He does not like the way his country is portrayed in the media and by politicians around the world. To try to counter this, he has taken a number of groups from the club on tours of Iran. He feels that this way, at least some Australians will know the truth.
He is now wondering whether other people would be interested in visiting Iran like this, and I am just trying to see if any of you had ever thought of going to Iran, and if so, what sort of trip you would be interested in.
The tours have typically lasted about a month, and covered a lot of Iran. There have been two styles of trip so far. One is more oriented towards bushwalking activities (2-3 day backpacks with pack animals plus day walks), with some time spent visiting historic and cultural areas and sites. These groups are fairly small, 6-8 people.
The other style of trip focusses on the cultural aspects with more time spent in less-visited towns and regions. It has no backpacks, but there are some day walks, often in remote areas. These groups can be up to 12 people.
The trips are coordinated by a friend of his in the travel industry in Iran. Transport is a mix of public transport (express bus, train, air) and hired minibus. Hotels are generally of a reasonable standard depending on what is available in the area. Sometimes local-style accommodation is used, eg, a converted caravanserai or a traditional hostel. Costs are relatively low by travel company standards.
Iran is not a common destination for tourists, so you do not find touristy things oriented at westerners. Instead, you get to experience a society where honesty is important - crime is virtually unknown - and the shops sell things that the local people buy. Prices on everything are quite low by our standards.
The Iranian people are invariably polite and generous, and do not hate westerners as you may believe from media reports. Many have ambitions to visit America, for example. It is common for people, hearing you speaking English, to come up to you and have a conversation. One of the topics is how Iran beat Australia into the World Cup in 1994.
Historically, Iran (Persia) has been one of the most significant countries in the Middle East. Cyrus the Great and Darius established a huge empire about 500BC. Alexander the Great and later the Arabs both have conquered Iran, yet never eliminated Iranian culture. In fact, both took away much of what happened in Iran for their own use. What today is described as Arab architecture, for example, has its roots in the architecture of Iran. Iran also speaks Farsi, not Arabic.
Geographically, Iran is very varied. It is crossed by two huge mountain ranges, the Alborz and the Zagros. Many of the peaks are snow covered all year round. In the north, near the Caspian Sea, it is very lush and forested - rice is a major crop. In the south, it is drier, and almost desert-like in places, with amazing landforms. Much of the backpacking is in the mountain areas, but the daywalks can be anywhere.
I would be grateful for any comments you can make on any of the points below, and will try to answer any questions you may have. PM me if you wish or reply here.
- Have you ever considered visiting Iran?
What sort of time period would you like to spend there? Is a month too long?
Would you be more attracted by the backpacking/cultural trip or the cultural/daywalk style of trip? Or is there some other focus would interest you?
Would you be concerned that the trip is a private one and not run by an established travel company?
PS, Yes, I have been to Iran and found it a wonderful experience.