When Lori Santaniello, a travel agent for MTS Travel in Ephrata and her husband Nick told their friends where they were going on vacation, the response was pretty much the same.

“You’re going on vacation to Iran? Are you crazy?” they asked.

No, the Santaniellos are not crazy. They are adventurous, adaptable and most of all, curious. This Lititz couple wanted to see a part of the world that has been in the news. They wanted to see what Iran was really like.

By LAURIE KNOWLES CALLANAN

That’s just what they did. In late March, they set off for Iran, spending two weeks there through April.

“Actually, it was more Nick’s idea than mine,” admits Lori.

She specializes in arranging travel for relief organizations and has worked with the Mennonite Central Committee in the past, sending volunteers to help with disasters such as a Tsunami in Southeast Asia and earthquakes in China. Her current client is Catholic Relief Services, which sends volunteers to India, China, Tibet and other places.

In her work, Santaniello often has the opportunity to travel with complementary airline tickets. So, when she received two airline tickets to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, she and Nick took a look at the map and tried to figure out where they could go from there.

In the past, the couple have traveled to China, Tibet, Nepal, India, Thailand, Italy and other countries throughout the world.

“I do a lot of reading and I became very interested in Iran,” says Nick. “I kept reading over and over again that the people of Iran were the friendliest in the world.”

That didn’t seem to mesh with what everyone has seen in the media, with Iran termed as part of the “axis of evil,” the Iranian hostages and embassy takeover, suicide bombings, nuclear weapons, terrorism and banners proclaiming “death to Americans.”

The Santaniellos wanted to see for themselves and meet the people whom every travel book described as being so warm and friendly.

Planning a trip to Iran proved to be quite complicated. Lori’s experience with MTS was helpful in obtaining the correct paperwork, including passports, visas, touring arrangements and approval to visit the country. They needed approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iran. Nick  did a lot of research on line, using information from the Lonely Planet Web site. The couple chose a tour organization in Iran and arranged for their trip.

“An American in Iran must be accompanied by a guide. They cannot travel on their own,” says Lori.

The touring company had visitors from Germany and Sweden. In general, the Santaniellos were aware that there was some distrust of Americans.

That was tempered by the obvious curiosity that the Iranian people had for Americans.

Just as the travel guides said, “The Iranian people were the friendliest people we had ever met,” says Nick.

The Sanantiellos toured Iran with their guide, a 23-year-old college graduate, Fatemeh, who was working as a government -approved guide while she completed her master’s degree. One of the first things they had to learn was the proper dress for a woman.

Lori was required to wear a softly-draped scarf over her short, blonde hair. She also purchased a manteau, which is a long, straight-fitting coat that is worn over the normal clothing. Lori purchased a black coat, but learned that subtle colors were fine, as long as the woman’s head, arms and legs are covered.

Interestingly, beneath their scarves and manteaus, the Iranian women were quite well dressed. They wore slim-fitting jeans, gorgeous silk blouses, designer shoes, elegant  jewelry, makeup and high fashion hair styles.

“The women are extremely beautiful, with long dark hair, golden skin and large brown eyes. It’s just that no one sees it in public,” says Lori.

Behind closed doors, only other women and their own husbands see them.

As a man, Nick was not permitted to see the women without their scarves and coats. He also had to enter a home through a specified doorway. In most homes, men enter one doorway and women enter through another.

As they traveled to cities such as Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, the Santaniellos saw many smiling faces. With Fatemeh as their guide and interpreter of the Farsi language, they got to meet and talk to men, women and children. One young girl who was studying English is school was excited to practice her English. Others asked questions about America.

One curious man asked Nick was he thought of George Bush. Nick had the perfect comeback.

“I asked him what he thought of Ahmadinejad,” says Nick. “We didn’t have to answer each other. He just smiled.”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is president of Iran, while Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is supreme leader, the religious leader of the Muslim country, which is largely made up of Shiite Muslims, with a smaller number of Sunis.

The Ayatollah is a different leader than the one during the embassy takeover crisis in 1979 through 1981.

What the Santaniellos discovered that despite political differences, the people of Iran were just like other people in the world. They wanted to live their lives, work and take care of their families. They also wanted to meet new friends. Everywhere they went, the Iranian people invited them into their homes for meals.

Fatemeh invited them to join her family for dinner, and there they enjoyed lamb kebabs, yogurt, chello or white rice with saffron, eggplant stew, chicken, duck, pomegranates, tea and a refreshing fruit drink called sharbat. Being Muslims, they do not drink alcohol, although back in the days of the Shah, the alcohol flowed freely.  Meals were often served with a bowl of fresh herbs that they ate by hand. Milk is served hot.

“The food was delicious and so healthy,” says Lori. “We thoroughly enjoyed it, and the company.”

The Santaniellos toured mosques and villages with markets that sold fresh produce. They saw exquisite Persian rugs being made by hand.

There were women traveling together with their heads covered and men praying devoutly with their prayer beads. They saw the mountains and the Caspian Sea. In the cities, cars and motor bikes traveled in a haphazard way, making it treacherous to try to cross a street.

Gasoline in Iran was only 40 cents a gallon at the time.

The couple took hundreds of photographs during their travels and many of the people were happy to pose for them.

As they expected, much of Iran was a barren desert of light tan that stretched as far as the eye could see. Lush green oasis areas were produced by filtering water from the melting snow from the mountains. Nomads tended sheep and goats. The temperatures in March were pleasant, around 60 to 70 degrees.

The Santaniellos brought back many souvenirs from their travels to Iran, including a traditional hookah, an Iranian banner, vases, woven items, scarves and Lori’s manteau. What the Sanantiellos also returned with was a new understanding of the Iranian people.

“They really were as friendly as the books said,” says Nick.

It isn’t top of the holiday hot-list, but get beyond the terror headlines and you will be stunned by the warm welcome and architectural treasures Iran has to offer.

IRAN is not an obvious holiday destination. Alcohol is banned and the opportunities to sunbathe or strike up a romance are slim, to say the least. Tell people you are going and reactions will be somewhere along the lines of “You’re going where? Why? Isn’t it dangerous?

But travellers prepared to get behind the ‘axis of evil’ terrorist headlines and confront preconceptions of religious extremism are rewarded with an unforgettable trip that will be full of surprises. There are ancient cultural wonders, splendid architecture, wonderful bazaars, fascinating landscapes and even great skiing.

But first there is the friendliness and hospitality offered by local people. Spend some time in Iran and you will soon realise that Iranians are much more tolerant and open-minded than you may have garnered from the news pages. And far from being dangerous, Iran – notwithstanding the chaotic traffic situation – is a remarkably safe and welcoming place.

I backpacked around Iran for a month, taking the three-day journey from Istanbul on the Trans-Asia Express. With a smattering of mildly eccentric foreigners on board (Iran seems to attract such people), the journey was straight out an Agatha Christie novel – minus the murder.

I disembarked before Tehran in order to explore the seldom-visited north-west of the country, heading first to the charming, cloud-draped mountain village of Masuleh near the Caspian Sea. Reached via a beautiful drive past tea plantations and rice paddies, the journey takes the traveller up through a deeply forested verdant valley. I spent a few days there relaxing on the rooftop verandas of the tea shops, drinking glass after glass of black tea, smoking lemon-and-mint hubble-bubbles and enjoying wonderful dishes of garlic aubergine.

From Masuleh I headed in a general anti-clockwise loop around the country. Getting around Iran is fast, easy and very cheap. An internal plane ticket can be had for around £15 to £30, and a 12-hour bus or train journey typically costs around £3. As soon as people are seated, they will take out their refreshments – nuts, fruits, biscuits, tea, fruit juices – and share them with people sitting nearby.

In a country where foreigners are still a rarity, Iranians will take a lot of polite interest in you. They are not shy and, by British standards, get personal very quickly (enquiring whether you are married and, if not, why not, are among the first questions they ask). They will also want to know what you think of the country and why you chose to visit, often remarking with a wry smile: “But you think we are all terrorists, no?” It is not unusual to receive invitations to people’s homes for tea, a meal or even to sleep. Invitations for food should not be turned down lightly. Meals in Iran are big family affairs and the food is excellent.

My first stop was one of Iran’s eight Unesco World Heritage Sites – the 3,250-year-old temple of Choqa Zanbil, on the border with Iraq. The best surviving example of Elamite architecture in the world, it was ‘rediscovered’ in 1935 by oil prospectors for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, which later became BP.

The next stage of my journey took me to Esfahan, about 200 miles south of Tehran, an important architectural centre of the Islamic world. One of the city’s main attractions is the 17th-century Imam Square, best seen at dusk when families come out to picnic and the lights show the dazzling Imam Mosque and the apricot and turquoise-domed Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque at their best.

From Esfahan I travelled south across the Zagros Mountains to Shiraz, the city that gave the world the famous variety of grapes – as well as roses and poetry. Most people use Shiraz as a staging post to visit the nearby ancient sites of Pasargadae, Naqsh-e Rostam and Persepolis. Pasargadae was once the capital of Persia’s first ruler, Cyrus the Great, and you can visit his lonely tomb and the remains of his palace. But it was eclipsed by the palace complex of Persepolis, built by another great ruler, Darius I. Constructed as the masterpiece of the once-mighty Persian empire, the ancient remains are still awe-inspiring, even though Alexander the Great tried to raze it in 330BC. The soaring columns, immense archways and magnificent statues were built to impress and they still do.

Back in Tehran, the only thing heavier than the traffic was the make-up worn by some of the women – the same women whose headscarves barely clung on above quaffed and highlighted hair and who had ditched the shapeless chador for close-fitting black outfits. Tehran is big, bustling, with an estimated 14 million people, and not that pretty, but can be lots of fun.

One of my favourite sites in the capital was the old US embassy, where slogans were painted on the walls outside, including: “We will make America face a great defeat.” I also saw on the side of a block of flats a giant mural of an American flag with skulls for the stars and bombs raining down the stripes with the slogan: “Down with the USA.”

But, like many people’s memories of the revolution, these murals have faded. The majority of Iran’s population have no memory of it at all – 60% are under 35, and many I met want to emigrate to the USA.

Historically, Iran has been a tolerant and outward-looking society. Today, it is deeply misunderstood by many westerners. So look beyond the headlines and discover a fascinating country where your deepest impressions are likely to be of the heart-warming hospitality. It was a shock when I returned home and had to pay £30 for a two-hour bus journey – and everybody ignored me.

By Scott Hussey