Practical Information About Iran
Iranians celebrate “Nowruz” (new day) on the first day of spring, which usually occurs on March 21. Although, it might change one or two days.
In big cities, you can find people who speak English.
The official language of the country is Persian, an Indo-European language and different from Semitic languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. There is a great variety of accents among Iranians speaking Persian. Also, other indigenous languages such as Kurdish and Azeri are spoken in some regions.
The Iranian cuisine is a cultural element of the country and the diet base constitutes rice along with vegetables, spices (not very spicy), meat and condiments.
In general, Iranian people eat salad as appetizer, and then the main course, sometimes accompanied by a dessert with tea.
The most preferable meal is Kebab, served with rice and roasted tomato.
The consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Iran.
The traditional Iranian drink is Dugh (melted yogurt) along with other soft drinks such as Coca Cola, water and beer (non-alcoholic).
In Iran, you will find a great variety of both fresh and dry fruits and jams.
As Islam is the official religion of the country, the majority of Iranians are Muslims (mostly Shiites). There are other religious minorities representing 1% of the population such as Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism, etc.
As Iran is a very vast country, it has a very varied climate depending where you are at any given time. During winter (December to February) it is cold, especially in the northwest. The coldest regions are in the north and west of the country. In the west, the snow often remains until early spring. During summer (June to August), the temperature reaches 50° on the coast of the Persian Gulf and in the cities of the south, although in the cities it is normally between 30 to 38 centigrade, quite bearable due to the dry climate.
In April and May, the average temperature in the cities varies between 20 to 30°C, depending on the city. It may be raining, therefore, we usually recommend wearing light clothing without forgetting a warm top.
No, it is totally prohibited and the consumers will get severely punished.