Iranian Climber Elnaz Rekabi Is Welcomed by Crowds in Tehran
DUBAI, UNITED ARABIA – Iran’s second woman to climb the highest peak in the world, Oetah Tikta, was greeted on her arrival at the airport in Tehran by tens of thousands of people. After her climbing trip, Rekabi is pictured being welcomed by the crowd at Tehran airport.
As Rekabi arrived Thursday morning, she was not only greeted during her five-hour climb by the crowd below, but by the media, too. In an interview with Iran, she said she was very worried before the climb, but hoped it would be different.
“I was very nervous and scared before the climb, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t have the safety of my teammates,” she said in the interview. “I did not have time to prepare. Before I set out, I prayed to God, hoping that he would provide us with the most difficult parts of the climb.”
She said she was worried about her safety on the descent. “I kept thinking about what could go wrong or what I could do wrong, and I constantly held my mind back. I was so worried about falling, and for a good part of the climb that I couldn’t eat or sleep. My team had to carry me.”
As she continued her climb, she said she felt proud of her accomplishment. She noted that “I was proud of myself, and I was also proud of the country which has invited me to climb Oetah Tikta for the first time.”
“Iranians are very kind, very caring people, and I appreciate the people’s affection for me. But a country’s culture does change you. It is not impossible for the average person to change culturally,” she added. “It was the second time I climbed a 5,000-meter peak and first time I climbed a world-renowned peak. At the first time, I was worried about my safety. I had an experience with a