I Spent 5 Weeks in IRAN (Here's What I Learned...)

Iran is in trouble women defiantly setting their head scarves on fire as crowds chant women life freedom but Iran is also the most misunderstood country in the world and if you've seen the fire in the eyes of its people like I have there is hope from the outside Iran looks like a country defined by terrorism crime violence and poverty since the Iranian Revolution took place in 1979 the country has been far removed from the Western world's political economy but this should not stop you from experiencing what I think is one of the most fascinating countries on Earth [Music] I don't even know everything in here but it looks amazing here are four things you need to know about Iran that might be different from what you'd expect number one the country remains safe for experienced Travelers despite the recent protests however for women the question is more complicated which you will learn more about at the end of this video number two Iranian people are welcoming to Americans is very nice you gotta trust me on this one no matter where you're from Iranians will give you nothing but respect and sincerity number three traveling in Iran is easy I'm talking about flights trains buses taxis and hotels are simple to book even for solo female Travelers number four diversity is everywhere both in terms of culture and nature every corner that you turn in Iran is beautifully unique we are now in the pink Mosque of Shiraz I've spent more than five weeks traveling around Persia on two separate trips covering eight regions and 14 cities and towns in this full-length documentary you will hear mind-blowing stories about them all we just arrived in Hormuz Island all the colors you see are the natural colors that you will find in the Island from the grand palaces of Tehran the capital right now I'm at the lovely golisan Palace which dates back to the early 19th century to the Exquisite Gardens of Kirman and the world's largest Bazaar in Tabriz lots of gems hidden spots in the bazaar all original Iran is simply amazing so when you're walking around this place it's like a maze all those little rooms and Alleyways and know where to go you will discover the remote island life of Kesh where the women wear these delicate masks and how can I forget about that delicious goat dinner in chabahar cheers bro the region that feels like you're in Pakistan it is crazy to think that I'm in Iran right now every place in Iran is filled with hidden treasures and surprises both old like really old and new the open-mindedness of the people in Shiraz the massive City square of esfahan which is the second biggest in the world on and of course persepolis the ancient site that is more stunning than any world Wonder Iran's mosques bazaars and landmarks are so impressive that they're almost in their own category of ornamental Elegance we are in Blue Mask of tapris the mosque was constructed in 15th century this is a very fantastic development in Persian architecture but what I love the most is that traveling around Iran it makes you feel like you're stuck in a time machine as you wander around you won't notice any recognizable Brands there are no Uber rides or caramel macchiatos or Happy Meals only locally owned and operated businesses but the people in cities like Tehran are not living under a rock there are loads of upscale restaurants and of course the Iran Mall which is the largest shopping mall on the planet hosting thousands of stores and attractions Under One Roof to say the word Iran is simply to explain history the country is home to Zoroastrianism one of the oldest religions in the world as well as several major civilizations that date back to 7000 BC you also have 27 UNESCO world heritage sites to visit on your trip to Iran and they're all amazing as the 18th largest country in the world by size you can find all kinds of Landscapes from beaches What A vibe to Forest to sand dunes to Snowy Mountains skiing any run the dream come true 90 million people speak 79 different languages and dialects and because Iran is geographically located in the center of the world the faces range from light to dark and everything in between but if there's one thing that you'll notice about Iran it is a land of smiles friendliness and respect so much so that being socially polite is literally baked into its culture with the word Taro so we just left the market in Shiraz and uh we forgot to get our change back so the guy ran all the way through the market like 10 minutes just to give us a couple dollars back dozens of strangers have invited me into their house for tea or offered me a bed to sleep in and all I can say is that it's a privilege to be able to experience this kind of hospitality friendly places open arms ancient cultures Timeless times welcome to Iran Iran is a country of contrast and you'll immediately find out when you walk around thank you you're so welcome despite being in the Middle East Iran is not an Arab country and Iranians are not Arabs they're Persians also the majority of Iranians are not religious despite living under an Islamic regime where alcohol is banned and strict Islamic laws are enforced this looks like a beer but it's not a real beer it has no alcohol in it this is a classic case of local people not having anything to do with their government you might be aware that since mid-2021 Iranians have taken to the streets to honor Masa amini who was killed by the morality police for not wearing her hijab in public a bogus law that only exists in Iran as someone who has benefited from Iranian Hospitality I stand in solidarity with Iranian activists fighting for women life democracy and freedom this is a big deal and as you watch the rest of this video about the positives in Iran and the amazing stories that I experienced I want you to think about the horrific situation that its people are currently living through no internet no rights no freedom I invite you to watch until the very end where I give my platform to Iranian women who share their emotions about the current protests and their personal life struggles about living in Iran all right now let's get started with a journey to Tabriz in the Northwest everybody always asks me why the Middle East is my favorite region and this is it we're walking through bazaars we have different colors and smells and everybody's saying hi it is just the most incredible feeling to be here right now [Music] so we're we're all the way close to Turkey and Azerbaijan in Armenia so in the Northwestern part of the country it's my first time into Breeze and I'm very excited to be here he says that he hopes you have a good trip here he offered us to go into his house thank you [Music] first impressions are everything and all I can say is right now I'm I could tell I'm gonna love this place let's go let's try a very local breakfast yes in Tabriz uh they have boiled egg and potato oh look at here so they mix it with butter and then they make a sandwich this scene inside of this restaurant is incredible this is like perfect perfect place to come it's a little hole in the wall you got the guy making potato omelets with all kinds of stuff in here this is called Barberry yeah I love this flatbread look at this and tomato omelets like this and [Music] oh my God man mostly mashed potatoes inside of here onions and cilantro yeah oh this is so good every time I do a top 10 list of my favorite countries Iran is always in there and for good reason the people are just so incredibly friendly and hospital and I've already experienced that as you guys saw inside of the shop they're just so warm and genuine part of my mission for coming here is to show you guys that Iran is a safe place if the people are friendly and the people are very different than the governments I think it's the most misconceived country in the world because people have negative thoughts about it every time it's in the news it's negative but I'm here to break the stereotype we are going to see a UNESCO world heritage side yes and that's Bazaar of fabris the bazaar but why is this one so special uh this Bazaar is the largest cover Bazaar in the world amazing this place was Trade Center people from all around the world uh came here and they did business yeah I do have YouTube yeah really go to Afghanistan yeah yeah Jewish people talk yeah I mean Jewish people what's your name my name is Ali nice to meet you Ali I'm Jewish too I'm half Jewish dude that's awesome man my mom's Ishq Nazi polish same are you you're from here yes I'm from tapris bro it's so nice to meet you [Music] lots of gems hidden spots in the bazaar it's all original all original this is so beautiful wow look at that with the little windows out there the Russian some of ours you know that for boiling water then they have strong tea here and then they add hot water to that very traditional way the cube sugars as we usually use so people do like this very traditional way first they just you know then they keep it in the mouth when they sip the tea they fill their sugar taste it's too hot man yeah but it's good tea should be hot foreign oh man that hits differently when you have the sugar in your mouth already as I'm drinking this tea I'm just looking in front of me and seeing the hustle and bustle of the market people walking through carrying things over their shoulders hanging out smoking cigarettes is what it's all about very good it's kind gentleman didn't charge it for us yes tell him I say thank you very much amazing now we are entering the food section of the market [Music] the rock candy and look at this one the yellow one you know that's actually flavored with saffron so we have butter and cheese the goat cheese from Tabriz is really really delicious and very famous this is the you know that's um Lambs fats lamb fats he was asking if you are Iranian I said no he is it do I look do I look Iranian no no you can see how traditional this Market is look at the shop behind me you can see how it's just hanging from the ceiling thank you thank you thank you very friendly very friendly people it's it's incredible have you seen any tourists here in the last two years after a long time you are the first Foreigner season it's an honor to be here [Music] this is like a piece of sugar you know clearly I'm the only tourist here I'm the only redhead and definitely the only American I'm already lost in here I don't know I don't know where we're going bro it's me you never get something okay I think you're a loss too what does this say in uh Farsi it's actually one of the verses from uh our Holy Scripture Quran it looks like a painting from here but it's actually carpet wow we're surrounded by carpets so here is uh we call it team chair it's very famous it's one of the centers of the carpet sellers in Tabriz Bazaar foreign is the biggest producer of the carpet in the world in the whole world in the whole world there are several reasons make per reason make you know that Persian carpets are world famous the first one is the history of Persian carpets Iranians were the first people making Carvers ever the other thing which makes Persian carpets famous is Persian carpets are hand woven yeah not machine not machine made it's a priest in Olden time was famous for its silk carpet the quality is very very good and this is the reason that tapris carpet is one of the best in Iran what we're looking at right now is a very large carpet that is handmade here in Tabriz if you had to guess how much do you think one of those costs about like a thousand dollars but this is so beautiful I mean this is the stuff that you know all around the world people want Persian rugs this is it right here we're looking at it this is a silk one this is this is combination of wool and sit you have to look at the back side oh when you can see Tiny nuts okay they are tiny right to the extent that you cannot see them right so it shows that the quality of this rock is super good would you say that every Persian home has a rug in it almost yes almost every person do you have a rug in your home I have several [Music] here we have sugar beets you boil it they cook it and then they eat it when it's very hot especially in winter time when the weather is very cold in Cabaret where else in the world can you find beets that have sugar on top in the middle of a bustling bizarre sugar beets oh my God I absolutely love beets how do they make sugar inside because they make sugar from this oh they make so this is just natural yeah it's just hot it's just hot beets just give you more it's giving us more for free I'm sorry for free now we will continue the journey we'll go to the car [Music] that's a hundred dollars it's 100 25 million five million riots that was quite the experience as all these guys have money in their pockets and they all exchange and 25 million reals is 100 last time it was five million that was 25 million 500 inflation since I've been here four years in four years so we have made it to a beautiful mosque here in Tabriz I mean I want to know more about this place yeah we are in blue mask of Tabriz the mosque was constructed in 15th century exactly according to the inscription that we have there 1466 but unfortunately in a catastrophic earthquake which happened in 1780 in Tabriz the mosque was mostly destroyed so we can see some part of the Fantastic Mosaic decoration are those original yeah they are old already so so when the earthquake hit this part stayed okay I gotcha so so cool man using music decoration when we get closer we can see the details and look at the amazing color a dark blue color because of that we call it dark blue moss we are now inside of the dark blue mosque which is so beautiful the highlight of this mosque is definitely a huge Dome that we have here on the sanctuary so the sanctuary is a squaring shape then it's transmitted by use of those arches into a dome so this is a very fantastic architectural you know that development in Persian architecture the architecture here reminds me a lot of Afghanistan and even Uzbekistan for that matter other Central Asian countries blue tiles big domes [Music] well that was awesome I always loved going into mosques when I can and visiting these beautiful places of worship can you believe this is only my first 24 hours can you imagine what the next two weeks are gonna look like look at this handsome guy look at that behind me is the village called kandovan which you can see we drove about 45 minutes from Tabriz through the beautiful mountains here and you know just standing here it looks like Cappadocia with these beautiful rock formations cave homes which we're about to go visit [Music] thank you you're welcome my Village History Channel Two thousand all years ago what is this this is your shop well not this one a very good Channel One almost a million yeah American country is very nice thank you very much I hope you have a good time thank you that's very nice man because of the climate you have these dried fruits um oh wow incredible you know in the US we have to import these from all around the world but here it just grows in that backyard all right that's good every shop we entered they just keep serving tea it rains in Hospitality you just did this like Italian did you notice it whoa honey in the tea fresh honey thank you we are in a shop here with this guy named charim the beautiful little tea shop he just served us some honey tea and now he's inviting us into his house up there in the caves and so he's gonna be guiding us around inside of his house Carl so thank you that's so cool literally the houses are inside of the caves the handmade cave imagine 100 years ago more than 700 years ago local people cut this wall cave here into the cliff and uh they use it as their house as they do it right now this is a beautiful house Drew look out here please it's like something preparing praying in all the time they use charcoal in the hole now they use technology they put blankets very thick blankets on this table and people sit around it and it actually feels really warm like you can feel the heat and you know because it gets really cold here in the winter what is it like to live here he says that it's really nice to live here it's very quiet very relaxed out of things that you can see in the big cities we eat organic food we eat our own products how many families and people are living up here so 150 families live in kandovan 650 people live here and the houses are mostly like this for example this is one floor up there there is you know that another floors or the second floor is up there and you know everybody in this Village they are all relatives they're all relative they know all each other yeah just want to say thank you so much for letting us in your house [Music] you guys are in school yeah we're students tell me about the the Young The Young Generation of Iran are we all started engineering because most of their references about engine linear ring staff are not Persian they're not being translated so we have to learn to read at least that's why maybe the Young Generation used to speak English more than others more than like old people whenever I talk about Iran yeah in the US people are like oh don't go there it's so dangerous that's really makes me sad when I hear from you guys as Iran is not really that much fun or something like that because it's not the reality you know [Music] apparently the donkey knows its way they don't have to tell them where to go he just goes [Music] after exploring the ancient Village of kandavan it's striking Foothills tasty apricots and meaning the wonderful families who live there I'm ready to take care of some personal business [Music] [Applause] streets are just a little bit busy this time of the day [Music] it's about that time to get a haircut when I travel especially when I'm in random countries in the Middle East I really love to get a haircut so here we go walking inside a random barber shop in Tabriz Iran I'll explain it's really simple you can buzz it like a three all right here we go it's a little bit tight on the neck see my vein popping out well this could be the best haircut I've ever had but this could also be the worst haircut I've ever had [Music] you wouldn't believe some of the haircuts I've gotten around the world this is absolutely terrible [Music] still can't get the smile off my face [Music] to Jack Daniel's water foreign [Music] I've just completed the Middle East haircut Trifecta Iraq Syria and Iran stuff that was a pretty good haircut I feel good I feel clean got the wash in there the price of my haircut was three dollars I'm gonna give him a million reals I'm good bye-bye it was a really interesting and inspiring journey to to breathe and the Northwestern region of Iran but now I'm going to take you to the very opposite corner in the Southeastern part to a place called Balochistan All I'm gonna say is that very few tourists have ever stepped foot on these lands and you are going to be amazed by how different it feels welcome to Iran [Music] [Laughter] [Music] it is crazy to think that I'm in Iran right now everything looks and feels and tastes like Pakistan this is a very special culture that deserves to be recognized so don't go anywhere I'm about to blow your mind by Balochistan aluchistan is an arid desert and mountainous region that spans Pakistan Afghanistan and Iran with some of the most breathtaking nature on earth a very humble culture and a history tracing all the way back to 7000 BC this place has been on my bucket list for ages well I finally made it out here to Iranian Balochistan with my Persian friend Amin along with his buddies Hamza and Shakib we are about to open up your mind to this hidden world that you've never seen before hahaha we are driving from bandarabas to chabakar and all three of my Iranian friends two of them who are tour guys have never been here so taking this road is also very new for us to see in front of us is beautiful mountains here I'm pretty sure I'm the only American that's been right here you are one of the very few foreigners we're getting really close to the border of Balochistan and you can already start to see how the culture is changing people are wearing Pakistan they call shavakamis I think I should get one too because I just fit in more especially with my camera yes and it's more respected you become more restricted he says that with your white skin and red hair darker color fits better okay dark is good I was amazed by how efficient this tiny shop was they were able to customize my shavakamis within minutes and everyone inside including the kids were so welcoming when in doubt it's always a good idea to dress like the locals and clothing stores in this region of the world are often great places and make friends this is also nice for you yeah this one because I really need to do laundry and now this is brand new so I can wait a few more days oh my God the fattest man in the world he does it so fast all right putting this on they have different prices mine and Shakib was 6 million real each yours is 33. and Hamza is the most expensive which is 40. guys I just want to say that we look great yes yes we are cruising gonna get some food now because we're starving not a lot of options out here to be honest because we're kind of in a rural Little Village but we shall find something oh it's hot doesn't it feel hotter here than the other places we've been I haven't worn one of these since I was in Afghanistan like 18 months ago chicken biryani like what you get in India and Pakistan yeah fish local from this area also I think we should do the Biryani because I feel like I'm in Pakistan and I love biryani [Music] very local they have the same in Pakistan but a little bit differently made here here we go they're the best Biryani I've ever had hands down it's spicy I don't even know what they put inside of it smells good right some kind of spice that I can't quite identify but it's really tasty and then the raw onion they just eat pieces of raw onion with it you know that we are very close to Sea of Oman Gulf of Oman so they catch fish every day and this is the Catch of the Day foreign feeling full I'm ready to continue Dave Adventure [Music] the only other place in the world that I've seen sand dunes meet with the ocean is Namibia and these beautiful Dunes take me back to Saudi Arabia from six months ago this outfit brings me back to Afghanistan you mix all those things together you get beautiful Iran wow this is a different world than Tabriz completely it was freezing cold in the mountains and the people were white and now we are in different world we are here in southeast of Iran yeah you've never been here before in this beach I've never been oh that's the first time for I'm in for me also the first time here and the scenery is unique yes we must drink water we are full of sand boy that was crazy we've made it to a small village where we're going to be sleeping for the night we're about 70 kilometers outside of travel car where we will be tomorrow this is really cool it's like little huts in the middle of nowhere gentleman is the owner of the place that white has yet behalf of a baluchi gentleman he hopes you know that peace I will be all around the world you know I'm really impressed by these accommodations it's like an eco lodge out here here's my room we're arriving right now it's literally like a yurt called third branch of palm tree date palm oh cool and this is also made out of the leaves of the date palm sun dried mud bricks so it's a very sustainable exactly I always have shoes for you all right oh it's milk tea chai so the scarf in baluchi culture is very important to the extent that they call it the hidden weapons of the balloons hidden weapon yes and what do you use this for to Madison so as you can see they tied around their knees when they are sitting on the floor it's helped them to be really comfortable [Music] well I can like lean back yeah wow I feel like I'm sitting in a chair exactly I've never seen other people do like like the man just gave me his scarf do you think he like wants me to keep it yes definitely the people here when they offer you something they want you to keep it thank you very much thank you [Music] good morning guys how are we doing very well good morning it is now time to go to chabakhar the Glorious city of Balochistan it's about 80 kilometers or two hour drive because the roads are bumpy I'm excited to go here this is a place that you kind of see on the map and you go yeah I want to go there well noon goodbye goodbye thank you thank you that'd be very nice [Music] you know this place really feels like Pakistan it's just less busy Pakistan you'll have way more honking horns way more people like running around more chaos here is a little bit more calm and more organized what's your name [Music] we look great we are hitting the markets right now first we're gonna see what we can discover what's it like to live here just we have fun here we are relaxed here everything is okay so I haven't had breakfast yet what do you recommends called pakura it's like Falafel with the chickpea yeah chilies got it so where can I try that Falafel dish over there on the left you will find it oh yes fresh falafel made by this man recommended by the other kid that we met and before I eat this I just want to say that my stomach's been a little bit messed up the last few days I have food poisoning but you know you can't not eat this when you come here oh my God the Falafel goes oozes out the Falafel is just chickpeas you know but then you just hit with these flavors of fresh tomato pickles onions cilantro and spicy sauce this is as good as the Falafel can get foreign [Music] of people men and women are wearing the traditional outfits you know you don't see street clothes almost anywhere and that's part of the reason why I'm wearing one as well just to kind of fit in a little bit more and be more respected among the people here but luchisan is the proud home of one of the most fascinating cultural identities in the Middle East the 3 million people here speak Balochi and largely practice Sunny Islam and it's also one of the only places in the Middle East where you'll meet native afro-iranians ancestrally this minority group was brought here during the Indian Ocean slave trade and even though they are Farsi speaking today they stay connected to their roots in Tanzania Mozambique and Malawi as a traveler and somebody who loves Humanity the faces here speak volumes about what it means to endure to be human and to be Balochi there's a Spice Shop here you can smell it from the street come on in America whoa dude breathe in here wow these spices and Curry powders are pretty much identical to what you would find in Pakistan wow these are all locally made or they imported Resorts oh they are imported from Pakistan it does not feel like we're in Iran definitely for us it's something new and she doesn't feel like and these guys are from Iran we have made it to the house of the goat so Mr taster amazing Iranian foodie guy told me about this guy who lives here in chabahar where he cooks the goat underground for hours and hours so we got connected with him and he invited us here for dinner to enjoy goats very traditional meal [Music] this whole place is like a workshop like it has the wood gear because he grabs let's get the leaves there it's got the ovens there oh fire fire is uh kind of sacred in Iranian culture I can say all in time Zora Syrian koreat uh fire was considered as one of the Holy elements water air soil and Fire and Fire most problems was the most important one because we had fire temples on the last Tuesday evening of the year a special Celebration In Praise of Fire [Music] all of this is the goat that is just waiting to be cooked [Music] only in Balochistan can you see this kind of preparation for goat I mean that's that's really special it's made out of clay and mud mixed together the meat has been placed inside and we must wait two hours for it to cook I'm really excited to see what we will see inside this oven are you hungry I'm very hungry [Music] oh look at the first woof of that oh my God that smells good wow dude that's insane this is our portion right here the rest we have given to the other people here the families this is the one that we're about to go eat at this guy's house he invited us over we're gonna go Feast wow thank you Mercy Mercy foreign very refreshing oh wow a huge plate of freshly made goat I'm so hungry but I just feel like looking at it and not eating because it just looks like a thing of art you can just see how tender it looks with all the spices on it cheers bro it's soft that's Smoky flavor is fantastic look how burnt it is to the crisp right there it's very crispy I know that goat might not be the most popular meat of choice especially for all my American friends out there but it's absolutely fantastic Mountain Dew my favorite as a kid really yeah my favorite amazing best have you ever had goat that tastes like that never ever not crazy they're all from Iran but they've never tried the way that it's cooked so perfectly all right I'm gonna stop filming and I'm just gonna eat because I'm starving that goat meal was so damn Delicious that it had me wondering what other kind of foods I can find in Iran and there's no better City to go on a food tour than the capital of Tehran we're gonna start with the mashed potatoes yeah close your eyes and eat the eyes cheers bro holy dude it is literally hailing it's like a swimming pool of rice I don't even know everything in here but it looks amazing this is enough food for 30 people what's up guys grubinski here in Tehran and I'm joined by a very special guest Mr taster he is number one Foodie in Iran and what are we doing today lots of food today Persian kebabs catalapache lots of oil are you ready I'm ready don't go anywhere we're gonna go for California ships head ship's head normally many people don't like it but I love it oh yeah you can smell that sheep's head yeah it's got an odor you're ready yeah we are coming in the in the kitchen here he's smiling at you yeah you could see the teeth of the sheep right here right in front of us oh man you know we don't have this in America I know but it's not in Europe but it's Peak we're gonna start with meat juice and we put some mashed green on top mashed brain yeah all right so how do we do this so that's the brain he's making the brain and he's cutting up all these different Origins and everything into the bowl and you can just smell the aroma and I don't know if you ever smelled sheep grain and sheep heads before but it doesn't smell that pretty all right Mr taster by the way what's your real name Hamid my my British name is Huber you look like a Hubert yeah because of the hair cheers bro yeah cheers delicious it's like a Sprite and this is a lot of things that he just made in the back what's in here we've got a chicks leg I brain everything mashed so what we need to do is take the bread like this because it's covers in Arabic yeah I just follow what he does basically I don't really know what I'm doing oh yeah taste it without them let's go a lot of flavor yeah it has a sharp taste yeah it needs you know I love that you guys squeeze or even on the Kebab you put the orange on it it's really really nice all right ready for the next one I'm ready for the next bite the orange makes a difference it just adds that extra flavor that you need yeah but to be honest this is a really strong taste and if you're not an experienced traveler and if you're coming for the first time you're probably not gonna like it however I like it I think it's good I think it's good a lot of protein right if you eat soup like this then you grow hair like that [Laughter] oh [Music] you ready for this YouTube yeah oh God okay even hands or what we take the bread it's the eye that's a little bit too big all right look at it close your eyes and eat the eyes you ready cheers bro cheers [Music] not bad okay is my favorite gotta be honest you know no it's fine it's fine this is one of those things that you come to Iran you try it because you're with him but it's not something I'm gonna go eat on my own when I'm with my friends you know what it is the texture yeah that makes it a little bit difficult you know what I mean so let's try yeah yeah I like tongue for you thank you looks much better than the eye yeah in the US we eat like a beef tongue cheers man better the texture is much better yeah you ready for next one yeah I think you like this one it's pure meat from here this actually looks good yeah notice how my bite is so small three times the size oh yeah my favorite I want to pay how much do I have to owe you nothing I know but he's saying you're our guest if I if I he's saying I'm the owner of this shop thank you so much thank you [Music] the colors the textures the sweets oh my God come here bro holy dude it is my first time look at that oh my God it's like a golf ball yeah what just happened look it's sunny now I literally just experienced one of the craziest hail storms of my life and five minutes later it's sunny holy crap that was insane [Music] what are we looking at right now we got labor shark which is really famous here it's almost dried fruit and we're gonna try it we're gonna try it thank you um yeah very good yeah yeah you know it tastes just like a fruit roll-up and it's sweet sweet down South for me he always gets the big portions too sour yeah we are moving onwards through the Bazaar in the northern part of Tehran oh he's getting stopped for selfies every five seconds you're a chick magnet sometimes it's getting hard but I love people so are really enjoying it me too you know I never visited this part of Tehran last time I did the other not the northern part so this is a nice part of this yeah it is it's a higher elevation oh my God it's busy man a lot of people in here extremely busy yeah look at this [Music] wow you know I have orange hair and you have orange jacket so we we stand out a lot here so we're gonna have a noodle soup which is really famous here we call it Australia okay it's thrown into the madness here small little restaurant oh you already got it yeah beautiful that's all for me yeah bro come on seriously all right man first we have uh which is noodle soup you can see carrots on top mint and fried onion I've never had anything like this yeah you can see the noodle is thick yeah and we call it and it's really famous lots of memory with the bad moms and mothers yeah let's go what is this white sauce like the carrot carrot yeah man that is very lucky it's like this really creamy Rich it's not even a soup it's like a noodle it's kind of a soup we call it let's go for the haleem what is in here man it just looks like applesauce yeah it's actually lamb and wheat wow it's very sweet yeah it's like a dessert almost but there's there's meat this is the meat yeah this is the meat whoa it does show that more method yeah because some of them is like you like me don't yeah and the last one is this looks like bacon but I know it's not bacon because they don't eat pork here it's it's meat in it and beans all of these different Cups have very different flavors and different tastes and they're all these like really thick creamy stews hmm very Savory I mean when you hold it you can see all the different textures and colors in here beans all right are you ready for the next one it feels totally different in this part of Tehran it's beautiful up in the mountains and we're just gonna have a tea here at this beautiful place behind me that Mr Tasty recommended after you sir go after you up to you oh this is uh really nice man it's a fancy little spot the tea is here yeah and oh baklava oh my God look at that Iranian baklava thank you so in Iran tea is very important it is it's like everybody's drinking tea all day long they literally just give you this rock candy to put inside the tea that's it you drop it inside it's really nice man [Music] oh that's good don't taste it what are these things inside I think it's mint cardamom yes oh that's good and this homemade baklava you're gonna love it yeah that tastes different it's really good it's not as sweet yeah and this is how you relax in Iran you have tea you have baklava and you hang out and you relax [Music] thank you so much this guy's way more famous than me so I thought you were talking about him unfortunately guys Mr taster had to go meet some people go take care of business now I have a couple hours here to run around Tehran and show you the beauty of this city because it is absolutely outstanding right now I'm at the lovely golisan Palace which dates back to the early 19th century this is all original artwork here it's a UNESCO site and let's go let's go inside and explore [Music] [Applause] it's really cool this is the original mirror room for the king NASA redeem back in the day everything is literally untouched I'm standing in front of the iconic Azadi Tower here in Tehran probably the most recognizable landmark in the city it was built in 1971 it's really an incredible structure I mean just look at it it's like a gate it's like welcome to Tehran Azadi Freedom what strikes me as an American visiting this media Hammer country is that freedom or Liberty is a universal value that transcends our cultural and political differences it's what makes us human and it's why everybody should travel outside of their comfort zone speaking of freedom I had a great time exploring Tehran and walking off some of the calories but the food tour is not over yet it's time to meet back up with Mr taster for the grand finale and we have arrived at the next destination for food we've just entered this incredible underground world of food it's me again me oh my God that is amazing we got special access to go in the kitchen and film [Music] you have this guy chopping up the raw meat and he passes it over to the other guy who puts all the mints meat on set inside of it and then they're gonna cook it after it's a thing of beauty [Music] you can literally feel the heat coming off the grill like I'm a meter away [Music] this purple spice is called sumac they also have it in Afghanistan and it is just delicious one of my favorite spices in the world and you can only find it in this part you know in the Middle East this is amazing Persian food is fantastic it's underrated around the world you don't see that many Persian restaurants but I want to tell you guys that it is absolutely full of flavor and delicious and the food is coming with love you know this is a huge plate of rice like the biggest plate of rice I've ever seen in my entire life are they pouring it on top or what they're putting the rice on top and then they mix it's like a swimming pool of rice oh my God this thing weighs five kilos like this yeah am I hired or not oh my God red I don't even know everything in here but it looks amazing wow I have never seen something like this are you serious I'm serious I'm in this business for 15 years I've never seen something like this this guy is the owner here very very Friendly's very kind man how many more things are going to go on top of that one more one more I love it so this is enough food for 30 people no it's only for me and you so what should we start with we start uh with the mix chocolate Kebab okay we got back kebab and also kubi day which is really famous yeah we've got so much in it we've got tomato That's it man this is the same meat as this or a different meat yeah oh man that flavor is unbelievable so why Choice yep oh man thank you very much wow oh man oh my God I can't wait to try this one there we go as fresh as it gets we just saw being made in the kitchen oh my God what I really like about the owner is he helps in the kitchen and he treats his employees with respect which is really nice thank you thank you should we try yeah take some onions of the raw onions yeah put it on top you ready yeah oh man that's the best bite of meat that I've ever had in the Run oh my God look at this I don't even have words to explain how tasty that is um thank you thank you I wish you guys could taste this right now [Music] oh bro mind blowing give me a hug [Laughter] thank you Mr David this sauce it's really only in Iran it's walnuts and pomegranates mixed together they mix it with olives they mix it with meat it's really good man amazing I'm speechless thank you thank you this is the best meal I've ever had in Iran I would like to offer a payment for the food because there was so much of it how much how much does it cost his face thank you very much appreciate it believe it or not all of the content that you've seen so far in this video is from my most recent trip to Iran last year now I'm gonna take you on a trip down memory lane to share with you some of my favorite parts of Iran from my first visit and we began with a 10 budget challenge in the lovely city of Shiraz [Music] one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia located today in Southwestern Iran we are now in the pink Mosque of Shiraz unbelievable a city known for its literature Gardens arts and crafts and nearby persepolis the ancient capital of the accommended Empire so far Shiraz has been the highlight of my two-week trip around Iran and overall this country has quickly emerged as one of my favorites for the warm Hospitality of its people better yet I've been surprised to discover how affordable daily life is in Iran the prices in this country are comparable to most of Southeast Asia Iran's currency is called the real and is quite inflated where the current exchange rate for ten dollars is a half a million real today I'm going to show you how much you can buy with ten dollars in Shiraz one of the most unique things about traveling to Iran is that you won't notice International chains like McDonald's Starbucks or Uber almost every product and service you'll find is Iranian owned and operated which includes taxis many cars on the road are yellow taxis and unlike most taxi drivers of the world the ones here are smiling and waving at you to come inside we hopped in a 15-minute ride to get from our hotel to the bazaar which was just 25 000 reals each thank you thank you the Shiraz Bazaar is notably one of the best in Iran and I really enjoyed wandering around the Stalls I wanted to get a gift for my family so I landed upon this mirror and comb set no need to bargain as the asking price was two dollars and just to prove how honest people are this just happened so we just left the market in Shiraz and uh we forgot to get our change back so the guy ran all the way through the market like 10 minutes just to give us a couple dollars back thank you you're welcome anyone have a sweet tooth if so you'll fall in love with a variety of sweets in Iran three enough shopping for some Persian sweets sugar is found in all colors shapes and sizes I love their flavored rock candy so I bought a few to snack on and usually when you're served tea in Iran instead of sugar cubes they put rock candy inside if you want more Persian snack food then I suggest nuts Iran is the world's biggest producer of pistachio nuts which just happened to be my favorite pistachio ice cream I couldn't resist on buying a small bag at this great shop it's always a good idea to stay connected when traveling by getting a local SIM card I picked up mine at the airport and it cost just three dollars and sixty cents to top up six gigabytes that is officially the cheapest SIM card I've ever seen and the signal works really well despite two-thirds of Iran being a desert the country produces almost every fruit you could imagine to cool down from the summer heat I've been drinking daily fruit juices and my two favorites are orange and melon and this shop happens to have them both so fresh in total I got a taxi ride mirror and comb set rock candy tea pistachios SIM card top up and two fruit juices for exactly ten dollars if you thought Shiraz was cool just wait until you hear about the next city it's my absolute favorite place in all of Iran welcome to everyone so according to the Architects an expert this brick Dome is one of the most beautiful that we have in Iraq this city is so perfect that its mosque is a UNESCO world heritage site it's so stunning that its main square is the second biggest in the world and it's so important that the locals turned it into a Persian proverb it means is half the word but does esfahan really live up to its title of half the world it's time to explore and find out about a thousand years ago esfahan began to flourish and evolved into one of the world's largest cities at its peak in the 17th century with the main Square as the centerpiece we are here in naksha Jahan and here is the second largest Square in the world the square was built on the order of the king of Boston first in 17th century it became the citizen trapped Sohan the city was the former capital of Persia and even today as you slowly walk around the city you can sense past Glory among its progressiveness so right now we're in the Armenian quarter with the fan of the famous church right over there the city has character and organization it's exploding with life tree-lined boulevards symmetrical bridges made of brick was used as a public Bridge unique palaces and insanely beautiful mosques displaying Persia's best Islamic architecture which is called mosque or royal family mosque because that must was used only by royal family 1602 the construction of this mosque was started when we are entering this mosque when you look at up there you can see that beautiful sunlight on the Dome it's amazing to know that doesn't matter you are here in the morning or in the afternoon that direction is the direction of just like every other city in Iran esfahan has a lovely Bazaar with small shops selling all sorts of foods and goods the city is most famous for its handcrafts like miniature paintings on Camel bones [Music] traditional music [Music] the music which we are playing today in this one is our national music not only a local music and esfahan is also famous for its Persian carpet which we headed into a famous shop to learn more 100 natural suits look we have warp here we have warp here we take one from Front one from the back and we make a knot I'm sure you already know that carpets are very famous in Iran and while I was in esfahan I stopped in a local shop to learn more and see what it's all about hi guys welcome to my carpet shop the country of Iran is synonymous with carpets the art of carpet weaving in Persia originated more than 2500 years ago and today Iran is the world's largest producer and exporter of carpets and it's a huge part of their economy I think it's safe to say that nobody does carpet better than Persians this is the carpet from 100 years ago prayer right for century trees Persian carpets have been produced to decorate floors of buildings and provide nomadic people protection from cold Winters the techniques and designs for carpet weaving have been passed down for Generations throughout periods of Peace in vision and War look we have warp here we have warp here we take one from Front one from the back and we make a knot there's always a variety because different ethnic groups in Iran produce different carpets and they have different kinds of culture all over Iran today carpet making is the most popular handcraft and you can see them displayed everywhere on the floors and walls of all palaces households restaurants hotel rooms museums and famous buildings in esfahan where we are today Persian carpets have been woven since the 16th century and are famous for their elaborate colors distinct patterns and artistic design we headed into a famous carpet store called Iran pazirik to learn about some of the best Persian rugs from a master named Majid for many Persians not only indeed it is clear that carpet is their most treasured and valued possession and speaking of value these rugs are not cheap 27 800 US Dollars included shipment since 15 000 US Dollars carpet made from silk bull 250 pieces of 18 karat gold peel whoa these are all Pearl from Persian gold from fresh water this is gold 18 karat 250 pieces of seventy thousand can I ask what are the cheapest carpets you sell I wanted to buy one but the prices didn't exactly align with my budget especially the pure silk and antique wool ones 100 Naturals how much is it 100 000 USD 100 Grand what do you think I mean I could buy a nice house for the price of one rug maybe someday on my next trip to Iran I'll get to bring one of these guys home are there any history lovers out there just wait until you hear about this ancient place that I visited called persepolis Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations human activity in Persia dates back 45 000 years as a result the country is full of hidden treasures and historical sites like the rain Citadel and the Yaz towers of Silence but today we are about to visit the most important historical site in Iran persepolis foreign located 60 kilometers north of Shiraz persepolis was the dominant capital of the accommended Empire the site which was constructed in around 500 Asian BC on the order of the king Darius the great 2 530 years ago all I can Wonder is how did they do it uh 4th Century BC 330 BC Alexander attacked to Iran and conquered here this is the reason that many of the historians and archaeologists believe that construction was never finished in persephalus I cannot quite describe to you how spectacular this site looks in real life this is insane as we know persepolis was used as a very ceremonial capital for Persian kings despite centuries of earthquakes floods battles and conquering persepolis today is partly in Ruins but the other part is remarkably intact and it's very impressive the architecture of persepolis combines touches of Egyptian and Mesopotamian styles with several columns Made of Stone and walls with amazing amazingly detailed inscriptions look at for example the male of these soldiers look at the curls of their hair the eyebrow their mustache all of these inscriptions are original and give us an inside look at how these humans live their daily lives we have one cypress tree here another cypress tree over there and between these two cypress tree a group is half they are representative of subjected Nations to the Persian Empire I couldn't believe my eyes ready to get your mind blown even more so just down the street from persepolis you can find this big mountain where all the king's tombs are buried like Darius the great walking around persepolis gave me the same butterflies in my stomach from when I visited the Great Pyramids of Giza Machu Picchu Petra and Jordan and the Great Wall of China but the only difference is the former sites are all seven wonders of the world and persepolis is not I think it's about time to update that list did you know that one of the oldest religions known to man was started in Iran welcome to Yaz the birthplace of zoroasterianism so we're just in the middle of the desert right now and there's all these really cool landmarks around here [Music] somewhere in the middle of the Persian desert lies a town and that town is called yav as a desert kid from Arizona I've always been curious to see other hot and dry climates and how they compare to my hometown from the ancient architecture to the unique way of life let's just say that Yaz is unlike any place I could dream of it's an 11th century Monument totally different style so in olden times they were used by men and women so if a lady wanted to open the door she could wear her hand job the town was the center place of a religion called zoroasterian this religion is believed to be one of the oldest monotheistic religion in the wars we know this religion is an Iranian religion it started from Iran since the third Century the zoristerians settled here and figured out how to survive in the middle of the hot desert with temperatures often over 45 degrees Celsius due to thousands of years of adaptation to its desert surroundings the zorsterians of Yaz have developed a unique style of architecture and a way for survival to get drinking water they would dig 300 meters underground from the mountain to find a well and make a dynamic tunnel system that funnels water to the town and to keep their water cool they use these wind towers as a ventilation system when somebody died their ritual was to carry the body up to these towers of Silence then they would wait for vultures to eat their dead skin or their body parts this was practiced in this exact spot until 70 years ago to pray they attend a fire temple like this one and it's believed that this exact fire has been burning for more than 1500 years nowadays about a half a million residents get to call this UNESCO Town their home right in the heart and center of Iran but only about five percent are zorsterions today within the last century various copper and uranium mines were discovered and now the city and province of Yaz is one of the wealthiest in the country if you walk in the markets you can find an abundance of silk carpet Ceramics textiles and Suites The 14th Century mosque or the city's main landmark dominates The Humble Skyline this Moss used to be the main boss of the town and the blue tiled patterns remind me of samarkan Uzbekistan we are now in samarkan I'm standing in the main Square this city 2750 years old it's time to go on another adventure all the way down to the southernmost island called keshum if you're wondering why I would go there it is experience a culture that is unlike anywhere else in the country right now I'm in gesham island in the southern parts of Iran you can see it's tropical it's beautiful we have the Persian Gulf right here and then with three incredible Iranian friends right now we're gonna take a boat ride to a little island called hungam and together we are going to wander around I'm going to show you the beauty of this place we got Hamza in the house we got shock Eve what's up shock Eve and we got Amin what's up dudes are you ready yes ready to take this boat to go to hang on my life yes sir our driver looks like he's about to rob a thing [Music] are you serious you have to explain that I'm a foreigner yeah apparently I can't visit without getting a official yeah we go up there we gotta let them know that I'm coming yeah some paperwork that's how it goes let me travel to countries like Iran register our entrance your interest in the tourists to this island so we take this motorbike to go to the police station we have there documents some uh do some paperwork and that's it all right in the right enjoy the ride more questions more questions at this point I'm numb to this stuff too checks passport checks border crossings police stations but I'm not going to do 10 now we're good all good yeah it's all good it says camping is not a lot American roads to Hotel this is I said yes we are you know well I'm not sleeping here no I told him that we are not sleeping here oh thank you thank you thank you very much [Music] [Music] I have to go back to America they deported me so let's go and explore for the to the Village Market and we'll wander around the island I love markets man you know that there's a lot of Iranian Backpackers here yes I told you it's many of the yeah especially hippies yeah boys you just entered a really cool little market right on the beach this is like the major Market of the Town yes uh so because many Iranian Travelers come here so the local people made this Market selling food selling local dresses this is extremely hippie vibes this is an Iranian vacation look around me it's all Persians from all over the country who come here to go to the market to hang out take selfies [Music] What A vibe I mean yes what do we have here so we can see uh these local ladies are making samusa the Indian food yeah but which are shrimp and fish so 1 650 which is almost how many dollars seven seven dollars good [Music] really fresh man I love tomatoes I got deep fried with fresh fish inside of it when you eat this you feel like you're on the on the sea yeah right exactly oh that goes really fascinating to be here right now like everyone looks at me like surprised because they've never seen in a while a tourist here also because covet just ended and Iran just opened up to tourism but it's fun to walk around places like this I enjoy it a lot that is perfume and other items that they got from Dubai and they smuggled it here to sell it on the black market that's what we just saw Dubai is so close to here foreign [Music] actually have gazelle out here small little antelopes scattered around this island but they're hard to find and they don't always like human interaction I didn't see one right there yep so you said they're not indigenous here no they're not indigenous yeah being brought here for about like 50 55 years ago and it has been good for them so now the numbers are quite High well that was a great experience on this little island here now we're gonna take a boat back to the other Island the bigger island get some food and uh call it a day [Music] this guy has uh made up some traditional Arabic food and also something nice the first floor he has made some of the traditions of the local people in Europe Village like the wedding room it's gonna be quite interesting beautiful so we are heading for lunch now at the local traditional restaurant whoa and if you want to see the most bling bling wedding room I love that you just said the wedding the first night of the bride and groom will be in such a room can I go in here after your wedding yeah eating in Iran is always a incredible experience that we're about to do it right now this is a very uh typical dish from this region we call it habari with fish rice spices fish cilantro yeah shrimp the stew spice it's like an Indian yeah yeah this this is very kind of a curry fish yes and this is curry lamb oh my god dude it's a fusion you have Arabic influence you have Indian influence Iranian influence American influence you have everything you want oh man you guys ready to feed right now yes yeah let's go let's do it [Music] oh is this a beef no fish fish guys bursting with flavor a little bit spicy too these deserve some attention this is basically green olives with pomegranates and walnuts mixed inside passenger is that what it's called it's similar pomegranate sauce every day I eat this amazing all right so this is a very typical dessert from this region we have dates and Tahini they complement each other perfectly so good all right time for some chai as I always say always tea time anymore yes all throughout the day so it's mixed with cinnamon nice that's the reason the color is [Music] lighter than normal tea [Music] yeah sweet cinnamon tea it's just like the one we had last night as you can see kasham island is amazing but I have saved the best kept secret about it for the end there is this place called rainbow Island and you have to see it to believe it we are here at the beautiful rainbow mountain of Hormuz Island in southern Iran you can see behind me this incredible rock formations what looks like snow is actually salt from erosion and also in a few months from now this place will be even more vibrant in color truly spectacular place to visit we're gonna head down there right now oh [Music] bright and early it's still like 7 30 a.m and we've already taken a one and a half hour car ride this morning and a one-hour Ferry we are here in Hormuz Island I'm clearly the only tourists here foreign tourists it's all we running always towards our busy places people trying to get every buck we got them comfortable seats this time nice and cozy foreign [Music] to use the local toilets here in that in that building it's not gonna be pretty [Music] [Music] we just arrived in Hormuz Island and I'm Amazed by these Village or hotel behind me it's really colorful what are we looking at right now this hotel that has recently been built now it's becoming symbolic of the the island all the colors you see are the natural colors that you will find in the island and among the locals the hormones island is known as the colorful Island so this has somehow become a symbol of the whole island yes the Island Easter again goes back to centuries ago but in 16th century the island was conquered by Portuguese and 1622 King Abbas the first of safari Dynasty to pack the island from Portuguese so we go to uh take a look at the source of this red soil yeah the red soy mine and we do a kind of tour around the island let's do it man that's good hell yeah what a place wow holy smokes this is beautiful this place is otherworldly is a way to describe it looks like Mars look at that all the different colors and the rocks [Music] look at this soil blow me and he goes black sanded Beach and a coastline I'm gonna do a prank on my friends watch this the forehead too yes just to add more red to my presence is it nice yeah yeah I look like a like like a native tribe tribal tribal man now I do for you you look like a NFL football player yeah yeah W what does that means whatever whatever later that night we left cash Island and headed back to a random town called jask on the mainland when we got there we were kind of left stranded to find dinner and a bed to sweep in here is the journey none of my Iranian friends have been here before and this is uh twice and an interesting experience to walk around we've been wandering around this town for the last 30 minutes we finally found food there's Grilled Chicken Kebabs right there see what travel is all about being in random places meeting random people and uh figuring it out is that for us how many million Rios one million two million less less than one million less than seven seventy two 720 000. 720 000. and it was three dollars for several kebabs and bread and drinks not bad now it's time to eat really we finally got our food after like 20 minutes that place was busy the grilled fish was excellent and it also had a nice sauce yes this is really good they are just next to Oman sea so we have to eat fish I don't understand why some people think she can give up you know why because I don't want to get food poisoning and this is my lowest risk Maybe I'm Wrong actually maybe this is a higher risk who knows seven percent chance of my stomach it's cooked Chicken Kebabs onions this meal was absolutely delicious as most foods are in Iran but what keeps me coming back to this country are the people you might understand what I'm talking about when you meet the guy who's working behind the counter um you came here looking for cool kids yeah these are my cool kids your sacrifice is alive it doesn't make sense what are your thoughts about America he runs very very cool yeah very presentation no yes my best friend very very good [Music] thanks made it to our hotel here and it is literally a military compound because there's no hotels in this whole town so we had to find a military place and we just rented a room from them it's actually an apartment complex I don't have bed sheets also I can't open my door can you help me thank you thank you it's beautiful just take scissors there's nothing on your bed no all right bro take it easy yes I can hear all your farts and shark good night all right this is uh my room side apartment I got a kind of a nice big living room here we have an arrow here which points towards Mecca so when you pray you pray faith in this way Quran books right here I uh I'm not sure what all that is all right after some long thoughts I realize I can't do this bed it's just full of hair and there's no sheets or pillow covers and took off this layer of sheets and here's my pillow that is uh a hole and there's no pillow cover on the pillow that is pretty nasty so I'm gonna take my bed sheet that I got from the lobby and I'm going to sweep on the couch here it's a better option what I'm going to do is basically lay down this sheet and bundle myself up in it like a sleeping bag and then take off my shirt and use the inside of my shirt as a pillow cover so the inside of my shirt is clean and that's the part that I'm going to be sleeping my head on from the pillow do what you can you gotta improvise sometimes there's mosquitoes everywhere I keep getting bitten oh it's gonna be a long night alas I made it through the night with only 15 mosquito bites as I headed back to Tehran to complete an amazing trip around Persia I was thinking about all the funny and quirky things that I love about Iranian culture and I've compiled all them in this next part here are 17 wacky things about Iranian culture a lot of people mislabel Iranians for Arabs because it's located in the Middle East but that is definitely not true in fact they will actually get offended if you call them Arab Iranians speak Farsi which is almost nothing like Arabic and their ancient religion is called zoroastrian which is still celebrated during their new year Iranian if they're gonna eat they will pour off like say you eat first for example at a restaurant you won't let your friends to pay for the bill so you'll say let me pay and he will also do the same let me pay usually you should better ask for a few times to make sure that the guy is 100 he wants to pay for it when you want to enter a room or you want to pass a door that you always make tarot no you should go first no you should go first yeah did you hear them literally amim said Thank you more than 10 times before you hung up the phone also one way of being polite when you talk to somebody older than you in English you know you said one thank you bye that's it you never say more than once [Music] Hamza what year is it right now in our calendar now it's the year 1400. how is it possible we use a solar calendar uh the origin of our calendar is exactly the same with the lunar calendar that the Arab use in the Arab countries so the zero is the migration of prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina which is 622 according to your calendar oh and we're 2022. so it's that's why it's exactly exactly don't Iranians get confused when they travel to the west or for those who do international business for example they have to have a look on the western calendar as well what year were you born in 1364. he's from he's from 14th century 1865. if I'm 1991 what year did that make me 1317. I'm also 14th century today is Sunday and in my culture today is a weekend a day of relaxation but here everything's open when is your weekend on Thursday afternoon and Friday so Thursday after like half day half day yeah so Friday is the only weekend day yeah I know it's it's a Muslim country always Friday has been the holiday because of the Friday prayer so nowadays starting from the Thursday noon everything is up and our weekend is from the Thursday and also the Friday but all the other Muslim countries different on Sunday is our Monday like in in Dubai for example Sunday everything's open because it's like first day of the work week but here is not here is Iran everything will be different everything is definitely right so I feel bad that you only have one one and a half day weekend where we have two and a half day weekend and basically the working hours are also different here usually during the from Saturday to Thursday the working hour starts from let's say eight to two o'clock in the afternoon after two years there's Siesta and back to work no that's it and Thursday just from 7 30 to 12 or 12 30. really confusing for me as a traveler to to think that Friday is the weekend and Saturday is the first day of the week but that's how they do it in Iran we're just walking the street and there's a blue truck here and I'll I guess that's the significant thing in Iran what does it mean wherever you reach them at any intersection they have got the priority because the drivers of these blue trucks they never stop they never break so watch out for these ones I would have never known that if they didn't just tell me that blue truck is an iconic part of Iran but there we go we got the blue truck now in the driving regulation books there was always at the intersections ambulance or the other cars but always when you reach the blue truck you have to say it's the priorities with the blue truck yeah more than an ambulance what business what is it like what you know they mostly have been for the farmers and those who have been keeping the goats and animals so that's really sad that the farmers have more priority than an ambulance tell me what are your thoughts about America thank you Monday oh he kissed me hello America he doesn't believe me nice to meet you nice to meet you too America Arizona Arizona yeah yeah my son won't go to the Michigan University but I couldn't go there and he go to there in Canada I will not live in Los Angeles oh really music producer I know you know studying there I love that have you ever met an American here before um yeah once one time it's about four or five years ago wow yeah so every five years you make another American friend yeah you're right that's right why is this offensive in Iran especially for the older people doing this is the kind of like the middle thing yeah but the reason I mean among the younger Generations are watching [Music] watching sports programs on TV they see that all the actors usually do this as a similar okay yeah so now I'm younger generation totally understand but for older people you don't want to do this usually we don't so what do you do oh okay so in Iran make sure you don't do this you do this especially in the rural places in small places it's better not to do like here we're in a really tiny restaurant and uh and do that this looks like a beer but it's not a real beer it has no alcohol in it it even says zero percent alcohol on the bottom just to make sure [Music] oh interesting kind of has a beard taste honestly there's no alcohol it's like a lemon beer I mean and I just sat down at a nice restaurant and they gave us Heineken but it says zero percent alcohol but it looks completely real doesn't it the bottle yes yeah yes like real Heineken and he cheers [Music] ketchup is good and pizza I don't because I don't like it personally but I've seen many Iranian food ketchup and pizza [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes go ahead every American counts like this are you guys like yes it was like 15 million yeah when else in your life have you seen 15 million of any currency only Iran Venezuela Vietnam Indonesia yeah man inflation inflation Iran is mostly a cash only Society especially if you come here as a tourist there's no international cards no Visa Mastercard American Express none of them are taking so everything is cash only and if you are Iranian and you travel you can't use a credit card you have to bring cash yes time to cross the road oh God we need to get to that side right oh my God [Music] mysterious crossing the street I'm gonna put my hand on you so I don't get hit oh my God rappers in Iran nobody follows the rules we gotta cross this road and he's in traffic in Tehran it's crazy and the drivers are even crazier I'm just gonna hold on to a meme okay okay okay okay all right it's halfway there whoa oh my God yeah holding hands here we made it in most Muslim majority countries holding hands is the most sincere expression of Brotherhood it's a sign of solidarity between men who historically spent a lot of time together in a place where sex segregation is very real during greetings when a man decides not to shake the other person's hand it can be very standoffish if you see men holding hands or hugging in the streets of Iran it is not a sign of homosexuality my hair my biological family all of them get both after 25 I get lost from my hair and I decided after 30 and plant hair coming yes so that's why when you see that they have like a white bandage over their head yeah so you had that on your head yeah you looked you looked mad in this photo yeah it's the center of the hair implant it's simple too yeah so how much did it cost can I ask you about 400 400 in the US it'd be five to ten thousand for that yeah I should tell my dad to come here and do it yeah how many hair implants did you get 13 000 they pick uh the grass they take it from they from here here and here and then put it this and between these moral of the story is if you ever need hair implants come to Shiraz yeah and talk to this guy yeah and he can hook you up now when you buy a car you will get a card like this you have got some limitation like for example for my car it's like 60 liters a month that you get on this if you want more you will always pay double the price and you will get as much as you want a 60 liter per month at home Dimension is subsidized because government pay subsidize them it's very cheap even petrol without subsidies is quite cheap as compared to Western countries if I pay for the non-subsidized price it will be like six to seven dollars six to seven dollars to fill up his whole car because you know that we have lots of oil so we are one of the biggest producer of the oil in the world and it should be cheap here here is the other way around the cars are really expensive but the petrol is cheap so you have to convince them that you want to get a full tank they won't just give you a full tank yeah usually they don't so they have got nuts enough gas and Petrol in here so they try to put limits in the other parts of Iran it's not like this just the southeast no only in the Southeast only in this area we have got this you gave me like 40 liters foreign [Music] this is the time to say hi this is the view on thank you for a relatively small country I was shocked to see how many domestic Airlines they have in Iran I mean do they even have that many major cities and Iran there are many different domestic airlines that take you around like this one how many airlines are here count them out Iran awesome on Suarez Caspian tauban that's at least 10 different airlines two hours to the end of this Iranian documentary I hope that your eyes and ears have been opened to one of the most special and beautiful cultures on our planet but you've only experienced Life as a tourist in Iran it is not all fun and games for the people living there under this brutal regime as promised in the intro I will now be giving my platform to various Iranian women who are bold enough to share the struggles that they are going through in the wake of Masa amini being killed for not wearing her hijab in public a genocide is happening right now in Iran they're shooting the protesters with real guns real guns that only are used in Wars the other thing that I want to bring up is that the regime irgc is stealing my people's dead body to put extra pressure on people to make them silent I will give you three examples in courtesan a guy a brave protester they killed a guy and his friend had to secure his body so they do not the regime they are irgc forces don't steal that dead body of his friend he secured his body all all night long next day they killed him how dark it is a nine year old boy named was shot and killed in his dad's car just passing by hi I just wanted to say that what's happening in her mom right now is much more than what you see on social media and it's very serious and dangerous and actually it's another one about hijab or human rights that that's not only about economic and political problems actually it's about fundamental changes and value and attitude that has happened in the central core of the culture by the new Iranians by gen Z and that's why it cannot with stop so please bear voice and help us thank you hi Drew as an Iranian Jewish researcher historian there's a lot that I have to say on what's currently going on in Iran many ethnicities many religions lived peacefully on that land for thousands of years Jews have been in the region for 2500 years they came before Shia Islam and once shy Islam took over they slaughtered killed people and masses anybody that differed from them and they really tried to keep everyone else just whoa and tortured many they've killed many they've killed Baha'is for being Baha'i if you they caught you being gay or lesbian they had people do gender reassignment surgery so if you're a gay man caught with another gay man you'd have to do gender reinsignment surgery to become a woman they've killed women for showing strands of their hair they've stoned women alive if they were just accused of cheating they don't necessarily have to cheat but if they're accused of it it's not like here where we have a due process of law there it's based on if they want to kill you you know you don't really get much of a due process there there's a lot of torturing of people that goes on in ways that the West can't understand and I as a minority just wish for every minority to be able to live freely there and there's many of us in the diaspora that want to go back and visit but can't visit for so many reasons because we risk getting kidnapped killed I am a woman from Iran as you can see I don't live in Iran anymore I've been out for almost a year now everybody has their personal story and mine at least something that is related and tied to this situation is the sadness that I lost home and what I mean by that is that I'm a student that I've been out of Iran for almost a year just like many other students many other four Learners studying on a student visa outside of Iran and that means I don't have a double citizenship yet I don't have another passport I don't have another residence permit I don't have another country to call home yet and that means when this whole situation started in September me just like many other ukrainians outside of Iran I protested I came out I made sure that I'm using the freedom of speech that I have outside everyone to amplify the voices coming from Iran and it has a cost the cost is you cannot go back to the Islamic Republic of Iran until the Islamic Republic is in place but on the other hand it shows the determination it shows the belief that we have in a system change and a change that is on its way in a revolution in a sense we lost home and not having a place to look forward to go back to is really sad and it really affects your mental health I don't wish this for anyone you're not officially a refugee yet you're not a stateless person yet but mentally we are stateless and we are hoping for a better run for a free Iran hi I'm a cartoonist and painter and I'm next to my brave people special Brave woman of Iran with my art with my cartoons and I'm fighting with my cartoons against all these Muslim regime of Iran which is killing people torturing people in this time that I am far away from my home I'm trying to be in the street with my art my papers and my social media is my street for this fight for this battle and as an Iranian woman who lives in United States I'm next to my people and I wish this regime go away sooner and my country could be free because people of my country people of Iran they deserve to be free this country has more than 5 000 years history and we never ever had this abusive regime against our woman's right in Iran so I hope people hear my voice and stand next to a woman in Iran and please bring their voice because they need our help to raise their voice and we need to just remove these government I stand with Iranian women and the Iranian people and I pray for a day that brings freedom and democracy to this beautiful country thank you for watching this full documentary and I welcome your thoughts and opinions in the comments down below [Music]

Channel: Drew Binsky

Views: 2,102,221

Keywords: drew binsky, drew binsky vlog, drew binsky travel, travel, Iran, Iran travel, Iran travel and tourism, Iranian people, Iran culture, hormuz island, tehran, golestan palace, tabriz bazaar, qeshm iran, womens in iran, food in Iran, life in Iran, ancient cities, Iranian food, shiraz iran, persian music, persian traditions, persian rugs, persepolis iran, tour in Iran, Iran documentary, street food, iranian people, food tour, drew binsky iran, iran drew binsky, iranian food

Id: yvLypBQrybg

Length: 104min 16sec (6256 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 05 2023