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Couchsurfing in Iran: Revealing a Hidden World

Iran: A destination that is seldom seen by westerners yet often misunderstood. A country that simultaneously ‘œenchants and enrages” those who visit it. A place where leading a double life has become the norm.In Couchsurfing in Iran, award-winning author Stephan Orth spends sixty-two days on the road in this mysterious Islamic republic to provide a revealing, behind-the-scenes look at life in one of the world’™s most closed societies. Through the unsurpassed hospitality of twenty-two hosts, he skips the guidebooks and tourist attractions and travels from Persian carpet to bed to cot, covering more than 8,400 kilometers to recount ‘œthis world’™s hidden doings.” Experiencing daily what he calls the ‘œtwo Irans” that coexist side by side?the ‘œtheocracy, where people mourn their martyrs” in mausoleums, and the ‘œhide-and-seek-ocracy, where people hold secret parties and seek worldly thrills instead of spiritual bliss”?he learns that Iranians have become experts in navigating around their country’™s strict laws.Though couchsurfing is officially prohibited in Iran?the state fears spies would be able to travel undetected through the country?more than a hundred thousand Iranians are registered with online couchsurfing portals. And thanks to these hospitable, English-speaking strangers, Orth gets up close and personal with locals, peering behind closed doors and blank windows to uncover the inner workings of a country where public show and private reality are strikingly opposed.

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