As a solo female traveler, Iinitially  had some hesitation engaging the services of a male driver-tour guide for my weeklong trip in Iran. Ali, however, made me feel very comfortable and safe. When he found out that I'm an architect, he asked me if I'll be interested to have his wife join us in my trip. His wife has mastters in Conservation and Restoration of Historical Monuments, and of course I said, yes. Not because I would feel safer having a woman with us, but because I have an additional expert guide with us. Ali made it a point to follow up with me about my travel plans. He was helpful in guiding me as to how to get the visa-on-arrival and everything else, and worked with me in finalizing my itinerary. He was flexible enough to design my itinerary according to what I want to see and do.  Having said that, he was also flexible enough to adjust my itinerary, when my trip was cut short by a day because of a delayed flight. 

Having Ali and his wife, Fati, as my guide for my 6-day stay in Iran made my trip not only easier, but also memorable. He made sure that I get to see all the interesting sights within that period, and learn about them,  and also do the things I want such as shop at the market, eat local food (either with a family or the favorite restaurant of the locals), be introduced to  the locals, and even be an assistant cook to an Iranian woman to be able to learn to cook Persian food, even for just a bit. He also helped me in haggling, and guided me as to where to buy the best things at the cheapest price. I don't think my trip would be as memorable and life changing if Ali was not my guide. I feel that the time I spent with him and his wife, not only introduced me to the important sights, but even more importantly, to the culture and people of Iran.