Traveling Iran by train | DW Documentary

[Music] a country is unknown as it is contradictory is slowly opening up the best way to get to know it is by train women in trouble a lot of memories come back to me I look at everything it's very romantic I enjoy it a lot I'm not in a hurry we start our journey of discovery on the Shatt al-arab the river that forms the border between Iraq and Iran a region that was once hard fought over Abaddon was partially destroyed by the Iraqis during the iran-iraq war today it's a bustling port the station's located in the nearby city of Karim Shah our train stands alone at the platform and we are feeling a little weary and exposed in the name of God dear friends welcome this is a typical train in Iran you can see how diligently our where employees are cleaning it have to be quick so they're done before the departure supposedly German virtues is far away from home maybe a left over from when the railway was first built some sections were constructed by German companies today Iran is one of the few countries in which the railways undergoing a renaissance assigned seating makes the trip stress-free and comfortable our train leaves chorim shah and heads north not far from the Persian Gulf would take the trans Iranian railway on a 1400 kilometer journey to the Caspian Sea the construction of this railway line was once the prestige project of the sheriff Persia a central investment in infrastructure Alysha razor shark add a lot about Iran's economic development but what I am victims admitted then with the one he did a great service to this country by building the railway up - Peter - you know how much to visit Iran I love our Mustafa passengers and cargo are transported by train there 38 millions of passengers a year as well as lots of machines vehicles and goods or years too much in 1925 when Reza Khan came to power as Reza Shah Persia was a structurally weak agricultural country the train was intended to help the country called Iran from 1935 onwards flourish economically the Shah ruled with an iron fist and the day the Islamic Republic of Iran has it's very own understanding of democracy there's no freedom of the press here the railway owes its existence to the country's natural resources it was built to transport oil passenger transport was unimportant at first but that's all my young follow my wishes I always take the train when I travel jovica thought they said in verse 11 sir the Train is a good mode of transport that you can wrestle well our army can definitely mine either have me at the Hoover it's a very journey I'm retired we shall get the media for a year Iowa before that I worked with the raw materials company for 30 years serving my country well model our bottom we're in one of the most significant regions for global energy Iran has the world's fourth largest oil and second largest natural gas reserves the state-owned companies don't publish exactly how much they extract every year the country is highly dependent on income from raw materials however as a result it's interested in loosening the economic sanctions that have been in place since 2006 rubbish as subtle I selected oil was discovered in Iran and exported more than a hundred years ago astronaut Amamiya Satoru hybrid Michiko hollow that isn't what I say the Kadena stuff Oh Daria which the train line that used to transport the oil to the ships on the Persian Gulf runs right next to us suppose as message about a shared captain as vanishes get enough as we might set a model have any job that might set him on Castro without the oil the railway line wouldn't have been built oil exports created the economic conditions for its construction that was unusual in Asia at the time railway lines were largely planned by the various colonial rulers and built for their needs in independent Iran however the Shah was in charge even raised special taxes I said and foolish as money money for the railway line came from a tax on sugar and she insisted that way we didn't have to get into debt with other countries she's hearted you know that negative the construction of the trans Iranian railway to the good 11 years 230 tunnels and 4,100 bridges were needed for the difficult terrain it was worth it the costs of transporting oil were reduced by 80 percent it used to take weeks to transport the oil now it could be done in a matter of days [Music] water has also always been important in Iran we're visiting the legendary hydraulic system in Schuster [Music] it's a unesco world heritage site the water from the Garga river was channeled to power water mills once enough water is dammed the where is opened just like with a regular mill and those stone is put into operation using hydropower the grain is ground it's a simple principle that still works today this workplace is also pleasantly cool even when it's 48 degrees outside we leave the plains behind and start climbing into the Zagros Mountains the trans Iranian railway runs through the day's River Valley for 70 kilometers it's one of the most scenic stretches of the entire route [Music] railway has made this remote region accessible a halt for prayer the trains have to make unscheduled stops Islam is the official religion in Iran the faithful have around twenty minutes to pray there are prayer rooms in every station with a strict separation of the sexes we continue our journey in this vehicle a trolley we've been invited to join a maintenance team on its daily inspection trip the railways an important employer here [Music] the roots here in Lauriston has a special appeal I've been working on this line for 18 years it's really good work I'm interested in what I do I love my work and do it as best I can times unofficially the unemployment rate in Iran is more than 20% so secure jobs with the National Railway are highly sought-after even though the works hard the track bed is always moving because of the heavy train in addition to continental tectonic plates meet in the Zagros Mountains and they also caused the ground to move what's the boss quickly checks that everything is as it should we're allowed to travel a little further with the light trolley after a short journey we're in BCA a very popular place people come from far and wide to visit this waterfall at 70 meters it's an exciting natural spectacle it gets busy here at the weekends people even come here from distant Tehran to chill out and smoke of hookah when we're visiting we only see men women aren't supposed to enjoy themselves in public in Iran but the Iranians have a relaxed attitude to water there's a saying we're where there's water there's culture water invigorates us water is life lighten the earth are dependent on water there would be nothing without water we reach what's quite literally a high point of our journey the highest point on the iranian railway network at 2217 meters this high point in the Zagros Mountains is here between Darood and Iraq during our oriental railway adventure we constantly tried to chat with the people we sensed they were fearful they didn't want to say something inappropriate on camera our retired train drivers not scared however Giardia pneumonia one day I traveled from half-day petal shoosh the station chief told me that a woman was very advanced in her pregnancy and was in labor one is the mango giveaway he told me she had to get two hundy mesh - taffy the traffic controller said he wouldn't do it I took her on the train when we arrived at the freight station she gave birth to a healthy baby it's correct body and limit then Isaiah monkey we're arriving in God a highly religious City which is popular with all iranian 'he's maybe for this reason [Music] its inhabitants are considered by many to be fanatical Shiites there are lots of religious schools in gone the Ayatollah Khomeini he lived here until he was exiled in 1964 after his return - he spent most of his time and gone but many pilgrims come to visit one of Iran's most important Shiite holy places the Fatima Matsumae shrine but adherence to Islam as the state religion is crumbling among the population people feel confined they feel the state and religion are interfering too much in their lives the totalitarian claim to power no longer fits with a modern society even though the people's faith is faltering it's still good for business here many pilgrims come to gum for Friday prayers in particular and these pilgrims are hungry for sohan guns said to have the best so hon it's made of wheat germ flour and sugar and sometimes cardamom saffron oil or butter even though few people talk about the char these days when he tried so hard during a visit to bomb he made it famous throughout the country uh very we asked dyad for his secret recipe but he would only tell us a little bit we got part of it you should start work in the name of God and then it always goes well we do it the way the scholars taught us we stick to that and our success vindicates us muhammediye the new railway station in gone is like a no-man's land way outside the city nobody lives here but it connects to the high-speed rail line to Tehran I just feel that we're proud to have a train that so fast high speeds aren't without their problems we don't like the stress during the day in particular it can happen that people step onto the tracks there's no fencing that's not good but apart from that it's great on the last 135 kilometers to Tehran the train races through the desert here it's cool inside thanks to the air conditioning unit and there's a movie playing it's the pride and joy of the Iranian railway we're on the Iranian railways fastest train the parties it was built by Zeman's Donner Party and has a top speed of a hundred and sixty kilometers per hour had access we'll have this not just in my past life - paddies paradise at 160 km/h there are no problems with the air conditioning in this train even with a blistering 50 degrees outside the tracks follow astora croute the Silk Road this caravanserai is evidence of that mechanic in the name of the God the most merciful wherever that came were Hamid are bad caravans arrived this is one of the most important historic sites in Iran and it's very well known if you stayin volunteer that a young a khadeem that was already when people still traveled with horses and camels they would spent the night in such a caravanserai what's offered on each other still hasn't yet become a very distant there were caravanserai is every 30 to 40 kilometers along the route roughly how far a caravan of camels could travel in a day the central courtyard is a characteristic feature this is where the horses and camels were looked after it was a welcoming place where travelers could relax and bathe and refuel for the next leg through the desert but now we're going to Tehran by Express train travelers don't need caravansaries anymore now they can be gently rocked to sleep we soon reached the outskirts of Tehran Iran's capital has a population of more than 8 million in the mid 1920s when razor shark into power the city had just 250,000 residents he fueled the modernization of the city thereby attracting more and more people he had the main station in Tehran built by a German company it's currently being refurbished we've covered around 900 kilometers since the start of our journey it's time for brakes we can get an idea of the size of Tehran from Mount Russia which overlooks the city the bazaar quarters are must for every visitor to the city [Music] we dive into one of the biggest bazaars in the world Aled 10 kilometers long 30 thousand shops and a hundred thousand jobs the bazaar is the shop owners are powerful in 1979 they were among the supporters of the Islamic Revolution fearing the shah's pro-western economic policies since then women have had to wear head scarves in public that too is good for business when a customer asks about the price the design or the color I know at once what taste she has if she asked for a light headscarf she wants to buy it for a young woman or a girl if a customer wants a black headscarf it's either for an older woman or she has no time and has to buy one quickly notice there are guardians of public morals everywhere making sure that all women obey the headscarf rule that applies to female tourists too we discover this station near the bazaar it was abandoned a long time ago it's part of the narrow gauge railway that started operating between Tehran and the Shia Abdul Azim shrine in Rea in 1888 making it purges first railway this locomotive dates back to the old pilgrims train the locals call it the Machine duty the smoke machine but instead of using the train the pilgrims initially preferred to cover the nine kilometers to the shrine on foot as I had always done a former passenger remembers yoga most okay Malika devil's best remember when I was 12 I went to shah abdul aziz with my family there was a big garden there at the time called back to tea madam the people from tehran went there and relaxed under the trees there was a lot of pushing around when we wanted to board the train when Jamie left and Barry pitch me Yagami anak they were elbowing each other as they climbed onto the trailer the arrow-holder than was very divided in Verona Mehmet and Bala this place of pilgrimage is located on what was once an important intersection on the Silk Road it has existed for more than a thousand years and is the fourth most important place of pilgrimage in Iran it's a holy place for Shiites [Music] as mikonam austin has that Apple as he has rathi Abdul Azim pilgrimage site is one of the most sacred places in Iran as what report on these sites in the historic city of Ramachari three descendants of the Prophet are buried here Vanuatu gonna pay cumber as well some great shiite scholars and only she mad fool herself unfortunately non-muslim cameras aren't allowed to take a closer look at the shrine well otherwise we'll miss a thing not even a smallest grain of dust on this larger-than-life Quran at Tehran station passengers can't get onto the platform without a valid ticket [Music] the platforms are open shortly before the train to pass [Music] this train to bandit or c'mon on the caspian sea also has allocated sea [Music] we're going to cover four hundred and sixty kilometers on our second leg [Music] the Greater Tehran is home to more than 15 million people once again the conductor forbids any interviews it's a shame [Music] we try our luck at the rug washing this tool is called chesh may Ally water quality here is said to be particularly good both for carpets and bathing [Music] the men handle the hand-knotted rugs with something like veneration rugs have been washed here for a long time today the only people who come here are those who can't do it at home such as Afghans who live in rented accommodation this place used to be full of rice these days most rugs are dry-cleaned the foothills of the outboards mountains not to be confused with the Mount Elbrus the highest mountains in the caucasus mountains pointers north our journey is currently taking us through the fertile valley in Zarine dashed a remote region that can almost only be reached by train many Iranians haven't seen this splendid landscape before either but there are many other reasons to prefer the Train to a car marques are aware from Tehran we want to get to sugar we take the train because the roads are safe there are lots of accidents the train safely the Train continues to climb almost imperceptibly Iran is a rich country even though most people don't benefit much from it they're suffering under the economic sanctions and high inflation taking the train isn't always about nostalgia Iran's north is also rich in natural resources high quality coal is mined here the coal mine employs 70 men who all earn around 300 euros a month about 50% above the legal poverty line it's not a lot of you consider the strategic significance this mine once had although I'm good how about this mine was set up because coal was needed for the steam trains during the Second World War muscle sister the trains transported weapons and soldiers and are so near oi salvo and went from south to north well I wanted to go far to survive alone for your services these days the coal is used for non-military purposes such as iron smelting or just heating people's homes but during the Second World War the coal was used by the Red Army in its fight against Nazi Germany 19:41 Russian and British troops invaded Iran they confiscated the trans Iranian railway which was quite new back then from then on it was used as a transport corridor the Persian corridor 646 boatloads of war equipments were moved by rail from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea that allowed the Red Army to launch a decisive offensive against Germany in 1944 [Music] the heavy military trains needed a lot of coal they had to negotiate differences in altitude of as much as 2,000 meters beautiful structures such as that good pass made it possible after a few minutes we reach the pride and joy of the Iranian railway their esque bridge because of its significance in the Second World War is also called the Victory bridge 120 metres tall it's the highest railway bridge in Iran Valda Eichner the Austrian engineer who built it is buried in this small Cemetery within sight of the bridge if the towing pod Hoddy the people celebrated the inauguration of the bridge and sacrificed their animal I think equals it as I shot of that it was Tommy bean and dad who they were proud that razor Shah had come to their village and hamburger Holly that poor poor boy many important people came with him including from the military they all wanted to see whether the bridge was stable it's said that the Shah forced the engineer to stand under the bridge with his wife and only daughter as the first train crossed for this complementarity the pole they would have been the first people to die if it had collapsed in port-a-crib Assad but it can't be questioned say man trains still cross this bridge today we continue our journey and reach the fertile Caspian coastline [Music] rice is a particularly common crop here the quiet sounds are evidence of the hard work on the fields of the dreams of the women doing that work [Music] preparations for baking bread we've been invited to dinner by the cushion family it's evening and everyone's looking forward to the meal we've been travelling during Ramadan meaning that Muslims aren't allowed to eat or drink between sunrise and sunset the only exceptions here are the old the sick children and pregnant women the hunger and anticipation are huge we're all excited about the fresh bread but still baked here in the traditional way all the remaining preparations are made in the kitchen in fairness that this mash is part of every meal for us it consists of flour rice flour rose water vanilla sugar and milk flashes these ingredients are mixed and put on the hob it stirred until it becomes thick this mash is a staple of Iranian cuisine we eat it to break the fast honey it on your houses at last it's sunset and people are allowed to eat and drink the family sit on the floor in the traditional manner we were allowed to sample the delicious bread as well we would have liked to enjoy the hospitality of the Christian family for longer but we had to move on [Music] norther sorry we depart from the historic track there was once a 128 kilometer track here built under German supervision the aim was to collect data that would help estimate the exact cost of building the railway by the way travelers and that includes train passengers don't have to fast during Ramadan I would be funny we're heading to be sure to visit our family for Ramadan following over there we like taking the train we always use it we like it safety and convenience and we're always together and that's why the Train is a good choice for us gelato this section of the journey seems to be a good one for sleeping that's no surprise because the Iranian railway has invested in modern carriages here [Music] it's good for the train staff to MusclePharm riding wealth loss of homologa more when the passengers are comfortable we're happy to have a little versa roadside initial there since we bought these air-conditioned trains from hi own died five years ago we and the passengers don't have problems anymore otherwise with you my own blood level we reached the terminus of the trans Iranian railway in Banda tour c'mon this small port is unspectacular it was once an important Russian supply hub the temperatures here are more pleasant than in southern Iran a short walk along the old track takes us to the Caspian Sea trains haven't passed this way for a long time the Caspian Seas the world's largest enclosed inland body of water Hossein takes us on his boat and shows us the island of me and Calais which is a protected Nature Reserve wild horses roam free here we use the peace Inquirer to talk to her saying about the significance of the term freedom Oh freedom means that you're left to your own devices and that you can say what you want - time is to be scored visibility rhythm of them I suppose it doesn't mean being naked going to a nightclub and drinking alcohol freedom also means security why we have freedom in our country but it's a bit limited but the country and its society are changing offering hopes that Iranians will be able to live in real freedom one day

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 3,243,467

Rating: 4.6147327 out of 5

Keywords: Iran, travel, culture, Middle East, Persian Gulf, Teheran, Caspian Sea, DW, documentary, Deutsche Welle

Id: lqSoLVkYYu0

Length: 42min 25sec (2545 seconds)

Published: Fri May 12 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/W00ster]

Very interesting docu! Just finished it.

I also cross-posted it to /r/trains

[u/Rvatistanac]

This was a good one