Is Iran Safe to Travel ?

 

Is Iran safe to go ?

This is the basic question when you decide to choose a destination. It is true that the geopolitical situation is complicated and messy in the middle east and it is easy to trap in the stereotypes about the people of this region. It is also true that some countries are struggling with war, terrorism, extremism, but is it the case for the whole region? Unfortunately, Iran has been always in the middle of the conflicts in the region, we are neighbor with Iraq and Afghanistan who are witnessing years of war, invasion, and terrorism. But the point is that these problems have not passed through the borders of the country.

As the matter of fact, the number of terrorist attacks during the chaos of ISIS in Iran has been limited to very few cases, compared to the European countries at the same time. This is a tragedy that Iran has been a victim of decades of negative images of western media and bias propaganda. I am not saying what they show to you is all false but I invite you to search for yourselves and ask the people around you who have traveled to Iran and have seen the country and met its people.

Usually, when the foreign tourists are coming to Iran, they are fascinated by the smiling faces of Iranians, their curiosity about them and the interest they show into them without any expectations. It is no exaggeration if I say that the hospitality of the Iranian people is a top attraction of the country, please read the article about the Iranian tradition of hospitality here.

I often see how people are surprised by the quality of life in cities, roads, and services. the point is that Iran is a country rich with oils and the infrastructures are in good shape to accept the travelers and tourists from all over the world.

Another point I’d like to mention is the Internet, you might imagine that entering Iran you have to wait to go back to your country to be able to check your emails. Did you know that the Iranians are one of the most obsessed nations with the internet? You can have access to the WIFI in all of the hotels and also with buying a chargeable SIM CART in the airport which costs something around 5 Euros, you can have access to the internet in your phone all the time. There are some websites which are blocked by the government such as Facebook and YouTube, but communicating applications such as WhatsApp and Skype are perfectly operating. you can have more information about Internet and Telecommunication in Iran, here.

As a tour leader and a female tourism activist, I always faced comments and questions regarding the safety of my country. Here I need to clarify some points about Iran and Iranian: Iran is a vast country, including the majority of Persian people but other ethnical groups such as Kurds, Baluchis, Arabs, Turks, Turkemans, Lors etc.

The official religion of the country is Islam, Shiite, which is a different version of Islam of Sunnism, yet we have Sunnism in some regions of the country, as well as, christens, Jewish, and a purely Persian religion which is called Zoroastrianism. Besides many Sufism and other religious cults and sects are scattered all over the country, as a matter of fact, Iran is a colorful and mysterious country regarding beliefs and religions.

In Iran, the majority are speaking the Persian Language, which is a subcategory of Indo European Languages, and it is not at all Arab language, although we have Arab speaking regions in southern and southwestern Iran. However, we are using the modified Arabic alphabet.

As you see, Iran enjoys a variety of different ethnics, religions, languages, and dialects. All these people are living together for centuries in peace and harmony. These people are so welcoming to the world and they are tired of not being seen and not being heard. So be more prudent about the picture of Iran in the western media and come and see for yourself.

Here you can read the latest article about the safe destinations of 2019 in the world, as you can see Iran is as safe as countries like France or the U.S.

The map below was prepared by the International SOS Foundation, an independent non-profit organization in based  in Amsterdam, with the aim of providing health, safety and well-being for people who travel and work abroad.