Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BUTT OF THE JOKE
MARK ELLIOTT
'If you drop your wallet in Qazvin, don't bend down to pick it up!' Political correctness has yet to touch the Iranian
sense of humour and poor Qazvin, 'where birds fly on one wing', suffers constantly from jibes about predatory ho-
mosexuality. Other regions are equally unfairly stereotyped for jocular effect. Men from Rasht are portrayed as
sexually liberal and constantly cuckold, Shirazis as lazy and fun-loving (in reality, everyone loves Shirazis), Turk-
men as vengeful, Kurds as hot-blooded, and the Loris of Lorestan as congenitally untrustworthy. In common jokes
Azaris are supposedly slow-witted yet cash-canny, with Tabrizis surly and religious, but those from Orumiyeh, by
contrast, are relaxed and open-minded. Within their loose-fitting
dishdasha
robes, Iranian Arab men are whispered
to be endowed with an especially impressive set of wedding tackle.
But it's Esfahanis, who are reputed to be cunning and tight with money, that you're most likely to hear about. One
Yazdi man gleefully told us that Esfahanis are 'like the Scots; they'll do anything to save a few tomans'.
Lors
These proud people constitute about 6% of Iran's population and are thought to be des-
cendants of the first peoples in the region, the Kassites and Medes. Many speak Lori, a
mixture of Arabic and Farsi, and a significant minority remain nomadic. Whether nomad-
ic or settled, most live in or near the mountainous western province of Lorestan; see the
boxed text,
Click here
.
Turkmen
Making up about 2% of the population, Iranian Turkmen are descended from the nomadic
Turkic tribes that once ruled Iran. They live in the northeast of the country, especially
around Gorgan and Gonbad-e Kavus. They speak their own Turkic language; see the
boxed text,
Click here
.
Baluchis
The population of dry, barren Sistan va Baluchestan province is largely Baluchi. Baluchis
comprise around 2% of Iran's population and are part of a greater whole that spreads into
western Pakistan and Afghanistan. Their culture, faith, language and dress are more asso-
ciated with Pakistan than Iran;
Click here
.
