Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Couchsurfing in Iran: Revealing a Hidden World

Couchsurfing in Iran: Revealing a Hidden World

Orth, Stephan
McIntosh, Jamie

Paperback

IslamTravel WritingGeneral Middle East

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1771642807
ISBN13: 9781771642804
Publisher: Greystone Books
Published: May 1 2018
Pages: 304
Weight: 0.85
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.40
Language: English

Included in the 2018 summer reading list by New York Times Books

A modern-day glimpse into the surprising reality of life in Iran.

Iran: A destination that is seldom seen by westerners yet often misunderstood. A country that simultaneously enchants and enrages those who visit it. A place where leading a double life has become the norm.

In Couchsurfing in Iran, award-winning author Stephan Orth spends sixty-two days on the road in this mysterious Islamic republic to provide a revealing, behind-the-scenes look at life in one of the world's most closed societies. Through the unsurpassed hospitality of twenty-two hosts, he skips the guidebooks and tourist attractions and travels from Persian carpet to bed to cot, covering more than 8,400 kilometers to recount this world's hidden doings. Experiencing daily what he calls the two Irans that coexist side by side--the theocracy, where people mourn their martyrs in mausoleums, and the hide-and-seek-ocracy, where people hold secret parties and seek worldly thrills instead of spiritual bliss--he learns that Iranians have become experts in navigating around their country's strict laws.

Though couchsurfing is officially prohibited in Iran--the state fears spies would be able to travel undetected through the country--more than a hundred thousand Iranians are registered with online couchsurfing portals. And thanks to these hospitable, English-speaking strangers, Orth gets up close and personal with locals, peering behind closed doors and blank windows to uncover the inner workings of a country where public show and private reality are strikingly opposed.

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