Is It Safe To Visit IRAN As An American In 2025?

Is It Safe To Visit IRAN As An American In 2025?

Iran is ranked as one of the most dangerous countries to visit. As an American, the US Government issued this travel warning, citing terrorism and kidnapping as major risks. Iran’s government supports militant groups that are openly hostile to the United States. And with no functioning US Embassy, Americans who visit Iran are on their own if something goes wrong. So why am I going to Iran as an American? Because I want to spend time with the local people to see what they really think about the States and find out what the security situation is like on the ground today. This is going to be a wild seven day road trip across the country. But first I need to tell my parents I’m going. Hey, Bo. Hi, Mom. How are you? Good. Guess where I’m going tomorrow. Where? Where? Iran. No, Drew. Why? Can’t go there. Contrary to what my dad says, you can go to Iran as an American. You just need three months to prepare for the visa. After a long flight from Prague to Shiraz, a city in southern Iran, we have a little issue with my cameraman’s visa. We wrote down Slovakia, which is originally where he’s from, but now he has a check passport. Mat and I are basically just doing loops right now in the immigration area. We’ve been waiting for two hours. Still no visa form. All right, you got it? Let me see it. They made getting deported, so that’s a good thing. Once we clear immigration, my local friend Amin is waiting for us at arrivals. He’s a tour guide dedicated to showing the real Iran, the vibrant culture and hospitality beyond what makes the headlines. Very well, Drew. Welcome to Shiraz. Welcome to Iran. As we hop into the taxi, the sights and smells flood my senses and the adrenaline rush starts kicking in. We are in one of Iran’s biggest and most liberal cities. Shiraz. And Amin has a very special destination in mind. For our first stop. We’re here inside the Pink Mosque in Shiraz. It is stunning. You can see pink all around us. These beautiful tiles and mosaics on the windows, they make this incredible reflection. It’s one of the most spiritual places I’ve ever been. It’s really, really cool in here. Women are dressed in these beautiful colors. You can see, like, even the roofs are covered in pink flowers. Having this special type of stained glass windows is also very influenced by European art. Is it different than the other mosques in Iran or is it kind of the same like this? Most of the mosques in Iran, they are in dark blue color. What makes this mosque more different is the special pink color they use for the tiles of this mosque. All original from 19th century. And this is mostly European sceneries painted on the tiles. Even on some of the tiles over there, you can see some of the building, like churches. After the mosque, we’re heading to Iran’s most important historical site and a place that every traveler who comes here has on their bucket list. We are in Persepolis, an ancient site built in around 518 BC on the order of BC yeah, before common era, on the order of the king Darius I, one of the famous kings of Persian Empire. This place was important for the Persian Empire because this is the place used as a ceremonial capital. Persian kings invited lots of delegations from all around the empire. The they came here and they celebrated a big festival for new Iranian year Nowruz. I’m amazed by how old this place is. And it’s still standing. And as an Iranian, what does this mean to you as your identity? Like Persepolis? Yeah, we are all proud of this place. It is like a, national ID for Iranians. And this is a special part of coming to Iran because this is one of the most ancient civilizations. I mean, the birthplace of what we know today of cities and life happened. I don’t know. In the US it’s such a new country. We have amazing nature and stuff, but we don’t have anything that we can say 500 B.C. generally, Iranians are really proud of the ancient history. I can feel it here. When local people, Iranians are here, they are really proud of visiting this amazing historical place. The most important thing about Persepolis is whoever worked here was paid. We have documents about that. We have clay tablets found during the excavation. Nobody was used as a slave. So it’s something makes Persepolis different from other historical, sites in the world. Maybe that’s so deeply rooted in the Iranian culture, like take care of people hospitality. You speak English. I’m so interested that you are here. How many American tourists do you think are in Iran right now? If you had to guess, maybe just you. That’s a crazy feeling because Iran is a huge country. Yeah, exactly. Tell me about Persepolis. In 2500 years ago, we had a rich culture here. You can see in the Persepolis, since you can see a mixture of all of the countries that they were, under the control of Iran. In that part, you can see, half of the world, different people with different cultures, with different hairstyles, different shoes, different clothes. Yeah. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Take care. Bye bye. Being here, you can really feel a presence of how huge and incredible and royal this place was back in the day. It’s that feeling that you get when you visit, like, the Great Wall of China or the pyramids of Giza or Taj Mahal. It’s like these really, really old, important structures that have just been standing for so long. And you wonder all the people that have passed here over the. Over the centuries gives me the goosebumps. Seriously, you know, as a tourist like this, this is more enjoyable than the Acropolis because there’s just like, barely any tourists here. Hello. Yes. How are you? Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. You came to Iran? Yeah. Why? Because I want to meet some people and share stories. Really? I’m from America. Really? Thanks. Thank God. What do you think about America? Far away. Have you ever met an American person here? No, never. Really nice to meet you, bro. Yeah. Take care. Thanks. Of course, man. Take care. I can tell you, most part of Iran is the same. Iranians are really, really friendly, hospitable. You can see wherever we go, people come to. They talk to you. They want to know your idea about Iran, and they are very friendly. I love you. I love you, too. To see these amazing inscriptions inside of the stone. It was underground, which is why it’s so preserved. I could spend all day at Persepolis, but I’m dying to meet local people in the countryside and see who’s living off the beaten path. So far, I feel pretty safe in Iran, But I can’t stop thinking about the country’s complicated history. Back in the 70s, Iran was a different place. It was comparable to Paris. Women dressed freely, bars were thriving, and the culture felt more open and westernized. But after the 1979 revolution, when the Islamic Republic took over, everything changed. New laws and restrictions reshaped daily life, especially for women today. These changes are why many see Iran as a scarier place to visit. But in my experience, the media overlooks the warmth of Persian people. We are back in the car and heading five hours north from Persepolis to a city called Esfahan. But an exciting detour is ahead. We are somewhere in between Shiraz and Esfahan and the beautiful nature here, the mountains along the drive. We’ve been seeing little huts and people living out here, and I asked Amin what’s going on, and he said, these are called Qashqai nomads. We have about a million of them in Iran, and within 20 years, they’re expected to be all gone because of new generations wanting to live in cities and stuff. Basically, we parked our car in some cool little settlements here, and we’re Going to go knock on a few doors and see if anybody will kindly accept us in. Because these are the kind of untold stories that you can’t find anywhere else in the world. I mean, how many other countries have literal nomads living in them? I mean, nice ass. Oh, yes. Do you think we can say hi to some of these people? Yeah. Or are they too shy? Probably, but we can go and say hi. Salam. Salam Yallah Salaam, Ahma. Khumassin Salaam, Atin babain salaam. That’s a lot of salams you say. Yeah, I said salam to everybody. The Qashqai nomads are found in Iran’s Farce province. They traditionally herd sheep, goats and camels. Each time they move, they pack their belongings, travel with their animals, and set up camps all over again. Known for their vibrant rugs and textiles, the Qashqai maintain strong ties to their community and have a deep appreciation for music and storytelling. However, I am heartbroken to find out that their way of life is at risk of dying out due to modern pressures and changing land use. Are Qashqai nomads looked down upon among Iranian society? No, they’re not. No, they’re not. Because now there are lots of scholars from these families. They have a very important role in, providing meat for the whole country. Yeah, they are really respected by the whole society. They were. I mean, in terms of studying, they were flourish. There were lots of scientists, lots of writers, filmmakers from the nomads. Incredible. Many of them also, for example, in this family, they’re all educated. They started from this nomadic school and then they continued going to universities and etc. Most of the younger generation prefer to stop this kind of living. Their kids generation like the chemistry. She won’t keep it up. Yeah, probably she moves soon to the city. What’s the best and the worst part about being a nomad in this region? The most difficult time for them it will be during winter when it’s cold, cold, raining a lot. But during, springtime, the nature is amazing, so they enjoy it. They love the, the nature which is really important for them. But at the same time, because of the facilities there are in the cities, they sometimes are tempted to go and drink there. What happened is they’re Iranians are too polite that they’re trying to figure out who’s going to deliver the tea. Traditional way to drink tea. Put it here a little bit, a little bit. Then keep it in the mouth. Don’t chew it keep it in the mouth. And, even it’s very hot. We drink tea in Iran. We don’t mind. Delicious. It’s so bizarre that there’s this little settlement here that’s totally abandoned, but just like on the side of the road there, awesome little brick buildings. Like, if this is in the US it’d be the most historical site. This is probably like 700 years old. But here in Iran, it’s just there. But I will say I just realized something. This is a place for human poop. Yep. I smell it. And when I look down, I guess now used as a toilet and I’m leaving, it all hit me at once, the smell of it. I’m really excited for this dinner that they’re cooking up. It’s definitely going to be delicious. The son of the family, as they said, he’s studying nuclear engineering. But now the school is off, so he’s here working here, helping the family. As we heard from the family, one of the girls, she’s graduated from university, she studied chemistry. So, but mostly they stay at home doing, you know, they like to do tell, him, he looks very handsome. Welcome, he says, to Iran. And he’s asking, what did you think about Iran before coming to Iran? In American media, they. There’s all, like, negative things about Iran, like all the headlines. It’s only about war and terrorism and crazy things. So my mission in coming here is to try to share real stories and share with the world that the people here are actually really nice. They say that the same story here, on media always, they try to show a bad portrait of usa. Every night at this time of the day, all of the lamb come from the fields and they come back, they just know where to go. It’s really a cool scene to witness, like, all the sheep just coming in at once. Sheep and goat. And of course, Mr. Caretaker here is ready to feed them, give them water. There you go. Fresh water. And now, after they drink water, they all go inside of the pen here. It’s so cool. All of them are, like, trained to know exactly where to go and at the same time every single day, just trying to get in. Come on, let him in. Let him in. Okay, okay. They’re just backing from being shepherding, you know. Nice. How old are you? Farhad is 13 years old. Nosad Farad is 9 years old. Today is Fasha’s birthday. Happy birthday to you, Fasha. We have all the ladies over here preparing dinner. It’s going to be amazing. They’re making some lamb and rice with vegetables. It’s nice. Everybody’s warmed up to us and they’re all just hanging out waiting for the dinner to happen. And this is what it’s all about, you know, just good vibes, happy people and incredible nomad life in Iran. It’s obviously way more slow paced than and anywhere else you would find any community in the world. It’s a really, really humble lifestyle and I’m just grateful to be here and share with you. After an hour of smelling the meat and fresh bread, dinner is about to be served and I couldn’t be more excited. Oh, that’s the best part. Crispy part of the rice. Wow. Look at the color. Protect the carpet. It’s Farshad’s 10th birthday today, so we’re going to make it very memorable with a beautiful meal. This is incredible. It’s colorful. There’s many vegetables, rice, meat. Thank you so much for cooking. Thank you. Here we have a fresh plate of goat with rice and saffron. And food is a serious business here in Iran and we’re experiencing it right now. Sorry guys, I don’t know how to eat. Really finger lame this rice. So good. Let’s try the goat. Very good. You guys are lucky to have like amazing food every day. Have you ever had any American visitors here or am I the first one? No. For the first one. I’m the first one. Yeah. So how do you feel having an American here? They’re very happy. You know, many people in my country, I would say most people in my country are very scared of Iran. So it’s nice to, to share the real Iran. When you think about America, what comes to mind? They were young and started to go to the school. They were just heard bad things about us, like what you said about the other way. But now when they are grown up and because of technology and the information that they get and they understand that everything and all the problems are between governments. That’s exactly right. Yeah. This is honestly one of the coolest meal experiences I’ve had in a long time. Everyone just hanging out, eating, sharing jokes. Got birthday boy over here, he’s tired, he’s been in the fields all day. You have to make a wish on your birthday, but don’t tell me the wish. You have to make it. He wishes to become a doctor, brother going to be a pilot. And he likes to be a doctor. That’s, awesome. You may notice that only girls are doing, I mean they brought everything for preparing the food and the guys just chill the Whole day. I mean they’ve been outside with the sheep, then come back. So they go early morning, come back at lunchtime and again in the afternoon. Yeah, yeah. It’s so peaceful out here. You can see the stars. So quiet. And we’re gonna get some rest now. Gonna have a beautiful sleep. Wake up in the morning. Good night. Good morning. It is really cold outside. Temperature dropped drastically overnight. Beautiful sunrise about to happen in front of me. And it’s just an incredible experience out here. The guy just woke up this morning and came out with a huge gun around his shoulder. Wow. What do you use that gun for? To protecting especially sheep. The family in any case, but mostly for protecting the sheep. Where did you get it from? Donat me. So the government actually, give them permission because you know that in Iran you need to have permission to carry a gun. Having a gun. But the Gash Kai nomads, they get the permission. Do you ever use it or do you just carry it for just in case, for safety. In a case that there is for example, a thread like a valves or something like that, they shoot the sky to scare them. And according to the traditions when there is a wedding ceremony, they also do some shooting, you know, that welcomed actually the bride. But I mean shooting to the sky first. It’s only 5:30 in the morning, but his chore of the day is to let the goats and sheep out and take them out into the field. Now I understand why the sheep have such a, like thick fur because it’s really freaking cold out here. The sun right now is just peeking over the mountains and it’s already starting to get a lot warmer because let me tell you, it is cold out here. And that’s why the nomads move, because it gets too cold in this region. We’re at like 2500 meters elevation right now. Snows a lot here in the winter, so that’s why they migrate. They go 400km south. Up until just recent years, they actually used to, to walk 400 km, which would take weeks and weeks, even months. But now, sadly, as those practices are dying out and as modernization is creeping in, they throw all of their goats and sheep on the back of trucks and they drive. What do you think about this? It’s amazing, you know. Yeah. I just think of the differences between living here in nature with the sun. They are ready to do everything and compare it with city style of life, you know that it’s totally different. Now I’m here in Iran So the men wake up and they go out into the fields with their goat and sheep. And the women are making the amazing Iranian bread which is really tasty. It’s like really thin and crispy and it’s almost like a cracker. It’s like six in the morning right now and they’re just up as soon as they can to make it. All right. So she’s bringing us freshly baked bread. It’s still hot. Oh yes. Oh my God. It’s just nothing better than this cracker bread, bro. Listen of this. Oh yeah. Bon appetit. Leaving the nomads behind, we hop in the car for four more hours towards Esfahan, one of the most popular cities in Iran. On the way, I finally pick up phone signals so I can call my wife Deanna to let her know I’m safe. Is it safe so far? It’s so good. Yeah. Guess what? Some of the women aren’t covering their hair. Oh my God. So do you have any last wishes for us? Please be safe, guys. You know you’re ginger and you’re a golden retriever. Thank you. Love You. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. We’ve entered the lively city of Isfahan and after just two minutes of walking around, I meet my first local friend who said hi to me on the street. I just met Abed here. I just want to learn a little bit more about life here because first of all, Americans and American media are scared of Iran. You know this, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. The funny thing is it’s super safe here. No, for like Iran for visiting is absolutely safe. People are so friendly, like so helpful. But like if you want to invest here about economy is not safe. But the leaving like to live here is absolutely safe. Iran has like a lot of like opportunities for tourism. The nature of Iran is, is amazing. Everywhere you have beaches, forest, mountains, desert culture, like over thousand of years in the desert. So you go to a tiny, tiny village, they living there for like over a thousand years. So. So basically the life here is great. Yeah, yeah, it’s fine in terms of like overall happiness, things to do. So people are switching from like being religious and more, closed to be more open minded. Women used to cover their hair and now I’m seeing so many women not covering their hair. It’s crazy. It’s actually, it’s applied so they have to do it. So that’s a law in Iran. But they’re taking it off. So they’re taking it off. It’s their choice. So they have to fight for it. It’s interesting because, most people here are not religious. They don’t go to the mosque. But obviously the government has its own ways of doing things. And I just think it’s a crazy contrast between the local people and what the laws are. People, they got really fed up with religion, which is really great because otherwise if Iron Iran was a secular country in 1979, people wouldn’t wake up. So now they like, they don’t really care about religion in Iran. Like the next generation, it won’t be like that. Yeah. After all that great insight from Abed, we make our way over to the 17th century Royal Mosque, which has some of the most beautiful tile work I’ve ever seen. Look at the amazing, architecture we have here. Look at the beautiful tile work. Look at the spectacular calligraphies we have all around this mosque, which makes it really, really fascinating. Yes, it’s original from 17th century. Dude, the moment I saw, I walked through the arch. You know, you just get the goosebumps. If I stood here 400 years ago, it would look the same. Exactly the same. Exactly the same. I think the most Impressive thing for me in here is how that light always faces Mecca. And you only see it when you enter the mosque. Then it goes. The mosque is located just next to the main square of Esfahan, the second largest city square in the world behind Beijing. And I’m very excited to walk around and mingle with more locals. Teach me the phrase again. The famous phrase means half the world. Half the world. I heard that Esfahan is one of the most open minded cities in Iran. So I came here to try to meet some younger people and see what the culture is like underneath the surface. So we obviously can see amazing mosques and mausoleums that we went in. But what’s actually happening behind the scenes? How are people living their life? I’m on a mission now to meet some people and see if we can find out. How are you? What’s your name? Mohammed. My name is Drew. As you can see, people here are extremely friendly. We’re just hanging out in the main square. The sun is going down, kids are playing in the water, people are having picnics and riding horses. Ronaldo. No, no. You, can see they just come up to you and sit down and they just want to make friends. And that’s one of the best things about visiting Iran. And like, when I say I’m American, it raises an eyebrow and they’re like, oh, American. But they just want to be friends. America. America. Yeah. Inshallah. Wow, that was cool. I don’t know what he was saying. He kept saying America, America and smiling. But I imagine it was pretty genuine. Are you from Esfahan? I know, I’m from Estefan. What’s Estefan? Just kidding. So what do you like about Esfahan? I like the inflation. I like, Come on, the political situation. Sanctions. It’s great. The river is dry. You know what, at least people have a sense of humor. I respect that. Really though, what’s good about Iran? What’s good about Iran? The nature is very varied. We got mountains, we got desert, we got the sea. The people are friendly. We don’t have that variety in food. Is it a struggle to live here? Yeah, it’s economically, it is economically. We have problems. We have daily problems. We have daily inflations and those stressful, you know, every time when you’re bombarded with the news, stress about the future. People are very educated, but mostly they want to immigrate outside Iran. But there’s a, there’s a misconception that Iran’s dangerous. Terrorism. That’s a scary place. But you know, I’m American and I, I’m going everywhere and I’m telling them I’m American and they like love to hear that. What do you think about America? People are people everywhere. American people are very friendly. I think they are very open minded. You know the problem is between the governments, not about people. I, I, I love American people. I love their dollars especially. So good to meet you, man. Nice to meet you. I’ll let you go, but nice to meet you. What’s your name? Drew. What is it like to live in Isfahan? You’re Gen Z, 21 years old. What’s it like to live here? It’s a beautiful city. It’s a history. And Nakshajah High Square is very big and very peaceful. Yeah, it’s amazing here. Have you ever met like tourists coming here or it’s really uncommon. Yes, the last summer I met two Spanish tourists. Nice. Have you ever met an American tourist? Never. So I’m American. How does it feel to. Oh really? Yeah. Why oh really? I’ve never seen an American. Really? Yes. You’ve never seen an American person? I like go to the America I like. So what do you think about America? Regardless of qualities, I think American people are very kind. How do you know if I’m the first one you’ve met? I saw so many Americans just in movies, not in real life of course. I see so many Tristan here from all around the world. Expect America. Is it safe here? It’s not that dangerous. What do you think about Iranian people? I mean, you may hear about Iranian people that they are very kind and hospitable. They are. That’s just the message that I want to share in my videos. Iran’s incredible and super safe and people are friendly like these ladies. I’m so happy to hear that American, person, Iranian people. It’s a very kind and friendly together. How does it make you feel that the entire world looks down on Iran? They think it’s a terrorism country. There’s just this horrible dark picture of Iran that the, the whole world sees. How does that make you feel? Because Iran always is in the media in a bad way. So just recently, like in 7th of October, what happened in Israel? So in the news, most of the country they say, oh, Iran got involved with the war, so they put pictures of the war. So that’s the media. It’s completely separated from the people. Exactly. That’s the point. Yeah, that’s the point. I bet if you could say one message to everybody in the world, I would say as the sun goes down. I’m meeting up with a friend of a friend who’s going to help me sum up my thoughts when it comes to safety in Iran. What is special about Isfahan to you? It’s so clean. So clean. Comparing other cities in Iran, also, people are kind to each other. It means you can find people who you can. Whom you can trust on them. Okay. You know, before I came to Iran, a lot of my friends and family, even my parents, think that I’m so crazy, that it’s so dangerous. How does that make you feel? I know I heard a lot about it in news. That’s not the truth. Iran is very safe. Like, okay, in every country, we have problems. We have maybe, inner war. So every country has it. Well, it’s right in the middle of the world. Exactly. It is. Many other wars happening around Iran, and it’s just. Yeah, it’s a mess politically, unfortunately. Yeah. But the point is Iran is very safe, very kind people. If you could say, any message to people in the world watching this, mostly American people watching this, what would you tell them? I would tell you that Iran is safe. And, don’t let news to cheat you. And if you travel to Iran, so, because it’s very economic, very safe, and people are, very welcoming and nice to you. So you will have a nice trip and stay in Iran. I can promise. As I head back to my hotel, I want to update my parents, who’ve been waiting eagerly to hear from me. Hey, I really want to take you here. I think I am okay right now, but thank you. I don’t know, man, but the world’s falling apart in the Middle East. If you’re there, I promise you it’s safe. Yeah. All right. I believe you. You look like you’re in very good hands, so that makes us happy. Thank you. Don’t worry at all. Don’t worry at all. My mom is. Is right. I am in good hands. With Amin as my guide, everyone here has been super friendly. But there’s something else worth mentioning. While the Iranian people seem happy on the surface, life behind the scenes isn’t so easy. Thanks to international sanctions, Iranians can’t use foreign credit cards, which means they can’t book flights, travel, or shop online like we do. Amin tells me he has to visit a physical travel agency and pay for flights in cash. And when he has to travel abroad, he needs to bring a lot of US Dollars since he can’t withdraw money from an atm. It’s a tough reality of being Iranian. Our Road trip is now going to take us north and west deep into the Kurdish communities and villages, which is going to really show the diversity of Iran. If you’ve never heard of Kurdistan, it’s the world’s largest unrecognized country, spanning Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. It has more residents in all of Canada, but sadly, regional politics prevent them from uniting as one nation. My goal for the remainder of the trip is to visit the smallest villages to meet the Kurds and see what their life is all about. And that leads us to our first town called Harsin. In true Kurdish fashion, there are amazing hospitality shows as we’re invited for a glass of tea with random locals. Mr. Aviator. Guys, show me how to crack open the walnuts. Wow, that’s nasty. Thank you. That’s about as fresh as a walnut gets. You notice like, when you shake their hands, they always put their hand over their heart, which is like a sign of respect. His name is Daring. You know, Dariush is the Persian, pronunciation for Darius King Darius. It’s super hard. Be careful. After a lovely first stop, we hit the road for Kerman Shah, the largest city in Iranian Kurdistan. We’re driving through this massive dust storm right now, coming from west from Iraq. From Iraq. Are you picking on Iraq? Oh, my God. In Arizona we have these. We call them haboob h a boob. As the road continues, the modern side of the city begins to fade, replaced by an older feeling of life. But before we go any further, Amin says we need to stop for gas. Because Iran is such an oil rich country. It, cost about A$50 to fill up this entire car. It’s subsidized by the government, so it is literally dirt cheap. Stopping on the side of the road here in the middle of nowhere, and there’s a lot of goats. They’re surrounding our car. I’m itching to get to Kermanshah, but Amin tells me there’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site that we have to stop and see. Welcome to Bistun. The world’s largest ancient inscription that dates back to 520 BC. While we’re not allowed to climb to the top, we can see from below how the inscription is still in perfect condition after more than 2500 years. Here you can also find a third century sculpture of Hercules. It is pretty cool how detailed it is. I mean, you can see like his beard, you can see his fingernails just casually looking at a prescription on this mountain. It’s something like you would see in Egypt and it’s so incredibly detailed. We are just arriving in Kermanshah right before the sunset. Pretty cool arrival into the city. Hello. How are you? How are you? We made it somewhere in a random neighborhood in Kermanshah. And we’re about to get dinner with Amin’s friends. You’re a nice gentleman with your gift. Yes. How are you? Is my friend. Hi, how are you? Nice to meet you. Hello. This is very nice. Hello. What does your shirt mean? I like this. It’s very nice. Yeah. The belt is called. Called choharana. When I went to Suleimani in Iraq, I saw that. Yeah. So what are we having for dinner tonight? The secret speaks with English. How old are you? 6. Have you ever spoke English with a native English speaker? No. He, really understands English, like, really well. Thank you so much. What is this? It’s a traditional drink. This is really colorful. It’s like rose water. What do you want to be when you grow up? Construction site. You want to be a construction site? Yeah. And I want to be a pilot. I’m going to be a police officer. All of that. Construction and pilot. And police officer. Yep. And a fire truck. I want to be a fire truck. Are you hungry? Yep. Where you going to sit? I’m going to sit next to you. So where are you gonna sit? There. Okay. So I’m gonna sit there. Okay. There. Is that okay? Yep. Ravi speaks English. He’s my best pet. So he’s your best friend and your best pet? Yeah. Wow. Nice room you have. Yep. My favorite toy is a bouncy ball. He took me in his room in the back, and he’s showing me his favorite toys. Is that fun? You have a lot of books in here. No, but I’m not reading it. Here’s my bathroom. We can use it to go bath. Everybody watching this video from America, and the world is going to love you. You. What do you want to say to them? I want to say I’m six years old and cute. Yep. This is a hat. Yes. The food is ready. Come on. This is the secret food. Which one is secret? That. That’s. That’s. That’s every secret. I mean, in Iran, there’s not many recognizable brands, but Coca Cola is one of them. Yeah. This is. No. McDonald’s a fizzing drink. Yes. Wow, look at here. Yes, man. It’s very colorful. Thank you. Who cooked it? Which one of you cooked? You cooked all of it? Thank you. This is amazing. My favorite fruit is a strawberry. Strawberry. So this dish is a very, very typical dish from Kermanshah, we call it. These are, Almonds and red barberries that they are blackberries. You got it wrong. It’s a BlackBerry. Okay, you start first. This is awesome. With the current situation in Iran and Middle east, was it okay for you to travel to Iran? I wasn’t scared because I’ve been to many countries in the Middle east, including Iran. And so I know that the governments are different than the people. But to get the visa, it was tricky. It took many months actually to get the visa. And my parents are scared right now that I’m here. So there’s a lot of fear about Iran. But for me, I just want to come and meet, meet the people and share this with everyone. Our parents are also afraid that we are living in Iran. It’s just not your parents. Everyone’s scared of Iran. What does it mean to you to be Kurdish so difficult because I left is. She feels that they are kind of isolated in a corner of the country. The other people in the country don’t understand the language. For example, in America, all people are speaking English, you know, but here in Iran, it’s a lot of languages like Kurdish, Arabic, Persian. How is the culture of, Iranian Kurdistan different from the rest of the country? Our food or our traditional, for example, handshaking or lots of things that you are different. So in religion, you are different in religion. Thank you for explaining. Thank you. This is the best dish I’ve had in Iran. Rival for pasing. I’m serious. I’m a meat monster. Are you? If it’s a bad meat, I don’t eat it. If the real meat, I’ll eat. Is this real or bad? I need a real. Not bad. Is this real? It is good. What was it like here many decades ago? How is it different than today? Since long time ago, it’s been like this, and it hasn’t changed and still is like that. It’s that they want to have some of their Right. One of them, for example, is they would like their language, which is Kurdish, the mother language. At least it’s been, you know that they teach it at the schools as well. Because they don’t teach it at schools. No, because in Iran, the official language is Farsi. What are some of the other struggles that you have? Because there’s a border near here, but the people are Kurdish. Does that affect any family dynamics or how does that change the life because of the nearby border? So they all have, relatives in, Iraqi Kurdistan. You know that it’s not like that. They cannot go there, but they have to have visa they have to apply for visa. Courts of Iran and Iraq are very similar. So they can easily, together. The same thing between the Kurds of Turkey and Syria. They believe that in Kurdish region in Iran, the unemployment rate is higher than other parts of the country. It’s totally high all around Iran, but they believe that here is higher than other parts. They have less opportunities. Do you know that the Kurdish people are the largest ethnic group in the world without a, nation? And it’s so sad. You know, you just grew up and you profess the time court, but you’d never have a country or you’d never have a rule, you know, a government who supports you. These conversations really, really strike a nerve. And I have empathy for the beautiful Kurdish people and their culture. After dinner, they want to share some traditional songs played by these handmade instruments. Next year, come to our home. I will. Thank you so much. I hope you have a good night. He says that hopefully we will have a good relation. I mean, Iran and usa, we’ll have a good relation. And we will see you in USA soon. Thank you. That was amazing. That was one of the best experiences of my life. Wow. After a wonderful sleep, I’m feeling refreshed for another day of exploring Irani Kurdistan. We are going to be spending all day driving northbound and stop in random towns and anything that catches our eye. We’ve entered a beautiful village called Palangan. And what is this place known for? The village is famous for its architecture. It’s a step. It’s interesting that the courtyard of a house is the roof of the house. The next house. The next house, exactly. It’s set alongside this mountain kind of at the bottom, but it’s the exact same color as the mountain. So when you’re driving in, it’s almost hard to notice it. It’s camouflage. Camouflage like a chameleon. We’re just going to wander around and see if we can meet some people. I already know they’re going to be friendly, of course. Like other part of the country, they should be very friendly here. Let’s go and see. Let’s. All right. We’re shopping for scarf here because it’s hot and it’s going to make my head cooler and look cooler. So how much is it? They are guests. He’s pushing us away. He’s not letting us pay. Oh, he took it. Yes. Okay. Finally. We won the battle. So cool, man. There’s so friendly. Every time you make eye contact, they’re like, come here, come with me. Take this Come to my house. As you can see behind me, they still use donkeys to get around this village, just like ancient times. And when you’re here and you see these old mud brick buildings and the way the society works, you really feel like you’re in the 1700s. This man we’ve just seen on the donkey, I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s preparing some stuff to go back to his village. I’m guessing. Salam. Salam just stepped on my leg. There is no indicator at the time exactly what happens. Bikes out. Let’s go. Not much help, unfortunately, in the moment. Cuz I probably wouldn’t be able to start it myself. All right, this is a losing battle. My mission is to find a young person and see what it’s like to live here. Hopefully they would speak English, but we don’t know for sure. Some friendly old man up there just gave us the wave, so he invited, us to go and visit them. Let’s go and see. Okay, so now he’s taking us somewhere. The old man, what’s he saying? So he’s inviting us to his balcony. It’s his house here and he asked us to go to the balcony. Ya Allah. Following the leader. Look at the balcony views. Holy smokes. You see how friendly people are? We don’t know him. We just came and he said that. Come with us. He took us to his house. You’re really spoiled being from Iran because when you go to other countries like Switzerland, people are private people. They’re not going to let you come in their house. You’re used to like, you’re used to this? Yes. So I’m from America and I came here to learn about Kurdish people. Do you think that your grandparents and great grandparents and all your ancestors came from this village? Yes, 100% sure. That’s 4, 4, 5 centuries ago they’ve been living here. What are some of the struggles that Kurdish people face living in this region? Because obviously there’s borders around here. Years ago there were some problems. At least at this region. But right now everything is good. Safe and good. At the beginning of 1980s, there were some kind of, domestic wars here in this region. But, fortunately it says that now everything is safe. And in 1980, one year after the Iranian revolution, one of the deadliest conflicts in the Middle east reached Palangan. It was called the Iran Iraq War. Saddam Hussein launched a surprise invasion of Iran, seeking to gain control of border territories and oil reserves. The war escalated into a brutal Eight year conflict marked by trench warfare, chemical weapons and a high number of deaths. Kurdish fighters on both sides were now caught in the middle of two fighting nations. For the people of Palangan like this man, it seemed as though danger was closing in from every side. But their strength is something I truly admire. It’s really peaceful, he says here. You cannot believe how peaceful it is, this place. He says. What is one thing that you want the whole world to know about Kurdish people and Kurdish culture? Palangan is a beautiful place. He would like people from all around the world come here to Kordasan of Iran and this village. And he likes them to see this beauty here. People are really friendly and here is totally safe. He’s inviting you to come to Iran and Kurdistan of Iran and his village. The irony in what you said is that the whole world, including my country, thinks it’s so dangerous here. But in reality it’s really safe. As I know everything is quite safe here. People are friendly and they shouldn’t be worried at all. Thank you. The gentleman just invited us to stay with him for lunch. He just, you know, that invited us to his house and now he’s insisting us, you know, to wait and have lunch with them. I could easily stay at this guy’s house all day long, but it’s time to wander around the village and see who else I can meet. After a few humble interactions, I think I just hit the jackpot. So what happened is we met this really friendly old lady who was selling stuff, you know, we were on our way to get some lunch and we asked her if she wants to join us and she said yes, I would love to, but instead of you eating at the restaurant, I’m going to set up a really nice carpet here so you can enjoy the meal here at my shop with me. So we have walked all the way to the other side of town to get some fish, which is what they eat here, believe it or not. And we’re going to bring it back to her. She’s such a sweetheart that I know this is going to be an incredible moment and conversation. And you guys are coming with me. We found the only restaurant in town where this guy is cooking some fresh water fish, grilling it, spicing it looks, it smells incredible. Welcome. All right, we have a lot of fish and here she is. Hello. Salam. Salam. Ya Allah. She’s like more active than my friends and she’s like 85. That’s Kush. How is it? Did you try? Yeah, it’s amazing. Oh my God. It’s so soft. Just melts in your mouth. So good. This is pomegranate sauce. You know they grow pomegranate here. You’re very, very, very kind. Thank you so much. What is it like living here in Palanga and village? Good, good. Thanks God. Good. How old are you? 80. 80. 80 years old. Mashallah. Mashallah. What’s the key to living a happy, healthy life? Food, nice weather. You know that here they have farming, so everything is good. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Elisha. Elisha. Tell me about Kurdish culture and Kurdish people. How are they different from other people in Iran? All people are good. That’s how hard the court is. Everybody is good. Can you remember any crazy stories that happened here? Good or bad? Just something that you want to share? Yeah. She just says that before it was different lifestyle. Here they just use animals such as mules and donkeys to go around. Now everything is with car. Which one do you prefer, the old one or the new one? She says that before it was much more difficult, but now it’s much easier, to leave. She has clients coming right now. She has to grind. She’s going to bring glasses. I wanted to go, she doesn’t let me. And she’s very fast. Every two minutes she’s getting up and going down. This is why she’s healthy. Eight years old and healthy. Do you hope that someday Kurdistan will have its own country? It will be very good if they can live all together. Inshaallah. If you could say one message to everybody in the world, what would you tell them? She wishes them all the best. She’s okay. Okay. Okay. Lovely experience, truly. Isn’t she amazing? Amazing. She’s amazing. She means literally, you step on my island. You are most welcome to our place. This village is spectacular. Everyone’s so friendly and you can really feel the Kurdish hospitality. They’re shaking your hands, bringing you inside their shops, inviting you into their homes and just genuine great people that just have good hearts. What’s amazing to me is that even though this settlement dates back to the third century, there’s still people living in these houses. It’s not made for tourists, it’s just made for the locals. And you can see there’s people everywhere. Everywhere. You know, I travel so fast and I’m always bouncing around from place to place, but it’s nice to just kind of sit down and relax here. It’s really slow paced life, just kind of meet people as they walk by and just admire the beauty of this ancient village. Our, journey to cover more of Irani Kurdistan continues. And after another five hours of driving, we stumble across a bustling town. We just arrived in the Kurdish town called Sanandaj, which is a beautiful little town somewhere in northwestern Iran. There’s something about being in a town that no one’s heard of before, including myself. Before this trip, I never heard of Sanandaj. But it’s cool, it’s hip. You even have women not wearing scarves here. It’s like this cross between traditional but also some new things, which is pretty sweet. What I’ve gathered from being in Iran is that it might be the most affordable country in the world, at least as a traveler. So in this city, I want to do a budget challenge to see how many things I can buy for 100 bucks. 50 million reals is $100. So this is what we get for 100 US there’s two different currency systems in Iran. There’s riyals, which is the official currency if you Google it, riyaz. But there’s tuman. What’s the difference? Tuman officially doesn’t exist, but since olden time, people, to make it easier to say that, they always remove, one of zeros. So, for example, this is 500,000 riyals, which is equal to 50,000 two months. But in conversation, do you say 50 or 50,000? We just. Right now, we just say 50. 50. 50. Too much. Okay. All right. So now what can we buy with all this? Let’s go. Let’s go to the casino. We have our bag full of cash here. And we are in the bazaar, gonna try to meet some people and see how far this hundred dollars can take me. Probably a lot of stuff, I am guessing. Everywhere you see the freshest fruits and vegetables everywhere. So this is a butcher shop. We have testicles, your favorite, right? Yeah, course. After you. If you ever wanted to try brain and testicles, Sanandaj is your place. You know, when the sun starts to go down, everything becomes lively. Always too hot in the afternoon. Exactly. Siesta. Yes. Everybody relax. Even sometimes they go home, right? And then they come back in the afternoon. And you know that you can see how alive the city is right now. America, they are asking how you come from United States to Iran. Why? I took a plane. This is that. How expensive are the good in US I would say it’s five to seven times more expensive in the US Than here. For example. For example, this would be like five, seven U.S. u.S. For one. One for one, one for seven. U.S. dollar one kilogram. You buy here for five, cents. Cents. Five cents? Yeah, it’s like 1 1,000 cheaper than the U.S. they’re making joke. They say that we can just export eggplant to us, sell it there. They want to know how people in U.S. you know that like Trump. A lot of people like him. A lot of people hate him. What do you think? What do you think? He likes him really? If you ask someone in US that they know, for example the name of the leader in Iran. Do. Do you think that they know? Absolutely not. I think nobody knows. Yeah, but here, everybody here, everybody, if you ask them, probably they know the previous, presidents of United States. Okay, thank you. Bye bye. Thank you. The name is kalone bread, which is a stuff with some vegetable grows in mountain as the lady was in Afghanistan, they call this Bolani. Bolani. The same thing. Really? Bolani, yes. This is really a, cool scene. You see all these men making this incredible, incredible flatbread with some onions inside. Scallions. We’re gonna give it a try. America. Our United States. Every time we tell people you’re American, they say Trump. He says that if Trump come to the office, our money goes, down much more. It is this is that the price of dollar is around 55,000 right now. It will be 100,000 soon. You know, at least that, people hear joke about it, cuz that’s really messed up for the economy. But they have a sense of humor, which is actually really nice. Okay, there we go. Let’s try it. How much is it? 200. 200. Can I give a tip? Yeah. Take three. Take three. Take it. All right, let’s try it. He says that you have to drink it. A yogurt drink. It’s really creamy and buttery. Almost like a quesadilla with no cheese, but just the onions. Oh my God. For real? In Iran, I’ve never tried something like this. It says that it’s considered to be one of the oldest fast foods in the world. Amazing. Really amazing. They give you this really salty, milk drink. They drink it across the Middle East. Really, really sour and salty. But it’s good mixed with the, with the food. Tell me about Kurdish people. Tell me about your culture. Friendly people, hospitable people. They are among one of the most ancient nations in this, country. From the mid 8th century BCD, I could eat like four of these. But I’m gonna save myself so for more food later. Do you want another bite? Yes. Cue the music. Okay, we still have about three pounds worth of money to get rid of. So onwards. It seems that you are the superstar of the town right now. Everybody is looking at you, pointing at you, and they’re talking about you. You’re also the superstar because we’re together. So crossing the street in Iran is crazy. The drivers do not pay attention, and they won’t stop for you unless you really do this. It’s crazy. You can literally find anything here from clothes to electronics. To look at this one, it’s like antique shop. Like, if we were standing right here 50 years ago, the guy would look like this. And this would look like the same. Exact. Right. Exactly the same. Okay, so we still have a lot of cash. We got to spend some money, man. What do you think we should get? What are these old men doing here? I think that they are selling, yeah, Prayer beads. Salam. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. America. America. America. Yes. Kobe. What did he say? They were cheesing his. Okay, let’s get one. How much? Yeah, this is 15, million. Real. Just give me a second while I count the real, please. So nine million. Yeah, nine of that. 90. Here’s 50. That’s 51. Two. I lost count. We look stressed now. When the money comes out, here is safe. Anywhere else in the world. You cannot do that. Very good point. Anywhere else in the world. You can’t just take out money. Dude, this is a crazy scene management. This is crazy. I just pulled out 90 banknotes to fam. So, 10 million. Nine million. We got a discount. We got the discount. One million. I just met these lovely old men here selling prayer beads that are made out of amber, and I bought one for 9 million reals. So 90 of these hundred thousand banknotes. There you go. That’s yours. No, no. See? Cheers. Let me take it. The bag is getting lighter and lighter. We got a few. Few more things to get. One of my favorite things about Iran are the old bazaars. And you can feel how old they are just by looking at the roof. This was always a place where people buy stuff. Yes, always. For 400 years. Bazaars were always like, the economical core of the cities. Yeah. Different merchants from other cities, even other countries came to these places doing business. So it was just like the beating heart of the city. I have about 75 US left in the bag, and I’m thinking to get a nice carpet, because in Iran, they make a lot of incredible carpets that they export all over the world. So we’re gonna look inside this carpet shop or. That’s cool too. Like something to hang in my house. That is, more than your budget. This is from here because of that. I think this is clean. Yeah, this is it. I mean, matches your budget, really. Any of this, you can do the same price, but just choose the color and pattern. The first one, I like it more. Is it locally made? They are all from here. That’s the best part of this whole video. So this is for, like, decoration. You can, put it on the floor, actually very strong material. So it’s made of, of wool or hang it up to you. In Iran, in olden times, we are mostly used as a, like a curtain. Yeah. They hang it at the entrances of the doors, but you can put it on the floor. We usually use it on the floor. Now we are surrounded by amazing Persian carpets and rugs. Why are carpets so famous in Iran? We are one of the biggest producer of carpets. And historically Iranians are one of the first carpet weavers in the world. Persian carpets, are all hand woven. Different, you know, that actually pattern from different part of the country. This is like the regional, like this kind of style. Yes. They told you it’s a clean. And it comes from this area. We call it Sene. Sene. Pattern. Sene, you remember, is the, the way that the Kurdish pronounced Sanandaj Sene. So this is called seneh klim. I’m going to take this all the way to America, bro. All right, now it’s time to pay for the carpet. I’m really slow. Sorry. This is 5 million. There you go. And we got a lot more to go. Five more million. You can see he’s way faster at counting the money than I am. The inflation in Iran is so high that the money just keeps getting devalued. So we have, like, tens of millions of riyals that we’re paying, which is just like 70 or 80 US dollars. It’s absurd. Just another day in the life in Iran, spending millions of riyals to buy a carpet. If I weighed it. She’s right. Just weigh it. Just know how much each bill weighs. Smart. We’ve been counting for about 10 minutes. Still going. Is that everything? Yeah, he gave it. Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Ten minutes later, we got all the money counted and I got my carpet. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Here we are. Even though we’re here in Kurdistan, there are reminders that this is indeed Iran with Flags everywhere, Lots of flags. You know, it’s interesting, in Iraqi Kurdistan they don’t have Iraqi flags, they only have Kurdish flags flag. But here there’s only Iranian flags. Yeah, because I think there they have some kind of independency. Right. But here they are under, control of Iranian government. It’s just an observation. Yeah. What Amin says is true. In Iraq, Kurdistan is semi independent with its own government, flag, laws and military. But here in Iran, the Kurds don’t have that kind of power. As I walk around the bazaar, there are constant reminders that I’m still in Iran. I love how this is just a random mosque and it’s just absolutely stunning with the blue tiles. That is Iran for you, my friends. The guy’s opening up the mosque just for us to go check it out inside. Let’s go. The coolest thing about this mosque is all the carpets and rugs on the floor. They are all from Kurdistan region. And I’m sure they are donated to the mosque because you know, that as a nice gesture, a good, amen. They just donate this carpet to the mosque as a holy place. In one hour, I think it will be the sunset prayer time. And people come, to say prayer here. These are all holy books. The Quran, there’s a bookshelf of them here. Wow, fantastic. The mosque is so peaceful and I appreciate this quiet moment to reflect on my trip so far. But now we’re back on the road, driving along the Iran Iraq border border. A place that was once scarred by war. What is this police station that I shouldn’t be filming? These mountains used to hide Kurdish fighters. But today I’m here to see what’s changed. Right now we’re in a town called Marivan on the border of Iraq and Iran. This is like full on Kurdishu with way more men wearing the traditional outfits, women as well. I have a huge fascination with boulder towns because literally, if you drive 10 minutes from here, everyone’s going to be speaking Arabic. And just like this imaginary line that just separates cultures and people. And especially when it comes to Kurdistan, you know, the same culture split between two countries. Just super interesting to me. You’ve been a lot of places in Iran. In fact, you might have the world record for the most, traveled Iranian who has seen the country. But this place, it’s your first time? This is my first time to be here in Marivan. We’re going to go explore the town and also we’re going to check out the lake in the main square area. There’s a chill hangout here with a bunch of old guys and they have tea that they’re just serving on the street and everybody just comes and drinks it. It’s amazing. How do you feel here? Totally amazing. For me. I love this place. It’s definitely different than the other place we were in. Yeah. Behind me they’re playing like this checkers game with rocks. Literally. That’s all I understand. Is the name of the board game that they are playing does like chess. 60, 64 blocks. And so because we’re so close to the Iraqi border, do you have any influence from Solimania because it’s just there or how does that affect the. The culture of the town? So it’s, more or less the same. Even though the way that they speak is the same language. Bit of, you know, the different accents, the same style of, you know, the legally outfits they were here as well in. But as a second language, they would speak Arabic instead of Farsi. That’s the biggest difference. That’s the only difference. Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. What happened? What happened? The gentleman is. You already paid. He’s going to pay for. You don’t have to pay for us. I just came to pay, but this nice gentleman says thank you. You are our guest. Crazy. I don’t know what to say, really. I mean it. Yeah. Salam. How are you? It’s enjoy the wind. Effort always pays off and hard work leads to success. I agree with that. Do you know what it means? He has no idea. I like it. It’s good. There’s something special about being in a random border town. You know what I mean? Yeah. It just shows how diverse Iran is. There’s so Many different little pockets of this country that are so different from the rest. Yeah. From southeast to northwest to totally different. As all these gentlemen were saying, that it’s very similar to the Kurdistan of Iraq. That’s what’s cool. It’s like you cross the border, but the culture is still the same. Yeah. Something I love about the culture here is that the men just hold hands. They just walk down the street holding hands like we saw them. I’m from America. America. Good luck. Thank you. We’ve been sitting here for about three minutes and he just invited us to his house. Everybody’s super nice. They just shake your hand, invite you to their house. It’s a good life out here. What do you think about America? United States? He’s offering to give you fish for free. He says that take it and, make a barbecue there, just by the lake. We say goodbye. He goes, hello. Good morning. Good morning. Hello. How are you? I’m fine. How are you? The sad thing is that these big countries have separated the Kurdish people. And so if you live in Iran, you’re forced to know Farsi as a second language. You’re forced to abide by the laws and the rules of Iran. And if you’re in Iraq, it’s the opposite. You’re forced to learn Arabic in schools, and you have to abide by the laws of Iraq. But it’s crazy that it’s the same people. People. When you think about other countries and cultures, you have Vietnamese people living in Vietnam, Japanese people living in Japan, Brazilians living in Brazil. But the Kurds don’t have that luxury. We’ve made it to a beautiful lake called Zarivar, right on the border of Iran and Iraq. Actually, just those mountains there is Iraq. You see a bunch of fish in here? Look, you can’t come to this lake and not take the swan boat. Has to happen. We get a more romantic small one. I mean, Saoji. Thank you. Cue the music. We’re sailing to Iraq. Have you heard of Bamiyan, Afghanistan? So in Bamiyan, there’s a beautiful lake, and they have this exact thing. So, the last time I was on a swan boat was in Bamyan. I would love to go to that Paris. Yeah. Dude, it’s amazing. Someday we’re going to take a mean to Afghanistan. So why do you think tourists don’t come to this region? I think we need to do more advertisement we need to show the beauty of this region. You’ve seen that it’s culturally totally safe. Culture is different. People are really, really nice. So it can be amazing for other travelers to come and visit this part of Iran. If you ever wonder what two grown men look like in a white swan pedaling, this is what it looks like. Over the last seven days, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of Iran and developed a real respect for its people, who face challenges that most of the world will never grasp. From the Kashkai nomads living peacefully off the land to the proud Kurdish communities in the west fighting for their identity. Everyone I’ve met is living proof that Iran is safe and the media only cares about the negative. Listen, I’m not saying this country doesn’t have its problems, but I want people to look past their preconceptions and see this ancient culture for what it really is. Safe, beautiful, and full of history. You won’t find anywhere else.

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This is a story that documents my week-long road trip through Iran – one of my favorite countries on earth.

Please note that this video was filmed and edited months before the recent escalation between Israel and Iran. While the timing is challenging, I believe it’s essential to share stories that highlight the people, culture, and humanity of a country, especially when headlines focus mostly on conflict.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by violence — from the mosques of Tehran, to the synagogues of Tel Aviv, to the streets of Gaza — and I continue to hope for peace in the Middle East.

Iran is an absolutely amazing country, and I hope you will watch this video with compassion and an open mind!

– Drew Binsky

#iran #travel #culture

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👨🏻‍🦰 WHO AM I?
I’m Drew Binsky, and I have been to every country in the world (197/197), and now my goal is to meet every President. I make documentaries about interesting people/cultures and epic adventures in faraway places. My ultimate goal is to inspire you to travel, because travel is the best education you can get. And our planet is beautiful!

MOST POPULAR YOUTUBE VIDEOS:
► He Hasn’t Slept Since 1962: http://y2u.be/EDx1JvPEtxs
► 3 Things You Can’t Do in North Korea: http://y2u.be/mNsx0Nqryos
► Inside Hong Kong’s Coffin-Sized Apartments: http://y2u.be/6amK2BgjXk8
► Tallest Humans on Earth: http://y2u.be/u03kNQNclGY
► He Is The Ice Man: http://y2u.be/VF8dkjEdKNo

🙏 GET IN TOUCH!
► Website: https://www.drewbinsky.com
► Email: team@drewbinsky.com