Saturday, January 05, 2008

Persepolis: Iran According to a (former) Iranian

An autobiography of Marjane Satrapi, whom I call a liberal Iranian woman (now lives in Paris), in a graphical black and white novel.

In fact, I was introduced to this book first in 2004 when I visited Karim, my best friend, in Beirut. He strongly recommended it. But I did not bother to buy them until it was recently adapted to an animated movie early last year (directed by Marjane herself and Vincent Parronaud). It immediately received a huge success in France, critically acclaimed and awared le prix de jury at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival last year. Now, it is on its way trying its luck at this year's Oscar.

I personally found the book interesting (Dita gave it to me as my birthday present). Whilst reading it, my mind drifted back to the years 2003-2005 during which I traveled quite frequently between Dubai and different parts of Iran for my recruiting job. I visited the universities and colleges in different towns and met a lot of Iranians. Although I never really lived in there, but my regular visits in the past allowed me to learn about their rich cultures, the people, the history and a little bit of politics. When I read Persepolis, it felt like I was having a deja vue. I feel like someone else has already told me a similar tale about Iran before. Yes,everything is similar to what I saw and heard back then. The black veils, the 'guardians', the satellite dish story, the underground party and so forth. In fact, I now have a few good friends from Iran.

During my visit, I always felt sorry for the people out there and for the current social and economical situations there. Persia used to be an extremely rich and well respected country. People lived in a good standard of living. They are rich of natural resources, including oil, but the classic question is "where has the money gone?" The gap between the rich and the pool is extremely huge! (You will find the rich Iranians investing in The Palm Dubai or living in LA. They even have a Persian tv channel over there! Many migrated to Canada or Scandinavia.)

Wandering around Iran, you feel like you are in the 60's. The infrastructure, the vehicles... how they look obsolete. Old local manufactured cars dominate the polutted streets. But you can still see old models of Peugeot or Citroen quite often. Many Japanese, Korean and French products benefit from the US embargo policy.

First impression about the people: they are very welcoming, although within the two-year time span I had a few bad impressions with some of them (I don't blame them for being too prejudice though). As I said, I have now some nice and warm-hearted Iranian friends. Once they know you well, they will respect the relationships.

Now, back to the book. In fact, Persepolis has nothing to do with its content. The setting was mainly in Tehran (and Vienna). Persepolis is the ancient name of Shiraz (historically famous for the wine) which I have visited once. Incredible Romanian ruins and some tombs of the Persian kings. Amongst the Iranian cities, I like Esfahan most. Very rich of cultures with some picturesque bridges.

The book is extremely entertaining with a lot of irony about the suppressed life in Iran. Marjane, an art graduate, has a unique way of storytelling through the black and white graphics. I then learned how comics can be the most effective way to convey a biography, particularly that of someone unheard of before, like Marjane). The only thing I do not agree is the way she depicts God in the book (I think she's way too liberal on this).

After finishing the book, we watched the dvd only last week. Like many books that were brought into big screens, most are disapppointing. Persepolis is unexceptional. Even though I admire the unique animation (the graphics are better than those in the book), 85 minutes seem a bit too short to convey every single thing from the book. As a result, you will find several parts have intentionally been omitted. Those who never read the book before perhaps will find it rather confusing.

Nevertheless, Persepolis is a breakthrough for animation movies, autobiographies and the people of Iran, although I personally doubt the movie itself will ever openly be out at cinemas in Iran. Apparently, Marjane seems more optimistic. She cited in one of the interviews that the people in Iran will find a way to watch her movie, even if it means to get it through a black market (as usual... like all banned Western music or movies).

Un chapeau pour Marjane Satrapi (a heavy smoker with a mole on her nose)! Bonne chance a Oscar!

You can find two inspiring interviews with Marjane here and here.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Marrakech (Part 3): Riad Zara... A Review

***As posted at tripadvisor.com, Jan 2, 2008***

“Riad Zara: Feels Like Home!”

'Excellent' may be an overrate. But 'home' is perhaps the proper word to describe Riad Zara. The moment we stepped into this maison d'hotes (guest house), we quickly felt like home with a very warm and sincere welcome extended by Monique, the owner. If anyone is looking for a customer service 'guru' in the hotelier industry, she should be the one to turn to. We have stayed in many different hotels, B&B or guest houses before. Never had we received such a homey service like that from Monique and her little team.

My wife was ill on the first two days in Marrakech. If it was not for Monique, we could not have imagined what would happen. She was willingly called a doctor and drove us to a hospital with her own car. She even stayed with us and explained to the doctor, until we were clear to go. She asked her son, Corentin (who was also very nice), to go to the pharmacy for us. She took care of my wife with a special soup and tea. She enjoyed playing and singing with my 2.5-yo daughter too.

On the Christmas eve, we sat for a Christmas dinner together with Monique’s family (her children paid her a visit from France) and otherguests. They even prepared some gifts for us! When you are away from home for Christmas, this is the least you could expect. But Monique made us feel like home.

Monique patiently explained to us the Medina map (whose maze-like alleys are quite confusing for the first timers), places to visit and some tips & tricks to bargain at the souks. Her details would complement the information you may get from a travel book or internet. She would also take her time to help other guests arrange a day trip out of town or even arrange a massage service at the riad itself.

They served nice local bread at breakfast with a variety of jams. If you decide to have lunch and dinner in there, they are quite flexible too. Their couscous and tagine are very competitive compared to the restaurants around Jemaa-el-Fna Square.

Obviously, there are many riads all over Medina you can opt for. But if you are looking for a cosy one, 15-minute walk from the Square and a lot of personal touch, I strongly recommend Riad Zara. However, there is one thing your should be aware of. Upon arrival at the airport, a lady was holding a Riad Zara board (exactly the same name!) which we immediately thought it was ‘our’ Riad Zara (FYI, Monique’s Riad Zara always clearly writes the guest names on the board for the airport pickup). After exchanging names etc, they took us to ‘their’ Riad Zara (inside the Medina too). They did not have any sign whatsoever outside the house. But then we realized it was a different one! We immediately walked to Monique’s Riad Zara. Although it was nobody’s fault, you should be aware of this! You should look for this one.

Marakech is not an "easy-to-access" city. Not like Paris, London or Barcelona, where you might find it easy to find anything you need on your own. As a tourist, you definitely need a local experience for a little guide, which you may get from the owner of the riad. However, when selecting a riad, beware that there are some riads in the Medina that are only managed by local staffs, i.e. the owner does not live there, hence you only deal with the staffs on day-to-day needs (you can consider yourself lucky if they speak a little bit of English or French... and for sure they speak Arabic).
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This TripAdvisor Member:
Liked — Superb customer service attitude and homey
Disliked — N/A
Date of Stay: December 22-26, 2007
Traveled with: Family with young children
Visit was for: Quality time with family
Would I recommend this hotel to my best friend? Absolutely!
I recommend this hotel for: Young singles, An amazing honeymoon, A romantic getaway, Girlfriend getaway, Older travelers, Families with young children, Families with teenagers, Tourists
I do not recommend this hotel for: Great pool scene, Pet owners
I selected this hotel as a top choice for: Museums / Cultural / Historical sites, Other.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Au Revoir, Fumeurs

As of today, Jan 1, 2008, smoking is officially banned from public spaces all over France, including cafes, restaurants, bars etc. What good news for non-smokers!

Me, as a fanatic non-smoker, I can only jump up and down joy (sorry, smokers!). I can't agree more with the law. Non-smokers, including our kids, have every right too to inhale nice fresh air in public spaces without being polluted by the cigarettes.

Well, at least now when we go to a restaurant, we should not waste our time answering "smoking or no smoking" question. Nor should we worry of sitting in a non-smoking zone, yet still smelling the smoke. Nor should we worry of cigarette smell all over our hair, face, clothes or jackets upon leaving a cafe. Nor should we get mad at a smoker sitting and smoking ignorantly next to your little kids. Nor should we get our eyes red due to the smoke in a bar. Alleluya!

But until then, we should see how this law imposition goes....

Time Bridge (Happy New Year)

The first dawn
The first sunshine
Once again, we passed the time bridge
For as long as we live



Never look back
For it's a long way to go
Through thick and thin
We made no mistakes
Only lessons to be learned

A brand new year is here
Waiting to bring the best out in us
Be grateful for this opportunity
To give and take
And to grow in maturity

Welcome to another time bridge....

(Novel, Paris - Jan 1, 2008)