Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations [Paperback]

Malu Halasa (Author), Maziar Bahari (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2008

Things are never what they seem in the art of Sadegh Tirafkan, the new feminist journalism of Asieh Amini, and the romance Shi'a-style by new fiction talent Alireza Mahmoodi- Iranmehr. Other contributors include Newsha Tavakolian, named Best Young Photographer of 2006 by National Geographic, Abbas Kowsari, Javad Montazeri and Omid Salehi, who have continued to document the social transformation of their country in the face of mass closures of newspapers and magazines by the government.

Above all, Transit Tehran celebrates the country's long tradition of artistic and cultural resistance that has influenced young Iranians, noticeably in the work of veteran editor and journalist Masoud Behnoud, photojournalist Kaveh Golestan, premier satirist and illustrator Ardeshir Mohassess, and photographer Mohsen Rastani.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A"Maziar Bahari, one of the very finest Iranian journalists still shining a light on his homeland, has coedited with Malu Halasa, a truly insightful account of the real Iran - the Iran we never hear above the hubbub of rhetoric and allegation. This is the Iran so many of us who travel there know and both admire and think about. It is the Iran that defies politics and economics and remains somehow simply Persian.A"Jon Snow, Channel Four NewsA"Tehran is a city literally, photographically, musically, and sexually seething with tiny (and sometimes not so tiny) acts of rebellion, in which swarms of mostly anonymous young Iranians experiment with ways to test the limits of freedom. The evidence that they do so with such panache, creativity, and often courage, is to be found in this wonderful book of brilliant essays and evocative photographs. That they do so may be a cause of concern to the government of Iran. It should be the source of great reassurance to all who believe in the power of the human spirit.A"Ted Koppel, Managing Editor, Discovery ChannelA"Transit Tehran is one long, refreshing, sometimes funny and often disturbing surprise. Too many portrayals of Iranian society are as superficial as a chador. This book looks at the body and soul of a people - a young people - who have an ancient culture that is wonderfully cosmopolitan, a recent history that is deeply troubled, and hopes for the future that are inextinguishable.A"Christopher Dickey, author and journalist A"A wonderfully illustrative view of Iran's young, hip and avant garde. Westerners take note: They are here and will be heard.A" Fareed Zakaria, Editor of Newsweek International

About the Author

MALU HALASA is an editor and journalist. She is co-editor of Creating Spaces of Freedom: Culture in Defiance (Saqi Books, 2004), Transit Beirut: New Writing and Images (Saqi Books, 2004), Kaveh Golestan 1950-2003: Recording the Truth in Iran (Hatje Cantz, 2007) and The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie (Chronicle Books, 2008). Former managing editor of the Prince Claus Fund Library and a founding editor of Tank magazine, she writes for the British press.

MAZIAR BAHARI is a journalist and filmmaker for the past ten years. His films include And Along Came a Spider, Mohammad and the Matchmaker, The Voyage of the St Louis, Targets: Reporters in Iraq and Greetings from Sadr City. He is the only filmmaker who has worked consistently in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. Maziar Bahari writes for Newsweek from Tehran and makes news documentaries for Channel Four and the BBC. His plays include A Fairly Justified Revenge and Abu Ghraib.

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Garnet Publishing (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1859642152
• ISBN-13: 978-1859642153
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,010,847 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Travel > Middle East > Iran

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Irish writer bathes his way across Syria, January 7, 2011

By 

Elijah - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations (Paperback)

Length:: 2:17 Mins

This is a short video on Transit Tehran. Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its InspirationsTransit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Boring Tehran 1990s, December 15, 2010

By 

William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations (Paperback)

"Transit Tehran: Young Iran and Its Inspirations", eds. Maul Halasa & Maziar Bahari, large-size paperback, 240 pgs, English, (2008: in German by Salis Verlag, Zurich; 2009 in English by Garnet Pub., UK). I wish I could write that this book is a really interesting, informative, expansive look at Tehran, Iran - but I can't. It contains 35 articles detailing something about Tehran as written by various authors. One photo caption contends: "Except for Thailand, Iran is the country with the highest number of sex change operations in the world. Transsexuals...end up unemployed or working as prostitutes" (19). Discusses the development of hip-hop in the 1990s, but limited info. 1990s: women forbidden to attend male-soccer games, but paradoxically women from foreign countries are allowed to visit the haram-stadium to support their foreign male-member team playing against the Iranian male team. Policewomen are trained to look for `bad hijab'; photos of female police training in chadors while rappelling down walls. Short articles, not really much `in depth'. Numerous photos, but few details or analysis. One very short article about prostitutes before the Revolution--some photos, dingy, hopeless, but no analysis. Lots of words, but little `meaning' or analysis in the text--wordy. A picture of `The Road to Freedom Monument' - so? The articles look for social-ills dirt, but not finding much. Recounts a methadone-treatment program in Tehran in 2003, about syringe exchanges - the author contends: "the country holds an infamous world record for drug use" (183). 5 photos of a family playing in the coastal waters, one young man half-clad holding the hands of his chardor-clad girlfriend playing in the ocean. An interesting fictional account of a dead Iranian soldier who recounts his death and burial in several Iraqi cemeteries until he is reburied in Tehran: "Sometimes it's sunny and sometimes it rains. An orange butterfly is sitting on a grassy patch with yellow flowers. Now it flits off and goes towards the old trees" (199). A group of clandestine photos taken of everyday life along Vali Asr street in Tehran: one showing a group of 20 people waiting for a bus, the chador-clad women waiting on the right-side of the bus-stop sign while the men wait on the left-side. Not one of the first 17 books that I would recommend reading about Tehran.