08/29/2008 Guest Columnist: Seattle, meet Tehran; Tehran, Seattle
I also couldn't have predicted our reception by Iranians. Friends and family had concerns about my plans to visit Iran, which began to worry me as well. There was nothing to fear. The Iranians are incredible hosts and remarkably pro-American, given our history and current tensions. I went with a group and although our freedom to travel was limited, we were routinely approached in the streets, hotels, museums and restaurants; everyone was curious about where we were from.

08/26/2008 A Holiday in Iran
When Michelle May, an avid traveler, returned to New York's John F. Kennedy airport after a seven-week trip to Iran this summer, she says she was closely questioned and her luggage searched after officials read on her customs card that she had been to the Islamic Republic.

05/29/2008 Staffer returns to a beloved country from her past: Iran
For her, one of the greatest pleasures of the trip was interacting with Iranians. "We met people in bazaars, tea houses, shops, restaurants. Usually if they spoke any English and you smiled and said hello, you'd end up in a conversation.

11/30/2007 Reflections on my trip to Iran
In the cities, the Iranian women I saw seemed strong, educated, hip, opinionated, giggly, spirited, beautiful and stylish. While its clear that women and men are treated differently in many ways, I think our Western views are worse than the reality.

09/29/2007 Iran - the most vegetarian unfriendly country in the world?
There's a lot to like about Iran. The people are some of the most hospitable I've encountered anywhere in the world, the architecture and history are amazing, and the cities are adorned with lush parks. But one bugbear of my short stay there was the difficulty in getting vegetarian food.

04/30/2006 Edinburgh University Students in Iran
I am not sure I can summarise in a couple of hundred words how fantastic this trip was. I have tried in far more words and with pictures, and still not managed it.