Iran: Eine Frau, zwei Rädern und die offene Straße
Lois Pryce ritt auf einem Motorrad auf ihren eigenen um den Iran, und schoss diesen faszinierenden Film über ihre Erfahrungen
Lois Pryce, an experienced adventurer and writer, has made Iran her latest travel destination, visiting the country for the second time in a year. She first went last September, curious about a place that has often featured negatively in Western media.
"On the one hand I’d hear awful things about women being stoned for adultery, the highest rate of execution in the world, and nuclear enriching," she told Telegraph Travel last year. “Then overland travellers would say Iran was wonderful and their favourite country, and that difference intrigued me.
“I was aware that there was an element of risk, as there is no British representation in Iran, but I believed that it was a risk worth taking - and I am so glad I did."
This snapshot of her journey shows the spectacular landscape of this little-visited country, the "sheer madness" of Tehran, the challenges of travelling around as a woman, and the warmth and hospitality of the people she met.
The Foreign Office hardly encourages prospective visitors to Iran. Advising against all but essential travel, it also warns of “suspicion about the UK." More starkly, it says: “British nationals could be detained in Iran despite their complete innocence".
Those who go often seek the security of a tour group. Independent travellers are sparse; motorcyclists even rarer. As for lone, female bikers – well, they may be in a minority of one.
Lois Pryce went on a three-week solo motorbike tour of the country in September , her curiosity piqued by the mixed messages she had heard.
“On the one hand I’d hear awful things about women being stoned for adultery, the highest rate of execution in the world, and nuclear enriching," she says. “Then overland travellers would say Iran was wonderful and their favourite country, and that difference intrigued me.
“I was aware that there was an element of risk, as there is no British representation in Iran, but I believed that it was a risk worth taking - and I am so glad I did."
A veteran of challenging bike journeys, including trips through Africa and the Americas, she says the physical element of the trip was relatively easy (despite the “chaotic" driving), but culturally the differences were more marked.
On the road, even with a headscarf, she stood little chance of blending in. “It was as though I were an alien beamed down. On the whole, regular people in the street were surprised but friendly. They don’t see many Westerners, and it’s rare to see a woman on her own, and even rarer to see one on a motorbike.
“I was run off the road a lot of the time; at first I thought people were trying to mow me down, or Islamists; and it turned out they just wanted to give me bags of pomegranates."
Encounters with uniformed Iranians proved more fraught. She was singled out for her British passport, and her mode of transport, more than once: “They don’t understand why you’d be riding around for fun. They are probably more accustomed to espionage."
But she found that a network of contacts made through British-Iranian friends offered ample support.
“Once you are there, you can be overwhelmed to the point that sometimes you just need to hide in a hotel for the night. "
People were very keen to engage, and speak about the West she says - particularly as President Obama and the new Iranian incumbent, Hassan Rouhani, had been talking in New York City at the time of her visit - a sign of a potential thaw in relations.
There was also a very generous reception wherever she went.
"You find that you just can’t eat any more food. It’s mad. I had heard Iranian hospitality was legendary, and it really is. There was none of the dour religiosity you usually hear about."
Other aspects of the country have also given her a taste for more, including the “incredibly beautiful" architecture and mosaics of the mosques, striking modernist buildings such as the Azadi tower in Tehran, and the “unique" desert city of Yadz.
“My bike is still out there with some wonderful people I stayed with in Tehran," she says. “I’m hoping to go back next year and visit the areas I missed."
- Lois Pryce is the author of Lois on the Loose and Red Tape and White Knuckles about her long-distance bike trips. See loisontheloose.com.
