See the Travel Ban Through Our Eyes: Women from Libya, Syria, Yemen, and More Speak Out

“We love going back, but it’s become too unpredictable and unsettled,” says Marjan Malakpour. But, she says, don’t assume there aren’t tourists in Tehran. “There are so many Germans and Italians. Shiraz, which is just outside of Tehran, is like the Paris of the Middle East. It has the most beautiful palaces. There’s just so much tension for Americans.”

So while Iran may be forbidden, for now, at least, the Malakpour sisters rely on their memories of freshly baked barbari bread and the sounds of children laughing, sledding down the streets of Tehran on their way to school after a snowstorm. Sometimes they’ll catch a whiff of saffron and are immediately transported back to their aunt’s house, having lunch in the garden. They also tell stories, especially of the summers they spent vacationing at the Caspian Sea.

“Tehran, which is where we lived, has four beautiful seasons. Leaves change, snow falls, Persian New Year is the first day of spring, and then summer is very hot, which is why Iranians head north, to the Caspian Sea,” says Marjan, who has especially vivid memories of driving north with her family. “There’s this road you take, up through the mountains, that’s just amazing,” she says. “There are all these little creeks and rivers and restaurants that sit right on top of them with these wooden beds where you can just lay around and have tea or lunch with stews and salads and big dishes of radishes and herbs. It’s just incredible.” —Lauren DeCarlo

Sisters Maryam and Marjan Malakpour are founders of LA-based shoe brand Newbark. In 1977, on the eve of the Iranian Revolution, their family left their home of Tehran and settled in Los Angeles. They didn’t return for 36 years and now, due to the travel ban, Iran is off-limits once again. (Read the full story here