complexities in Iran

Yeah
I write this in Pakistan in retrospect. I cannot possibley convey the mammosity of my experiences in Iran in this breif prose but have a look at my photos they will enhannce this I hope. I have many more but will down load the rest later I selected the choicest ones.
People were so open to me and I have a very complex and unconsolidated overview of life in Iran.
The obvious thing for me is the way women are in Iran... so different from our lives in the west. Women have to cover their heads by law, all women over the age of 9 but many girls younger than this wear the scarf, through choice/ social or family influence? I talked to different women who gave me different perspectives on the dress code, for example Mesoumeh who told me that her habit and scarf protected her from dangers of the environment and people and other threats (interestingly I felt at my most vulnerable when I was with Mesoumeh because of how she crossed the road- this was the worst thing about Iran for me its a mad dice with death as you ddge the traffic, the women in black seem to glide through the traffic as though invisible but me well thats a different matter!). Other women detest the code, they find it belittling and restrictive. Can appreciate that.
We had a wonderful experience when we went looking for a women's hairdresser. We went on a goose chase around Yazd and finally happened to ask the right person by saying "Zan" and mimicking skissers in our hair, they showed us to theis door at the end of an alley and behind a locked door and then we were taken by women to a salon, a proper salon with gaggle of women inside who sat us down and gave us cay, brought by the hand of a man who reached with it round the door so as not to see us scarfless. WHat an experience we could take off our scarves, and dance with the women while Tess had her hair cut to a impeccable standard. I wnated to ask so many questions but language was a problem.
Me and Cammy (gorgeous french traveller) spent a day with Amir and his lovely family who showed us the sights of beautiful Yazd and took us to have lunch with his mum (Ashraj) and sister (Nagme- the feristere- angel). The women didn't take off their scarves at home, presumably very religious so I didn't either. In the evening they took us around Yazd to see the No Ruz celebrations (Muslim New Year) wow it was wild. We were central attractions as usual and people were delighted when Cammy jumped over the fire and I shouted "Adetou more barak" to them. It was like scenes from the apolcalypse fires, smoky streets, people riding bikes doing wheelies the streets crowded with people, the police came to break up geatherings (fun is not allowed in Iran) but they just sprang up elsewhere.
Me and Tesse caught a night bus from Yazd to Zahedan. we arrived in Zahedan at 5am and the border does not open untill 9am (but it was New Years Day so the officials were late) and the bus driver took us to his home where we met his wife, son Emra and sister. We had a fun few hours playing and communicating on the level that is beyong language. Then Akin took us to the square where we could get a taxi the 72km to the border.
The boirder was a dream, we were treated like princesses and looked after impeccably.
We met the German couple here and we got a lift to Dalbandin, spent a night in the police cell here and got treated to dinner with bikers from Czech and shaven heads by the barber, on the main street in view of men we were given bald heads... everyone kept proudly saying how Pakistan was free compared to Iran. I want to write more about this idea of freedom in Iran, Pakistan and the west but now we have a lunch invitation in Quetta so later.
Pakistan the land of pure people.