After seriously exhausting my eating and dancing abilities during Nowruz celebrations with Mina and her family in Tehran, I was excited to get back on the road and explore more of Iran. Luckily for me, our trip to Isfahan seemed to have given Mina a bit of the travel bug as well, ...
Isfahan, Iran: Visiting Half of the World
When Mina and I met for lunch in Tehran, I told her about my plans to visit Isfahan (or Esfahan) for a few days, and she confessed that she had never visited Persia's former capital city. "Persians call Isfahan Nesfe Jahan, which means 'Half of the World,' " Mina told ...
Kafka and Cigarettes in Tehran
I've heard so many words used to describe Tehran - bustling, cosmopolitan, smoggy, traffic-clogged, dangerous - but after spending about a week in the city one word sums it up best for me: cool. I'm not even sure what it was about Tehran, but looking around at the people, the ...
Alone in Iran – What Was I Thinking?
I have never had people express so many opinions about my travels as when I decided to backpack Iran solo for two weeks. Everyone seemed to have something to say about it, with responses ranging from "That is amazing, I would totally join you if I didn't have a U.S. passport," to ...
To Iran via Oman: Super Stressful, Super Easy
When the cheapest flight from Bangkok to Tehran included a 24- hour layover in Muscat I figured sure, Oman wasn't too high on my travel list, so this was probably the perfect way to visit. It also ended up being a perfect pre-Iran stop because the Muscat airport has free wifi, ...