Narelle and I would like to invite you to follow our trip to the Middle East this March and April. We hope you enjoy the blogs we post as we travel around this beautiful part of the world.

Sunday 14 April 2013

The most wonderful day!

Today was a forced 'Kane Day', meaning I spent the day doing stuff alone as Narelle wanted to do a city tour that I was not interested in.

So I chose to do some reading then I thought I would just walk the streets and see what the day would bring. About 10 minutes into my walk (wander) I was warmly greeted by two young Iranian students, whom I later found out deliberately walk slower so i would catch up and they could just say 'hello and welcome to Iran'. After a long conversation in the street I invited the two guys to join me for tea at a nearby shop. We had a great time chatting about Iran, Australia, politics, both of our way of thinking and living, food, sport, education and religion. It was a fantastic first-hand insight into the way the ordinary Iranian views their own country and the west and vice-versa.

The conversation over morning tea then rolled into lunch...

Of particular note I asked them where they saw Iran's future in 5 and 10 years. The response was mixed and right to the point. In 5 years they sadly envisage Iran being at war with Israel. They are also very concerned about the current nuclear issues. It 10 years they see a brighter future as attrition see's new Government leaders and ideas. They know the potential of this country is enormous but the population appears to just need that guidance.

Meeting these two guys just reinforces the reasons why I like to travel to different parts of the world. I now have two new friends and for just half a day we could share stories from different sides of the world and vastly different backgrounds/cultures.

Thanks to both these wonderful guys for making what could have been an ordinary day into one of the best days of this holiday and certainly one that I will remember.

For fear of the government they kindly asked for no photos to be posted.

 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Similarly, a lifetime ago, I had lunch with a person in East Berlin - on the other side of the Wall. (Visas were available).

A lot changes over time and perhaps your Iranian friends will see significant changes for the better, in their lifetime.

GARY