Iran is different

Agreement in the nuclear dispute, end of years of economic sanctions by the West, strengthening of reformist forces in the elections: Positive news from an area of ​​the world where there is little positive to report, comes today from Iran, of all places. But new tensions with neighboring Saudi Arabia and uncertain economic prospects are also part of the picture of a country that is far from calm.
In this book, Werner van Gent and Antonia Bertschinger take us behind current events, shining a light behind the scenes of the state of God. They correct the image of Iran formed by prejudices and show us unsuspected and often surprisingly funny facets: from fortune-telling canaries to rebellious poetry to the Northern Iranian garlic secret, the reader is introduced to everyday Iranian life, which is first so different and then seems so familiar.
The presentation of this little-known side of Iran is interwoven with political analyzes and historical background sketches that go far beyond the known problems and the supposedly obvious answers. Iran is much more than the headscarf issue and anti-Western rhetoric. The result is a book that sees Iran not primarily as a problem case, but as a very vibrant culture, a place of pleasure, but also of deep melancholy, a place of hopelessness, but also of new beginnings - in short, the The book must and will arouse the desire to get to know the country itself.
Iran is one of the most important players in the chaotic Middle East - and a fascinating and polyphonic country. This book describes the country and its people more than the usual clichés.