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If youSome entered Iran at the ''Yuksekova-Esendere''re heading towards Iran through border. People coming from Turkey, it don't get frustrated! It's amazing if you know that a hundred meters back on the Turkish side most people would be silly not to pick up your visa in Trabzonunderstand 'autostop'. You donOther than the young and modern Iranian generally won't need know what is hitching. Tell them you have no money. You can explain everything later in the expensive code from [http://iranianvisacar.com/ iranianvisa'''Iran is the best country I have ever hitched.com] or Touran Zamin ''' Even in the hottest desert on earth (this process can take up to 5 weeksyou feel dying after 10 minutes) and will receive your visa within one daythe first car stopped. Hitchhikers have also managed to get visas Roads are in [[Istanbul]], [[Ankara]] and [[Erzurum]]good condition. Some days I my average hitch-hiking speed topped 100 km/h!''
As == Stay safe ==[[File:Iran.JPG|thumb|250px|Hitchhiker [[User:Alex|Alex]] in Iran]]Iran has almost the worst death toll due to traffic in the world. Be prepared to have a week or more adjustment time, even if you come from neighbouring countries. This applies mostly to crossing the road in cities, but be vigilant at all times. When on the back of a motorcycle, make sure to keep your knees tucked in next to the beginning of 2015vehicle, this does not work anymore! The Trabzon fun is over! The MFA code/invitation letter is needed there as well nowthey pass very close to cars, and you might get hurt.
Or go to [[Batumi]]. you don't need any authorisation codesOpium is commonly consumed, and so if you get your passport backare not interested, with visamake sure to not accept dodgy looking waterpipes (hooka/nargile/"hubble bubble") at people home's, especially in one hour. cost was 75 € the countryside, unless you ask for 30 daysthe contents before.
There are three (?) main border crossings with Turkey=== Police === Taking photographs is prohibited in many circumstances, especially of buildings related to policing and military use, as well as people in uniform. Surprisingly, it is also forbidden to take pictures of license plates, including [[Yuksekova-Esendere border crossing|Esendere]] and [[Bazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing|Bazargan]]is considered a quite serious offence. The crossing with Armenia Playing dumb tourist is at [[Meghri-Nordooz border crossing|Nordooz]]still the best way to get out of this situation.
:Hitchhiker [[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|Craig]] ''entered Iran Unmarked police vehicles prowl the streets of Tehran at the ''Yuksekovanight-Esendere'' bordertime. People coming from Turkey While they don't get frustrated! It's amazing if you know that check for hashish/opium, they do have breath analysers. After a hundred meters back on the Turkish side most people would understand 'autostop'. Other party, it might be wise to consider staying there rather than the young and modern Iranian generally won't know what is hitching. Tell them you have no money. You can explain everything later in the car. '''Iran is the best country I have ever hitched.''' Even in the hottest desert on earth (you feel dying after 10 minutes) the first car stoppedgoing home. Roads are in good condition. Some days I my average hitch-hiking speed topped 100 km/h!!!''
:Hitchhiker [[User:Alex|alex]]: ''"SadlyNot all military installations and no go zones are marked on maps, I had to fly into Iran. I did not manage to so make sure you get advice from a visa in [[Yemen]] local before you head out or in the [[United Arab Emirates]] beforehand (I stayed 7 days in [[Muscat]] until the embassies opened again; they told me at the Embassy of Iran that they can only issue for residents in contrast to what I have been told before). Flying into Iran is an option for people from some privileged countries. Larger airports in Iran can issue a 14 days transit visa stay on the spotroad. However, I guess this is not an issue as most people here will travel the other direction and will only start their journey when they have this visa (since this is the only visa Germans can not get at An example would be the border)Maranjab desert."''
== Sleeping ==Finding a place to sleep in Iran is generally These rules might seem conservative, especially as easy as knocking locals violate them all the first door you come acrosstime. If you get tired of On the unrelenting hospitality however, the city parks offer an excellent alternative. Many parks, even in big citiesother hand, are designated as camping zonesa foreigner, with toilets open all night, sometimes also shower and wifi. Camp fires are tolerated, but it's best to ask before. These parks are called '''park muzaafer (پرك مسافر)''', which translates to traveller's park.Though in some cities (e.g. [[Hamedan]]) there are clear panels showing "forbidden camping" and policedo come to unset tents (often used as nest by couples young or not); arriving late at night and setting off you run the tent early in the morning you will avoid any annoyance for sure.Sleeping in mosques is also possiblerisk of being made an example of, even though so you should ask for permission beforehand. In this case, need to make sure your own judgement calls rather than follow what people around you respect the segregation of sexes when travelling as a couple. [[User:Harveypekar|Harveypekar]] slept in a mosque close to Mesr, only to overhear the Imam the next morning, explaining other travellers that it's impossible to sleep in the mosque. The imam was friendly enough though to show the other group the other side, as to leave him sleep his filldo.
It is possible In any case, foreigners are rarely troubled, and are easily forgiven transgression of "islamic" laws on ground of ignorance. Violating the dress code, talking to camp woman in the deserts as wellstreet is no problem at all. Premarital sex is probably not ok, but be sure if you cannot be seen get caught. Stay away from the road to prevent attention from the authorities. They can send demonstrations, you to jail for being on some site you're not allowed to might be considered a journalist travelling ona tourist visa. Note that while the desert might be dazzling hot during the day, it can get '''extremely cold''' at night, so be sure to take some extra clothes with you for the night!
== Cities ==
[[File:Iran.JPG|thumb|250px|Hitchhiker [[User:Alex|Alex]] in Iran]]
* [[Bandar-e-Abbas]]
* [[Esfahan]]
* [[Khuzestan]]
* [[Mashhad]]
* [[Shiraz]]
* [[Qazvin]]
* [[Tabriz]]
* [[Tehran]] (capital)
* [[Yazd]]
* [[Zahedan]]
== Stay safe ==
Iran has almost the worst death toll due to traffic in the world. Be prepared to have a week or more adjustment time, even if you come from neighbouring countries. This applies mostly to crossing the road in cities, but be vigilant at all times. When on the back of a motorcycle, make sure to keep your knees tucked in next to the vehicle, as they pass very close to cars, and you might get hurt.
Opium is commonly consumed, so if you are not interested, make sure to not accept dodgy looking waterpipes (hooka/nargile/"hubble bubble") at people home's, especially in the countryside, unless you ask for the contents before.
=== Police ===
Taking photographs is prohibited in many circumstances, especially of buildings related to policing and military use, as well as people in uniform. Surprisingly, it is also forbidden to take pictures of license plates, and is considered a quite serious offence. Playing dumb tourist is still the best way to get out of this situation.
Unmarked police vehicles prowl the streets of Tehran at night-time. While they don't check for hashish/opium, they do have breath analysers. After a party, it might be wise to consider staying there rather than going home.
Not all military installations and no go zones are marked on maps, so make sure you get advice from a local before you head out or stay on the road. An example would be the Maranjab desert.
These rules might seem conservative, especially as locals violate them all the time. On the other hand, as a foreigner, you run the risk of being made an example of, so you need to make your own judgement calls rather than follow what people around you do.
In any case, foreigners are rarely troubled, and are easily forgiven transgression of "islamic" laws on ground of ignorance. Violating the dress code, talking to woman in the street is no problem at all. Premarital sex is probably not ok, if you get caught. Stay away from demonstrations, you might be considered a journalist travelling on a tourist visa.
== Hitchhiking as a girl as experienced by [[User talk:Mariegab|Mariegab]] ==
[[File:PC070561.JPG|thumb|left|300px| [[User: Fedecicco| Fede]] hitchhiking together with four girls (fourth taking picture)]]
'''Problem 1: not being able to hitchhike'''
In Iran, everybody stops to take passengers on the road, especially if you're a girl. You should not forget to say you're traveling with no money as most of the cars become taxis when they stop for you. (but people might offer you to pay your ride by bus). If this is too difficult, you can also say you're traveling by truck and that's easy to understand, even if hitchhiking is not a common thing at all and most of the people don't understand it.
When somebody stops for you and understand that you travel by hitchhiking, as soon as he/her takes you, you become her/his host. As a girl, it often means that they feel responsible for you. Responsible also means they won't let you in a situation they judge dangerous. So leaving me on the road was something that a lot of people couldn't do and they just drove me in city centers, bus stations, hotels, homes, etc even if I disagreed.
'''Problem 2: physical harassment'''
In the Iranian society, boys and girls are -in most of the families- separated: they go to different schools and can't have much contact, especially physical contact until they marry. So it often happened that they felt more free with me because I was a foreigner and just started touching me everywhere they could until I left the car. It often started with my hands that in a lot of cases where considered as a very sensual part of the body. However, if the situation was really uncomfortable, I never felt in danger in such a situation as it was really clear and they didn't want to have something else than just touch my arms, legs, hands or any part that they could reach. After getting out of the car, it was over.
'''Problem 3: cultural differences'''
I put myself in difficult situations not understanding custom. For example, many couples or groups of young people like to drive around to just spend time together. So it happened that people who picked me up actually didn't want to drive me anywhere but just drive me around to spend time with me. Another problematic situation was when I accepted to go to my drivers's house to use internet. They didn't let me leave the house when I wanted to because they said the neighbors would call the police if they saw a girl going out of a boys's house and that would be a bad situation as they could think I'm a prostitute- which is one of the worse punished crime in Iran.
About shaking hands: with some people, it was pretty normal, with some other considered as a very sensual thing. In the second case, it happened that religious people refused to shake my hands or that guys trying to hit on me refused to give me back my hand. I shocked a girl saying that I had no problem checking the hand of her friend.
'''Advantage:'''
In addition to advantages you can have as a hitchhiking girl (people trust you more, you can be faster, etc), traveling as a girl in Iran, where genders are often separated, has the advantage that you can have a better access to intimacy and to women's world. It is very easy to meet a lot of men in the street but being invited in a house, sleep there or having an access to the women's world is probably easier for a girl, especially outside Tehran. I had the opportunity, for example, to spend 2 days in a girls' dormitory where I could speak with a lot of different women about their lives and got invited in many houses to spend the night with the family.
==> I met some Iranian girls who use to hitchhike and they said it was a great experience. I had also really good experiences as a girl alone hitchhiking in Iran. You should be aware that the custom is really different from Europe and even Turkey and that the law protects men better than women.
[[wikipedia:Iran]]
Iran
,→Links
|country = of Iran
|map = <map lat='32.10118973232094' lng='57.12890625' zoom='5' view='0' float='right' />
|language = Persianand turkish are major languages; recognised regional languages are Azeri, Kurdish, Mazandarani and Gilaki
|capital = [[Tehran]]
|pop = 7080,472,846
|currency = Iranian rial ( IRR )
|hitch = <rating country='ir' />
'''Iran''' is a very friendly country. Some hitchhikers on their way to [[India]] even decide to stay in Iran instead.
== Cities ==* [[File:Iranflag.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Hitching under the flag of the Islamic Republic of IranBandar-e-Abbas]]* [[Esfahan]]* [[Kerman]]* [[Khuzestan]]* [[Mashhad]]* [[Qazvin]]* [[Qeshm Island]]* [[Shiraz]]* [[Tabriz]]* [[Tehran]] (capital)* [[Yazd]]* [[Zahedan]]
== Hitchability ==
[[File:Shiraz.jpg|thumb|250px|Hitchhiker [[User:Fran|Fran]] waiting for a ride in Iran.]]
Hitchhiking is done in Iran by waving one's arm at an oncoming car, or by dribbling one of your hands. Do not gesture with your thumb up as in the West, because this is an obscene gesture in Persian culture.<br/>
<b>NOTE:</b>''In 2017 I hitched with the thumb, because several iranian hitchers told me to do so, they were doing the same. Also I noticed many times that locals gave me the thumb as a positive gesture, for example when taking selfies.''
Waiting for a ride can be a frustrating experience sometimes, but it is generally relatively easy to hitchhike here. Frustration comes when there is a driver stopping for you every few minutes and suggesting taking you to a bus terminal, and sometimes you may find it hard to explain that you travel at low budget and that you actually '''want''' to hitchhike.
When hitchhiking in the north of the country, it might occur that people stop just to ask if you need assistance unrelated to transportation. In fact, you don't stand longer than 10 minutes without some car stopping for you. It can be even a police/army vehicle (they are in every corner of Iran): they will pick you up and even stop a car for you and convince a driver to take you further.
"Hitchhiking" in exchange for some money is quite popular in Iran, so always emphasize that you are not going to pay for a ride. An exception to this are trucks, which will usually not ask for money.
=== Language ===
__TOC__
In Farsi language (official language in Iran spoken as a first or second language by most citizens) the word "hitchhiking" doesn't exist. The translation of this word found in English-Farsi dictionaries seem to have a confusing effect on locals of Iran since they hear it for the first time in their lives. Though some people (especially couchsurfers or young Tehranians) know about it, call it "autostop" or English "hitchhiking". The Farsi ''majani savar shodan'' seems to be the closest (means driving for free) and it is the literal translation of the dictionary though doesn't seem very widely understood also because "savar shodan" means take a lift and most often refer to shared taxis (savari) so that it may sound as "taking a shared taxi for free" (fact that can actually happen kind of often though is not very fair and respectful for the other passengers who however most probably will smile and welcome you).
A very easy way to hitch a lift and make cheater run away is clarify since the beginning that you are not going to pay anything asking before entering the car "bee doona pool?" (without money?) asking for confirm several times in case the driver doesn't seem nice "mutmaeen? sad dar sad?" (are you sure? 100%?) otherwise you can also use the magic word ''salavaati'' which works quite good. (this word has originally a religious background from the war time between Iran and Iraq. some people would do some favours for soldiers and asking them for ''salavaat'' which is kind of good pray instead of money.) as soon as you say this word, everyone understand what exactly you mean. (and nobody expect you to really pray.)
''I found just "majani" / "majane" simple enough and efficient. It's farsi and means that something is for free or without payment. "Kujamiri" means "Where do you go/ drive?" but people would if at all answer only after I ask the fourth or fifth time.''<br/>''An offline farsi dictionary and Arabic Alpha app (free for iPhone and Android) helped me get by and sped up aquiring some basic farsi. Farsi has 3 more letters than arab script but once you know arabic letters, you can guesstimate the farsi ones.''
Useful phrases are:
Watch out when somebody says a ride is for free: it might in fact not be. Tarof is an Iranian custom of saying a white lie, which is understood by both parties. This enables everyone to keep face. For example, at the end of a taxi ride, the driver will say it's free, because tradition dictates you should be extremely hospitable to guests. If you reply with "na" (no), he will quote the real price. While you could ignore this, it can cause offense, as it is an integral part of Iranian culture, whether you like it or not. One of the more useful phrases is "Tarof nist?" (it's not Tarof?) with a rising intonation at the end. When the answer is no, you can probably expect the offer to be genuine. Maybe the answer is another instance of tarof, but you can probably stop playing the game at this point.
Iran has borders to [[Iraq]], [[Turkey]], [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Pakistan]] and [[Afghanistan]]. By sea to [[United Arab Emirates]] and [[Oman]] (and maybe others of the gulf states).
== Getting in ==
{{nomadwiki}}
There are three main border crossings with Turkey, including [[File:Iranian_panels_fede.JPG|thumb|left|300pxYuksekova-Esendere border crossing| Esendere]] and [[User: FedeciccoBazargan-Doğubeyazıt border crossing| FedeBazargan]] . The crossing with one of his driver holding the panel "No taxis, no shared taxis, no buses"Armenia is at [[Meghri-Nordooz border crossing|Nordooz]]. At least one with [[File:Iranianroadsignboard.jpg|thumb|250px|Azerbaijan]] and one with [[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|CraigPakistan]] & Dario at the Taftan/ Mirjaveh, [[Persian_Gulf-HighwayBandar Abbas]] near and [[QomBandar Lengeh]].are sea ports if coming by [[ferry]]from [[File:ShirazUnited Arab Emirates]].jpg|thumb|250px|Hitchhiker [[User:Fran|FranChabahar]] waiting for a ride in Iran.is port if taking the boat from [[Muscat]].
== Personal experiences ==
=== Hitchhiking as a girl as experienced by [[User talk:Mariegab|Mariegab]] ===
'''Problem 1: not being able to hitchhike'''
In Iran, everybody stops to take passengers on the road, especially if you're a girl. You should not forget to say you're traveling with no money as most of the cars become taxis when they stop for you. (but people might offer you to pay your ride by bus). If this is too difficult, you can also say you're traveling by truck and that's easy to understand, even if hitchhiking is not a common thing at all and most of the people don't understand it.
When somebody stops for you and understand that you travel by hitchhiking, as soon as he/her takes you, you become her/his host. As a girl, it often means that they feel responsible for you. Responsible also means they won't let you in a situation they judge dangerous. So leaving me on the road was something that a lot of people couldn't do and they just drove me in city centers, bus stations, hotels, homes, etc even if I disagreed.
'''Problem 2: physical harassment'''
In the Iranian society, boys and girls are -in most of the families- separated: they go to different schools and can't have much contact, especially physical contact until they marry. So it often happened that they felt more free with me because I was a foreigner and just started touching me everywhere they could until I left the car. It often started with my hands that in a lot of cases where considered as a very sensual part of the body. However, if the situation was really uncomfortable, I never felt in danger in such a situation as it was really clear and they didn't want to have something else than just touch my arms, legs, hands or any part that they could reach. After getting out of the car, it was over.
'''Problem 3: cultural differences'''
I put myself in difficult situations not understanding custom. For example, many couples or groups of young people like to drive around to just spend time together. So it happened that people who picked me up actually didn't want to drive me anywhere but just drive me around to spend time with me. Another problematic situation was when I accepted to go to my drivers's house to use internet. They didn't let me leave the house when I wanted to because they said the neighbors would call the police if they saw a girl going out of a boys's house and that would be a bad situation as they could think I'm a prostitute- which is one of the worse punished crime in Iran.
About shaking hands: with some people, it was pretty normal, with some other considered as a very sensual thing. In the second case, it happened that religious people refused to shake my hands or that guys trying to hit on me refused to give me back my hand. I shocked a girl saying that I had no problem checking the hand of her friend.
'''Advantage:'''
In addition to advantages you can have as a hitchhiking girl (people trust you more, you can be faster, etc), traveling as a girl in Iran, where genders are often separated, has the advantage that you can have a better access to intimacy and to women's world. It is very easy to meet a lot of men in the street but being invited in a house, sleep there or having an access to the women's world is probably easier for a girl, especially outside Tehran. I had the opportunity, for example, to spend 2 days in a girls' dormitory where I could speak with a lot of different women about their lives and got invited in many houses to spend the night with the family.
==> I met some Iranian girls who use to hitchhike and they said it was a great experience. I had also really good experiences as a girl alone hitchhiking in Iran. You should be aware that the custom is really different from Europe and even Turkey and that the law protects men better than women.
===Hitchhiker [[User_talk:Ivan Đogić|Ivan Đogić]]===
Despite these quirks Iran remains in its deserved place on every hitchhikers bucket-list. Astonishingly beautiful, superlatively kind and generous people, great food, and fascinating culture. Just keep these things and the other issues already written about in mind and you will have an amazing time.
One more thing - try to hitch where there aren't too many passerbys or people sitting around, as they will invariably come up to you and not leave, crowding you out and making it hard for you to hitchhike. It can be very hard to make them understand hitchhiking, and that it is a *choice*.
== Links ==
* [https://www.travelsafe-abroad.com/iran/ Iran general safety overview]
* [http://abgefahren.hitchbase.com/DE/blogs/alex/20090213/just-hitching-rides-journey-eid-christmas Just hitching rides: A journey from Eid to Christmas], Abgefahren Blogs
* The female blogger of [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.com The Tourist] has been to Iran several times and hitchhiked on small and big roads, [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.de/search/label/Iran from city to city, and through tiny mountain villages]. She also has [http://youarealltourists.blogspot.de/2008/08/hitching-in-middle-east.html hitchhiking tips for the Middle East].
* User [[User:Halt, Stop! Reudnitz kommt.|Craig]] hitched along the Silk Road and wrote about his experiences here: [http://thumbingasia.blogspot.com/ Thumbing Asia From West to East] Iran is my favorite place to hitch-hike!
* User [[User:Rovingsnails|RovingSnails]] tells about hitchhiking in Iran from a woman's perspective, with experiences,thoughts and talks on [http://rovingsnails.com/2015/06/08/hitchhiking-with-hijab-iran/ "hitchhiking with hijab"]
*Three women hitchhiking in Iran by [https://anaimlesshitchhiker.com/2011/12/19/iran-part-2-hitchhiking-deserts-caves-and-british-propaganda/ an aimless hitchhiker]
* User [[User:Apprentis-Vagabonds|Apprentis-Vagabonds]] wrote a guide in French about Hitchhiking in Iran in 2018 : [http://www.apprentis-vagabonds.fr/autostop-iran/ L'autostop en Iran : comment ca marche ?]
* User [[User:TheNomadFamily|TheNomadFamily]] wrote a guide in English about Hitchhiking in Iran; sharing experiences, tips and info he gathered after hitching 3 months around the country : [https://www.thenomadfamily.org/hitchhiking-in-iran/ Hitchhiking in Iran]
== Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==
{{nomadwiki}}
{{IsIn|Southern Asia}}
[[Category:Iran]]
