I’ve now heard from several unrelated sources that Iranians are over-the-top welcoming and hospitable to Americans who manage to get visas. The want to prove that they aren’t the monsters the nightly news makes them out to be. Because I’m so interested in the disparity between political hostilities and the behavior of ordinary citizens, I’ve regretted not planning ahead for Iran. (Our mothers can relax. The logistics of getting a Iranian visa at this point isn’t worth the hassle. It’s a multi-week, hit-or-miss process which may require the services of a guided tour and the accompanying expense.)
It’s been our travels in Turkey which has perked my interest about this, because it demonstrates the dichotomy perfectly. Except for the Kurdish, Turkish citizens uniformly eye-roll and gasp at American foreign policy. Yet without pause, they have driven across town to buy us dinner; they have given us the keys to their apartment; they have walked a mile (literally) out of their way to make sure we didn’t get lost.
This subject is a deep one which I’ll be returning to. Soon enough, some video as well…