I went to Iran for 7 days from Moscow. The flight cost me 15,000 RUB ($200) return.

I saw those 2 people & unclear confusing signs throughout my journey

Tehran is a busy chaotic city.

Lots of Iranian flags.

And portaits of Iranian revolutionaries.

Most western websites cannot be accessed without a VPN. VPN’s are blocked too. I downloaded 16 VPN apps before arriving & sometimes none of them worked. I got a SIM card with 20GB for 600,000 rials ($1.20). It came in handy because I frequently used the local taxi app called Snapp and also called hotels.

I bet these antennas block the internet

Tehran lacks harmony. Here’s a high building without proper windows.

The city has areas where certain types of stores are concentrated.

I don’t know Farsi and any text looks so cool for me.

Carrots

Tehran has a very big and crowded bazar.

A peaceful place hidden amidst the bazar

The hotspot for changing money is Ferdowsi Square. People will approach you and offer to exchange money. The rate changes rapidly: during my week in Iran I exchanged money at a rate ranging 480,000 – 520,000 rials per dollar (you can check the current rate here). With that exchange rate you have to count and carry stacks of cash. I exchanged $100 for about 450 bills once.

Exchangers reluctantly accept old $100 bills without the blue stripe and use this as a reason to offer about $1-2 less if you don’t hold your ground. As a result there are seemingly 2 exchange rates: for the new bills and the old ones. I suggest to name the old $100 bill a Biden and use this as a separate currency. So 1 Biden would be an old $100 bill. Even if those bills cease to be legal tender in the US, we could still use them. That would be cool.

Let’s look closely at propaganda.

Iran, the biggest victim of chemical weapons

Down with USA

In front of the German embassy

What does this mean?

Tehran has nice places too.

Golestan Palace.

Golestan Palace inside

Milad tower.

I really enjoyed the nice alley near Imam Khomeimi square with food. It’s the most European place I’ve been to in Tehran.

Outside the city center Tehran is more tolerable.

A cat at a carpet store

One of the best things about tourism in Iran are the prices. In Tehran a double room at a 3-star hotel costs around $40 a night. A meal at a restaraunt costs around $5. Taxi journeys in the city are usually ~$1 or less. A taxi to the airport (1 hour away) is $2.