First city in Iran

What surprised us even more is the fact that the openness and kindness continues even in a city of over a million inhabitants like Tabriz. We stayed for two nights in a hostel to organize ourselves a little. Fortunately, we had the support of Amin who answered all our questions. You must know that the local currency which is expressed in either Toman or Rial is a little tricky at the beginning. On top of that, it‘s not possible to withdraw cash, so you have to get all your money beforehand and/or apply for a tourist credit card. To change money into Rial, you just wait at a random place and people would approach you with a big plastic bag full of money. It’s then time to negotiate the exchange rate. Luckily, we had support of experienced locals. We just met them before in our hostel and on the street. They would of course lead the negotiations for us. It clearly shows how much you can trust the locals here.

You’re lost and don’t know where to go? Someone would come and show you the way. You don’t understand the prices or what’s written in the menu? Someone would come and translate. You don’t know how much money you have to pay? Someone would come and offer to pay with your money. The thing you’re looking for is not available in a store? The seller would take you to another store of a competitor.
Whatever it is, you sometimes don’t even have to ask. There’s always a helping hand close by.Read more