Tehran residents flee north to Iran's quiet 'Riviera'

"It seems as though people barely realise that there's a war happening," said an Iranian woman in her thirties, who decamped there from the capital.

"Or they are not paying much attention to it," added the woman, who agreed to be interviewed by AFP on condition of anonymity.

She was speaking from Babolsar, one of the towns on the Caspian Sea coast known as Iran's "Riviera" due to its beaches and more laid-back atmosphere than the big cities.

"The region has not been targeted by missile attacks, except for a single one in Behshahr," a small town in Mazandaran province, the woman explained.

Located around 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of the capital beyond the Alborz mountains, the Caspian coast is a popular destination for Tehran residents, who flock there in normal times for weekends and holidays.

It has cooler weather than Tehran in the stifling summer months, as well as looser enforcement of religious rules on alcohol and extra-marital relationships, contributing to its appeal and hedonistic reputation.

The world of wealthy Tehranis vacationing on the Caspian coast was the subject of the acclaimed 2009 film "About Elly" from Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi.
Prices
Since the start of the war, residents of the battered capital have fled the daily air strikes in all directions, often counting on the solidarity of family members or friends.

For the young woman in Babolsar, the fuel supply is the biggest challenge.

"You cannot take more than 10 litres and the queues at petrol stations are endless," she explained.

Along the coast, a resident of Tonekabon, another town, told AFP that he had noticed a "significant" rise in prices.

Still, "everything is available in large quantities, and supermarkets are open the same as before", Ali, 49, added.

He said that the atmosphere was almost normal during the day, but it "changes in the evening".

As reported by AFP from other locations around the country, "supporters of the Islamic republic (government) come down into the streets, flag in hand, shouting 'Allahu Akbar'," or God is greatest, Ali explained.

One of the main beneficiaries of the new wartime economy appears to be shops selling VPNs and internet packages that allow people to bypass the country's heavy communication restrictions, which have become even stricter since the war began.

"Most fast-food shops in Babolsar have switched to this line of work," the woman there told AFP. "On the surface, they sell sandwiches, but these days their main business is selling VPNs and internet access at exorbitant prices."