‘Iran truth against West propaganda’

Tourists visiting Iran say the truth about the Islamic Republic is totally different from the Western media propaganda against the country.

“A place like Iran has two sides — the one created by the media and the other version, the truth, where everyone helps you when you travel and everyone smiles at you. It’s great,” AFP cited Piotr Chwalba, from Poland, who visited Persepolis.

Iran is one of the most vibrant countries the Middle East, attracting the lovers of history.

Esfahan’s Naqsh-e Jahan Square, the city of Bam and its cultural landscape, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Sheikh Safi al-din shrine, the historic bazaar complex in Tabriz, and Chogha Zanbil are only a number of sites among the Iranian historical heritage inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Thomas, an engineer from Stuttgart, Germany, said the only thing he hears about in the news back home is the issue of Iran’s nuclear energy program and the West’s dispute over the matter.

“What we see is totally different than what we hear from the outside,” Thomas said, adding that Iranians are “very hospitable and very curious.”

“The country is safe — maybe more so than some European countries,” the 29-year-old German national stated.

The International Civil Aviation Organization says Iran has the safest airspace in the Middle East. The country has been recently introduced as one of the top ten tourist destinations due to its high climate variety and reasonable services.

Iran, a country rich in history and culture, plans to expand its tourism industry.

The head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, and José Manuel Soria López, Spain’s minister of industry, energy and tourism had earlier inked an agreement on the issue.

According to the deal, “Spain will share its experience in hotel construction and converting historical buildings into guesthouses, and will also encourage Spanish shareholders to invest in Iran’s hotel industry.”