{"id":31891,"date":"2024-02-06T10:45:19","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T08:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/240206-informationen-iran\/"},"modified":"2024-02-06T11:15:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T09:15:04","slug":"240206-informationen-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pegasus-unterwegs.ch\/en\/240206-informationen-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Information Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

As of January 24<\/p>\n

Food<\/h3>\n

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There are large shopping malls with every kind of food imaginable. However, on the street the vegetables and fruits are much fresher and better. Of course, there are almost no Western brands, but the Iranians have simply developed the most important brands themselves and have very similar designs. The butcher shops are sometimes very difficult to find, but when we find them, the meat is highly recommended.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Water<\/h3>\n

\"\"We were rarely able to find water at a gas station. However, there are water connections at the frequent picnic areas or at mosques. Once we were able to get water from a water purifier for a fee. The water we filled up with was always of very good quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Diesel<\/h3>\n

\"\"Diesel is a problem in Iran. However, the price is a dream, we paid an average of CHF 0.06 per liter. However, obtaining diesel is not easy. Basically, in Iran you can only get diesel with a diesel card. However, a diesel card is not issued to tourists. Local truck drivers receive a diesel card that allows them to fill up with between 100 and 300 liters of diesel per day, depending on their work. Foreign, e.g. Turkish truck drivers receive a diesel card with 200 liters per day. Some gas station attendants also have a diesel card so that they can sell so-called free diesel. The price of free diesel is a matter of negotiation. Officially the diesel costs 300 IRR. Officially, tourists receive 100 liters of diesel per day from the gas station attendants with an appropriate quota for 600 IRR per liter. The free diesel can be up to 20 times the official price depending on the friendliness of the seller, truck driver or gas station attendant. The system was installed because Iran sells diesel so cheaply and the surrounding countries charge much more for a liter, which creates a great risk of diesel smuggling. This should be prevented by the small amount released at a time. Of course, the system also means that all truck drivers have to refuel every day and there are corresponding queues at the gas stations. Especially at the borders with Pakistan, the gas stations were often completely out of diesel.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Money<\/span><\/h3>\n

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The currency, the Iranian Rial (IRR), is not freely convertible and is worthless abroad. Since the Americans have banned Iranians from international payments, foreign credit cards cannot be used in Iran. However, Iranians themselves pay almost exclusively with their credit cards. As a tourist you have to exchange USD or EUR in an exchange office or at a jeweler in the bazaar. The amount of currency is complicated. Around 500,000 IRR corresponds to 1 CHF, so we always operate with large numbers. The second problem is that Iranians never actually speak of the rial, but of the toman. Toman is the old currency and is equivalent to ten times the rial. Since the numbers are still very large, the goods are offered for, for example, 10 Toman, but what is meant is 10,000 Toman. After almost two months we had it somewhat under control!<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Overnight places<\/span><\/h3>\n

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We didn’t see any official campsites in Iran. But what you find a lot are picnic areas near cities. We were camping mostly wild. This is easily possible, but it is recommended that you are not visible from the street, otherwise the police will come by and carry out an hour-long inspection.<\/p>\n