t is perceived as one of the most
introverted countries in the world with a policy of eradicating any
outside influence from foreign nations.
But a photographer's stunning collection of images from his journey through the Republic of Iran offers a rare insight into what life in the Islamic state is really like.
With its tiny villages nestled into the side of mountains and picturesque farm land, which is rarely seen by outsiders, the country is as enchanting as it is mysterious.
But photographer Amos Chapple said the real surprise of Persia was not its untouched and beautiful countryside, but how different it is from 'western perceptions of the country'.
Chapple, from New Zealand, has
visited the Islamic Republic of Iran three times between December 2011
and January 2013 to accumulate his series of photographs.
And he claims while the government continues its anti-western campaign, he found a growing discontent among the country's youth who were embarrassed by the actions of its leaders.
He said: 'I was amazed by the difference in western perceptions of the country and what I saw on the ground.
'I think because access for journalists is so difficult, people have a skewed image of what Iran is - the regime actually want to portray the country as a cauldron of anti-western sentiment so they syndicate news footage of chanting nutcases which is happily picked up by overseas networks.
'For ordinary Iranians though, the government is a constant embarrassment.
'In the time I spent there I never received anything but goodwill and decency, which stands in clear contrast to my experience in other middle eastern countries.'
In one striking image, the tiny village of Palangan in the mountains near the Iraq border can be seen lit up among the hills.
Many rural settlements in the country are propped up by government funding with villagers often being paid members of the Basij - whose remit includes prevention of 'westoxification'.
Their role is to help preserve the
Islamic way of life, such as the strict rules on female clothing and the
interaction of men and women, which became immersed in Iranian law in
the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Wearing head coverings is mandatory for women and female police can be seen regularly checking commuters' dress in the city. Chapple said woman are arrested if their dress is considered to be 'immodest'.
Other images capture groups of young friends in the hills above the country's capital Tehran who he said were frustrated with the dated regime in the country.
Chapple said: 'I found most Iranians - particularly the younger generation - to be very aware of the world around them... with a burning desire for the freedoms they feel they are being denied by an out of touch, ultra-conservative religious elite.'
But a photographer's stunning collection of images from his journey through the Republic of Iran offers a rare insight into what life in the Islamic state is really like.
With its tiny villages nestled into the side of mountains and picturesque farm land, which is rarely seen by outsiders, the country is as enchanting as it is mysterious.
But photographer Amos Chapple said the real surprise of Persia was not its untouched and beautiful countryside, but how different it is from 'western perceptions of the country'.
Palangan Village, in the mountains near the Iraq
border. Palangan, illustrative of many of the country's rural
settlements, has benefited handsomely from government support. Many
villagers are employed in a nearby fish farm, or are paid members of the
Basij, whose remit includes prevention of 'westoxification', and the
preservation of everything the 1979 Islamic revolution and its leader
the Ayatollah Khomeini stood for, including strict rules on female
clothing and male/female interaction.
Two shepherds lead Palangan's flock of
communally-owned sheep out to pasture. The government's spending in some
rural regions has bought them a network of loyal followers who can be
scrambled at any time to crush trouble in the urban centers. Rural Basij
were used as a part of the crackdown in 2009 which resulted in the
deaths of seven anti-government protestors.
A group of friends in the hills above Tehran.
Many (every single one I met) young Iranians feel deeply embarrassed by
their government, and the way the nation is perceived abroad. Zac
Clayton, a British cyclist who will finish a round-the-world cycle on
March 23 described Iran as having the kindest people of any country he
cycled through. 'I found most Iranians -- particularly the younger
generation -- to be very aware of the world around them... with a
burning desire for the freedoms they feel they are being denied by an
out of touch, ultra-conservative religious elite.'
And he claims while the government continues its anti-western campaign, he found a growing discontent among the country's youth who were embarrassed by the actions of its leaders.
He said: 'I was amazed by the difference in western perceptions of the country and what I saw on the ground.
'I think because access for journalists is so difficult, people have a skewed image of what Iran is - the regime actually want to portray the country as a cauldron of anti-western sentiment so they syndicate news footage of chanting nutcases which is happily picked up by overseas networks.
The Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran.
Work on the unfinished building has dragged over 23 years. With growing
economic chaos in the country, its completion is still nowhere in sight.
At the Sa'adabad Palace complex in northern
Tehran, Islamic revolutionaries sawed a statue of the deposed Shah in
half. Today schoolchildren are taken on group visits past the boots and
into the palace to see the decadence of the former Shah's living
quarters.
A young worker walks through the light of a
stained glass window in the Tehran Bazaar. Under Khomeini Iranians were
actively encouraged to produce large families. By 2009 nearly 70 per
cent of all Iranians were under 30, but according to some reports, the
country is the least religious in the Middle East. Instead of the
"armies for Islam" Khomeini had called for, the youthful population is
now seen as the biggest threat to the deeply unpopular regime.
A commemorative plate of the former Shah of Iran
in an antique store in Shiraz. The Shah was given an Authoritarian hold
on power thanks to an MI6 and CIA-backed coup in 1953 which deposed
Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and cost the lives of several hundreds
of Iranian citizens. "Operation Ajax" was actioned after Mosaddegh
nationalized the petroleum industry of Iran, thus shutting out British
dominance of an industry they had controlled since 1913. That Mosaddeqh
had been a democratically-elected leader, with wide popular support
fueled resentment at the Shah, who many saw as a brutal puppet for the
west. The anger at western intervention stoked strong initial support
for the virulently anti-western Ayatollah Khomeini.
Azadi (Freedom) Tower, the gateway to Tehran
designed in 1966 by a then 24 year old Hossein Amanat, pictured left. As
a practicing Bahai'i Hossein was forced to flee Iran after the Islamist
government labeled followers of the religion 'unprotected infidels'. He
now lives in Canada. Pictured right is a detail of Persepolis. After
the Islamic Revolution, hardline clerics called for the destruction of
the site, but official unease prevailed.
Detail of Persepolis, the seat of the Ancient
Persian empire. The Arab conquest of Persia led to a an Islamification
of Iran but Farsi, the Iranian language, has remained alive. The 11th
century poet Ferdowsi, described as 'Iran's Homer', wrote an epic in
Farsi which was carefully crafted with minimal Arabic influence. The
'Book of Kings' has been credited with helping preserve the Farsi
language - one of the world's oldest. The Book of Kings ends with the
Arab invasion, depicted as a disaster for Persia.
'In the time I spent there I never received anything but goodwill and decency, which stands in clear contrast to my experience in other middle eastern countries.'
In one striking image, the tiny village of Palangan in the mountains near the Iraq border can be seen lit up among the hills.
Many rural settlements in the country are propped up by government funding with villagers often being paid members of the Basij - whose remit includes prevention of 'westoxification'.
A man in southern Tehran, the working class
region of the city. In the past 14 months, tightened sanctions have
nearly halved the value of Iran's currency and fueled soaring inflation
(source). Life is becoming drastically difficult for ordinary Iranians
but many feel powerless to change the situation. Said one Tehrani 'we're
not naive like the Arabs to think a violent uprising will magically fix
everything. We've had our revolution... and things only got worse.'
Women in the hills above Tehran at dusk.
Concealing clothing in the Islamic Republic, including head coverings,
is mandatory for women, but the exact definition of 'modest' is
flexible, leading to a tug of war between young females and the
authorities each spring. Outside metro stations female police can be
seen regularly checking the passers by. If a woman's dress is considered
"immodest" she is arrested and taken into custody. In 2010 a senior
cleric in Tehran blamed the frequency of earthquakes in Iran on women
who 'lead young men astray' with their revealing clothing.
Bright lights, developing city: View of central Tehran from inside a minaret in Sepahsalar Mosque
A worker inside Vakil Mosque, Shiraz. The mosque
now serves as a tourist attraction but sees only a trickle of visitors.
Although tourism is on the increase, western tourists still make up
only 10 per cent of the total. One tourist guide said westerners are
scared away by the bloodcurdling rhetoric of a government which is
completely out of touch with ordinary Iranians.
Two soldiers being attacked inside the Tehran
metro after an argument. The soldier was punched in the head at least
four times by an angry crowd of mostly well-dressed young men. Both
soldiers were forced to leave the metro at the next station.
Wearing head coverings is mandatory for women and female police can be seen regularly checking commuters' dress in the city. Chapple said woman are arrested if their dress is considered to be 'immodest'.
Other images capture groups of young friends in the hills above the country's capital Tehran who he said were frustrated with the dated regime in the country.
Chapple said: 'I found most Iranians - particularly the younger generation - to be very aware of the world around them... with a burning desire for the freedoms they feel they are being denied by an out of touch, ultra-conservative religious elite.'
A mural painted on the wall of the former
American embassy in Tehran. Murals such as this are at odds with
statistics showing that, despite American sanctions, and the
American-led coup against a elected and popular prime minister, more
Iranians feel positively about America than do Turks or Indians.
Public transport: Two young twins wear matching shirts on the Tehran Metro
In Tehran, a collection of modern art valued at
$2.5 billion is held by the Museum of Contemporary Art. In a
little-publicized exhibition in 2011 the works, including pieces by
Warhol (pictured), Pollock, Munch, Hockney and Rothko were put on
display for the first time since 1979 when the owner of the art, Queen
Farah Pahlavi was forced to flee Iran with her husband, the late Shah of
Iran.
A Kurdish man settles in for a night of guarding
some roadworking machinery in the mountains near the Iran/Iraq border.
The border is rife with smugglers who carry alcohol from Iraq (where
alcohol is legal) into the villages on the Iranian side. From there it
is transported by vehicle to the cities. In Tehran a can of beer on the
black market fetches around $10 USD.
Up in the hills: A shepherd leads his flock out to pasture in the mountains on the Iran/Iraq border
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