I was married to an Iranian and we owned a shop with Iranian handicrafts in Munich. For this reason we had connections with traders in the bazaar in Isfahan and I visited the country several times between 1980 and 1989. We also did lots of family visits, but I never lived there.

I really love Iran and its people. Those years of war had been a hard time and I remember ration coupons, nightly blackouts and losses in every family. But this is slowly fading away and what remains is so much love and the strong will of the people supporting each other.



A bakery in Yaft Abad, then a village southwest of Tehran. November 9, 1982. Above: A madrasa in Isfahan during Ramadan. Women are usually barred from this place, but the doorman said he was making an exception because all the students were asleep. And so I got to catch a glimpse on this forbidden place. Photographs: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Wild horses in a natural preserve accessible by boat. Near Bandar-e Anzali, a harbour town on the Caspian Sea near Rasht. August 15, 1980. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Imamzadeh Davoud near the Alborz mountains in Tehran, Iran. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Tajrish bazaar, north Tehran, November 17, 1982. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

An Alam in Yaft Abad. ‘Alams were originally battle standards, designed to be carried like flags into the fight, but in 17th century Iran they were used in great religious processions, and rallied not warriors, but the faithful.’ November 9, 1982. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Marching off to war, and returning from war (below), are candid shots I made out of a car in Isfahan. I wasn’t sure I was allowed to take photos like this, those showing war and death nakedly, without propaganda, shahids (martyrs), and whatever. But I felt the urge to capture it. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Returning from war. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Returning from the war. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Tajrish mosque, November 17, 1982. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Ladies football is a message from Iranian women to the west: ‘Yes, we’re wearing hijab, we are religious and we say yes to the Islamic revolution. But we aren’t opressed at all, we’re enjoying life, we’re having fun and we’re playing football! So, what?’ Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Playground in Rasht. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

undefined

Book market in Qom. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

A street in the village of Yaftabad. My husband’s family had a summer house there with a huge garden and ‘trees of all kind of fruit that grow on earth.’ It was a beautiful place. Today it has been swallowed by the city of Tehran, and the garden doesn’t exist anymore.. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

We ran into ‘the last dervish’ in the yard of the Shah Abdol Azim Shrine in Rey. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Masuleh , a township in west Gilan. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

On a street in Masuleh, western Gilan. March 26, 1989. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

A street in Masuleh then, and as more recently depicted on the Islamic republic’s Spanish TV network. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

Power down in Yaft Abad. The family garden had an artificial irrigation system built by a German engineer in the 19th century. During the Iran-Iraq war there were many days without electricity and water. We had to wash our dishes in the residual pool water. November 10, 1982. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink

The photographer in Qom with her two children and a friend. Photograph: Casey Hugelfink Photograph: Casey Hugelfink