if you like hybrids, you'll love Our new separator film. ExxonMobil’s scientists are continuously searching for ways to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. One recent innovation is a new separator film that enables powerful lithium-ion batteries to be used in hybrid and electric vehicles. By making the batteries safer, more powerful and more reliable, it could well put many more hybrid and electric vehicles on the road faster, boosting fuel economy and dramatically reducing emissions. And what's not to love about that? The story continues at exxonmobil.com 9 naan trove 0 c Mobil ExonMobil Srands ofExxoniMobil_ Taking on the world's toughest energy challenges”Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes ie eerste | Ba ad Perc as | Be j Se ee usd Coc ue eanNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUGUST 2008 + VOL. 214+ NO. 2 Ancient Soul of Iran 34 The glories of Persia inspire the modern nation. By Marguerite Del Giudice Photos by Newsha Tavakolian Photographic portfolio by Simon Norfolk Monkey Paradise 68 The bush-meat trade stalks an African island ark By Virginia Morell Photographs by Tim Laman, lan Nichols, Joe! Sai 1d Christian Ziegler Between Volcanoes 92 Fire and water collide in Japan's largest national park By Gretel Ehrlich Photographs by Michael Yamashita Moscow Never Sleeps 106 When the sun sets, the Russian capital heats up. By Martin Cruz Smith Photographs by Gerd Ludwig Target Earth 134 A killer asteroid may be headed our way. By Richard Stone Photographs by Stephen Alvarez ‘Special Supplement: iran/Persian Empire Visitors to Moscow pay top ruble for a hotel room with this Red Square View. Suites go for as much as $9,000 a night. Story on page 106, OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETYNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUGUST 2008 Editor's Note Letters Your Shot Photo Journal Visions of Earth HISTORY Birth of a Sign ——— The peace symbol is 50 years old. FooD a Pedigreed Pizza ‘The EU wants you to know your pie. CONSERVATION The Vicufia’s Golden Fleece This story is all fluft LANDSCAPES Dead-End Road In Bolivia, consider an alternate route. WILDLIFE Why Bees Can Fly ~--- ‘They shouldn't be able to. Yet they do. ENVIRONMENT Sea Glass The ocean turns trash to treasure. Follow Up Inside Geographic Flashback On the Cover Persia in profile: A stone relief of a royal guard stares across the ages in Persepolis, Iran. Photo by Simon Norfolk USSCRIPTIONS, GFT MEMBERSINPS. OR CHANGES OF ADDRESS, (oa \ ngm.com % Off and Shooting The 2008 International Photo Contest starts accepting entries August 1 Last year’s winners are on display, and a selection of new entries will be posted in daily galleries.THAI Anniversary 1960-2 THE CHANGING SEASONS t . HAI HAS LOVED Tay eae, LS orm NCUA ij RS Rec ct UCR ROOM OC ‘ Romeo eens Derr mea teens ken eI r TOs Rag PRC Its ever y isa masterpiece and only nature can balance its timely rhythms By supporting every effort in keeping the world beautiful, we hope the changing seasons here will never change. Re RUA ee Pata ny[EDITOR’S NOTE The hand singed by the blowtorch looks human. Close inspection reveals that it belongs to a drill, a baboon- like primate, for sale in the bush-meat market in Malabo, the Bioko Island capital of Equatorial Guinea. Scorching flesh brings a higher price for monkey meat, a delicacy in this part of the world. Photographer Joel Sartore captured this alarming scene, hoping to provoke change. He was part of an International League of Conservation Photographers project called a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) Bioko's bush-meat trade threatens animals like this young dri, to document wildlife on Bioko. There, primates are hunted and sold through a growing trade fueled by money earned in nearby oil fields. The commitment to make a difference motivated three other National Geographic photographers— Tim Laman, lan Nichols, and Christian Ziegler—to accompany Joel, National Geographic and Conservation International sponsored the expedition. Along with writer Virginia Morell, Joel, Tim, lan, and Christian have produced a startling story for this issue. We hope their work will raise awareness of the need for conservation on the island, to help ensure Bioko remains what one biologist calls a “monkey paradise eer PEOPLE BEHIND THE STORIES 1 Richard Stone While reporting “Target Earth,” science journalist Stone saw plenty of heavenly sights—and missed a few too. Trying to glimpse the 900-foot- wide asteroid ‘Apophis that could one day hit Earth, he and astronomer David Tholen ran afoul of Hawaii's rainy season. “Dave stuck it ‘out in the control room, hoping for a break in the weather; says Stone of one soggy November night, “and | stayed Up, on eall at the hotel, The skies didn't clear, and Dave had to call it a night at 3 am. | was crushed: | had lost not just a great opportunity to observe an infamous asteroid, ut also to observe a master of the art of asteroid detection.” 1 Martin Cruz Smith ‘A Russia observer and the author of many novels, Smith says the former Soviet Union Is changing all the time— though not to every- one's benefit, “Those who are the most traditionally Pussian, he says, “the ‘most soulful, have fared the worst” in the new economy. Yet during his latest visit— made while writing this issue's ‘Moscow Never Sleeps"—Smith saw that the more things cchange, the more they stay the same. From Potemkin villages to Putin's rule, “its a system ‘of muscle and sham. It always has been.” What's next for Russia? Smith won't speculate. “its a bit ike Hollywood,” he says. “No one knows anything.”Inspiring people to care about the plant 0 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC ‘The National Geographic Society is chartered in Weshinglon, DC. as a nonprotscientic and educational, ‘organization “or the increase and difusion of geographic knowledge” Since 1888 the Society has supported ‘more than 8,000 explorations and research projects, adding to knowledge of earth, sea, and sky. AD A Ten ect enon: Vite chant ca S ‘oot ra amon Fay ah ay Pie Snuta ChayUth, ‘Sead W Wena Sar Ye ‘ae Ovo igh se Ere Ce Mate Dome Ca Damo (cera) de Kosi france) Cate + Bae Sana bare Penson ‘eevee a 89 doh ML Fay Terence 8 Adamecn timo eenoe Men Sonne ao Shy ig Centres te National Gace Sacty ae ax Seoul una Sachon BOHN) ote US te se Cepyegt © 2008 Nason GepicSeety Argh reseed, eral Geogapic a ew, over Regs hasema® aca Reet Ka ev nr ro mony fear wee Ths agate speed necyaed cre paDeETTERS ETS RAGGED EDGE ‘April 2008 Lost in the Sahel It took courage for author Paul Salopek to return to a place that caused him pain. Though this article describes horrific scenes and great injustices, I was comforted by the com- passion shown by Fatim, who fed a struggling stranger even though she had so little herselt. EMILY McMAHON, Bellingham, Washington Your story profoundly moved me, This is a story of the human condition: day-to-day survival in a land without guarantees, health care plans, minimum. wages, unemployment insur- ance—without any insurance, actually. A land with a high mortality rate, rampant poverty for most, and a high birthrate. PETER VANWERDEN Westlock, Alberta I was puzzled by the author's puzzlement over Mr. Abakar's Arab ways. In other African countries with Arab influences, like Mauritania, where I've lived, it can be mandatory to practice Arab customs and speak Arabic. You did as your rulers did or faced severe consequences. LISA ENGLERT Bueliton, California, I don't know whether to laugh or ery looking at the photo- graph in which the U.S. Special Forces sergeant is teaching Nigeriens the art of maintaining their machine guns, Because of the circumstances in areas like the Sahel, changes of government are unpredictable. Sooner or later, those well-oiled and well-prepped machine guns will have the power. MIGUEL ANGEL MENDEZ Panajachel, Guatemala My only sense of the borders of the Sahara has come from childhood readings of The Little Prince and Tintin. Your journal- ism shows reality yet appeals to a sense of wonder, as those fictions do. COLIN SHELTON Winnipeg, Manitoba Almost Human Ilearned a great deal about chimps-but just as much about the sociology of primatologists. Kudos to Jill Pruetz for her graceful handling of the fact that colleagues dismissed or downplayed her observations about a chimp “sharpening a branch with her teeth and wielding it like a spear” to stab prey. Pruetz is what science needs—a researcher enamored of her subject and not aca- demic recognition, especially from chest-thumping males who believe publishing papers is what makes the world of science turn. PHYLLIS D. THOMAS Ridgeland, Mississipp It was interesting that Pruetz wasn't always credited for her reported observations about the use of tools by chimpan- zees. While it is unfortunate that her work was at times overlooked, when I read these articles with their constant references and credits to nature, it makes me wonder: How does God feel? GARY KEES ‘Wyomissing, Pennsylvania It was edifying to read how intelligent chimpanzees and other primates are. Conversely, it's mortifying to know that chimps, gorillas, bonobos, and other apes are being massa- cred to the verge of extinction in many of their homelands. Maybe we should spend more time and money rescuing them rather than studying them, ‘BRIEN COMERFORD Glenview, Ilinois Your article on chimps sharpen- ing and using sticks to stab bush babies for a meal is interesting, but to say we are “watching time-lapse footage of human evolution” is absurd. How is this any different from an otter opening a clam for a meal by hitting it with a rock or a beaver cutting sticks to make a dam? GEOFFREY LINDSAY Ridgecrest, California Author Mary Roach makes the comment: “Humans share. maybe 40 percent [of their gene sequence] with lettuce.” I don't know about you, but that explains so much to me. BRUCE HOFFMAN ‘Albuquerque, New Mexico Email ngsforum@ngm.com Write National Geographic Magazine, PO Box 98199, ‘Washington, DC 20090-8198, Include name, address, and daytime telephone. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.Peninsular Bighorn Sheep (vis canadens cremnobates) Size: Head and body length, 1.5 ~ 19m; 81.3-91.4cm ©) Weight: 48-115 kg Eastern slopes of peninsular ‘mountain ranges in California in the US and Baja i California in Mexico Surviving number: Estimated at fewer than 3,200 H F = WILDLIFE AS CANON SEES IT Head for the hills! That's exactly what the peninsular bighorn sheep does when a predator threatens, fleeing to higher ground where its uncanny ability to navigate rocky terrain gives it an advantage. It even gives birth to single offspring from the relative safety of steep slopes, as vantage points let the sheep spy out danger before it gets too near, The new generation is entering an increasingly uncertain world, however, facing not only age-old nemeses such as mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes, but also threats brought on by human encroachment. From automobile strike to entanglement in fences, perils are mounting, ‘Asan active, committed global corporation, we join worldwide efforts to promote awareness of endangered species. Just one way we are working to make the world a better place—today and tomorrow. Visit ngm.com/canonwildlife to find out more. CanonSharing a mission to make the world a better place. Over the course of its 120-year history, the National Geographic Society has taken us around the globe and introduced us to a vast variety of life. Through unforgettable images and inspired articles, it has shown Us both the wonder of and the danger to the natural worl. This is a mission we at Canon feel called to share. One prominent Vehicle of our commitment has been our "Wildlife As Canon Sees It” advertising series, which has raised the profile of endangered species for more than 27 years. We have brought over 300 species to the attention of National Geographic readers to date — and there are still many more awaiting their turn In a world where there is always more to show and more to do, it's comforting to know the National Geographic Society is here. We salute you on the occasion of your 120th anniversary Chaean Geren ncWILDLIFE AS CANON SEES IT A truly supportive partner. National Geographic magazine is fortunate to have many partners who wish to Participate in our mission to inspire people to care about the planet Since April 1981, Canon Ine. has supported National Geographic magazine with advertising highlighting different endangered species, Researched and created in conjunction with a National Geographic photographer, the information is verified by leading wildlife experts. Unique in the history of advertising, we feel this campaign has contributed to the publics understanding of threats to wildlife. (On the occasion of National Geographic Societys 120th anniversary, we wish to thank Canon for ther support and look forward to prolonging our partnership, a Grosvenor NATIONAL Fes Bool ste GEOGRAPHIC Tana eoyephic Soc) MAGAZINEMetters Biomimetics: ‘bet wonder and fabulous 7a Is nlegant about ecko that can do ht about Iatever watson jut about fry surface, ora bow that ‘te iteraly na fash? rage esa | egan the ate with faacination unt eeched the Photograph ofthe severed ‘hale tipper. My hater was fot lessened by the caption Sandie atom ct a lst. Itdoes not matter where to show the bloody tipper, suspended by ropes fom ‘shook was inappropriate, 1Na Pali Coast Tam shocked you would ‘cuss the nar thet numane hve done to the Kasia Tl and Valley but not present focuruiste in such a {ul place. you showed the homble decay perhaps we colderpectrone St Last summer vitod Kaus fad niked on the Kala Trl to Henakapr'a Beach AS rounded 2 sharp bend, he anole N& Pal Coat etrtchod but before me, and eteitaly Hewaien pi bumps. twas nating short of erelgious experience Inthe People Behind the Stories ston you wie about former marine who'd boon repairing the al and helping Injured kere” Tos exvmarine fd vtaran of Desert Storm, & ‘tonemason by age hes been ‘ng the most cangerous parts for ten months. Treacher ‘ction hat used to Be Terminal Traverse and Ch Pass (nas go fst are now among the seston tetra anon Ket When you have the time to travel will you have the money?Last Day ofthe Rickshaw person who grew up in oan and wore ‘on the rickshaw ples. The Fekshaw i legacy a nda's Shameful colonial pat. Into: ‘duce in Japan inthe 1860s, tekahews were Brovgt to Inia in 1860. In tho Beginning thay were used mainly by Chinese traders in Kolkata to trenepot goods but were soon used to transport people tis lninnuman and degrading form of transport thet rightly 8nd justifiay shoul be banned. The ony remaining option n navigating te narrow lanes of Kolkata may be the ‘ena: walking {wenyfour years ag0 found myself ona cycle rickshaw in aang, Indonesia. The sive Iter couple of minutes, old hi stop. couldn't stomach watching another human being tol so hard to move me and Some carton supplies. | pad him handsomely end walted sway on my ow logs, earings ‘my suppbes on my shoulder No human should undergo such Patan ot Rope he gest Strength break te cee ot human expotaton Winy should it be the lst tie or ekshaws? The ‘overnment of Kolkata should ook ino subaling at weight igh-gesting pedal ‘kahaws That way the Fekahaw walahs gel 1 keep and improve thor etnoe, land the aeady congested frets of Kolkata wl not be burdened with yt more postion ont 2008: Ut eye the lkahaw The woru mar on pepe 0, The photo on page 750 Hore today. Where tomorrow? FORTIS: eting you teYour SHOT Just a Minute Ae you ready fr your close-up? Every week the Your Shot ‘ators compile @ new selection of eader submited images ina themed vdeo wth tmuscal accompaniment called the My Shot Minute. Look under the Video tab on Tigmcom to see your photogragh made the fal cut. Get guidelines, submission form, fd more Information st ngm com/yourshet So Just east of Guymon, Okianoma, last year, storm chaser Thad Bowling caught this huge ious after a four hour pursuit “This cal id not spawn = tornado he sys. "What you se Inthe center is a dense rain shat” The photo wes voted an nmcom eudence favorit -Pocr people trom nearby vilagas Get on butters nbetwoen combat Wanid Anan 28, ewyer turned photographer who sow tose women {reveling the hard way onthe route to Nazir Hat “These kinds of ders try tone thom outAv the Beart ofthe nage Stunning photography is just a step away. ex) ED Tole he net step ot ww nikon-t-different.comBHoTO JOURNAL | micuaet nucnes has 's pstars beauty ons fr Lr. mica! oa malian who lated Botmen otha deaths wit er 3708 Longon bom ptoroyaser Fitting Memento Picture a co November aay #t the Latte ctf onthe Rhine near Koblenz, Germany| was on ‘assignment for @ Finnish newspaper, ut the light was tebe fiat end grey. A postcard Fd bought for my saughtr looked mach batter than the Grab ecenery balote ma. pull It ut of my pocket hd reatzod | was standin in exact the spot whore its mage fad boon made (above). held the posta In my let hand, and my Camerainmy ight A millimeter up of down, or Fight, no out, tmade 8 iference in how pertecty realty and memento algned Ted a entire rl of fim gating th one scena just ght. The Germans say wie das Meke ener Maus-tko miking& mou ‘Of course souvenirs can be staggering avi Tacky. Mundane ‘And they love mucho hele charm once they're collecting dust ‘ha shelf Bu everyone collects souvene, whethor they ca ther that or not. They evidence that wove taken part inthe geet dance of ie-Been places, seen things. Theyre connections tween us and someting grander and more eteral than we ae. fd they belong to us. Touts sheeting Blurry mable-phone- ‘arera snapshots ofthe “Mons Liss" of Nagara Fall want 9 were ther, not ave er to hang on ther wal rast becomes kindof souveni machine My photography has come to havea sort of sporting aspect. Cen in jst te right souvene? Can | the precise location fo frame #1 hops to ae to Eaypt soon. That shouldbe fabulousngm com Your: Scala) Cee ene Ce ee eee eet Se ee een Neng fedora DevasWisions OF EARTHHisTORYFoop Pedigreed Pizza 222 Napootans. The wo, connolseurs ay haw 28 mich in Common as a premier ev Bordeaux wth he pon na seew-topug Soon podgrecd Neapottn pia win the pantheon of European Uion-certes edocs he Spensh Serrano nam and Elan tue Stiton chee. Waring takes nge to read the EU space tor Neapotan pez han to bake oe oboe the mpimaur of Gusrantod Taditonel Specialy pat mt nt stay over 98 canteen area nor he cut ec to contimeters in thicknos,Ingrodints must incude type 0 flu and vp to 100 grams of tomatoes (preteraby Marzans) applied ina salng ton. Te word "Daz et Sepeoredn an 2087 manuserpt rom Gass southern Han own Asem tr, in ¥907 separatist tants northern Haly ted to Boyeatpeen-te eon of tht ‘Southam nemesis Neapoitane responded othe sect Lat hm et penta vetoing to the commest-based mush dea tothe wear, but tlogedy culinary impor tea orth Wonly Rapes ha pater pz, ood wir Burton Anderson abacres “woud be smong l/s weaver cls steed of one ois pores” Cay HewsOoNSERVATION Fer aumetr nian) eee perce (cut) Golden Fleece Fseuiousy expensive and butory sot swectors may help save the vita Miions ofthe lama Kin once pore in the Andes, warmed by fly coat ee! for igh tudes. She nce cipped the ws! for royal garments, but fer the Spanish Conquest ous wor illo for 0s only few ‘ourand evrived As counties protected their herds and ine tattonal laws banned va products the animal Dogan o rebound In The rest sa boon for Per vioutas-thoy now number about 150000 up frm 62000 n 181~and or vilagers who sel wool fem animals they/veguarced and sheared ut soma wi vcuiag are bring fenced, Feeding and inbreeding ae concen: poaching Is on the rise Putting outa on the runway hae ts costs, A. WamsBANDSCAPES Dead-End Road teingst0 the Andes: a winding dt path about ton feet wide and 22 mies ong, descending Fw guardrail, Lote of lanes. Wa: come to whet some call the words Bolivas Nor Yunaas Road was once the ‘only way trom La Paz to Coroico, Devers ‘odcoss Pachamame, chewed eoca eaves to sty alert. But prayers wont unanswered: ‘rors dot edges whore hundreds have perished. The worst accident: the 1883, {rash ofa prosuce wuck caring scores ‘ot peopl. Most ce. “My Lora says La Paz native Diego Balan. egret even taking ‘pee, ati have nightmares” ‘Since 2006 2 new roaa nes otere sate vith eel ding thi yor Saye biking company ouner Alta Mattnw: “People Imore] ear” —Jvomy BelWicoviFe How Bees Wing It oon to tho boos but iney mn concued n 1934, so one sory goes. C'est feu, ofcourse: ioiogit Mena Dickinson and colleogue bees dont have I e43)-thor small wingto-body-sz ratio means they must work herder to {iy than other neees- net Unortdox flapping method lets ther hover, ht wind, evade ‘rodator and get it even when loaded up with nectar or pollen. Jenni Holand ‘GENERATION Upto 200 bat ~ (ano asove) ‘Twein wines To ost ray you ~_ 2 ¢ ¢ @ 2 Sy a on Preoerton or the lng eprvous pocace The ele Etchwardatote. woke wn, then epee i CnENVIRONMENT ‘Sea gas ound word. Red and orange aa ae white-which once mas har aes moe commen, The Shard Way siamo on peste ses oass-tne brant bs of old bots scoured by sad and at waler-ts getting lnteas Ingycfcu to fin. "We're atthe end ofthe sea glass window noes Mary Both Bouko,presideat ofthe Noth American Se Glass ‘Associaton “Tere loss las packaping now and more recycing “is tumbled eo tiny if most not worth picking up (Of couse started out ae something nt worth Keoping. Ts tossed of ships or washed ftom dumps must spond yearn the water to Become good sea glass. Weve chur, shore terain, water {cay and composition of the gle io a playa part in eeating| ‘he smoothed sherds characterise mate texture. Bau, who nds sa glass al over the word ors those tips for tolow beacheomber: Search a ow ae and itera storm Rocky ‘shores ae otter than sandy. And lave cleat Jagged pies where thoy la, she saye."Theyre not ished yet” -Mangaret@ Zachomte Sona ntSOUL OF IRANSe eed Dee no er a sho came from the far ends a the largest empire of the age to et ee ee en ee a oe ee ei ha eee eee eee re eed en een eeBY MARGUERITE DEL GIUDICE PHOTOGRAPHS BY NEWSHA TAVAKOLIAN Har’s $0 stRIKING about the ruinsof Persepolisin southern fran, an ancient capital ofthe Persian Empire that wasburned downafter bing conquered by Alexander the Great, the absence of violent imagery ‘on whats left of ts stone walls. Among the carvings thee are sors, but they're not fighting; there are weapons, but they're not drawn. Mainly you see emblems suggesting that something humane went on here instead — people of different nations gathering peace fully, bearing gifts, draping their hands amiably ‘on one anthers shoulders. In an era noted for itsbarbarity, Persepolis itscems, was relatively ‘cosmopolitan place—and for many Iranians today i ruins are a breathtaking reminder of who their Persian ancestors were and what they di “The recorded history of the country itself spans some 2,500 years, culminating in today’s Islamic Republic of Ian, formed in 1979 ater 4 revolution inspired in part by conservative Clerics cast out the Western-backed shab. Is “nguably the works ist modern constitutional theocracy and a grand experiment: Cana coun- try be run effectively by holy men imposing an extreme version of Islam on a people soaked in such arch Persian past? Persia was a conquering empire but also regarded in some ways as one ofthe more gloi- ‘ous and benevolent civilizations of antiquity, ‘and I wondered how strongly people might stil “Marguerite Del Gude wrote about Tela in the ‘March sue. News Taaolan, an Iranian photographer, document wien the Md Bas. 42 NATIONAL orognarmic - Auausr 2008 identity withthe par oftheir history tha’ ils- trated in those surviving friezes. So I set out to explore what “Pes meansto Iranians who tthe time of my two vss ast eae were being shunned by the international community, their culture demonized in Western cinema and theirleaders ‘ast, in an escalating war of words with Wash: ington, DC. as menacing would-be terrorists ‘out o build the bomb. You cant really separate out Iranian identity asone thing or another broadly speaking, its part Persian, part Islamic, and part Wester, and the paradoxes all exist together, But there isa Persian identity that has noting to do with Islam, ‘which atthe same time has blended with the culture of Islam (as evidenced by the Muslim call to prayer that booms from loudspeakers situated around Persepolis, ue to visitors that they ate not only ina Persian kingdom but also {nan Islamic republic). This would be a story about those Iranians who sil, at least in part ‘identify with their Persian roots. Perhaps some millennial spillover runs through the makeup ‘of what is nov one of the world’ ticking hot spots, Are vestiges ofthe lfe-loving Persian ‘ature (wine love, poetry, song) woven int the fabric of abstinence, prayer and fatalism oftenSchoolgirls in the city of Desful col ther fot on a sweltering summer day Physical reminders of ran’ long history abound, such asthe foundations ofthe bridge in the distance, built 0 span the Dez River inthe third century s.0. associated with Islam —lik reer a secret computer n running quill in the background? Iran’ capital city of Tehran is an exciting, pollution-choked metropolis atthe foot of the Elbure Mountains, Many of the buildings are made of tiny beige bricks and girded with metal rlngs, giving the impression of small compounds coming one aftr the ther, pune tuated by halted construction projects and parks. There ae still some beautifal gardens here, a Persian inheritance, nd private ones, with fruit tees and fountains, shponds and {vires lurishing inside the brick walls While washer, two Iranian-born American academics, home fora visit, had been locked up, accused of fomenting a velvet revolution against the government, Eventually they were released But back in the United States, people would atk, wast I afraid tobe in Iran?—the ‘assumption being that [ must have been in danger of geting locked up myself ‘But | was a guest in Iran, and in Iran a guest Is accorded the highest stats, the sweetest piece of fruit, the most comfortable place to sit. ts part ofa complex system of ritual politeness faarof—that governs the subtext of life here. Hospitality, couctin, family affairs, politcal negotiations; tarof isthe unwritten code for how people should treat eachother. The word hasan Arabic rot, arafé, meaning to know or acquire knowledge of. But the idea oftaarot to base oneself while exalting the other person— is Persian in origi, said William O. Beeman, ‘linguistic anthropologist atthe University of Minnesota, He described it as fighting forthe lower hand’ but in an exquisitely elegant way, making it posible, ina hierarchical soley like Trans, "Yor people to paradoxically del with cach other as equals Wherever I went, people fussed over me and made sure that ll my needs were met. But