>>1866251“The asshole took down my plates,” he says. “He reported me to the taxi agency, and they called me in, confiscated my taxi for two months, and they made me pay a fine of 4m rials [£93, $140]. Just for standing up for our honour. It’s our right! And instead of thanking me for doing that, they fined me!”
Dozens of five-star hotels, luxury timeshares, and hostels line Imam Reza Street from Bargh Square all the way down to the Imam Reza shrine. Many of the managers of these establishments confirm that a common question from Iraqi visitors is where to find sex workers.
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Iranian law expressly forbids an unmarried man and woman from entering a hotel room together, but people find ways. A young man, Alireza, is a kind of arranger for Iraqis looking to hire sex workers. Many hoteliers and shop-owners give Alireza’s number to inquiring Iraqis.
“It’s not just the Iraqis who are into it, man!” Alireza says. “Sex is a can’t-miss item on any good trip’s itinerary. The only thing is, because it’s illegal here, we have to get...creative.”
Alireza says he knows a few sex workers in Mashhad and that he’s happy to facilitate an encounter when Iraqis call upon him. But how does he secure a safe location?
“No problem,” he said. “The women have their own apartments around [middle- and working class districts of] Qasem Abad and Moallem Boulevard. The exchanges are made there.”
Alireza explains that the average price for a night with one of the women he works with is between two and three million rials [£46.50- £69.75, $70.50-$105.75]. “Some of the wealthier customers will hire a woman for the week. For instance, they might take a girl on a trip to Shiraz or something, or maybe up north to the Caspian Sea, Isfahan, places like that. For a week the girls charge between 20 and 30 million rials.”
