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Blue Mosque, Iran, 1999

A tranquil reflecting pool mirrors a blue-tiled mosque in Iran. An Islamic republic since the country's autocratic monarchy was overthrown in 1978, Iran is ruled by a supreme religious leadership that controls most aspects of Iranian society. But a youthful populace—70 percent of Iranians are under 30—with increasing access to Western media is beginning to push against its boundaries.

(Text adapted from and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Iran: Testing the Waters of Reform," July 1999, National Geographic magazine)

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Photograph by Alexandra Avakian