My wife and I visited this past winter to meet my in-laws. We had a marvelous time. We spent much of the time in Tehran where her family is. But we visited Qom, Esfahan, Khorram Abad and the Caspian Sea – all were lovely. But my favorite was Shiraz. We visited the ancient ruins of Persepolis, the tombs of of poets Saadi and Hafez.

To really enjoy the country, it is best to know someone. Restaurants are really not great. So to experience the food and culture and people, you need to be invited into someone’s home.