At a time when talk of a military strike against Iran
looms ever larger, it's often easy to lose
sight of the fact that Iran is one of the most visually stunning countries in
the world.
That is certainly one of the main reasons that has
kept me here for the past three years, against all the odds and despite the
Iranian authorities consistently refusing to grant me a press visa.
Having just returned from a memorable one-week trip
around Iran, during the Ashura festival, I wanted to send you
a few samples of this country and temporarily lighten the political fare
that I'm usually serving up.
For those of you who are non-Iranian, this may serve
as an introduction into what is a varied and uniquely beautiful country.
For the Iranians (mostly the
expats), it is a reminder of the Iran that remains unseen during intense,
family-dominated two-week visits back to the
motherland.
