Report from Iran

I've wanted to go to Isfahan for decades, ever since I first saw pictures of its architectural masterpieces, long before I'd ever set foot outside North America. As I've gotten to other places, Isfahan has been left near the top of my personal lifetime travel "wish list".

Today I got a message about my dear friend John Lindsay-Poland (author of Emperors In the Jungle and much other fine writing), who is travelling in Iran:

I spoke a short while ago with John and his co-leader of FOR's fourth delegation to Iran , Leila Zand. They are well and John asked me to send warm greetings to all his contacts.... Currently, the delegation is in the city of Yazd. John, who as you know has traveled widely, described it as one of the most beautiful places he's ever been.

If you are interested in what it's like to be an American in Iran right now, in the midst of American government sabre-rattling, reports from the FOR delegation are being posted here .

I'm jealous of John, although perhaps not quite as much as I am of another writer friend, Jeff Greenwald , who was in Isfahan during the total eclipse of the sun in 1999. Jeff wrote more about his trip to Iran in his book, "Scratching the Surface", and sometimes includes stories about it in his stage performance, "Strange Travel Suggestions". You can hear him read an excerpt in this segment from NPR's "The Savvy Traveler". The warm and generous welcome Jeff received from ordinary Iranians is actually typical of what I've heard from many other American visitors over the last 15 years.

Next month I'm leaving on a year-long trip around the world with my partner, who will be on sabbatical from her teaching job. Parts of our itinerary are more certain than others: We've rented an apartment in Buenos Aires for the first couple of months, but we're waiting to decide whether to go to Iran until we get closer to the time and place.

In the meantime, I'll be doing what I can to try to keep the government of the USA from invading or bombing Iran in my name. When we travel, we confront the past, present, and future of war. I've seen what American bombs did to the historically and culturally significant monuments of Hue, Vietnam, for example. I don't want that to happen to Isfahan, Tehran, or anywhere else. And it's as important for Iranians to know that Americans (if not the American government) are their friends as it is for Americans to know about the friendship Iranians have for us.