Arriving IKA Airport

Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport is located 30km (19 miles) southwest of the city centre.
Work to extend Tehran's metro to the airport continues and there are also plans for an airport hotel to be constructed. However, completion dates for these projects are currently unclear due to financial and construction complications.
From central Tehran, follow the Tehran-Qom Freeway (Route 7), which is directly linked to the airport by a separate access road.
Bus: Regular buses to the city centre are available from outside the terminal. However, a taxi is the recommended option.
Shuttle: Shuttle buses link Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport to the nearest metro station and also with the domestic airport: Mehrabad International Airport, which is within the city boundary. Taxi: Fixed rate taxis are available outside the terminal – the journey time to central Tehran is around 90 minutes, depending on traffic, and the fare is set at Rs.400,000 for a basic vehicle. Taxis can be booked in advance from Airport
Short-term parking is available adjacent to the terminal building, while the long-term car parks (2 and 3) are connected to the terminal by a free shuttle bus service.
There are currently no hotels at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport – the majority of accommodation is available in Tehran city centre. Some city hotels offer shuttle services to and from the airport. Accor Hotels is rumoured to be considering construction of a hotel near the airport.
Banks are available both airside and landside. There is also a bureau de change. Credit cards are not widely accepted in Iran. Car hire is not available at the airport, however Europcar can arrange a meet and greet service booked in advance.
Really a top rank airport based on upgraded departure hall, but the arrivals hall seems to have missed the upgrade to facilities. Arrival at 4am was uneventful obtained visa on arrival and through customs without delays, foreign passport holders have much shorter queues. Found foreign currency exchange counter at the airport offered many options including Australian$. Try to avoid needing car park lifts - this took about 20mins waiting with our trolley of bags. Departed 2 weeks later at 5pm - Cleared security after a short queue, business class check in and through immigration in under 20 mins. Shops and food options in this area are equal of any international airport for it's size, staff were very helpful in souvenir shops. The VIP lounge area for Business class passengers was above average, food and drinks good quality and choice (no alcohol) with views over the airport and clear easy to read screens showing departures.

Mohsen Namjoo

As a young musician, Mohsen Namjoo first captivated Iranians’ attention with his magnificent album Toranj from 2007. This album, mostly produced underground, exploded among the Iranian community, both inside and outside of the country, because of its subversive words and, most of all, for its unusual fusion of classical Persian poetry and music with Western melodies and instrumentation. Namjoo’s bold music broke through all social, cultural, and musical taboos. It also insulted the Islamic regime, which called for his arrest, and, eventually, in 2008, forced him into a life in exile.
Considered a phenomenon within Iranian culture, Namjoo has pioneered a contemporary readaptation of Persian music, which has been trapped in its own conservative and stagnated rules. With a classical voice and musical training from childhood, he has passionately studied Western music even while living in a repressive social environment that considers Western culture its greatest threat. Yet he has fearlessly navigated his own musical way to arrive at a rare form of maturity and refinement. Hugely popular and respected among Iranians of various generations and classes, he now appeals to a wider audience that, I predict, will not easily reduce his work to simple marketing labels, such as Eastern or ethnic music. Its echoes are complex and far too close in ethos to American indigenous music such as jazz and the blues. I worked with Namjoo on the recent theatrical production OverRuled , commissioned by Performa 11, and can attest to the universal appeal of his music—it was apparent on the beaming faces of our audience.

Mohsen Namjoo I learned to play the setar eight months prior to university, for the entrance exam. At that time, I had big plans in mind, and not necessarily the popular five-minute song format that later emerged and that suited the socio-political situation. In reality, in the beginning, I was not in any way sensitive to the outside political or artistic atmosphere. I was thinking about my own music projects, with some hopes and dreams that someone would come along and invest in recording them. These were all plans for a large orchestra, especially fusion projects with Iranian poetry and music.

Old Man

Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch is the second branch of Islamic Azad University which was established in Tehran in 1985 (1364 H). It started its activities with 700 students who mostly studied in the fields of engineering. Today this branch of Islamic Azad University is considered as one the most crowded universities of Iran with over 25,000 students in seven different schools.
Most of its alumni continue their study in postgraduate and doctorate degrees at high-raking universities around the world. The university is active in carrying out researches and publishing papers in various fields of study. IAUSTB consists of  nine colleges, namely Technical College, Humanities College, Management College, Teacher Training College, Industrial Engineering College and Physical Education College.
Taking the size of the university and the number of students studying in this branch into account, the South Tehran Branch of IAU is considered as the largest technical university in Iran.
This university runs courses for students in different levels of Associated Degree, Bachelor ، Master and phd Programs, as well as Bachelors Completion Program.
In comparison with other technical universities, IAU the South Tehran Branch is one of the strongest technical universities in Iran, training highly-qualified specialists and professionals every year.
The students of this university have also participated in international competitions in different fields and have achieved remarkable high ranks.
Other facilities of this university are the specialized centers being operated under the supervision of related educational departments, including The Specialized Center for Electricity, Electronics, and Computers, and The Center for General and Basic Mechanics. These centers serve the students of technical and engineering fields for courses that need laboratory and workshop.

Lalehzar

Remembering Laleh-zar street in Tehran.
Time moves quickly and sometimes you get caught up in a time warp and don't realize the passing of years or the way you've evolved.  It happened to me. 
We moved to College Hills neighborhood in Glendale when my son was six months old.  For 27 years I took the same route day after day to reach our home.  One day, recently, as I drove in my immediate neighborhood, I found myself thinking that after all these years,  I still don't know the names of the little side streets that cross Glenoaks Bld, the main artery I use to come home. It might be more shocking if I tell you that for a decade or so I worked as a real estate broker in Glendale.  Hah!
I left Iran because of the Islamic Revolution in 1978, and haven't been back to Tehran.  But I can still see in my mind's eye the neighborhood's that we frequented in Tehran and hear all the hustle and bustle.
When I was young often we walked from grandma's home to ours.  I had invented a game to play by myself. When I was alone I would shut my eyes and visualize all the shops we passed on our way home.  I was thrilled that I could remember all the stores from one end of the street to the other in the right order. 

Grandma  lived in an apartment on the new part of Lalaeh-zar street in Tehran. The old Laleh-zar was built in the 1870s, by the order of Shah Nasser-edin who  traveled to Europe and became dazzled by the European architecture. Returning home he ordained to build a street with the same look of what he had seen in Europe.  That's how Laleh-zar, which means "fields of tulips,"came alive. 

Today on the Internet I see pictures of the remains of the old mansions built for the wealthy people in the early days when the streets was built.  But when I was growing up in Tehran, Laleh-zar that had become a commercial distric and where we shopped for clothing and household items had a stark contrast to the imposing street that the Shah had envisioned.  It was a narrow two lane street with a jumble of filthy store-front businesses. 

Sharapova

I am Maria Sharapova's Banana. I am a source of potassium, much needed on court energy, and less needed constant
Have fun today kids, but remember, fruit can be just as fun as candy! Caro has been the most impressive player this week. It would be more fitting for her to be in Serena's place right now.
Simona pretty much stands no chance whatsoever of recovering this match now. Serena will have to seriously fold for that to happen.
Serena definitely not over the loss yet. Is clearly feeling the pressure of the situation. Can she pull herself together?
Surrounded by a dozen people, including three police officers, Maria Sharapova strode the grounds of the U.S. Open on Sunday, doing a champion's duties. She posed for photographs with her second Grand Slam trophy, met with members of the media to rehash her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Justine Henin-Hardenne in Saturday night's final, and stood in the players' lounge to autograph tennis balls, ticket stubs and other items.
And, much to her chagrin, Sharapova was asked to address again the apparent signals she received from her father and her hitting partner during matches at the Open, including holding up four fingers or waving a banana.
In-match coaching isn't allowed in tennis, but she and her agent offered this explanation: Sharapova focuses so much on the task at hand when she plays that she sometimes forgets to drink as much as she should to stay hydrated -- and the hand signals were simply meant as a reminder.
When asked about it after the final, Sharapova deflected the question, saying it wasn't what she wanted to be talking about on a night she earned a major championship.

Googoosh 3 years old

Googoosh was born Faegheh Atashin on 5 May 1950 in Sarcheshmeh Street of Tehran to parents Nasrin and Saber Atashin who were originally Azerbaijani immigrants from the USSR. The most celebrated Iranian pop artist of all time.

Nasrin and Saber Atashin, both had roots in the Soviet Union.She began doing impersonations of some of the singers of the time while being taken on the road with her father.When her father discovered this talent, he put her on stage at the age of three and she was from then on a professional paid performer.
During the late 1970s, Googoosh became involved with Homayoun Mestaghi, but after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Googoosh served a three-month jail sentence because she was living with him outside of marriage, which was illegal under the Islamic regime.[citation needed] Several years later in 1985, Googoosh divorced Mestaghi. She then married director Masoud Kimiai in 1991. They divorced in 2003.
Googoosh is rumored to reside in a four-bedroom, four-bath home in Beverly Crest (a neighborhood of Los Angeles), which she bought for $1.37 million from Jack M. Snyder and Stephanie E. Snyder on 13 April 2011.

National

 Remember the old Iranian Newspaper and magazine ads? Most of these ads goes back to those times. Lot's of memories are hidden in them.

Ad from old newspaper in Iran in 70s for Japanese products.



Let’s go back 30 years or more to the Imperial Iran. Remember the old Iranian Newspaper and magazine ads? Most of these ads goes back to those times. Lot’s of memories are hidden in them. Enjoy the good old times.