Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018): Season 4, Episode 6 - Iran - full transcript
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I am so confused.
It wasn't supposed
to be like this.
Of all of the places, of all the
countries, all the years of
traveling, it's here in Iran
that I am greeted
most warmly even by strangers.
The other stuff is there, the
Iran we read about, heard
about, seen in the news.
But this... this I
wasn't prepared for.
Good to be here finally.
It's taken some time.
Like a lot of time.
Like four years
I've been trying.
Finally.
Tehran.
City of nearly 8 million people.
Capital of Iran.
Like their neighborhoods
of Rome this feels like.
After all of this time I
finally have my chance to see a
country I heard so much about.
Weather is nice.
I don't know what
I was expecting.
It is nice.
A big blank spot on nearly
every traveler's resume.
Delicious.
Thank you.
Once upon a time there was an
ancient kingdom where they found
a lot of magical black
stuff under the ground.
♪
♪
But two other kingdoms had
the key to the magical black
stuff.
And when they wouldn't share.
The people of the ancient
kingdom got mad.
They voted and their leader said
the magical black stuff
is ours to keep.
But the other kingdoms wear
frayed of losing all of the
magical black stuff so they gave
money to some bad men to
get rid of the leader.
They put back in power
another leader.
And they gave him money too.
To some he was a good king.
But to others he
could be very cruel.
♪
♪
After many years the people
of the kingdom got mad.
This time even madder.
So they scared the
king away forever.
And then things started
to get really messed up.
Okay.
That's a simplistic, incomplete
way to sum up 100-odd
years of Iranian history.
The point is there were a lot of
issues and differing agendas
leading to the explosion of rage
known as the Iranian
hostage crisis.
Look, we know what Iran
the government does.
George W. Bush famously called
them part of the axis of evil.
Their proxies in Iraq have done
American soldiers real harm.
There is no doubt of this.
But I hope I can be forgiven for
finding these undeniable truths
hard to reconcile with how we
are treated on the streets
everywhere we go..
So forget about the politics
if you can for a moment.
How about the food?
The food here is amazing.
♪
♪
Kabob, as close as you get to
the national dish and
the king of kabobs.
Ground lamb with spices,
a good place to start.
So what do you guys
do for a living?
I export nuts.
I am a curator of
contemporary art.
An exploding scene here?
A different culture.
Iranian and Islamic culture.
It has changed a lot
during the last decade.
So this is the actual marrying.
I would recommend you
to try this one.
And this one.
And this one.
Okay.
Why not?
Kabob wouldn't be complete
without Persian rice.
Fluffy, long grained, perfectly
seasoned with saffron, the rice
in this country us unlike
anything you have ever had.
Tony, first you should take
the butter and put
it on your rice.
Bon apetit.
Bon apetit.
It's good.
It was a hopeful time
when I arrived in Iran.
A window had opened.
There had been a slight
loosening of restrictions.
There was optimism for a deal
that could lead to an easing of
crippling economic sanctions
imposed because of Iran's
continued nuclear program.
Trade restrictions very,
very difficult for everyone.
But there is a push happening
between opposing factions
in the government.
On one hand, Iranians have been
descendants of ancient per shah.
Empire of poetry.
Flowers, the highly influential
culture that goes back
thousand of years.
But the ruling clerical and
military class are at best
ambivalent and at worst
actively hostile to much of the
tradition.
So, the religious based
restrictions of speech, dress,
behavior were ushered in by the
lies of the ayatollah during the
1979 Islamic revolution.
♪
♪
♪
♪
So how does one have fun
in Iran these days.
This is the line that is
constantly being tested.
Alcohol is of course forbidden.
You can get away with
listening to rock or rap.
Sort of.
Sometimes.
But you cannot yourself rock or
be seen to visibly rock.
♪
♪
Not everyone in Iran is
delighted with what their
country has become
since the revolution.
But even insinuating discontent
can have consequences.
Protesters, dissidents,
journalists have simply
disappeared into the
national security system.
Huh?
Local military crew.
♪
♪
We are in the northernmost land
of Tehran, up here the road
stops and it gets really steep.
The place for Iranians to escape
the heat, escape the pollution.
And have a kabob.
And just kind of unwind.
As print journalists our job
is difficult, but
also kind of easy.
Because there is so
much to write about.
You know it, the difficult part
is convincing people on the
other side of the world that
what we are telling, we are
seeing in front of our
eyes is actually there.
When you walk down the street
you see a different
side of things.
People are proud.
The culture is vibrant.
People have a lot to say.
Jason Rasign is "the
Washington post" correspondent
for Iran, his wife and fellow
journalist works for UAE based
newspaper "the national."
Jason is Iranian/American.
And his wife, a full Iranian.
This is their city, Tehran.
The issue of fun in general
seems to be an ever-shifting...
Is fun even a good idea?
A lot of push and pull.
A lot of give and take.
When I first started coming here
you wouldn't hear pop music
in a restaurant or...
Now it is everywhere.
We have police they arrest
girls or women for having...
Not being covered enough.
It know it that we live with the
police in our head, you know.
One of the first things that
people will say when you
say, I'm going to Iran.
Yeah, but don't they make women
dupe this, this, this, this.
Actually... not so much,
not as much as our friend.
Compare and contrast, women
aren't allowed to drive
in Saudi Arabia.
That's right.
Or vote.
You can drive.
You can vote?
Yeah, of course.
Of course.
My sister is an accountant.
She has her own company.
Girls are allowed to do almost
everything, except if you want
to go and watch football.
Can't watch football?
We cannot.
Women's issues are often at
the spear point of change
or possible change here.
On one hand, prevailing
conservative attitudes demand
certain things.
On the other hand.
Iranian women are famously
assertive, opinionated.
A striking difference from
almost everywhere else in
region.
Why are we so friend leap
with the Saudis again?
Great question.
Really good question.
I'm happy that you
asked that question.
Do you like it?
Are you happy here?
Look, I am at a point now
after five years where... I miss
certain thing as but home.
I miss my buddies.
I miss burritos.
I miss having certain beverages
with my buddies and burritos.
Certain types of establishments.
But I love it.
I love it... and I hate it you.
Know.
But it's home.
It's become home.
Are you optimistic
about the future?
Yeah.
Especially, if it
finally happens.
Yeah.
Very much, actually.
Despite the hopeful nature of
our conversation, six weeks
after the filming of this
episode, Jason and his wife were
mysteriously arrested and
detained by the police.
Sadly in Iran, this sort of
thing is not an isolated
incident.
What is okay to film... what
is okay to film in
Iran and what is not?
What is okay to the friendly, to
us, ministry of guidance
they not be for the besiege,
essentially,
roving young, militias.
Despite permits and paperwork in
order we are detained
for several hours.
This sort of harassment is a
daily part of life for Iranians.
Just turn it off right now.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
I'm so glad to be here.
Hello.
People have been
ridiculously nice to us.
Aren't you supposed to
be the axis of evil.
You are right.
We are demonized by
the media outside.
Show black and white.
People are demonstrating,
killing, bombing.
This and that.
You never talk about
the real people.
Who are living peacefully
inside the country.
You know?
And eventually in the
future of the world.
We Americans have a very special
place in this, you cannot play a
game without considering
Iran as a friend.
One of his passion's is
ancient Persia and he
is writing a book.
How do you pronounce
the specialty?
Name of the pot.
Earthenware.
The dishes.
It goes back to Mesopotamia.
6,000 years ago.
Potato, chick peas, water.
Lamb.
Cooked together.
Add a little fat.
Mash it up with
potatoes, chick peas.
That's good.
What do Iranians
want to eat today?
It is a home cooking culture.
Yes.
We didn't hatch the
culture of eating out.
This is a culture of
sacred foods in the house.
Things are unheard of.
It's not in the book.
That is really interesting.
♪
♪
Have you ever tried
Iranian food?
It is difficult.
Because everybody says the great
food of Iran is cooked
in people's homes.
Yes.
This is a land of
secret recipes.
Passed down within families
like treasured possessions.
Beautiful spread of food.
She is my wife.
I am a really lucky man.
She is very good to cook.
Like many Iranians he has
been kind enough off to
invite me to his home.
This is milk and chicken soup.
It is really good.
[].
[ Become speaking
foreign language ]
My mom said that Iranian
people loves guests.
And they will never get tired if
the guest likes their food.
A stew of fried chicken,
onion, ground wall nuts,
pomegranate, and tomato paste.
Fruit.
Some kind of fruit.
Yes, dried apricot inside.
Delicious.
So good.
These are very sophisticated,
very time consuming
dishes to prepare.
Always from scratch and always
in excess of what
you could need.
You tend to kill your guests
with kindness around here.
That dish is from
the south of Iran.
From the Persian Gulf?
Yes.
This one is from north.
Maybe if I could try some?
Yes.
Thank you.
Of course.
That one, we made it
with beans, meat.
It's so good.
Mm, fantastic food.
Men and boy, both
of them working.
It's hard to do
something like this.
That's what I'm waiting.
Crispy rice at the bottom.
What is it called?
Tariq?
Exactly.
My mom and my mother think if
they have a guest they have to
at least two or three
kind of foods.
If they make just one they thing
it is not very
polite for a guest.
Now they set the example
for my generation.
That I have a guest I
will just make one food.
One appetizer.
One dessert.
You know why?
Because it is much easier.
Times have changed.
Pre-1979 Tehran was
party central.
With Iran's revolution, 2500
years of monarchy was over.
The supreme leader, ayatollah
Khomeini’s word became
more or less... law.
Today hundred of thousand of
Iranians are bused to his
enormous shrine from
all over the country.
♪
♪
The national holiday, Khomeini
died on this day, and his
funeral attended by
10 million Iranians.
Don't want to miss the bus.
♪
♪
South of Tehran, the
landscape opens up.
Only 300 miles of Iranian
highway stretching to the city.
It is Iran's third largest city.
Half the world, the saying, went
back to when this was capital
of Persia and beyond.
The city is renowned for the
architecture, grandest Bridges
and mosques dating back
to the middle ages.
USA.
From America.
Where are you from?
Tehran?
Tehran.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Thank you very much.
It's very beautiful.
This is a former
wrestler's hangout?
Tucked deep in the labyrinth
of the bazaar, the smell of
something, very, very good.
This shop has been here doing
the say thing for 100 years.
And based on the line it
must be doing it right.
I have had it.
There is no question
who invented it.
No.
Maybe you know the word,
though this doesn't look like
any Berjani I have ever had.
Minced lamb shoulder, onion,
tumeric, mint, and
of course, saffron.
More valuable than
gold by weight.
This is delicious.
Very good.
Is Tehran today one of most
visited areas by tourists.
If you come to Iran and you
don't visit, you are
wasting your time.
♪
♪
The royal mosques, the second
largest square in the world
behind Tienanmen square in
China.
At dusk families come to the
square to cool off, picnic, and
have, yes, it looks like
even a little bit of fun.
♪
Morning prayer in the city.
Across town the bridge where
men gather
spontaneously to sing.
Is this okay this impromptu
giving oneself over to the
creative urge to stand and sing
out to no one in particular.
Maybe, but not okay
apparently to film.
Gotta go.
The road become to Tehran.
Along the way, reminders of just
how far back this culture goes.
The ruins of ancient caravans,
highway rest stops from when
armies, merchants, traders
traveling by camel by foot all
passed along these same routes.
This right here a stop on what
was once the silk road extending
all the way to China.
♪
♪
In this part of the world,
whatever your background,
bread is a vital, essential,
fundamental and deeply
respected staple.
And mornings in Tehran countless
bakeries look this one turn
out as much as they can.
It smells good in here.
Standing line is a daily part of
life for many I rain Yaz.
Bake this on small stones.
Gives it the textures.
That's why it is called
stone, pebble.
In years since the '79
revolution, Iranians have
endured wars, sanctions, that
have caused the
economy to sputter.
So I am going to make you
a small table, right.
He is kind enough to
take me for breakfast.
Awesome.
It is made from Bulgar wheat?
Yes.
You know what is
inside the wheat?
It is meat.
It is Turkey.
This its a mixture of
sugar and cinnamon.
That's good.
You like?
Yeah, the spread is amazing.
You were how old when the
war with Iraq started?
I was 7.
Iran's eight year long war
with Saddam Hussein's Iraq
is deeply, deeply felt.
Hundreds of thousands of
Iranians many of them children
died fighting in that conflict.
Were you frayed?
We were afraid.
My father was... in the front.
For three years of eight.
It was not just my brother.
Many people.
Eight years.
And with a country that its
supported by many big powers.
It is worth mentioning whatever
you think, wherever we
are now, that Saddam supported
by the U.S. government and with
our full knowledge used sarin
and mustard gas on hundreds
of thousand of Iranians.
Less known in America, known and
felt by everyone in Iran.
And it was a mistake the
united states at the time.
Made a bad memory for Iranians.
Still people are indeed
really, really nice here.
Because people here
don't hate Americans.
You had a coup.
And then a revolution
everything.
And then you captured
the embassy.
And we didn't have a real fight.
So it can be political
misunderstanding which is the
result, which will be result,
resolved, maybe, I hope.
So far, Iran does not look
and does not feel the
way I had expected.
♪
♪
Neither east nor west, but
always some where in the middle.
♪
♪
Well it looks spectacular.
You can't have this
in the restaurant.
It is time consuming.
It is very expensive.
Persian cuisine has to be
experienced in somebody's home.
Thank you.
So this one here is...
Slow cooked yam in yogurt.
Yogurt, saffron and egg yokes.
A prominent art gallery owner
insist I'd come over for lunch
with her friend and family.
Here we have sour cherry rice.
Maple.
Chicken.
Sour cherries.
More than any other,
sour cherries.
The cook has been with the
family for generations.
Rice mixed with yogurt and
saffron baked into a crispy
dough.
Don't think of rice as a
side dish around here.
It can be the main event.
Okay.
Very, very good.
You fut far more on the
table than any one can
conceivably eat.
Yes if you don't like your
guest you don't put anything.
Her we have a large meatball.
Ground beef, onion,
and cooked rice.
Walnuts, dried apricots,
boiled egg and barberries.
An way, we are a very
interesting nation.
Very confusing.
Extremely confusing.
The contradictions are just.
Ined or enormous.
Enormous.
Iranians we take into our
house, and our hearts.
In that way we are extremists
Siena in so many ways.
You see this tortured
relationship between America and
Iran for many years.
How do you think most Americans
will react when they see this?
They will start coming.
It is very important as
Iranians, that we are seen as
humans here, not the so-called
enemy or the darkness of Iran.
Like you go to any body's house
in Iran I am sure they
will welcome you.
The axis of evil.
We are not the axis of evil.
Just normal evil
look everybody else.
Ten years ago Iran was,
people they had hope for
future, young people.
They wanted to travel.
Had a little bit of money.
Because of sanction.
This sanction really
squeeze everybody.
Eight years, no foreign
investment here.
And soap it was very
difficult time.
And, in the population
is really young.
70% are under 35.
And they want to have good job,
they want to have families, but
is not possible now for them.
I hope we can have more faith
in the ordinary Americans,
because every little change in
the policy of the western
country, it really, really
affects our lives here.
The Miraud tower.
It rises 5,000 feet in the air
and looks out over
Tehran and beyond.
We were out on the observation
deck taking it all in, trying to
make some sense of it all.
Our time in Iran was coming to
an end and it was impossible to
say, was a window opening?
Or was it only a moment in
time before it shut again?
You learn pretty quickly that in
Iran, there is
plenty of gray area.
An undefined territory.
Where is the line?
It seems to change with
barely a moment's notice.
Here it comes.
This isn't the first time
that we have experienced such
thing.
Please follow me.
Last day in Iran.
Night falls, and kids, like kids
anywhere, get in their rides and
head for anywhere
they can hang out.
American classics here.
Where do you get them?
Old men.
And then fix them up?
Yeah.
Mustang?
Camaro.
Camaro.
Firebird?
Pontiac.
That's a perfect L.A.
car right there.
Is this a car club or
just people that come?
We hang out this way.
These are our friends.
One last thing everybody has
been telling me I have to try.
Iranian take-out pizza.
It comes with ketchup.
What do you think
about Iranian pizza?
Not bad.
Not bad.
We don't put ketchup
on pizza, though.
I love ketchup.
I could spend my youth,
pretty much, doing this.
Hanging out in a parking lot?
Let's assume the worst.
Let's assume that you cannot see
any way to reconcile what you
think of Iran with your
own personal beliefs.
You just generally
don't approve.
Yeah.
I think those are exactly the
sort of places you should go.
Totally.
See who we're talking about
and where we're
talking about here.
I think it's almost un-American
not to go to those
places.
You know?
I don't know that I can put
it in any kind of perspective.
I feel deeply conflicted.
Deeply confusing, exhilarating,
heartbreaking, beautiful place.
Yeah.
Exactly.
American cars are crazy.
American cars are crazy
and they're fun.
The Iran I see on TV and read
about in the papers, it's
a much bigger picture.
Let's put it this way.
It's complicated.
After ten weeks, Yugane
was finally released.
But as I read these lines,
Jason remains a prisoner.
His future, the reasons for
their arrest, are still unknown.
One, two, three!
Thank you, guys.
We'll see you.
Thank you.
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I am so confused.
It wasn't supposed
to be like this.
Of all of the places, of all the
countries, all the years of
traveling, it's here in Iran
that I am greeted
most warmly even by strangers.
The other stuff is there, the
Iran we read about, heard
about, seen in the news.
But this... this I
wasn't prepared for.
Good to be here finally.
It's taken some time.
Like a lot of time.
Like four years
I've been trying.
Finally.
Tehran.
City of nearly 8 million people.
Capital of Iran.
Like their neighborhoods
of Rome this feels like.
After all of this time I
finally have my chance to see a
country I heard so much about.
Weather is nice.
I don't know what
I was expecting.
It is nice.
A big blank spot on nearly
every traveler's resume.
Delicious.
Thank you.
Once upon a time there was an
ancient kingdom where they found
a lot of magical black
stuff under the ground.
♪
♪
But two other kingdoms had
the key to the magical black
stuff.
And when they wouldn't share.
The people of the ancient
kingdom got mad.
They voted and their leader said
the magical black stuff
is ours to keep.
But the other kingdoms wear
frayed of losing all of the
magical black stuff so they gave
money to some bad men to
get rid of the leader.
They put back in power
another leader.
And they gave him money too.
To some he was a good king.
But to others he
could be very cruel.
♪
♪
After many years the people
of the kingdom got mad.
This time even madder.
So they scared the
king away forever.
And then things started
to get really messed up.
Okay.
That's a simplistic, incomplete
way to sum up 100-odd
years of Iranian history.
The point is there were a lot of
issues and differing agendas
leading to the explosion of rage
known as the Iranian
hostage crisis.
Look, we know what Iran
the government does.
George W. Bush famously called
them part of the axis of evil.
Their proxies in Iraq have done
American soldiers real harm.
There is no doubt of this.
But I hope I can be forgiven for
finding these undeniable truths
hard to reconcile with how we
are treated on the streets
everywhere we go..
So forget about the politics
if you can for a moment.
How about the food?
The food here is amazing.
♪
♪
Kabob, as close as you get to
the national dish and
the king of kabobs.
Ground lamb with spices,
a good place to start.
So what do you guys
do for a living?
I export nuts.
I am a curator of
contemporary art.
An exploding scene here?
A different culture.
Iranian and Islamic culture.
It has changed a lot
during the last decade.
So this is the actual marrying.
I would recommend you
to try this one.
And this one.
And this one.
Okay.
Why not?
Kabob wouldn't be complete
without Persian rice.
Fluffy, long grained, perfectly
seasoned with saffron, the rice
in this country us unlike
anything you have ever had.
Tony, first you should take
the butter and put
it on your rice.
Bon apetit.
Bon apetit.
It's good.
It was a hopeful time
when I arrived in Iran.
A window had opened.
There had been a slight
loosening of restrictions.
There was optimism for a deal
that could lead to an easing of
crippling economic sanctions
imposed because of Iran's
continued nuclear program.
Trade restrictions very,
very difficult for everyone.
But there is a push happening
between opposing factions
in the government.
On one hand, Iranians have been
descendants of ancient per shah.
Empire of poetry.
Flowers, the highly influential
culture that goes back
thousand of years.
But the ruling clerical and
military class are at best
ambivalent and at worst
actively hostile to much of the
tradition.
So, the religious based
restrictions of speech, dress,
behavior were ushered in by the
lies of the ayatollah during the
1979 Islamic revolution.
♪
♪
♪
♪
So how does one have fun
in Iran these days.
This is the line that is
constantly being tested.
Alcohol is of course forbidden.
You can get away with
listening to rock or rap.
Sort of.
Sometimes.
But you cannot yourself rock or
be seen to visibly rock.
♪
♪
Not everyone in Iran is
delighted with what their
country has become
since the revolution.
But even insinuating discontent
can have consequences.
Protesters, dissidents,
journalists have simply
disappeared into the
national security system.
Huh?
Local military crew.
♪
♪
We are in the northernmost land
of Tehran, up here the road
stops and it gets really steep.
The place for Iranians to escape
the heat, escape the pollution.
And have a kabob.
And just kind of unwind.
As print journalists our job
is difficult, but
also kind of easy.
Because there is so
much to write about.
You know it, the difficult part
is convincing people on the
other side of the world that
what we are telling, we are
seeing in front of our
eyes is actually there.
When you walk down the street
you see a different
side of things.
People are proud.
The culture is vibrant.
People have a lot to say.
Jason Rasign is "the
Washington post" correspondent
for Iran, his wife and fellow
journalist works for UAE based
newspaper "the national."
Jason is Iranian/American.
And his wife, a full Iranian.
This is their city, Tehran.
The issue of fun in general
seems to be an ever-shifting...
Is fun even a good idea?
A lot of push and pull.
A lot of give and take.
When I first started coming here
you wouldn't hear pop music
in a restaurant or...
Now it is everywhere.
We have police they arrest
girls or women for having...
Not being covered enough.
It know it that we live with the
police in our head, you know.
One of the first things that
people will say when you
say, I'm going to Iran.
Yeah, but don't they make women
dupe this, this, this, this.
Actually... not so much,
not as much as our friend.
Compare and contrast, women
aren't allowed to drive
in Saudi Arabia.
That's right.
Or vote.
You can drive.
You can vote?
Yeah, of course.
Of course.
My sister is an accountant.
She has her own company.
Girls are allowed to do almost
everything, except if you want
to go and watch football.
Can't watch football?
We cannot.
Women's issues are often at
the spear point of change
or possible change here.
On one hand, prevailing
conservative attitudes demand
certain things.
On the other hand.
Iranian women are famously
assertive, opinionated.
A striking difference from
almost everywhere else in
region.
Why are we so friend leap
with the Saudis again?
Great question.
Really good question.
I'm happy that you
asked that question.
Do you like it?
Are you happy here?
Look, I am at a point now
after five years where... I miss
certain thing as but home.
I miss my buddies.
I miss burritos.
I miss having certain beverages
with my buddies and burritos.
Certain types of establishments.
But I love it.
I love it... and I hate it you.
Know.
But it's home.
It's become home.
Are you optimistic
about the future?
Yeah.
Especially, if it
finally happens.
Yeah.
Very much, actually.
Despite the hopeful nature of
our conversation, six weeks
after the filming of this
episode, Jason and his wife were
mysteriously arrested and
detained by the police.
Sadly in Iran, this sort of
thing is not an isolated
incident.
What is okay to film... what
is okay to film in
Iran and what is not?
What is okay to the friendly, to
us, ministry of guidance
they not be for the besiege,
essentially,
roving young, militias.
Despite permits and paperwork in
order we are detained
for several hours.
This sort of harassment is a
daily part of life for Iranians.
Just turn it off right now.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
I'm so glad to be here.
Hello.
People have been
ridiculously nice to us.
Aren't you supposed to
be the axis of evil.
You are right.
We are demonized by
the media outside.
Show black and white.
People are demonstrating,
killing, bombing.
This and that.
You never talk about
the real people.
Who are living peacefully
inside the country.
You know?
And eventually in the
future of the world.
We Americans have a very special
place in this, you cannot play a
game without considering
Iran as a friend.
One of his passion's is
ancient Persia and he
is writing a book.
How do you pronounce
the specialty?
Name of the pot.
Earthenware.
The dishes.
It goes back to Mesopotamia.
6,000 years ago.
Potato, chick peas, water.
Lamb.
Cooked together.
Add a little fat.
Mash it up with
potatoes, chick peas.
That's good.
What do Iranians
want to eat today?
It is a home cooking culture.
Yes.
We didn't hatch the
culture of eating out.
This is a culture of
sacred foods in the house.
Things are unheard of.
It's not in the book.
That is really interesting.
♪
♪
Have you ever tried
Iranian food?
It is difficult.
Because everybody says the great
food of Iran is cooked
in people's homes.
Yes.
This is a land of
secret recipes.
Passed down within families
like treasured possessions.
Beautiful spread of food.
She is my wife.
I am a really lucky man.
She is very good to cook.
Like many Iranians he has
been kind enough off to
invite me to his home.
This is milk and chicken soup.
It is really good.
[].
[ Become speaking
foreign language ]
My mom said that Iranian
people loves guests.
And they will never get tired if
the guest likes their food.
A stew of fried chicken,
onion, ground wall nuts,
pomegranate, and tomato paste.
Fruit.
Some kind of fruit.
Yes, dried apricot inside.
Delicious.
So good.
These are very sophisticated,
very time consuming
dishes to prepare.
Always from scratch and always
in excess of what
you could need.
You tend to kill your guests
with kindness around here.
That dish is from
the south of Iran.
From the Persian Gulf?
Yes.
This one is from north.
Maybe if I could try some?
Yes.
Thank you.
Of course.
That one, we made it
with beans, meat.
It's so good.
Mm, fantastic food.
Men and boy, both
of them working.
It's hard to do
something like this.
That's what I'm waiting.
Crispy rice at the bottom.
What is it called?
Tariq?
Exactly.
My mom and my mother think if
they have a guest they have to
at least two or three
kind of foods.
If they make just one they thing
it is not very
polite for a guest.
Now they set the example
for my generation.
That I have a guest I
will just make one food.
One appetizer.
One dessert.
You know why?
Because it is much easier.
Times have changed.
Pre-1979 Tehran was
party central.
With Iran's revolution, 2500
years of monarchy was over.
The supreme leader, ayatollah
Khomeini’s word became
more or less... law.
Today hundred of thousand of
Iranians are bused to his
enormous shrine from
all over the country.
♪
♪
The national holiday, Khomeini
died on this day, and his
funeral attended by
10 million Iranians.
Don't want to miss the bus.
♪
♪
South of Tehran, the
landscape opens up.
Only 300 miles of Iranian
highway stretching to the city.
It is Iran's third largest city.
Half the world, the saying, went
back to when this was capital
of Persia and beyond.
The city is renowned for the
architecture, grandest Bridges
and mosques dating back
to the middle ages.
USA.
From America.
Where are you from?
Tehran?
Tehran.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Thank you very much.
It's very beautiful.
This is a former
wrestler's hangout?
Tucked deep in the labyrinth
of the bazaar, the smell of
something, very, very good.
This shop has been here doing
the say thing for 100 years.
And based on the line it
must be doing it right.
I have had it.
There is no question
who invented it.
No.
Maybe you know the word,
though this doesn't look like
any Berjani I have ever had.
Minced lamb shoulder, onion,
tumeric, mint, and
of course, saffron.
More valuable than
gold by weight.
This is delicious.
Very good.
Is Tehran today one of most
visited areas by tourists.
If you come to Iran and you
don't visit, you are
wasting your time.
♪
♪
The royal mosques, the second
largest square in the world
behind Tienanmen square in
China.
At dusk families come to the
square to cool off, picnic, and
have, yes, it looks like
even a little bit of fun.
♪
Morning prayer in the city.
Across town the bridge where
men gather
spontaneously to sing.
Is this okay this impromptu
giving oneself over to the
creative urge to stand and sing
out to no one in particular.
Maybe, but not okay
apparently to film.
Gotta go.
The road become to Tehran.
Along the way, reminders of just
how far back this culture goes.
The ruins of ancient caravans,
highway rest stops from when
armies, merchants, traders
traveling by camel by foot all
passed along these same routes.
This right here a stop on what
was once the silk road extending
all the way to China.
♪
♪
In this part of the world,
whatever your background,
bread is a vital, essential,
fundamental and deeply
respected staple.
And mornings in Tehran countless
bakeries look this one turn
out as much as they can.
It smells good in here.
Standing line is a daily part of
life for many I rain Yaz.
Bake this on small stones.
Gives it the textures.
That's why it is called
stone, pebble.
In years since the '79
revolution, Iranians have
endured wars, sanctions, that
have caused the
economy to sputter.
So I am going to make you
a small table, right.
He is kind enough to
take me for breakfast.
Awesome.
It is made from Bulgar wheat?
Yes.
You know what is
inside the wheat?
It is meat.
It is Turkey.
This its a mixture of
sugar and cinnamon.
That's good.
You like?
Yeah, the spread is amazing.
You were how old when the
war with Iraq started?
I was 7.
Iran's eight year long war
with Saddam Hussein's Iraq
is deeply, deeply felt.
Hundreds of thousands of
Iranians many of them children
died fighting in that conflict.
Were you frayed?
We were afraid.
My father was... in the front.
For three years of eight.
It was not just my brother.
Many people.
Eight years.
And with a country that its
supported by many big powers.
It is worth mentioning whatever
you think, wherever we
are now, that Saddam supported
by the U.S. government and with
our full knowledge used sarin
and mustard gas on hundreds
of thousand of Iranians.
Less known in America, known and
felt by everyone in Iran.
And it was a mistake the
united states at the time.
Made a bad memory for Iranians.
Still people are indeed
really, really nice here.
Because people here
don't hate Americans.
You had a coup.
And then a revolution
everything.
And then you captured
the embassy.
And we didn't have a real fight.
So it can be political
misunderstanding which is the
result, which will be result,
resolved, maybe, I hope.
So far, Iran does not look
and does not feel the
way I had expected.
♪
♪
Neither east nor west, but
always some where in the middle.
♪
♪
Well it looks spectacular.
You can't have this
in the restaurant.
It is time consuming.
It is very expensive.
Persian cuisine has to be
experienced in somebody's home.
Thank you.
So this one here is...
Slow cooked yam in yogurt.
Yogurt, saffron and egg yokes.
A prominent art gallery owner
insist I'd come over for lunch
with her friend and family.
Here we have sour cherry rice.
Maple.
Chicken.
Sour cherries.
More than any other,
sour cherries.
The cook has been with the
family for generations.
Rice mixed with yogurt and
saffron baked into a crispy
dough.
Don't think of rice as a
side dish around here.
It can be the main event.
Okay.
Very, very good.
You fut far more on the
table than any one can
conceivably eat.
Yes if you don't like your
guest you don't put anything.
Her we have a large meatball.
Ground beef, onion,
and cooked rice.
Walnuts, dried apricots,
boiled egg and barberries.
An way, we are a very
interesting nation.
Very confusing.
Extremely confusing.
The contradictions are just.
Ined or enormous.
Enormous.
Iranians we take into our
house, and our hearts.
In that way we are extremists
Siena in so many ways.
You see this tortured
relationship between America and
Iran for many years.
How do you think most Americans
will react when they see this?
They will start coming.
It is very important as
Iranians, that we are seen as
humans here, not the so-called
enemy or the darkness of Iran.
Like you go to any body's house
in Iran I am sure they
will welcome you.
The axis of evil.
We are not the axis of evil.
Just normal evil
look everybody else.
Ten years ago Iran was,
people they had hope for
future, young people.
They wanted to travel.
Had a little bit of money.
Because of sanction.
This sanction really
squeeze everybody.
Eight years, no foreign
investment here.
And soap it was very
difficult time.
And, in the population
is really young.
70% are under 35.
And they want to have good job,
they want to have families, but
is not possible now for them.
I hope we can have more faith
in the ordinary Americans,
because every little change in
the policy of the western
country, it really, really
affects our lives here.
The Miraud tower.
It rises 5,000 feet in the air
and looks out over
Tehran and beyond.
We were out on the observation
deck taking it all in, trying to
make some sense of it all.
Our time in Iran was coming to
an end and it was impossible to
say, was a window opening?
Or was it only a moment in
time before it shut again?
You learn pretty quickly that in
Iran, there is
plenty of gray area.
An undefined territory.
Where is the line?
It seems to change with
barely a moment's notice.
Here it comes.
This isn't the first time
that we have experienced such
thing.
Please follow me.
Last day in Iran.
Night falls, and kids, like kids
anywhere, get in their rides and
head for anywhere
they can hang out.
American classics here.
Where do you get them?
Old men.
And then fix them up?
Yeah.
Mustang?
Camaro.
Camaro.
Firebird?
Pontiac.
That's a perfect L.A.
car right there.
Is this a car club or
just people that come?
We hang out this way.
These are our friends.
One last thing everybody has
been telling me I have to try.
Iranian take-out pizza.
It comes with ketchup.
What do you think
about Iranian pizza?
Not bad.
Not bad.
We don't put ketchup
on pizza, though.
I love ketchup.
I could spend my youth,
pretty much, doing this.
Hanging out in a parking lot?
Let's assume the worst.
Let's assume that you cannot see
any way to reconcile what you
think of Iran with your
own personal beliefs.
You just generally
don't approve.
Yeah.
I think those are exactly the
sort of places you should go.
Totally.
See who we're talking about
and where we're
talking about here.
I think it's almost un-American
not to go to those
places.
You know?
I don't know that I can put
it in any kind of perspective.
I feel deeply conflicted.
Deeply confusing, exhilarating,
heartbreaking, beautiful place.
Yeah.
Exactly.
American cars are crazy.
American cars are crazy
and they're fun.
The Iran I see on TV and read
about in the papers, it's
a much bigger picture.
Let's put it this way.
It's complicated.
After ten weeks, Yugane
was finally released.
But as I read these lines,
Jason remains a prisoner.
His future, the reasons for
their arrest, are still unknown.
One, two, three!
Thank you, guys.
We'll see you.
Thank you.