Tweet
Checkers can chaperone. Maybe we can find Osama while we're gambling and scuba diving.
Iranian Resort Offers Big Difference
Wed Apr 17,10:46 AM ET
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
KISH ISLAND, Iran (AP) - Men in shorts. Women in body-hugging scuba diving suits. A casual game of billiards.
This wouldn't raise an eyebrow at most beaches around the world, but it's evidence of an extraordinary endeavor in Iran, where a desire for tourist cash has loosened strict Islamic codes on a sun-kissed speck in the Persian Gulf.
Kish Island operates as a kind of bridge between the conservative morality on the mainland and the bikini-and-booze freedoms in parts of the United Arab Emirates, about 60 miles away.
A billiard hall cranks out foot-stomping Western music, which while no longer outlawed on the mainland is still seriously frowned upon by clerics.
There are no rules to limit the mingling of unrelated men and women. They even get together in wet suits for scuba diving classes — an impossible scene elsewhere under dress codes that try to keep women's curves under cover.
A bare male leg is equally taboo in the rest of Iran, but men stroll through Kish in shorts.
On the streets, women go without the long coat widely worn across Iran. The favored outfit would risk arrest on the mainland: pants, blouse and a hat or loose headscarf.
Stepping into the shopping malls is like a trip abroad for Iranians. Girls dance to live music used by shop owners to lure crowds.
Kish, one of three free-trade zones in southern Iran, also is a place for dating safely away from the vice police, whose influence is waning in Iran but still evident elsewhere in the country.
"It's so calm ... You feel free," said a young woman, Nasrin, who gave only her first name. Her boyfriend nodded in agreement.
There are limits, however. Alcohol is still banned and women must keep on some form of head covering. The mixed-sex beach is reserved for foreigners, who can visit the island without a pre-issued visa on direct flights from the Emirates.
In Kish, the familiar Iranian chants of "Death to America" seem very far away. Tourism officials especially welcome Americans as a way to bypass the diplomatic freeze and promote "people to people" contact.
Kish is not the only place in Iran seeing change. Sweeping social restrictions imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution have been gradually eased since the election of reformist President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) in May 1997.
But Iran still has an image problem among foreign tourists. Only about 1.4 million foreign tourists come to Iran each year — compared with 10 million tourists in neighboring Turkey — despite spectacular sites like the ancient Persian city of Persepolis and the storybook beauty of Isfahan's mosques and palaces.
Kish gets about 100,000 foreign visitors in a year.
The real draw is for Iranians. Kish authorities say about 1 million Iranians arrive annually on nearly 40 daily flights for stays in a string of modern and well-appointed hotels that are up to the standards of any European resort.
Authorities say the Iranian tourists spend about $500 million each year, money that might have been spent outside the country if Kish wasn't available.
At the Sea Man water sports club, owner Laleh Parishani believes mixed scuba diving may find its way to the mainland like billiards did.
"The outlook toward billiards changed from a gambling game to healthy sports and recreation. The same can apply to diving, but it may take more time," she said.
Negar Abdollahi, 19, said she doesn't mind attending classes with men before scuba diving on Kish's pristine coral reefs.
"I want to become one of few women diving trainers in Iran. To me, it's no problem to attend mixed classes. The objective is to learn. Students here don't care about gender," she said.
Iranian Resort Offers Big Difference
Wed Apr 17,10:46 AM ET
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer
KISH ISLAND, Iran (AP) - Men in shorts. Women in body-hugging scuba diving suits. A casual game of billiards.
This wouldn't raise an eyebrow at most beaches around the world, but it's evidence of an extraordinary endeavor in Iran, where a desire for tourist cash has loosened strict Islamic codes on a sun-kissed speck in the Persian Gulf.
Kish Island operates as a kind of bridge between the conservative morality on the mainland and the bikini-and-booze freedoms in parts of the United Arab Emirates, about 60 miles away.
A billiard hall cranks out foot-stomping Western music, which while no longer outlawed on the mainland is still seriously frowned upon by clerics.
There are no rules to limit the mingling of unrelated men and women. They even get together in wet suits for scuba diving classes — an impossible scene elsewhere under dress codes that try to keep women's curves under cover.
A bare male leg is equally taboo in the rest of Iran, but men stroll through Kish in shorts.
On the streets, women go without the long coat widely worn across Iran. The favored outfit would risk arrest on the mainland: pants, blouse and a hat or loose headscarf.
Stepping into the shopping malls is like a trip abroad for Iranians. Girls dance to live music used by shop owners to lure crowds.
Kish, one of three free-trade zones in southern Iran, also is a place for dating safely away from the vice police, whose influence is waning in Iran but still evident elsewhere in the country.
"It's so calm ... You feel free," said a young woman, Nasrin, who gave only her first name. Her boyfriend nodded in agreement.
There are limits, however. Alcohol is still banned and women must keep on some form of head covering. The mixed-sex beach is reserved for foreigners, who can visit the island without a pre-issued visa on direct flights from the Emirates.
In Kish, the familiar Iranian chants of "Death to America" seem very far away. Tourism officials especially welcome Americans as a way to bypass the diplomatic freeze and promote "people to people" contact.
Kish is not the only place in Iran seeing change. Sweeping social restrictions imposed after the 1979 Islamic revolution have been gradually eased since the election of reformist President Mohammad Khatami (news - web sites) in May 1997.
But Iran still has an image problem among foreign tourists. Only about 1.4 million foreign tourists come to Iran each year — compared with 10 million tourists in neighboring Turkey — despite spectacular sites like the ancient Persian city of Persepolis and the storybook beauty of Isfahan's mosques and palaces.
Kish gets about 100,000 foreign visitors in a year.
The real draw is for Iranians. Kish authorities say about 1 million Iranians arrive annually on nearly 40 daily flights for stays in a string of modern and well-appointed hotels that are up to the standards of any European resort.
Authorities say the Iranian tourists spend about $500 million each year, money that might have been spent outside the country if Kish wasn't available.
At the Sea Man water sports club, owner Laleh Parishani believes mixed scuba diving may find its way to the mainland like billiards did.
"The outlook toward billiards changed from a gambling game to healthy sports and recreation. The same can apply to diving, but it may take more time," she said.
Negar Abdollahi, 19, said she doesn't mind attending classes with men before scuba diving on Kish's pristine coral reefs.
"I want to become one of few women diving trainers in Iran. To me, it's no problem to attend mixed classes. The objective is to learn. Students here don't care about gender," she said.
Comment