It was a response to the country's growing divorce rate, which hit an all-time high of 50% in 2006 - indeed, 66% of marriages in Vienna end in divorce.

BBC: Opening the doors on divorce

It is certainly a thriving institution: in the six months to last October, the number of temporary marriages rose by 122%, partly, suggested Iran's notaries' office, because of the rising cost of full-blown weddings, partly because the country's divorce rate had increased by 32%.

ECONOMIST: And the roots of discontent