Adriana Bata and Miguel Angel Cinquantini, respectively 35 and 45, travelled Iran in September 2014.

They began travelling around the world since July 2014. “In this long trip we visit, till now, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia,” they said in an interview with the Tehran Times.

They had travelled Turkey and they decided to visit Iran as well. “Because is near and is an interesting country. Why not visiting?” they answered.

“Main news that is heard abroad are negative and shows a dangerous Iran but the casual country is friendly and interesting to visit,” they said.

The dress code and respecting Islamic rules including “Hijab” in Iran was somehow strange for them as non-Muslim tourists. However they said that they have “all nice memories and are the moments we spend with the people that host us in Tabriz, Zanjan and Tehran.”

They called “Iranian people” as the best memory they have from the country.

“Because they host us in their houses, they open your hearts and show us the places with the local view and not like simple tourists,” they added.

In their view, the historical sites in Iran were great especially in Tabriz, Zanjan and Tehran.


“Take cash money because (it) is not possible to withdraw from banks or use the international credit and debit cards,” they advised tourists who want to travel the country.

The Persian cuisines are one of the sweetest part of their trip. “We think the Iranian food is very tasteful.”

“We hope to visit Iran again with more time to know more about its places, culture and people,” they concluded.

According to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness
Report 2015 conducted by the World Economic
Forum (WEF), Iran is the most affordable country for tourists amongst the 141 countries.

Price Competitiveness in the Tourism and Travel Industry is the lower costs related to travel in a country increase its attractiveness for many travelers as well as for investing in the T&T sector.

Iran made it onto the top destination lists of major publications such as The Financial Times and
The Guardian last year thanks to sights that include 2,500-year old ruins at Persepolis near Shiraz and 16th-century Islamic architectural gems in Isfahan.

Iran is home to some of the world’s most magnificent historical and archaeological sites. Relics of a proud ancient civilization include: Persepolis, the capital of the largest empire that the world has ever seen; the city of Isfahan; Shiraz, the city of love and poetry; and Hamadan, where Avicenna, the father of early modern medicine, is buried.

UNESCO has declared 16 world heritage sites in
Iran, which was historically referred to as Persia in the west, until the 20th century.

PHOTO: Adriana and Miguel visit the Soltanieh Dome in Zanjan during their trip to Iran in September 2014 (Photo: Adriana Bata