Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • The Guardian

    The guidebooks and selfie-sticks arrive as Rouhani’s Iran declares itself open to all

    With visitor numbers rising and hotel chains circling, Iran is reinventing itself – but the change is too fast for some
    by Emma Graham-Harrison in Isfahan May 27, 2017 3 minutes
    James Strachan / Getty Images

    Standing in the blue-tiled shadows of one of Iran’s greatest mosques, armed with a dish of sesame caramel snacks, Mohammed Reza Zamani is a cleric on a mission to repair the country’s image in the west, one tourist at a time.

    “Free Friendly Talks” a billboard announces in English, at the entrance to a historic religious seminary-turned-museum, in the central city of Isfahan, a former imperial capital so beautiful that even today Iranians describe the city as “half the world”.

    Tourism brings both money and a more positive international image for Iran, says Zamani,

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from The Guardian

    The Guardian4 min read
    Whether In Song Or In Silence, Shane MacGowan Exuded The Very Essence Of Life
    Shane MacGowan and I sat in near silence for two hours last year. We were at his home, just outside Dublin. I’d been warned by his wife, the writer Victoria Mary Clarke, that he was depressed and anxious, not really in the mood to talk. But nothing c
    The Guardian4 min read
    ‘Almost Like Election Night’: Behind The Scenes Of Spotify Wrapped
    There’s a flurry of activities inside Spotify’s New York City’s offices in the Financial District. “It’s almost like election night,” Louisa Ferguson, Spotify’s global head of marketing experience says, referring to a bustling newsroom. At the same t
    The Guardian8 min read
    PinkPantheress: ‘I Don’t Think I’m Very Brandable. I Dress Weird. I’m Shy’
    PinkPantheress no longer cares what people think of her. When she released her lo-fi breakout tracks Break it Off and Pain on TikTok in early 2021, aged just 19, she did so anonymously, partly out of fear of being judged. Now, almost three years late

    Related Books & Audiobooks