Why travel to Iran? Well, Iran is definitely not how the world perceives it to be. I know this, because I recently travelled here for three weeks, against the concerns of friends and family.
Everyone asked me the same question, ‘why would I ever want to go to Iran’.
Why travel to Iran? Well, Iran is definitely not how the world perceives it to be. I know this, because I recently travelled here for three weeks, against the concerns of friends and family.
Everyone asked me the same question, ‘why would I ever want to go to Iran’.
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The media doesn’t paint a positive picture of this country, as the dominating headlines are of war, terrorism, and restrictions.
So, why travel to Iran?
I’ve always been a traveller who likes to visit a place for myself to gain first-hand knowledge of what it’s really like.
My visit to Iran gave me a deep understanding of Iranian culture, the warm and friendly people, who are just the same as you and me.
My trip certainly proved to me, that what we see in the media is far from the real truth.
I want to share with you, some of my favourite things from this friendly country. If you’re wondering why travel to Iran is something you should do or not, read this post to help you decide.
I hope that it displays a positive image of this misunderstood country and gives you at least 8 reasons why you should travel to Iran.
Why Travel to Iran? Here are 8 Things I loved the most
Table of Contents
1. Iranian people
Iranians are easily some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. Previous to my travels to Iran, I’d often heard they’d treat guests like old friends. Honestly, I began to see the warm hospitality immediately upon arriving.
The locals want to take care of you, feed you and show you off proudly to their friends.
We stayed with some lovely hosts that we contacted through Couchsurfing, and they made us feel like important guests the whole time. Our hosts spoke good English, so we could communicate with each other easily which made it more enjoyable.
Many websites and media are banned by the Iranian government, so people are very curious to gain more knowledge about your culture, which made for many interesting topics to chat about.
2. Dance parties in the home
Iranians don’t have nightclubs or bars to go and dance at, which is something that maybe we take for granted in Western countries, but that doesn’t stop them! They love to dance and express themselves, so they organise dance parties in their homes.
We were invited to several different apartments of young couples for what I thought would just be dinner with a few quiet cups of tea. Far from it! Shortly after arriving and enjoying many sweets and fruits offered by our hosts, the lights were dimmed, the dance floor (middle of the living room) would be cleared and the music channel would be turned up, loud!
Pop music from Iran and Turkey was played, as well as many catchy Arabic songs. We were beckoned to the middle of a huge living room to join in and dance the night away.
3. The Sights and Landscapes
‘’Why travel to Iran?’’ The most common question from people when they heard of my intention to travel to Iran. I was curious to learn more about Iranian culture and explore its cuisine, but I also looked forward to the sights. I imagined it to be different to the destinations I’d already travelled and I craved this.
So much of Iran was beautiful, and it was so much more than just mosques. I watched as the landscape changed from the cities to deserts to the incredibly green lush countryside in the North. Iran was visually, much more than I expected.
The sights and landscapes you will see are very good reasons why travel to Iran is a good option, especially if you love history.
4. Sweets in exchange for small change
After a few days in Iran, you see that they have an issue with money and small change. They simply don’t have enough small notes and coins. When you make a purchase in the shops and they don’t have enough change to return to you, they pay you back in sweets or chocolate.
Many times I purchased bottled water for 9,000 rials, gave the cashier a 10,000 rial note and he would give me a little chocolate bar as change. The bars always came in useful on long bus or taxi rides when a little hit of sugar was needed.
5. The Food – My #1 favourite reason for why travel to Iran
This is a definite reason why travel to Iran is worth it. The food is fantastic! So, what is Iranian food? It’s so much more than just rice and kebabs, I can tell you that much. I’d heard that the food in Iran was good, but I didn’t expect it to be amazing.
The best meals we ate were cooked in the homes of our new hosts and friends. Typical Iranian food is a combination of rice with meat and onion, garlic, vegetables, nuts and herbs. Iranians cook with spices such as saffron, cinnamon and fresh green herbs to name a few.
There are many villages to explore in Iran, and getting ‘off the beaten track’ was part of our favourite days. Masouleh was a small rooftop village located in Western Iran, close to the Caspian Sea. We spend a few nights here after some local Iranians encouraged us to see this old traditional village.
We really enjoyed everything about Masouleh, and you can read more about it here. We also spent an afternoon in Abyaneh, an ancient village which is also known as the ‘red village’ with its crumbling red-brick houses.
Men wear a traditional felt hat and a pair of loose cotton trousers with unique shoes. All women of Abyaneh cover their hair with the same type of scarf with a floral design.
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Every meal is always accompanied by fresh Iranian flatbread. Bread is commonly available at all times of the day, baked fresh from hundreds of small bakeries dotted around cities, villages and home-style tandoor ovens.
There are many different kinds of bread, and they are all equally delicious and match perfectly with Iranian cuisine.
8. The Colours
The colours were magnificent in Iran. Colours in the desert would change dramatically from beige to dark red.
The sky was the most incredible blue of the day, creating the ideal canvas for me to capture photographs of the turquoise-tiled minarets.
I loved watching the sunset here, the most intense pink colour I’ve ever seen would illuminate the sky.
Travel to Iran with a group tour company, a private tour or travel around the country independently, as we did. Either way, this is a country that is sure to pleasantly surprise you!
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hi, Im from IRAN, Shiraz city, i liked the comments and ur blog, i like to offer our Guesthouse in Shiraz, and also tour package, if its ok you can publish it in tour page, i’ll be happy to answer your questions….
I LOVED Iran and agree with you on all of these points! I had so many wonderful encounters with Iranians. My only regret is that I was not able to take them up on their invitations for dinners at home, as I was on a tour (I’m American) and so we had quite a tight schedule. I hope to one day go back when I can travel independently and more slowly.
Thanks for your comment, Mary. We’re so glad you had such a wonderful time in Iran too. Yes, we’d love to return again in the future – the Iranians are such hospitable people.
Iran is my favourite place to visit. I love the people, so civilised and warm hearted, and I love the beauty of the landscape and the architecture. Everywhere you look you can see beauty.
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Iran is the beautiful place to spend holidays its very refreshing and heavenly place.
thank you. i hope to see you again in Iran
hi, Im from IRAN, Shiraz city, i liked the comments and ur blog, i like to offer our Guesthouse in Shiraz, and also tour package, if its ok you can publish it in tour page, i’ll be happy to answer your questions….
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http://thefamilywithoutborders.com/iran-trip-with-kids-family-2016-02-23/
I LOVED Iran and agree with you on all of these points! I had so many wonderful encounters with Iranians. My only regret is that I was not able to take them up on their invitations for dinners at home, as I was on a tour (I’m American) and so we had quite a tight schedule. I hope to one day go back when I can travel independently and more slowly.
Thanks for your comment, Mary. We’re so glad you had such a wonderful time in Iran too. Yes, we’d love to return again in the future – the Iranians are such hospitable people.
Iran is my favourite place to visit. I love the people, so civilised and warm hearted, and I love the beauty of the landscape and the architecture. Everywhere you look you can see beauty.
Thanks for your comment Alexandria. We strongly agree with you and Iran is up there with one of our favourite countries in the world.