Welcome to Iran
PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERT PRESTON PHOTOGRAPHY/ALAMY
IS IRAN SET TO BE THE YEAR’S SURPRISE NEW HOLIDAY DESTINATION? With the news that the FCO has lifted travel restrictions to most of the country, and with plans to increase tourist visas from 15 days to a month in the new year, it just might be. Certainly, the country has always been ripe for exploration, with 19 sites on the Unesco World Heritage list and a population famed for its hospitality. Among the highlights now more accessible than ever are the Persian gardens, ancient bazaars and tiled mosques of Isfahan (pictured), the magnifcent ruins of the fallen capital of Persepolis, and the museums. galleries and teahouses of the present capital Tehran. Go now, before the secret’s properly out, and you won’t have to share them.