Summary A journey with so many different and interesting aspects. Iran has opened its doors to tourists who now can discover its history, its culture and landscapes: we see how an old caravansary of the Silk Road (Zein-O-Din) has been restored and transformed into a hotel. European tourists can take home-stay accommodation and so encounter young Iranian people and learn more about this country. Then we travel to Western Iran: in a mountain village the women get together to prepare flat breads, the men produce nuts, almonds and apricot and they help each other in the agricultural shores. In the town of Kashan the people produce the famous handmade Iranian carpets: a team of three female weavers will use about 4-5 months to weave a 9 square meters carpet: we discover also the secrets of the dyers who use natural products such as madder , nut shells and grape leaves to dye the new wool used for making carpets. We learn also about the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) : a celebration with traditions: jumping over a fire (a cleansing ritual), giving gifts to the children or the visit of parents on the countryside. Since about 40 years Iran is an Islamic state, that means rules about clothing and these rules are more strict in Qom, the sacred town of the Shia Muslims. We know also about the Zoroastrian religion: an old Persian religion whose main element is the sacred fire. We meet a generation of young women who practice ports like skating, snowboard, martial arts or motocross: it is their way to promote the women's rights. Now some words about the journey of Sophie: beginning of the journey in Persepolis (Unesco World Heritage Site): she meets there an Iranian mathematics professor who explains her the story of Persepolis founded in the 6 the century BC.Then they travel to Shiraz: they walk through the city, meet a fortune teller and then go to the Tomb of the Iranian poet Hafez (who was considered by Goethe as the most important poet in the world): near his tomb people read poems of this great poet.They go to the market and eat "Palude" a frozen dessert of vermicelli with lemon juice.Then they visit the Nasir-O-Molk mosque (also called the Pink Mosque): a beautiful place for prayers with colorful stained glasses.They also go to the bazaar and meet a carpet vendor who explains them the differences between the Iranian nomad carpet and the traditional Iranian carpet (with the rose window in its center).Later in Shiraz Sophie meets a female guide and they travel to Yazd where Sophie meets her mother and two sisters (the older sister is also guide and the younger sister who studies fashion design at the the fine arts university of Yazd: they have an traditional Iranian supper, tomatoes and eggplants and a marinated beef in pomegranate juice.On the morning they walk through the old town, and listen to a group of female musicians. Yazd is the town of the windcatchers or wind towers, traditional architectural elements used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in the buildings. Then Sophie is in Tehran: she meets a French pastry chef married to an Iranian man: they manage a French pastry shop and this day they deliver French Pastries to the French embassy. Then Sophie travels to Shemshak in the snowy mountains: a little winter sport resort with a chairlift where Sophie meets an Iranian female snowboard champion; in the night Sophie meets a Tehran another woman who is ice hockey player. Next stop Isfahan: Sophie meets an Iranian woman who manages a guesthouse in a restored mansion: they go to the bazaar and see how female enamelers are painting several copper objects (a very old tradition).Then they go to the great square "Nash-e Jahan" and visit the great mosque : the dome of the mosque is now under restoration and a mosaicist and his son, also mosaicist are very proud to restore this great mosque.

• Documentary
• Travel Documentary