“You haven’t even hit the jungle yet!” our host cried on the phone. Just the foggy climb to the 10,700-foot Filband village in northern Iran is an adventure during our Iran Caspian tour.
Here’s a story on I ate fantastic Persian food (after insulting the host) thanks to the legendary Iranian tradition of feeding the masses with free food to honor the dead saints of Shia Islam.
I stay in Iran partly because ALWAYS there’s something going on. Today it is helping make more than a ton of “nazri” food – food that is considered holy for both the people who make and those who eat it. For me, I just can’t pass up free food – which is plentiful during Iran’s numerous religious holidays.
Sometimes it’s impossible to walk away from tenacious Iranian hospitality, especially when there’s tea from a charcoal-powered samovar and unforgettable abgoosht.
Getting fresh dairy and eggs in Iran is not about money; like much of life in Iran, it’s about politics. First and foremost depends on the quality of one’s connections: knowing a supplier whom you can trust, getting the right phone call when supplies arrive from the countryside and securing your share before they’re grabbed by others.
Iranian airlines feed all passengers with piping meals, service that is shocking to visiting tourists.
