Madam, - I write to you concerning certain misconceptions people can have about other countries, in this case Iran. Upon announcing to family, friends and colleagues that I planned to go there for a month I faced a constant barrage of "Iran? Is it safe? Aren't there terrorists there? The Iranians won't take too kindly to a Westerner travelling around their country".
Well, having been here for three weeks I can only report that all the above misconceptions are exactly that. I feel safer walking the streets of Tehran, a city of 14 million souls, many of them impoverished, than I do in Dublin.
In the 21 days I have been here in towns and cities such as Esfahan, Yasd, Shiraz and Tabriz, no fewer than 11 evening meals have been spent at the invitation of locals in Iranian homes. The hospitality and friendliness of total strangers have been both astounding and unprecedented in my travels.
I am completely drunk with amazement that the exact opposite is true of what many people referred to as a "dangerous holiday". Instead it has been full of welcoming hospitality, stunning Islamic architecture, fascinating history - as well as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Darius the Great's Persepolis.
In'shallah, this letter will help others to leave behind badly construed perceptions and go and discover for themselves a real jewel of the Middle East and a uniquely Persian "Céad Míle Fáilte". - Yours, etc,
DEREK LARNEY, Shiraz, Iran.