All stories about "Tehran"

In a gallery of anti-American/anti-Israeli murals decorating the "U.S. Den of Espionage" in Tehran (i.e. the former American embassy), I noted the clawed hand crushing the Earth appeared similar to the cover art from a sci-fi novel by Scientologist overlord L. Ron Hubbard. But an astute reader points out that the weird, bifurcated fingernail/claws actually point to the cover art for classic 1990 video game Star Control as the mural's real inspiration. Ur-Quan akbar!

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The New York Times talks about visiting Iran, mostly concentrating on the historic city of Esfahan. Before that though, writer James Vlahos spends time in Tehran, and he mentions the famously charming "U.S. Den of Espionage" -- i.e. the former American embassy. The embassy has served a variety of purposes over the years since its seizure in 1979 and abandonment by the U.S. in 1981. Though Vlahos didn't get inside to see what, if anything, is on exhibit, he did note the colorful anti-American muralwork that adorns the exterior walls, like Lady Liberty above. Enjoy your Death to America moment this fine Monday with a tour of the Den of Espionage's street art.

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Tehran ordinarily does not get too many Gridskipper mentions, but we thought a look at the city's graffiti scene merited a quick mention. Japanese 'zine Pingmag recently interviewed graffiti artist A1one, who maintains the extensive Tehran Walls blog of Iranian street art. The Iran Grafiti and Urban Art Report site keeps tracks on much of the (politically-oriented) graffiti showing up in Tehran and other cities as well. Lastly, Iranian artist collective Kolahstudio has extensive downloads and artwork that show an impressive regional take on larger street art trends. Well worth checking out.

A1one: First Generation Graffiti in Iran [Pingmag]
Tehran Walls [Official site]
Kolahstudio [Official site]

-- Neal Ungerleider

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Though nothing seems to endearing about the eau de bumpiss and interminable waiting that are hallmarks of NYC's MTA stations, some people love subways as much as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Two New Yorkers just managed to hit up every single station in 25 hours and 11 minutes, earning them a frenzy of media coverage, a myspace blog and a story to tell their jaded grandkids who buzz to school on hoverboards. Elsewhere in the world though, subway stations tend toward the cleaner, better and more interesting. Beautiful Subways has been documenting these Edenic design-forward subterranean lairs on his blog. This one in Tehran, (pictured), puts even the plushest MTA station to shame. They don't of course mention that the punishment for peeing in it is stoning to death.

Beautiful Subways [via Attu Sees All]

Previously: International PSA: Don't Snog Publicly in the MIddle East, Google Map Subways,San Fran Tran Map, High Speed Train Gets Haute Couture, Tube Stalker, Platform Crush, Subway Germaphobe Shopping

The good folks at the US Air Force published a handy and hilariously illustrated guide to the Top Ten cultural faux pas for Americans traveling abroad. Next time you find your way to Asia or the Middle East, be sure to pack this along -- just in case you forget that publicly playing tonsil hockey with your partner in the Middle East is considered a no-no. To the USAF's credit, some of the cultural faux-pas are not so obvious, like not putting one's feet up (as in crossing one's legs) if you are a guest of a Middle Eastern host. Who knew? What would be interesting is to see what methodology they used to come up with the Top Ten list. Perhaps they sent out a bunch of Air Force officers out to a large swath of countries with specific instructions to act like boorish Yanks, quietly observe which behavior insulted whom, then follow it up with a detailed questionnaire: "So, Mr. and Mrs. Lee, when I blew my nose loudly in front of everyone at the dinner table, did that disgust and insult you? Would you say this was more insulting or less insulting than when I engaged in a passionate bout of tongue-bashing with my wife while dessert was being served?"

Perceptive Protocol

[Eric Z. Chang]

Previously: To Get Sloshed in Pakistan, Lahore Lahore Ay, And Iran, Iran So Far Away, Shanghai - Rebuilding from the Ground Up

The Roundup Roundup collects recent "roundup" articles or general material about cities and city travel worldwide.

Austin
Turn Up the Volume! [NYP]

Berlin
How will a fan fare for the final? [Guardian]

Bilbao
Eating Bilbao: A Celebration of Basque Cuisine [GoNOMAD]

Buenos Aires
Hungry traveller: Buenos Aires [Telegraph]

Chicago
My kind of town: Chicago [Telegraph]

Delhi
Delhi's multiple personalities [Houston Chronicle]

Dubai
Hot to shop [Telegraph]

Flights
Airline vouchers raise a lot of questions [Chicago Tribune]

Hong Kong
Hong Kong is shopaholic's dream [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

London
Valentines Day in London 2006 [LondonNet]
City Guide: London [Wallpaper*]
Village people [Times]

Melbourne
On the Road in Melbourne: On the Waterfront in the New Docklands [Frommer's]

Miami
Going To: South Beach [NYT]

Montreal
Double delight [Telegraph]

New York
Free Wifi Access at New York City Hotels [About.com]
Hot date in the Big Apple [Times]

Nightlife
Drink up [Economist]

Seattle
An air of rebellion breathes new life into the visual art scene [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]

Sightseeing
My favourite place in the world [Observer]

Sydney
Snap Guide: Sydney [Budget Travel]

Tehran
Any Given Friday [Yahoo!]

Turin
The Turin Olympics: By the Numbers [Dreamofitaly]
Take An Olympic Outing To Torino [AskMen]