Leisure time ? Just like the other parts of the world except Alcohol, Dancing and Nightclubs. Some people go to cycling, some people go to other sports, some people spend it with their families, some go to travels, some go to cinemas, ...
BUT ! There are many people who have no leisure time :( Some people work in 2 jobs (one in morning, one in afternoon) to earn enough money for their family.
12. What are normal work hours? Are most stores open on weekends? What days might they be closed?
In Iran the official holiday is Friday and the Saturday is first day of the week and Sunday is the NORMAL second day of the week. So many people work from 8am-5pm from SAT to WED. In some companies/jobs Thursday is a half-day-job (8am-2pm) and in some places it is an holiday. Fridays are weekends and holidays.
And the shops ! lovely. They are open all time except Friday mornings. Iran is full of shops / bazars and it is very common to go shopping for cloths, food, home equipments, ... at 18pm. We recently bought our DVD player at 1pm Friday (official holiday). The bazar/some shops might be closed at some religiously holiday (say Prophets birthday) and some national holidays (say New years (first of the spring) first days).Cool question ! I liked it :)
13. What are the important holidays? Are there special observances of these holidays?
We have 3 kind of them. 1) religious holidays, 2) National holidays (say nationalization of the oil) 3)Cultural holidays (say new years celebrations). Keep in mind that Iran is one of countries with the most holidays (we have 26 official holidays during each years! :D ). For sure some of these holidays has their own observances, have a look at Norous (new day) in Wikipedia and Battle of Karbala (war between prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali and a military detachment from the forces of Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph) as two greatest and most special ceremonies.
14. Where and how do people get married? What is the average marriage age? Is it acceptable not to get married? What is the attitude toward divorce?
This need a complete course of sociology of the family ! but I will do my best. And remember that I am in Tehran, Iran is very big country and we have many many different cultures. I am talking about myself. I have met with Leila (my wife) in the university (we both studied Electronics / Communication Engineering). We met each other in university. Was just friends for one year, loved each other for other one year, engaged for one year and now we are living for three years.
I think the average in Tehran should be around 25 for girls and 27 for boys. IT IS MY GUESS so worthless !
Acceptable ? Difficult questions. My colleague is 32 and she is not married and lives alone and nobody bothers to ask WHY. but for sure it is not always this easy. Specially older people will ask you WHY and SO WHAT and ... and might try to find husband / wife for you. But I think we will see more and more single people.
When I was younger, divorce was bad but accepted in Islam. Nowadays we see more and more divorced people who are not ashamed of it. For sure, divorce is still considered bad in the general society but it not anymore a sin or anything (Islam have accepted the divorce from the beginning).
15. What is the national language of the country? Are other languages spoken?
Unfortunately national language is FARSI and every official thing and every education HAS TO BE in Farsi. We have many other languages: Turkish, Kurdish, Lori, Arabic and ... I myself can speak Turkish because my grand mother was a Turk but I can not read / write Turkish because IT IS ILLEGAL TO TEACH IT IN THE SCHOOLS. This of this: you are a Turk/Kurd child and Turkish/Kurdish is the only languages you speak and you are 7 and have to go to school but the only language in school is FARSI. shame ! You can hear this language from the rural radios or in the musics from the national radio but you can not learn it in your school.
16. What is the principal religion(s) of the country? What are the basic beliefs or doctrines of these religions?
It is Islam/Shia(Twelvers) and you are free to be a Muslim, Jew, christian or Zoroastrian but nothing else. Shi'a Islam (Twelvers) believes
- Tawhīd: God is one
- Adalah: God is just(as in Justice)
- Nubuwwah: Muhammad is the Prophet
- Imamah: There were 12 leaders(Imams) after the prophet who were also just and knew everything
- Qiyâmah: There will be a judgment day
