Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown - 'Iran: Shifting Ground' - CNN, 11/2014
Saw a replay of this today. A really good street level, everyday life look at a society that is far from the prevalent perception here. Politics echo in the background, but the piece is about food, family, friends. A good watch.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/travel/iran-parts-unknown-season-4-ep-6/index.html
(CNN)—Words matter. Especially in Iran, where what is permissible -- to say, to do, to be seen as saying or doing -- is an ever-changing thing.
It took us many years of trying to finally be allowed into Iran, the country with whom the United States has probably its most contentious relationship. At the time, we thought that perhaps our welcome was an indicator of a new attitude, an opening of a window.
But as it turned out, that is probably not the case. The window appeared to slam shut in particularly ugly fashion shortly after our departure.
What we saw, what we came back with, is a deeply confusing story. Because the Iran you see from the inside, once you walk the streets of Tehran, meet Iranians, is a very different place than the Iran we know from the news. Nowhere else I've been has the disconnect been so extreme between what one sees and feels from the people and what one sees and hears from the government.
You Tube snip -
