{"id":6543,"date":"2016-07-02T11:31:17","date_gmt":"2016-07-02T11:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/?p=6543"},"modified":"2026-10-04T13:29:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T13:29:13","slug":"anthony-bourdain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/anthony-bourdain\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Bourdain in Iran: Looking Back at Parts Unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Archive note:<\/strong> Anthony Bourdain visited Iran for a 2014 episode of CNN\u2019s <em>Parts Unknown<\/em>. The episode followed him through Tehran and Isfahan and focused on food, daily life and the contrast between geopolitical perceptions of Iran and his encounters with people on the ground.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain.jpg\" alt=\"Anthony Bourdain during his Parts Unknown visit to Iran\" class=\"wp-image-61932\" title=\"Anthony Bourdain in Iran\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain-780x585.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain-627x470.jpg 627w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Anthony-Bourdain-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anthony Bourdain during the Iran episode of <em>Parts Unknown<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-flat ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/anthony-bourdain\/#anthony-bourdains-2014-journey-through-iran\" >Anthony Bourdain\u2019s 2014 journey through Iran<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/anthony-bourdain\/#tehran-isfahan-and-iranian-food\" >Tehran, Isfahan and Iranian food<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"#\" data-href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/anthony-bourdain\/#watch-and-read-the-original-coverage\" >Watch and read the original coverage<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"anthony-bourdains-2014-journey-through-iran\"><\/span>Anthony Bourdain\u2019s 2014 journey through Iran<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bourdain had tried for several years to film in Iran before the trip finally took place. The episode included scenes in Tehran and Isfahan, visits to historic places and meals that gave food an important role in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In CNN\u2019s transcript of the episode, Bourdain described being surprised by the warmth he experienced from strangers. He also made clear that the Iran he encountered in everyday life was more complicated than the picture he had formed from international news and politics.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"552\" title=\"Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown in Iran\" src=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1.jpg\" alt=\"Anthony Bourdain filming Parts Unknown in Iran\" class=\"wp-image-6546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1.jpg 980w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-780x439.jpg 780w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-768x433.jpg 768w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-390x220.jpg 390w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-705x397.jpg 705w, https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/anthony-bourdain-parts-unknown-iran1-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"tehran-isfahan-and-iranian-food\"><\/span>Tehran, Isfahan and Iranian food<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The program moved between Tehran and <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/isfahan-travel-guide\/\">Isfahan<\/a>. In Isfahan, Bourdain explored local food, Imam Square and Khaju Bridge, while the wider episode used conversations with residents to examine everyday life beyond political headlines.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The episode is best read today as a record of one journey in 2014. Political conditions and practical travel information can change, so Bourdain\u2019s observations should not be treated as current travel advice. For present-day planning, use SURFIRAN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/iran-travel-guide\/\">Iran travel guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"watch-and-read-the-original-coverage\"><\/span>Watch and read the original coverage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/transcripts.cnn.com\/show\/abpu\/date\/2014-11-09\/segment\/01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CNN\u2019s transcript of the Iran episode<\/a> provides a primary record of Bourdain\u2019s narration and conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Anthony Bourdain: Iran not what I expected (Parts Unknown)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ysYGCtGYGdc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A look back at Anthony Bourdain\u2019s 2014 Parts Unknown journey through Tehran and Isfahan, with context from CNN\u2019s original coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,306,308],"tags":[16076,15868],"class_list":["post-6543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tourism-iran","category-culture","category-destinations","tag-anthony-bourdain","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6543\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/surfiran.com\/mag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}