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How are the
health and hygiene observed in
Iran?
In fact, cleanliness is part of the Iranians? belief and it is evidently
observed everywhere both in the public and in the private. There have
been overwhelming campaigns, like vaccinations and trainings, to
eliminate many diseases used to exist in remote settlements. It has been
a success and today you see clean streets, restaurants, hotels, shops,
supermarkets, parks, etc.
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How are the
variety and quality of foodstuff
in Iran?
Those who have been to Iran have felt spoiled by the variety of high
quality stews and kebabs among many other dishes. There are restaurants
of various kinds. You will find a lot of herbs and spices, but Iranian dishes are
not as hot and spicy as the Indian ones. A moderate amount of them is
added to food just to give them different tastes. As there are not
genetically manipulated vegetables and fruits in Iran, they taste the same
old natural tastes everybody appreciates them. The meat usually served in the
restaurants is chicken, veal, fish and lamb. Of course, you may find
turkey, quail and shrimp too, but no pork, snake, frog, dog or other
kinds. They are prohibited to be taken in Islam and this is observed
everywhere. The vegetarians can order raw or cooked vegetables in the
hotels as well as restaurants. It is also recommended to let your tour
guide know about it beforehand so that he/she can arrange it for you, because in
some restaurants people need to be already informed. That is because
it is not so popular in Iran to be a vegetarian. Just feel free to tell
your guides about it.
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What
kinds of drinks
are possible to buy in Iran?
You can buy
Any kinds of soft non-alcoholic drinks. There are Iranian
made drinks as well as international brands served everywhere. People
drink tap water. It is filtrated and refined before supplied to them,
but for the newcomers traveling to Iran, I do not recommend it.
Instead, you?d better take Iranian bottled water prepared according to
the international standards for both domestic and export uses.
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How is the
quality of roads
in Iran?
The roads are asphalted and the maintenance is regularly done. There are
highways in many routes and separate lanes to and from cities to
safeguard transportations. As a matter of fact, contrary to many
tourists' expectations, roads are of very good quality.
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How far are the
distances
between the destinations?
Usually there are not short distances between the major destinations
compared to most of the distances between the European cities or towns.
Instead, you can see a lot of landscape, meet the people in the intact
rural areas and experience the real life situations in addition to many
other opportunities you will not find inside cities. For instance,
Iranian
guides can take possible opportunities to arrange picnic meals for you.
Iranians are picnic lovers and take every opportunity to arrange for it.
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What is the
usual clothing
in Iran?
Women wear non-transparent, loose garments covering all their bodies
except for the hands and face. Color is a free choice, but red, orange,
pink or similar colors are not put on during national or private sad
occasions. Black is not a must. Chador is not a must either, but when it
comes to visit a holy mausoleum and you have the opportunity to experience
wearing a chador for a few minutes, do not skip the opportunity to feel
the atmosphere. Men put on non-transparent garments too. They may wear
short-sleeve shirts or T-shirts (unlike women), but not shorts in the
public. The choice of color is the same for men as well. Due to the heat
of the Sun and in order to protect your skin, I would not recommend
wearing short sleeve shirts. If you do, do not forget to put on some Sun
block cream on your skin. But, it is your choice!
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When are the
high and low seasons
of tourism in
Iran?
Usually the majority of tourists visit Iran during two periods of time:
1) from the beginning of March to the end of May, and 2) from the
beginning of September to the end of November. A couple of weeks before
or after each New Year, there is another wonderful choice to visit Iran.
Also, the very best time to visit the south of Iran (like Persian Gulf
islands and shorelines) is during January and February. The story is
different for the lovers of nature who like trekking or skiing. They
find an extraordinary variety in Iran four seasons a year.
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What is the
time difference
with the rest of the world?
The formula to set your time is very simple:
GMT + 3.5 (GMT + 4.5 from March 20 to September
21).
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What is the
electricity
voltage
in Iran?
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are of the round two-pin
type. If you have 110 volts appliance to use on your trip, like shaving
machine, hair drier, etc, it is recommended to take a 110-to-220 plug
with you while traveling. Of course, you can find it in Iran too, but it
can be a waste of time in some situations.
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What is the
communications service?
IDD service is available. Country code is 98. Outgoing international
code is 00. In case you need to make a short distance call in the
street, the telephone booths are yellow and marked in English. There are
also phone cards for domestic as well as international calls available.
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What is the
mobile service
used in Iran?
It is GSM 900 network. In other words, if you have a mobile phone from
any part of the world, it will not work in Iran unless your phone
company has made a contract with Iranian Telecommunication Company (ITC). It is a service to be
used inside Iran to make short as well as long distance calls.
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Are there any
fax facilities
in hotels?
Yes, you can find fax facilities in most of the
hotels as well as at main post offices in Iran.
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Are there any
Internet facilities
in Iran?
Yes, there are a growing number of Internet users
in Iran. So, almost all the major hotels provide their guests with
Internet facilities and the others are being equipped for the same
purpose. Also, many Internet cafes are already opened to the public and
many other ones are going to be opened due to the increasing need of the
people.
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How fast are
mailing services
done in Iran?
Airmail to Europe
as well as Canada and the United States can take around two weeks.
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What goods are regarded as
forbidden postal items?
1) Narcotics and laxatives, 2) Explosives,
radioactive and inflammable materials or other dangerous materials, 3)
Items against Islamic moralities, 4) Live animals except for honey bees,
leeches, silkworms, parasites and bug-busting animals recognized by the
institutes, 5) Goods forbidden to enter the destination country, 6)
Items that might cause a danger for post company?s personnel or might
hurt the other postal items or equipment, and 7) Private documents
corresponded between parties other than the sender or the receiver or
any of their family members.
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Is it possible to mail
post cards without envelopes?
Yes. If post cards are made up of hard paper or cardboard without any
raised parts and both sender and receiver?s names and addresses are
written on the back of the cards, it will be possible.
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Are there any
local English newspapers
available in Iran?
Yes, there are several dailies in English. Most of
the times, you can find one in the lobby of the major hotels.
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What is
Iranian Currency?
It is called Iranian Rial (IR). Notes are in
denominations of IR 20,000, 10,000, 5000, 2000, 1000, 500, 200 and 100. Coins are in
denominations of IR 500, 250, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. You may come across the
word Toman there. 10 IR = 1 Toman. Everyone is using this word instead
of Rials except for some special cases. The rate of exchange goes
through very little fluctuations everyday, but you can exchange one US
dollar for approximately 8800 Rials.
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Are
credit cards
accepted in Iran?
Not exactly. There are not any official services
for the internationally known credit cards in Iran. Some Iranian private
banks are trying to arrange services for the international credit cards
these days. Also, some smart
businessmen can accept credit cards. In some particular shops you can
purchase some items like carpets, handicrafts, jewels, etc by credit
cards like in some major hotels or some other shops outside hotels.
Generally, it is recommended to take some cash with you while traveling
in Iran.
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Is it
safe to have cash
while traveling in Iran?
Of course, it is. This doesn?t mean that you don?t
have to be careful with the cash you have on you.
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Are the
prices high or low
in Iran?
Fortunately, the price for the majority of the
items that tourists are looking for are relatively low. Items like high
quality books, souvenirs, meals, foodstuff and transportation are very
tempting because of their relatively high quality yet low prices.
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What
are the
prohibited items
while traveling to Iran?
Alcoholic beverages, narcotics, guns and
ammunition, all horticultural and agricultural goods including seeds and
soil; aerial photo cameras, transmitter receiver apparatus, pornography,
most films, cassettes, CDs and videos and any kind of fashion magazine.
Of course, hunters who are visiting Iran on hunting tours can get
necessary permits for carrying their guns and ammunition via their
travel agents beforehand.
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What
are the restricted items
while going out of
Iran?
Antiques and large
amount of gold, silver and jewelry. By definition, antiques are the
objects older than 100 years.
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What are the
working days and off days
in Iran?
Iranian working days are from Saturday to Thursday and Fridays are the
National off days. On Thursdays, some companies are totally off and some
are working only half day.
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Is it customary to do
tipping
in Iran? Where and when?
Yes. It is customary to tip porters, servants and
janitors in hotels, porters in the airports, waiters or waitresses in
restaurants, drivers giving services during tours as well as guides.
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