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Who are the friendliest people in the world? Iranians
Who have you found to be the friendliest people in the world? According to Will Hide, the answer is Iranians. He and his female friend Annette toured Iran for 10 days where they met up with experiences I'd call delicious. Delicious food, delicious scenery, delicious things to see, and the type of hospitality where people invite you to tea all the live-long day.
As Hide says, everywhere they went people offered them tea and often tossed almonds and dried fruit into the hospitality quotient. In this engaging article in The Times, Hide gives a rundown of their trip. The sidebar on the last page gives useful information for anyone looking for an Iran experience.
As a note, he and Annette had a tour guide. I think that would be the way to go if I were to take such a trip. Every time I've hired a personal tour guide, even if it was just for a day, my understanding of a place and the pleasure I've had traveling is multiplied.
Keep reading for Hind's trip highlights.
[The photo by Hamed Saber is of a party attended by friends. If you click on the enlarged photo, you can see who all the people are.]
Some highlights of Hide's 10-day trip:
- Tehran where they visited the palace grounds of the former Shah.
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The journey across the Zagros Mountains to Shiraz where he and Annette saw the tombs of the classical poets Sa'di and Hafez.and were allowed to go in the Mausoleum of Shah-e Cheragh if Annette put on a chador and they didn't go into the main shrine.
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The ruins of Persepolis, the city destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.
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Esfahan-known for its beautiful architecture
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The holy city of Qom,
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Village of Imamzadeh Bazm where they stayed at Mr Abbas's B&B and ate "aubergines mixed with yoghurt and mint; mushroom and barley soup; pickles; lettuce dipped in vinegar; and, for breakfast, tea and fruit followed by cheese with chopped walnuts."
Check out some of these other wacky laws, place names and signs from around the world!
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Iran
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chris Feb 23rd 2009 3:47PM
Insert emoticon for rolling eyes here.
sara Feb 25th 2009 6:27PM
yea boy...Iranians are probably the most hospitable people I have ever met also
sherry Feb 25th 2009 6:26AM
Nope, Hillbillies from southern MIssouri are the most friendly folks in the world.
Ric Feb 25th 2009 6:31AM
Propaganda to get people to drop their guards. Wiping a group of people off the face of the planet is real "friendly". Nice try...
John Feb 25th 2009 12:14PM
Guess your response doesn't say much for the ONLY people on the entire planet who has ever USED nuclear weapons against others...uh, that would be Americans in case your ignorance runs that deep...the survey was for PEOPLE...that means citizens, human beings...NOT their governements. Look what our former leader did to the world in the past eight years!! What he said! What he's done to his own citizens from Katrina to Bank tellers!
I was a newscaster in Iran during the '77 revolution when the U.S. abandoned the Shah of Iran after the Bush the first C.I.A. helped put him in power...mine and the lives of many of my American friends were quite literally saved by these kind and generous people you seem so willing to reduce to reflections of their government...what is your EXPERIENCE with the Iranian People other than the bleeting of your shepherds (Media Pundits and Politicians) that justifies your judgement?
bob Feb 25th 2009 12:21PM
No doubt the Germans were real friendly and threw wiener shnitzel at you whn you were a money spending visitor. I have no doubt Iranian peoples who are all scared out of their wits would love to have some gay people over for dinnertoo!
jad Feb 25th 2009 6:52AM
Iranians are nice.
But the nicest are Lebanese people.
stephanouj Feb 25th 2009 6:49AM
Iranians are nice.
But the nicest people in the world are Lebanese.
masanddjs Feb 25th 2009 7:03AM
Yeah, and Mr. Ahmadinejad ranks right up there!
jocelyn Feb 25th 2009 8:41AM
I guess these two have never been to New Zealand. They should go and then they will really know who the friendliest people in the world are!!
rich Feb 25th 2009 9:09AM
new zealand not a chance, people in australia were friendlier when i went, people in new zealand stick to themselves, very boring boring people, not didn't see one attractive person while there , they must be born from all those sheep they have hahah
Debbie Feb 25th 2009 8:35AM
i'd be really nice too if i was in the middle of a war zone and didn't want to be kill ..
funny Feb 25th 2009 9:47AM
you know whats funny you ! go make some cup cakes Deddie
epiphannyy Feb 25th 2009 9:08AM
When will people understand that a governments and the activity of governments don't necessarily depict an accurate portrayal of the people they supposedly represent? I mean, c'mon....we should know better after living 8yrs ourselves under the disastrous command of our own village idiot, George W. Bush. He had, for the vast majority of his reign, an approval rating that wouldn't have supported a TV show staying on the air, yet he stayed in office "representing us" all over the world. How many people are truly proud of that fact? I'm not. So the same should hold true when thinking of the Iranian people. Their government isn't even their choice, as it is here, so holding the PEOPLE accountable for their messed up government officials is very wrong. Some support them, but not all. People really need to suck in some oxygen and look at that whole picture before judging them or anyone else. Unless, of course, you all are willing to be judged by the same ridiculous standards.
Jennifer Feb 25th 2009 10:04AM
I agree with you 100% and I would also like to add that you can go anywhere in the world and find people who are friendly and hospitable (they just might be harder to find in some places than in others). We Americans all know that if you want GREAT hospitality in America you can find it in the south, where you can also find skin heads and white supremisists (this is not to say you can't find these people all over the US), you can not hold an entire nation responsible for a small ignorant group of its people.
Julian Feb 25th 2009 11:18AM
You've hit the nail on the head, I was just going to say the exact same thing. Unfortunately, I don't think many people will want to understand that simple fact, as many are ignorantly proud of judging someone based on what little they may know. For example, some of the nicest people I've met were in Texas, and yet people are ready to jump on that state as if it were the state Hitler was born in. And, on the other side, New York City dwellers are surprisingly kind people, not the arrogant, stuck-up people that many make them out to be. Those people are usually either the bridge-and-tunnel folk or some of the rich aristocrats that reside there. Other than that, everyone else is great, and yes, I do love NYC.
crossbowX Apr 26th 2009 3:33AM
My experience has been with a large Iranian family (4 generations represented) who have been living in the US for about 10 years. They prefer to be called Persian, but this may be due to their religion (they are all Bahai's). One couldn't find a more friendly, welcoming, warm group of people. One can't judge the hearts of people living in a warn torn country with violence being preached constantly to many of the young people.
osters Feb 25th 2009 9:18AM
I lived there under the Shah days and do not tell me they are the friendliest..... not always true. It is hit and miss like any other place. They are bored and do it for there own entertainment and NOT for you. Don't forget a lot of things are banned in movies and Net.... so using other's for the entertainment is ther main goal.
Joe Feb 25th 2009 9:31AM
This article is so-o-o bogus! How stupid do you think we ARE! I've been there and I would NOT want to drink there tea. If it doesn't come out of a SEALED bottle, I wouldn't touch it. I ended up losing 40 pounds in 4 months while over there and I would not recommend it as a place to visit to my worst enemy.
Mom_o_Three Feb 25th 2009 9:36AM
So, this is one visitor's "opinion" and not a "poll" as the headline leads readers to believe.
Another piece of irresponsible so-called journalism printed by AOL.
Sorry I wasted my time clicking on to read the article!!