IRAN--Small Villages

While Iran’s population is over 75 million and it has numerous cities, it also has many small villages. The villages are scattered all around the countryside tending to the farming and livestock. As we drove nearly 3700 miles all over Iran, it became apparent that the villages are a very important part of Iran’s well being.


The villages often seemed stuck in the middle of nowhere. The small homes are usually made of sun dried bricks and the complex includes a large courtyard and storage buildings. All of this is surrounded by a fence made again of sun dried bricks. The courtyard offers protection to any livestock at night and a parking place for any farm equipment, plus a storage place for the winter hay. It seems that the rural people prefer to live in a central place and travel out to the farms…..unlike most of our rural farms in the USA.



The main livestock producers are the Bedouin people who do not move as often as they used too, but now move twice a year…to higher and lower pastures. The herds people can take the animals anywhere on any land as long as they do not graze a productive crop. Amazingly, it seems that the sheep and goats love the sides of hills as much as the flat already harvested fields.


The government of Iran realizes the importance of these rural people and has attempted to reverse the trend of having them move into the cities which was policy under the last Shah. Instead, they are taking the schools and medical facilities out to them. Often a capable person/s are giving basic medical education in the village to be a first responder. There is an ambulance available to rush more serious cases to the next level of care. The government even makes regular water deliveries to the villages when this is needed.


Depending on what part of the country you are in, you will see wheat, barley and rice fields, sugar beets, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, corn, apples, oranges, apricots, walnuts, dates, melons, vineyards and even tea growing. Lots of potatoes were being dug and loaded into sacks in the fields while we were there.

Roadside stands were also selling mountains of apples and melons and cabbage by the truck load. In one area we saw various sized bottles of rosewater for sale. ETC, ETC.


A note about the vineyards…. Since the Moslems officially do not drink alcohol, the grapes from the vineyards are for eating!!! not drinking. Also, the Iranians have lots of beer…but it is the non alcoholic kind. Varieties include mango, lemon/lime, apple, regular beer flavored. Don tried it and said it was much like a carbonated fruit drink.


While we didn’t get to walk through a country cemetery we saw several as we were driving. The people are buried under ground in coffins under a slab within 24 hours of death. There are many rituals of washings, wrapping in cloth, oils, etc that the Moslems perform on the dead. There are no flowers and it seems nice to have a shade in this hot climate!!!

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