r/iran • u/_flac Safavi Dynasty • Jun 12 '15

Greetings /r/Italy, today we are hosting /r/Italy for a cultural exchange! [12-13 June]

Welcome Italian friends to the exchange!

Today we are hosting our friends from /r/Italy. Please come and join us and answer their questions about Iran and the Iranian way of life! Please leave top comments for /r/Italy users coming over with a question or comment and please refrain from trolling, rudeness and personal attacks etc. Moderation outside of the rules may take place as to not spoil this friendly exchange. The reddiquette applies and will be moderated in this thread. /r/Italy is also having us over as guests! Stop by here to ask questions.

Enjoy!

The moderators of /r/Italy & /r/Iran

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u/italianjob17 Italia Jun 12 '15

Hello persian friends and thanks for this wonderful exchange idea!

My questions:

  • Can you suggest some good recent persian movies? I've seen Persepolis, the Persian Cats and Offside.

  • Apart from pistachios, what is a typical snack of your country?

  • It's Saturday evening, what do you do to spend the evening with your friends?

  • Your typical/ most common holiday destinations?

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u/Lucifer_L Narnian Aslan Dynasty Jun 13 '15

what is a typical snack of your country?

You would love fresh white mulberries picked right off the tree, considering you hail from a country that's capable of growing them. You might have to do research though before you decide if it's feasible. Finally, if you can't get it in Italy, you might want to put it on your itinerary if you plan on visiting Iran during the harvest season.

To be honest the Iranian government really needs to set up a tourist circuit where they can take foreigners to the different sights and also allow them to dine on the various foods..

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u/italianjob17 Italia Jun 13 '15

white mulberries

WOW, never had those! On the other side I had plenty of black mulberry which are actually white when not ripened.

I ate them fresh, as jam or as puree mixed with grated ice when in Sicily (granita di gelsi) they are delicious!

Is the white version flavour similar to the black one or is it a completely different flavour?

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u/Lucifer_L Narnian Aslan Dynasty Jun 13 '15

Hard for me to explain with words.. if I remember correctly it's definitely lighter, sugary sweet with a very distinct fruity sort of tone to it. But it's well worth it - if I know this right, the Iranians brought it over way back when and adopted it from China, to which the species is native.

I don't want to sound like I'm blowing the horn, but I think the white ones are really different in flavor and much finer tasting - though the black ones obviously have their own uses.

Fresh white mulberries as a snack and as an ingredient idea for different recipes? Very different.

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u/[deleted] Jun 13 '15 edited Oct 30 '15

[deleted]

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u/italianjob17 Italia Jun 13 '15

thanks, great answers!

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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '15

If you're looking for drama, I highly suggest A Separation. I think this is the first Iranian movie you should see if you're interested. If you like this one watch an older movie by the same director, About Elly.

Abbas Kiarostami is the biggest name in Iranian arthouse cinema. His most famous movie set in Iran is Close-Up. If you like this then check out his older movie, Where Is The Friend's Home.

Makhmalbaf is another big name. Check out A Moment of Innocence.

Edit: I just noticed you said recent. The first two recommendations are pretty recent, but the others are 20+ years old. I still recommend them though!

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u/italianjob17 Italia Jun 14 '15

Thanks, now off to finding them all!