The popular saying goes “When you are in Rome, do like Romans do” which is absolutely correct. When you are visiting a country you need to follow the tip every travel magazine will give– get familiar with the local habits, act like a local. You know how to spot a foreigner, right? May be they have that confused look in their eyes, a map in their hands and a phrasebook in their bags. What else can be a red flag of an ‘outsider’?
They dress differently, of course! So before going on a trip you can do a little research about what people actually wear in that place. You have a choice whether to dress locally or not, unless you are going to Iran where you have to obey the Islamic Republic dress code.
When I was preparing for my first trip to Iran I went to a Muslim dress shop in my area. They had a couple of nice outfits in there but as soon as I told a shop assistant I was travelling to Iran she immediately suggested …. a veil, because “Iranians are really serious about that”. The whole idea made me tremble I didn’t want to look like a batwoman ( by the way Iranians call this type of a veil chador-e khoffashee, which literally means a ‘bat veil’). I went out of the shop without giving it a second thought.
When I actually got into the country I discovered there was the whole other way to dress there apart from putting on intimidating black veils that of course do exist, there is no denying it. But it’s mostly worn by married women whose husbands or whose families are very religious or by Basiji women (Iranian militia) or the women who hold high governmental posts. So no one wears it unless they have to. Women from all over the world want to look pretty, don’t they?
ARTnCULTURA 