Rene Lynch
is a senior editor for Orange County, including food trends, politics — and whatever else the news gods have in store.
Published March 23, 2024 5:00 AM
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve back in Spring 2023: Blooms everywhere.
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George Rose
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Getty Images North America
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Topline:
LAist has put together a guide to the best places to view wildflowers this spring, and what you need to do when you get there. Yes, there is an etiquette to wildflower hunting, mainly: Do not pick flowers, do not walk on flowers, do not lie down in a field of flowers for selfies. Just don’t.
Why now: Wildflower season is juuuuust starting to hit its stride here in Southern California. Whether it’s a field blanketed with California poppies, or yellow carpeting a hillside, or a desert lily snaking its way alongside a sandy hiking trail, we’re here for it. Are you?
What's next: Consider your schedule. Some of the best wildflower viewing in Southern California most likely involves a drive, so you need to start planning now to get out there. (There are only so many weekend days, after all.) But we have some options for viewing closer to L.A. as well.
Why it matters: Blink, and wildflower season will be over in L.A., all those breathtaking flowers husking up, a life cycle in motion.
Wildflower season is juuuuust starting to hit its stride here in Southern California. Whether it’s a field blanketed with California poppies, or yellow blooms carpeting a hillside, or a desert lily snaking its way alongside a sandy hiking trail, we’re here for it.
Are you?
Blink, and wildflower season will be over in L.A., all those breathtaking flowers husking up, a life cycle in motion.
So LAist has put together this guide to the best places to view wildflowers this spring, and what you need to do when you get there. (Yes, there is an etiquette to wildflower hunting, mainly: Do not pick flowers, do not walk on flowers, do not lie down in a field of flowers for selfies. Just don’t.)
This wildflower season is potentially shaping to be up to be distinctive for plenty of beautiful blooms, combined with a relative lack of wildflower diversity, said ecologist Sarah Kimball, an associate professor in residence and director at the Center for Environmental Biology at University of California, Irvine. That's because we're coming off two wet winters in a row, which is unusual, she said, and those conditions can favor heartier flowers and plants elbowing out some of the more delicate species.
As for whether it’s going to be a super bloom year, get ready to hear lots of debate and discussion on that front. "'Super bloom' is not a scientific term," said Kimball said with a laugh. "But there will be a lot of flowers, so I guess you can say that's super."
Where to start?
First up, consider your schedule. Some of the best wildflower viewing in Southern California most likely involves a drive, so you need to start planning now to get out there. (There are only so many weekend days, after all.) We have some options for hunting wildflowers closer to L.A. as well.
Head to Antelope Valley
The simplest path to wildflowers is a trip to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve when the poppies hit full bloom. There will be crowds and traffic on the weekend, so go on a weekday if possible. But you are guaranteed a look at the California state flower. There is a live cam to help you time your tripfor the best blooms. The park is located about 90 minutes from DTLA. Open daily from sunrise to sunset. There is a $10 parking fee, no dogs allowed.
A ‘super bloom’ of wild poppies blanket the hills of Walker Canyon on March 22, 2019 near Lake Elsinore, California.
The Theodore Payne Foundation, dedicated to raising awareness about native plants, has a wildflower hotline, updated each Friday about the best locations for viewing spring wildflowers in Southern and Central California: (818) 768-1802, Ext 7. (Bonus: You might recognize the voice. That’s Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Spano, of NCIS, Hill Street Blues fame.) Anza Borrego also has a Wildflower Hotline: (760) 767-4684.
Social media, newsletters
Find a park you’re most likely to visit, and then start stalking it. Chino Hills State Park is active on social media, offering the latest wildflower updates on the park. The Anza Borrego Foundation has a newsletter to keep you posted on blooms in the desert state park. There’s also a Desert Wildflowers & Wildlife Facebook group to join.
Parish's gold poppies near Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in San Diego County.
Ok, so you made it to the land of wildflowers. Let's tread lightly, as these are is fragile natural habitats. Here are some tips for making the most of your adventure.
Look, but don’t touch
Can’t believe this one needs to be said, but it does: Do not pick the wildflowers. It’s tempting, we admit. But, for one thing, poppies are so delicate they wilt almost immediately after plucking. For another, those flowers hold the seeds that we need for the next year’s wildflowers. Plus, bees rely on these plants for pollinating. Just don’t pick the wildflowers! If a trip to see the wildflowers makes you want more, the Theodore Payne Foundation has everything you could possibly want to create your own superbloom.
As in, the actual trails. Not the trails some knuckleheads made trampling through the wildflowers. (People doing just that congributed to Lake Elsinore shutting down access to its wildflower areas back in 2019.) Let’s all agree to preserve the natural beauty around us and just stick to the trails, even if you don’t see a sign telling you so. And, please, no lying in the fields for selfies.
Watch out for rattlesnakes
This is not just a scare tactic to keep you on the trails. “Rattlers are common in wildflower fields throughout the valley, and people running into fields for a picture among the poppies encounter rattlesnakes every year,” according to the Antelope Valley reserve website, which adds: “Numerous burrows around the trails may shelter mice, gophers, kangaroo rats, beetles, scorpions, or others.”
People walk on a trail in an area with new vegetation and wildflowers on March 14, 2019 in Malibu, California.
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Mario Tama
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No going rogue
Enter parks and protected areas only through designated gates and roads. Each year there are reports of people going offroad in bid to get the best vantage point on the wildflowers, to avoid paying for parking, to jump the line of traffic, and so on. Don’t be that person. Sure, the lines might feel like Disneyland when it gets busy, but just look out the window and enjoy it all. Enter the parks and protected areas only through the entrance gate and designated areas.
Share your photos
Nearly every park we mentioned here urges you to share your photos and flower finds to help out the next wildflower hunter. The Anza Borrego Foundation also urges you to upload your wildflower photos to their map to help out the next wildflower hunter. DesertUSA asks that you submit photos to their site as well, including the date, location, and photo credit info. The iNaturalist.org app is a must have for many who like to share their finds.
Tips for making the most of your trip
Traveling to see wildflowers can be a bit of a haul. Planning ahead can make it more of an adventure, and something to remember. Plus, you want to avoid any pitfalls. Here's how:
Check the weather
SoCal weather can be unpredictable. Temps can soar unexpectedly. Winds can pick up. So check the local weather for your destination, and plan accordingly. For example: Expect highs between 80-86 and lows in the 50s in Anza-Borrego at this time of year.
Wildflowers photographed in 2023 in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in San Diego
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Jill Replogle
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Gas, gas, gas
Wildflower hunting takes us out into the wilderness. Possibly, far from fuel. So fill up before you go and top off the tank along the way. (See next item for why that is an especially good idea.)
Answering nature’s call
While you’re at the gas station, make a pit stop for everyone in the car. You have no idea where your next rest stop will be — or whether it will be a nasty portable toilet.
Watch for driving hazards
The Antelope Valley Reserve website warns that driving on the main route, Lancaster Road, can get hairy: “Please be patient and watch for the unexpected!” But the same goes for every other park, too. Watch for drivers slamming on the brakes to take a photo, car doors swinging open, people dashing across the road to see the wildflowers, and so on.
Consider bringing a picnic
Many parks have picnic areas, so check before you go. Lunching while gazing out at the wildflowers would be a meal to remember. But remember, to clean up after yourself and "leave no trace." Want to level up? If you see some litter, pick it up. The land will thank you.
Purple sand verbena blooms in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in December 2022.
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Courtesy of Sicco Rood
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Wear comfortable shoes
Many parks have trails so you can get away from it all (including other people), so wear comfortable shoes so you can explore a bit. The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve has eight miles of rolling trails, and a paved section for wheelchair access.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Bring water, and drink it. Make sure others in your party are doing the same. “The reserve is a cleverly-disguised desert and you don't feel how rapidly you lose water into the dry air. As the weather gets warmer, dehydration can suck the energy out of you quickly,” according to the parks websites.
Carry cash, credit cards
Many parks are free. But parking might not be. Parking at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is $10 a vehicle, and the website notes that exact change is appreciated. Other parks may offer kiosks for credit card payments, but they can break down. (Ask us how we know.)
Leave the dogs at home
Many parks will not allow dogs. And many parks do not offer much shade. So even if you manage to sneak your pet past a park ranger, you shouldn’t leave it in a hot car. Leave dogs at home.
Did we miss a tip? A park? Or a great wildflower resource? Let us know and we may include it.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published April 1, 2026 12:00 PM
Tennis courts featured in an April Fools' Day social media post by Irvine.
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City of Irvine / Instagram
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Topline:
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today — from the city of Irvine going "pickle-ball" only, to the Huntington Botanical Gardens announcing it'll be bottling the scent of the famed corpse flower as a perfume.
Why now: Before you go "what the what" — remember today's the first day of April.
Read on ... to find a roundup of some of the April Fools' jokes from your city and local trusted institutions.
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today. Before you go "what the what" — remember, it's the first day of April.
Here's a roundup of some of the April Fools' news dump items.
Irvine, the 'pickleball-only' city
Irvine announced that it'll be converting all tennis courts into pickleball courts by 2027. That's one notch for Team Pickleball in the ongoing turf war between tennis lovers and pickleball players over the fight for court space to engage in their beloved sport.
"Starting today, April 1, all tennis courts are being converted to pickleball courts as part of a citywide effort to make Irvine a pickleball-only City by 2027," the post stated. "We don’t just think this is a good idea … we dink it’s a great one."
Over in Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson announced the city's reigning royalty, the Queen Mary, will be renamed after another queen.
"After careful consideration, I am proud to announce that the Queen Mary will officially be renamed the RMS Queen Latifah," he said. "Long Beach is stepping into a new era as a major music destination — with a new amphitheater, a deep cultural legacy, and a future built on sound. It’s only right that our most iconic Queen reflects that energy."
In real-real news, LBC native and everyone's favorite Olympics commenter Snoop Dogg is headlining the grand opening show of the Long Beach Amphitheater in June. That's the new waterfront venue near the RMS Queen Latifah.
Suspense writer James Patterson has more than 200 novels to his name, selling more than 450 million copies. If anyone deserves his own namesake branch, it would be Patterson, no?
The Los Angeles Public Library certainly dinks so, announcing today the James Patterson Canoga Park branch, "with wall to wall Patterson books and programming centered around this prolific author."
The opening of the corpse flower has become an annual event at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The event brings legions hoping to get a whiff of the famed flower's "pungent aroma."
The San Marino institution announced that it's bottling the scent, as part of its new "The Huntington's Stank Collection."
"A musky gym sock note opens this unique fragrance, with a sweet, rotten-egg base to ground it. Smells like you – but smellier," the post explained.
Payton Seda
is an associate producer for AirTalk and FilmWeek, hosted by Larry Mantle.
Published April 1, 2026 11:30 AM
We curated some great spots to thrift throughout the region.
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Becca McHaffie
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Topline:
Southern California is home to a vast array of vintage boutiques, thrift stores, and resale shops. Here are the hottest recommendations from our most avid thrifters.
Palm Springs is a apparently a thrifting hot spot. This thrift chain has locations throughout the Coachella Valley.
Read more... for lots of other secondhand spots.
Los Angeles may not be the fashion capital of the world, but it could contend for best thrift, at least in our humble opinion!
The key is knowing where to look.
Here are some of the best thrift and resale stores in different parts of Southern California according to our listeners and (very stylish) LAist colleagues.
The pinnacle of Pasadena and open every third Sunday of the month, the flea market houses 400 vendors with goods ranging from antique furniture to unique second-hand clothing.
If you’re looking for more affordable clothing and household items, Delaine Ureño, LAist senior institutional giving officer, frequents Hotbox Vintage in South Pasadena.
This thrift shop in San Pedro is owned and operated by the Peninsula Chapter of National Charity League and comes recommended by Mel in the South Bay, who says proceeds support local charities and scholarship funds.
This thrift store rec near Elysian Park comes from Lulu in Glendale, who says shoppers can grab a cute pair of pants along with unique furniture to put them in.
Anything on Long Beach’s aptly named Retro Row is worth hitting, according to AirTalk producer Manny Valladares. His favorite spot is Far Outfit. They have unique finds mostly from the early 2000s with a self-described “weird” factor.
With several locations throughout Orange County, including Costa Mesa and Aliso Viejo, LAist reporter Yusra Farzan recommends Laura’s House, noting they have a great curated collection and proceeds help domestic violence victims.
Old Towne Orange is home to many great thrift stores and antique malls. If you’re looking for some good streetwear and sports jerseys, Timeless Vintage is a good choice. They have a great selection of 90s Looney Tunes and Disney graphic tees as well.
Another O.C. favorite is a fairly new addition to downtown Fullerton. Retropolis has a wide selection of apparel, but I like to go there for their chunky 80s sweaters and colorful jackets.
“[Eco Thrift] has really good discount days on top of already affordable clothing,” said Dañiel Martinez, LAist’s Weekend Edition producer. “Tons of good vintage and designer finds hidden in the racks.”
“I went to Palm Springs where they have some of the best thrifting,” said AirTalk listener Monica in Artesia. She bought a pair of Ferragamo shoes for just $8.
Kevin Tidmarsh, LAist’s All Things Considered producer, specifically recommends Revivals, a thrift chain with locations throughout the Coachella Valley.
611 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
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The storefront at Echo Park Eats, which rents ghost kitchens to 40 restaurants.
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Jarrett Carpenter
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Crosstown
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Topline:
Some of Los Angeles’s most iconic eateries — Papa Cristo’s in Pico-Union, Guerrilla Tacos in Downtown and French eatery TAIX in Echo Park — have closed their doors, prompting hand-wringing about the decline of the city’s rich and diverse food scene. But those closures obscured a more notable achievement; 758 new restaurants opened last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2024, when 729 restaurants opened.
Self service and delivery apps: The explosion of digital-order services has rewritten the business model for restaurants, which are now operating with less space, reduced staff and tighter margins. Many of the new eateries do much of their business from behind a screen — either through self-service tablets or off delivery apps such as DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.
Ghost kitchens: Ghost kitchens, or private kitchens used exclusively for delivery and takeout, have become a business model of their own. At Beverly Bites, 56 restaurants operate out of one facility serving the densely populated Beverly Hills and Beverlywood neighborhoods, though not all of them are open simultaneously. At Echo Park Eats, 40 restaurants are now within a five minute walk of Dodger Stadium.
Some of Los Angeles’s most iconic eateries — Papa Cristo’s in Pico-Union, Guerrilla Tacos in Downtown and French eatery TAIX in Echo Park — have closed their doors, prompting hand-wringing about the decline of the city’s rich and diverse food scene.
But those closures obscured a more notable achievement; 758 new restaurants opened last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2024, when 729 restaurants opened.
The split-screen view of dining in Los Angeles is part of a broader transformation that is reshaping the industry nationwide.
The explosion of digital-order services has rewritten the business model for restaurants, which are now operating with less space, reduced staff and tighter margins. Many of the new eateries do much of their business from behind a screen—either through self-service tablets or off delivery apps such as DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.
So-called “limited-service” restaurants now account for nearly a third of all newly opened establishments. The number of traditional, or full-service, restaurants has also been growing, hitting 539 openings in 2025, and a record-high 587 the year before. If you count the number of coffee, smoothie and snack joints, the numbers rise even further.
Pizza to go
Many of Los Angeles’s restaurateurs are adapting to this burgeoning business model. Last year, Liz Gutierrez turned her pop-up restaurant, Fiorelli Pizza, into a small brick-and-mortar location in Beverly Grove with just a couple of stools at a counter for seating. As she saw restaurants closing their doors, the advantages of the new business model quickly dawned on her.
“This was something that could be operated with minimum labor, it could be way more manageable in terms of fixed costs and expenses, and we could still deliver restaurant-quality [food],” Gutierrez said.
The bevy of new food establishments opening their doors is a lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic picture: The total number of new businesses opening in the city is nearly half what it was a decade ago. That is driven in part by some of the same forces, such as Amazon.com, Inc. and other online retailers that put pressure on businesses operating out of traditional storefronts.
But the flourishing restaurant industry has been able to buck that trend so far. While Amazon can deliver clothes and even groceries, it still can’t deliver a fresh pizza or poké bowl.
The QR code will take your order
Linchi Kwok, a hospitality management researcher at Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, said a lack of interest in working in the hospitality industry, paired with rising labor costs, has pushed restaurant owners to find cost-effective workarounds to run their operations with fewer people.
“Limited-service restaurants don’t have to hire many people to do the work. It saves labor costs, saves space, and saves the service turn-around time. They don’t have to worry about it,” Kwok said.
Restaurants must share a portion of their already slim profit margins—usually between 2-4% in L.A.—with an app service and the driver. To offset that, restaurants have cut down on staff, letting go of waiters, hostesses and dishwashers, many of whom are no longer needed when orders are increasingly being delivered in disposable containers.
Despite the record number of openings, running a restaurant in the city has not gotten any easier. Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the California Restaurant Association, noted that in 2024 taxable restaurant revenue hit $11 billion, which, when adjusted for inflation, is on par with 2012 levels.
“The piece of the pie that each restaurant gets is slimmer.”
Condie also said that the hollowing out of entertainment work, increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and stricter regulations “are conspiring against the L.A. restaurant scene.”
Condie said that regulations from city hall, such as stricter labor oversight and a proposal for a $30 minimum wage for some workers, are making it even tougher.
“The business environment is bad generally in L.A., but the city council and the mayor seem to be throwing salt in the wound.”
As the number of new restaurant openings has spiked, so have the number of closings reported to the city. However, business closure figures are not as reliable as business opening data, as some establishments close without reporting it to the city. Since 2021, 593 full- and limited-service restaurants have reported closing, compared with 3,148 openings.
Jimmy Chu spent several years working in fine dining, which inspired him to start his own restaurant. He knew it would be expensive. Rather than opening another fine-dining establishment, he opted for a limited-service restaurant where customers could order at the counter, no waiters involved.
Chu quit his job by the end of 2024, and in May 2025, he opened Bomb Hot Dog in Downtown Los Angeles. He estimates that his eatery gets roughly a third of its customers through mobile delivery orders.
Ghost kitchens
Ghost kitchens, or private kitchens used exclusively for delivery and takeout, have become a business model of their own. At Beverly Bites, 56 restaurants operate out of one facility serving the densely populated Beverly Hills and Beverlywood neighborhoods, though not all of them are open simultaneously. At Echo Park Eats, 40 restaurants are now within a five minute walk of Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers schedule was hung on the wall inside the facility, so owners can anticipate heavy foot traffic and delivery orders during home games.
Last December, Ali Elreda rented out a space for his Mediterranean-Mexican fusion restaurant, Fatima’s Grill, at Echo Park Eats.
Elreda operates four brick-and-mortar Fatima’s Grill locations, and this is his first time renting a ghost kitchen. He said the decision to start a delivery and takeout location was both a matter of savings and efficiency.
“A lot of people are going the ghost-kitchen route because it’s quicker, it’s faster,” Elreda said. “You avoid a lot of overhead and foot traffic and having to find staff these days with the expensive economy out there is kind of tough.”
With ghost kitchen facilities, business owners also no longer have to compete with each other to find prime real estate in Los Angeles.
“You don’t have to do that research where you’ve got to find the right location. It’s just right there waiting for you,” Elreda said.
How we did it: We examined more than 15 years of business license data reported to the Los Angeles Office of Finance. Have questions about our data or want to ask us something? Write to use at askus@xtown.la Hyperlocal News
It's been more than one month since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran. The war has widened bitter ideological divides among Iranians in and outside the country over whether the conflict has been justified.
Lost opportunities: The commonality among most Iranians NPR spoke with is that they feel they have lost opportunities — to make a living, to voice their opinions, simply to live — under the current government, which they say must go. One man said, "Iran's security forces … took everything from us. They only give pain." However, another man said "There is no such thing as hardship in Iran. Everyone lives freely, woman or man."
Some remain hopeful: Nearly all the Iranians traveling in Turkey who spoke to NPR said they are hopeful about Iran. They have immediate plans to return to their country and stressed that they are not leaving it. Bout as one Iranian university students said, "The war should never have started. But now that it has, the U.S. and Israel should finish it," meaning toppling Iran's regime.
VAN, Turkey — It has been more than one month since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran. The U.S. says it has hit more than 10,000 targets. But U.S.- and Norway-based human rights groups estimate that at least hundreds of Iranian civilians have also been killed.
The war has also widened bitter ideological divides among Iranians in and outside the country over whether the conflict has been justified.
"There is difficulty [with the bombing], but we are not that weak," says one Iranian woman from Tehran, traveling to Turkey for a short break, given that her work has stopped due to the U.S. and Israeli bombing of the capital city. "In the past few years, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] has proved to us that we cannot trust them. But we were in war with Israel in the summer [during the 12-day war], and we saw how precise their targeting was, so we trust them."
"We are going to build a nuclear bomb now, because there's no fatwa against it anymore," interjects an Iranian man, overhearing her remarks, referring to a rumored religious ban on nuclear weapons issued by Iran's former supreme leader, whom Israel assassinated with U.S. help at the beginning of the war in late February.
Like all the Iranians in this story, the two people asked to remain anonymous. They have received texts from the Iranian government and have seen signs coming out of Iran warning them not to speak to foreign media on pain of arrest.
A microcosm of divergent opinions
Just across the border with Iran, in eastern Turkey, the Turkish city of Van is just as full as during prewar times, with thousands of Iranian workers, consulate employees, students and tourists, who are traveling despite the war in their home country. Van has also become a microcosm of the full range of divergent opinions that Iranians have about the war.
"There is no such thing as hardship in Iran," says one Iranian man, who crossed into Turkey for his job last week. "Everyone lives freely, woman or man."
Next to him, a second Iranian man looks at him, wide-eyed and shaking.
"In two days, the government killed 40,000 people," the man says, referring to a government crackdown in January on protesters. A U.S.-based human rights group has confirmed over 7,000 deaths, but many Iranians believe the death toll is far higher.
NPR has not been able to travel and report inside Iran, so it has been interviewing Iranians traveling through border areas, including in eastern Turkey.
The dozens of Iranians NPR has interviewed transiting through Van may not be representative of all Iranians in the country. Many Iranians in Van are those wealthy enough to travel. But there are also poorer Iranians working, often under the table, in Turkey. A few Iranians I met and interviewed say they are heading off to study abroad.
The commonality among most Iranians NPR spoke with is that they feel they have lost opportunities — to make a living, to voice their opinions, simply to live — under the current government, which they say must go.
"Our pain is something you have to feel for yourself [to understand]," says one Iranian man who has been working in Turkey for the last year. He spent the previous seven years in prison, he says, after being accused of being an anti-Islamic heretic. "Iran's security forces … took everything from us. They only give pain. They are pain incarnate," he says, so much so, he is willing to lose all he has, even his family in Iran, for his government to be wiped out.
"The war should never have started," says one Iranian university student. "But now that it has, the U.S. and Israel should finish it," she says, meaning toppling Iran's regime.
"Met with bullets"
Some Iranians who support the war against their own country say their perspectives are indelibly shaped by that government crackdown in early January. This year's killings of demonstrators finally made them realize, they say, that decades of popular resistance would never change their government.
"Three of my own friends were killed" in the crackdown, says one Iranian man. He crossed into Turkey last week to earn money, more than he could make in Iran. "My friends were all young. I knew them all my life. Yet the government killed them so easily."
"Every two years, there is a big protest," he says. Research from Stanford University published this year found thousands of instances of dissent over the last decade and a half, averaging to one protest every three days inside Iran.
But this time, his hometown, in Iran's western Kermanshah province, was brutally punished by government paramilitary groups for people in his town participating in January's protests.
"It is as if my town has been burned down. Nothing is left of it," he says. "I see no future for my children in Iran." His only hope now, he says, is a foreign intervention. "Our only hope is Trump. Our only hope is that Trump and Bibi [Israel's prime minister] make the right moves."
"We are scared of the bombing," an Iranian woman says. "But we are happy thinking that there might be a light at the end of this darkness. When our young people went out and protested this January, they were met with bullets. With slaughter. With executions."
Nearly all the Iranians traveling in Turkey who spoke to NPR said they are hopeful about Iran. They have immediate plans to return to their country and stressed that they are not leaving it. Migration data from the United Nations shows fewer Iranians are leaving Iran for Turkey than before the war.
"We are not fleeing," says one young Tehran resident. Even though she almost lost an eye in the anti-government demonstrations this winter, she says she is going back to Tehran in a few days. "We are determined to rebuild our country, and if the government changes, I will work, for free if needed."
Copyright 2026 NPR
