Hi there!

As you probably know this is the second time Bayan opens it's programming competition to international coders. 2 years ago I participated myself and ended up taking 3rd place. This time around I'll be your blogger.

In this first post I want to give you some useful tips and links to know more about Iran and, if you won trip to Iran, what would you need to know.

Iran is a country with very rich history. Through the ages it participated in Greco-Persian wars, accepted Islam, was under Shah rule and now known as Islamic Republic of Iran since revolution in 1979.

Tehran, capital of Iran, is modern city, but with a lot of historic places throughout the city, like palaces of last Iranian Shahs, which is now museum complex or Grand Bazaar, both of which contestants visited 2 years ago.

As for food, get ready for some tasteful Iranian cuisine. I'd especially recommend lamb kebab.

Now, if you want to use your usual websites like Facebook while in Iran I'd recommend to take care of VPN service in advance. There are many options around Internet.

Finally if you want to stay online while on the go in Tehran I'd recommend visit this page about SIM-cards and data plans in Iran (refer to comment section).