I always wanted to go on a big journey to see the beauty of the world. Thats the reason why I planned the following journey from Iran to Mexico, making stops in different countries and villages along my trip ( IranèTurkeyèGreeceèJamaicaèCubaèMexico). By using this blog I want you all to be part of my incredible journey. Ill keep you all posted with pictures and lots of information from each country Ill be visiting.
This is my first dayat the capital city of Iran,Teheran.Already Im able to tell you guys something about this city. Today I red a newspaper article saying Teheran is the smokiest of all capitals. Apparently Teheran is a very polluting city. The power stations, cement factories and thousands of over-polluting cars made sure Teheran won the world record in air pollution.In the past the Alborz massif winds kept the city providing healthier air with more oxygen in it. But since Teheran is air still, a large thick brown haze has covered the sprawling city ( see picture). Because ofthe smog, already 3,600 people died in the past months. Especially old people and asthmatics suffered a lot.
Teheran needs to change its environmental policy ! The air pollution there is like 5 times bigger than in our cities. First of all, the government of Iran could lay restrictions on the emission of power stations or petrol stations that are settled in Teheran and the surrounding cities and villages. Closing these companies will mean a lot of unemployment, so that isnt an option for a nearly third world country like Iran. On the other hand they also need to lay restrictions on the emission of the cars that are driving there. Cars driving there, pollute 3 times more than cars driving in our countries. This restriction isnt that important as the others but everything will help Teheran to be a cleaner city.
We, Western countries can also help Iran (Teheran). We can sent engineers to these polluting factories so they can help them to be more ecological. This can be supported with money we get from certain foundations.
This was myblog post from Iran ( Teheran ) within a few days Ill take the plane to Istanbul, Turkey. Speak to you later!
This is my first blog of our journey throughout the world. Our trip starts in Iran and ends in Mexico. This first blog will be about the culture in Iran, to be more precise, about the Iranian marriage ceremony.
The marriage ceremony is one of the oldest traditions in Iran and has been influenced by a lot of different factors. There are many local variations of the ceremony and the Islam traditions have also changed the marriage ceremony in a big way. The marriage of the couple itself is actually only a small part of the big picture, and the two lucky people themselves have very little to say in the preparation. The family will take care of everything, from sometimes even choosing the right partner for their son or daughter, to organizing the entire party.
The government wants to be involved in the ceremony and has spend more than one billion dollar to help young couples arrange their marriage. They will provide them with cheap loans and this is necessary because some marriages can cost overa hundred thousand dollar.
I am a big fan of the marriage ceremony, but I like to keep things small. And because Im not a religious person, I wouldnt want any interference of any religion. Marriage should just be two people who love each other and who want to show that to their friends and family with a small ceremony.
I would hate it if I would have to get married in Iran. Other people who organize the whole thing, without having the chance to change it into something you want. And, in my opinion, it would be horrible to have to marry someone youve never met before in your entire life. I cant believe that those fixed marriages can have a happy ending. Maybe some couples have all the luck of the world on their side and get matched up to the right person, but thats probably something very rare.
Im not quite sure want to think about the government giving away all that money to support marriage. In a way its good that young couples get some help to follow their dream and have a perfect marriage. But when I think of Iran, I always think about government involvement in almost everything that their citizens do. And I think that this is also a way for the Iranian government to have a little more grip on the people of Iran. But maybe Im a little bit pessimistic and Iran is doing this just because they want the best for all the people of Iran.
So, this was my first blog of our trip from Iran to Mexico. I hope you enjoyed it, and next week well be in another country and Ill be writing my second blog.
