destroyed. The Taliban are both ignorant and intolerant. The Afghans deserve better.
I will as soon as I can get access to a scanner. My friend might have one at his work. I used to have access to one at the school I went to, but I’m no longer a student there. This was before I had a digital camera. Besides, it would be make for an interesting blog entry perhaps!
Indeed, that would make a wonderful blog entry. It’s always interesting to read about experiences in a different country and culture.
I admire anyone who has the desire to travel.
Thank you