--- product_id: 1563516 title: "Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan" price: "₱2777" currency: PHP in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.ph/products/1563516-drinking-arak-off-an-ayatollahs-beard-a-journey-through-inside store_origin: PH region: Philippines --- # Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan **Price:** ₱2777 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan - **How much does it cost?** ₱2777 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ph](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/1563516-drinking-arak-off-an-ayatollahs-beard-a-journey-through-inside) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan [Jubber, Nicholas] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan Review: A fun and engaging read - I can't emphasize enough how much I love this travelogue. The author travels to Iran, Afghanistan and several other central Asian countries, but he mainly stays in Iran hosted by a local family in Tehran. Nicholas Jubber's talent in recounting true events during his stay in Iran is obvious throughout the book. It gives you an insight into the lives of regular Iranians (upper middle-class families), and it is just fun to read and savor every bit of the information you gain. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Review: Irreverent title, reverent subject treatment. - Written by Nicholas Jubber and subtitled A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan this work follows the author on his travels through these two nations (with a quick detour to a couple of other `stans) this work is centred on his explorations of the cultures of these nations via the link of the 11th century poem/epic entitled Shahnameh (Book of Kings). The book is mainly centred on the authors time in Iran where he spent most of his time living with a local family in Tehran who, seemingly, are upper middle class types and certainly educated. He travels to other parts of the country as with Tehran as his base and much of the book involves tales of his observations and interactions and adventures with this family. Now admittedly if this book was set in the UK, New Zealand or the US I wouldn't give a tinkers cuss about their daily life, but given the book is set in Iran it is interesting. As the author works his way around the country and thence into the `stans for a brief foray in and finally to Afghanistan he is able to impart an on the ground tale of the situation in these nations at the time of his writing. It's not terribly given to creating a mood of optimism it has to be said but at least the authors lack of any rose coloured glasses means his highs are more genuine. And without spoiling it there is definitely a bevy of high points contained herein. Beyond his interactions with locals and his travels to what are, admittedly, pretty exotic locales, the main crux of this work is the aforementioned Shahnameh - a work within which we are led to believe contains not only a great history but also many stirring tales and, indeed, much of the philosophy of Persian culture in the way the stories are told. Seemingly combining the Histories of Herodotus, the Iliad of Homer and the works of Plato et al. It is certainly now on my `to do' list. Having said that, the author himself inadvertently advertises the main weakness of using this poetic work as the tie that binds his work and that is the simple fact that few Westerners `dig' poetry these days, Western culture long having moved on in terms of popular entertainment. And therein lies the rub - banging on about an ancient epic which is constantly referred to as a poem isn't exactly a great hand hold to throw your readership. It just doesn't connect quite enough, and that's coming from someone who has read his fair share of `classics' of the ancients. But all that aside I stand firmly behind my four stars for this book. Firstly there is the whiff of the exotic, secondly there is the not inconsiderable educational factor of this book and it's all wrapped up in a pretty non-judgemental idiom that remains firmly rooted in the human. Certainly not your average piece of travel literature and that is perhaps one of the things it has going for it the most. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #2,248,711 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #69 in Afghanistan Travel Guides #370 in General Middle East Travel Guides #884 in Iran History | | Customer Reviews | 3.7 out of 5 stars 24 Reviews | ## Images ![Drinking Arak Off an Ayatollah's Beard: A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71P3vTDSqSL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fun and engaging read *by K***T on June 27, 2023* I can't emphasize enough how much I love this travelogue. The author travels to Iran, Afghanistan and several other central Asian countries, but he mainly stays in Iran hosted by a local family in Tehran. Nicholas Jubber's talent in recounting true events during his stay in Iran is obvious throughout the book. It gives you an insight into the lives of regular Iranians (upper middle-class families), and it is just fun to read and savor every bit of the information you gain. I thoroughly enjoyed it. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Irreverent title, reverent subject treatment. *by P***E on February 19, 2011* Written by Nicholas Jubber and subtitled A Journey Through the Inside-Out Worlds of Iran and Afghanistan this work follows the author on his travels through these two nations (with a quick detour to a couple of other `stans) this work is centred on his explorations of the cultures of these nations via the link of the 11th century poem/epic entitled Shahnameh (Book of Kings). The book is mainly centred on the authors time in Iran where he spent most of his time living with a local family in Tehran who, seemingly, are upper middle class types and certainly educated. He travels to other parts of the country as with Tehran as his base and much of the book involves tales of his observations and interactions and adventures with this family. Now admittedly if this book was set in the UK, New Zealand or the US I wouldn't give a tinkers cuss about their daily life, but given the book is set in Iran it is interesting. As the author works his way around the country and thence into the `stans for a brief foray in and finally to Afghanistan he is able to impart an on the ground tale of the situation in these nations at the time of his writing. It's not terribly given to creating a mood of optimism it has to be said but at least the authors lack of any rose coloured glasses means his highs are more genuine. And without spoiling it there is definitely a bevy of high points contained herein. Beyond his interactions with locals and his travels to what are, admittedly, pretty exotic locales, the main crux of this work is the aforementioned Shahnameh - a work within which we are led to believe contains not only a great history but also many stirring tales and, indeed, much of the philosophy of Persian culture in the way the stories are told. Seemingly combining the Histories of Herodotus, the Iliad of Homer and the works of Plato et al. It is certainly now on my `to do' list. Having said that, the author himself inadvertently advertises the main weakness of using this poetic work as the tie that binds his work and that is the simple fact that few Westerners `dig' poetry these days, Western culture long having moved on in terms of popular entertainment. And therein lies the rub - banging on about an ancient epic which is constantly referred to as a poem isn't exactly a great hand hold to throw your readership. It just doesn't connect quite enough, and that's coming from someone who has read his fair share of `classics' of the ancients. But all that aside I stand firmly behind my four stars for this book. Firstly there is the whiff of the exotic, secondly there is the not inconsiderable educational factor of this book and it's all wrapped up in a pretty non-judgemental idiom that remains firmly rooted in the human. Certainly not your average piece of travel literature and that is perhaps one of the things it has going for it the most. ### ⭐⭐ Not what I expected *by C***L on July 6, 2015* This is sort of a travelogue in Iran and Afghanistan which sounded great and I appreciate that the author dove into the culture but I was bored with the infusion of Shahnameh (Book of Kings) throughout the book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ph/products/1563516-drinking-arak-off-an-ayatollahs-beard-a-journey-through-inside](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/1563516-drinking-arak-off-an-ayatollahs-beard-a-journey-through-inside) --- *Product available on Desertcart Philippines* *Store origin: PH* *Last updated: 2026-04-23*