Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
guaranteed to have elevators big enough for wheelchairs; disabled accessible toilets are
very rare indeed. Bring your own medications and prescriptions.
For more information on travelling with disabilities, see these websites:
Disabled Travelers Guide
(
www.disabledtravelersguide.com
)
Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality
(
www.sath.org
)
Visas
See
Click here
for details on getting and extending a visa.
Women Travellers
The following advice comes from author Virginia Maxwell. Females planning a trip to
Iran will be preoccupied with four questions: What should I wear? How should I behave?
Will I be safe? What should I take? This section aims to give practical advice, dispel pre-
conceptions and reassure; it is based on our own experiences and those of female travel-
lers we have encountered on the road.
What Should I Wear?
There's no use beating about the bush - most female travellers will find that Iranian dress
rules are both an imposition and an inconvenience. They're also a fashion nightmare:
sourcing attractive and appropriate clothing can be a real challenge, and headscarves -
however attractive the material - almost always look frumpy. After weeks of wearing
shapeless outfits, uncomfortable head covering and dull colours, you'll be very happy to
return to your wardrobe at home.
Since the revolution of 1979 all women in Iran, including foreigners, have been re-
quired
by law
to wear loose-fitting clothes to disguise their figures. They must also cover
their hair. This form of dressing is known as hejab, a term that refers in general to 'mod-
est' dress, and is also used to refer specifically to the hair-covering.
Signs in public places show officially acceptable versions of hejab: the chador (literally
'tent' in Farsi), an all-encompassing, head-to-toe black garment held closed with hand or
teeth; or a manteau (shapeless coat or coat dress) and a
rusari
(scarf) covering the hair,
neck and décolletage. Girls must start to wear hejab when they reach puberty, but many
start from a much earlier age (we've seen plenty of babies and toddlers sporting Islamic
head coverings).
