From the very beginning of meeting Ali, I knew I would have an awesome trip. He is polite, courteous and has a great sense of humour. I haven't laughed so much on a trip. Ali is also an extremely intelligent gentleman, who has not just ample knowledge about his own country, but alot about other places in the world. He is an avid reader ( he showed me his extensive library when he invited me to his home for a family dinner ). Ali has a remarkable grasp on numbers and facts. Even things I told him or names of people at the beginning of the trip, were sharp in his mind to the very end of the trip two weeks later!

Ali got me safely and promptly to each destination in my two week trip. He made sure I was comfortable, bringing me drinks and having a stock of delicious snacks in his car. He never rushed me and allowed me to take my time for any videos or photographs I was taking at sights. He was also an excellent photographer for pics of me and knew how to capture beautiful angles of the backdrops behind me. They will be photographs I cherish for ever.

We quickly became friends and had long wonderful chats in the car about many different topics which really passed the time for some of those long drives.  We also spent alot of evenings chilling out in hotel yards chatting endlessly about many topics. He also introduced me to his lovely charming wife, Roya, who came with us on our tours in Yazd, their home city. Ali and his wife were kind enough to host me in their family home for lunch. Treating me to home made food and snacks. In their house, we read lots of amazing persian poetry from Hafez and Rumi plus many more interesting literature from their great library.

Roya, Ali's wife, was excellent at organising lovely restaurants last minute. The food was always a fine choice. Roya even managed to secure a booking for a Persian bath house, when the hosts refused initially, saying they were fully booked.

It was truly a pleasure to have met Ali.  I can safely say he will be a lifelong friend and I hope to travel on another adventure with him. If not Iran, we will meet up again somewhere in the middle east, or maybe even Europe!

Please do not hesitate to visit Iran with Ali. He's truly passionate about his country and a great ambassador for Iran. He is a honest person trying to make a living in a very challenging country with hyper inflation and taxes.  

Finally, please do not listen to all the media has to say. I have visited over 40 countries plus and I have never felt safer and more welcome! It would be a great shame if you missed this fantastic country and it's wonderful people.