Iran - Andrew Burke [79]
Valiasr Ave & North Tehran
Almost everything along Valiasr Ave and the surrounding parts of northern Tehran has been built in the last 50 years, so there aren’t many actual ‘sights’. Instead, this is modern Tehran, home to hip coffee shops, fancy restaurants and embassies.
To get here, shuttle taxis head north from Valiasr Sq so it’s probably simplest to just jump in and out as you need. If you’re heading somewhere near to or north of Mirdamad Blvd, however, consider taking the Metro to Mirdamad station and a shuttle taxi the short hop across to Vanak Sq or up to Tajrish.
SARKIS CATHEDRAL
In case you assume that Islam has a monopoly on Iranian life, visit Sarkis Cathedral (Map; 8889 7980; cnr Nejatollahi & Karim Khan-e Zand Sts; 8am-noon & 1-5pm Mon-Sat). Built between 1964 and 1970, it’s interesting not so much for its beauty but because of what it is and where it is. Sarkis Cathedral is by far the most visible and important non-Islamic religious building in Tehran. The area immediately to the south is the Armenian quarter, the centre of a still-thriving community.
Although most of the Christians in Iran are Armenians, there’s also a sprinkling of Protestants, Assyrians, Catholics and Orthodox Christians, all of whom have churches in Tehran, most behind large walls in the same district as the Sarkis Cathedral.
PARK-E MELLAT
Many Tehranis say Park-e Mellat (Mellat Park; Map; Valiasr Ave) is their favourite in-town getaway, and if you’re here around dusk on any spring or summer afternoon you’ll find plenty of people enjoying the shaded areas around a small lake. On weekend nights you’ll find just as many young people cruising up and down Valiasr Ave, several to a car, showing off their new noses as they flirt and swap phone numbers through car windows.
Greater Tehran
This section covers those places that don’t appear on our larger scale maps. For sights in the far north, head first to Tajrish Sq, from where shuttle taxis leave almost continuously for the Sa’d Abad and Niyavaran Palaces; the popular walking trails at Darband and Darakeh; the cable car to Tochal at Velenjak; and Park-e Jamshidiyeh.
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NATION OF NOSE JOBS Andrew Burke
I was at dinner in Esfahan when the conversation turned to nose jobs. After prattling on about how many people I’d seen in Tehran wearing a tell-tale plaster across the bridge of their nose, I asked my friend Behzad whether he knew anyone who had actually had a nose job.
When he looked at me like I had, well, two noses, I should have known. ‘She has,’ he said, pointing across the table to his sister.
‘Oh. Right,’ said I, embarrassed that I hadn’t noticed the change, before desperately trying to recover with: ‘I never would have known.’ Mahnaz, to her credit, dealt with it like someone who has had the nose job conversation a thousand times before. Barely skipping a beat, she began explaining that while I might never have known, she didn’t really like her new nose. She was hoping to get it done again.
‘It’s not a big deal,’ she explained. Plenty of people have nose jobs in Iran.
But I had to know: ‘How much does it cost?’ Well, the cheapest nose jobs could be had for less than US$1000, she said, but that was a bit risky because it might turn out badly. A decent surgeon would cost more, but they were cheaper in Esfahan than in Tehran. ‘But the best surgeons are in Tehran, and they cost about US$4000.’
Despite Iran being a country where the average yearly wage is far less than that, Tehran is the plastic surgery capital of the universe. Surgeons report that more than 90,000 noses are remodelled in Iran every year. Tehran alone has about 3000 plastic surgeons, and their clients are not just women looking for a cutesy ski jump. A growing number of men are also spending