Iran: Tales of Persia

I visited Iran twice, in January 2014 and May 2015. On the first visit, I went on field trips to Manjil and Bam, two cities devastated by earthquakes (in 1990 and 2003). I wanted to see how they were recovering. On the second visited places few people know about.

Over the years, I have had a number of Iranian students, many of whom have encouraged me to visit their country. In 2013, on a mission to Japan, I met a young Persian who invited me to stay with her family.

Visits

On both visits, it was difficult to get a visa. I had to go to the Iranian Embassy in Istanbul and then to a police station in Tehran to get them extended. This is because of sanctions and the lack of diplomatic relations, which impose enormous hassle and hardship on ordinary Iranians.

And on both my trips, I stayed with the Mahdavian family, who looked after me and showed me around. It is a great privilege to see a country through the intimate daily lives of its people. I am most grateful to Abbas, Nesrin, Farnaz, Iman and Sarnaz for their loving hospitality.

History

Iran is the second-largest country in the Middle East and has the largest population, over 90 million. Iran has always been geopolitically important because of its central location in Eurasia and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz.

Persia is one of the oldest civilisations in the world, dating to over 3,000 BC. It had two great periods of empire. The first was during the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, which stretched from Turkey to Pakistan and had Zoroastrianism as its main religion. The second was under the Safavid dynasty from 1500, when the country was Islamic.

Sights

I visited famous sites from both of these periods. Persepolis, destroyed by Alexander the Great, and Isfahan, Shiraz, Yadz and Kerman. Iran is mountainous, with dry central deserts and lush green countryside to the north and northwest. And I visited much of the country, climbed mountains, went skiing and paddled in the Caspian Sea.

Published 14 Sep 2017, 80 pages, ISBN 9781912460052