Katy

Detour Editor

By Katy

A seasoned budget traveller, Editor Katy has already been to every country in the EU, and is gradually ticking off the rest of the world - when she can bear to leave her cats.

Having read so much about Iran over the last month, I became rather intrigued to know more. And painfully aware that it could be a long time before I feel safe enough to visit myself, I reached out to the only person in the JFC family I knew had visited — former Flight Finder and Guide at 100 Spires City Tours in Prague, Kamil. 

Born in Syria to a Czech father and Iranian mother, and having since lived everywhere from Cairo to Glasgow to California, Kamil found himself in the unique position of being neither local nor truly foreign when he visited Iran. I heard all about his trip to the country in 2019, as well as some other tips from his recent travels:

Hi Kamil! It’s great to chat with you. I told you about the book we’ve been reading, Revolutionary Ride, and I would love to hear your experiences from when you last visited Iran.

The thing I think most people don’t realise about Iran is that the tourism infrastructure is great. Trains and buses get you around, there are hotels, you never turn up to a museum and find nobody knows what’s going on, there are opening times and things work. 

It’s not a wild west like going to Afghanistan might be, where there are no tourist sites. Or if there are, it’s a ruin in the middle of nowhere that you have to drive to yourself. In that sense, I would encourage people to go. You just have to do a bit of research and digging, but there are a million blogs you can find.

And what about safety? Obviously, that’s what makes most tourists hesitate — and the political climate. Did you get the sense that it was safe for other tourists there?

I would say in a standard year, if there weren’t a war going on, it would be relatively safe. You read up on the local laws — women especially, when it comes to wearing the hijab — things about the culture, social and political expectations. In terms of crime, things like muggings, it’s safe. Somewhere like Brazil would be much less safe!

Now, however, the political situation is very unstable. And you always have to take into account the fact that while there are rules, the way the government works, anybody can be found guilty of breaking those rules at any time. So can I say that everybody is going to be safe and have no problems? No. 

Me, personally, I would feel confident enough to go there alone now. But I can understand why people would be nervous. So if you’re considering it, but you’re hesitant to go, I’d recommend the middle ground — going with a tour operator. Because then you’re as close to guaranteed not to have any issues as possible. You’ve got the rubber stamp.

As far as I know, the country is still open for standard tourism, backpackers etc. Except for citizens of Australia, the United Kingdom and the USA, who can visit, but you need to go as part of a group tour.

What were the things that drew you to go there, other than personal ties?

It’s an extremely rich country, culturally. Imagine there were somewhere with as much variety in terms of music, food, history, etc. as Mexico out there in the world, just as rich, but totally hidden — that’s Iran. It’s like a treasure trove of the whole Middle East distilled into one, but with its own unique spin, since it’s not an Arab country.

When you try the food, see the architecture… it’s like the history breathes on you there. You walk through the old towns, and you feel like you’re connected to a lifestyle that’s relatively similar to how people were living thousands of years ago. The habits, the way they speak to each other, the bazaars

They’re not pushy there like they were when I used to live in Egypt. Because they don’t get mass tourism in Iran, they don’t have this idea that you’re a walking wallet, they just see you as a person.

I was in Uzbekistan earlier this year. I encourage everyone to go — it is beautiful — however, if I had to compare it with Iran, I’d say the latter is just much richer. Not in the sense of money, but in the sense of the preserved history, the architecture, and the food. The cuisine is infinitely superior in Iran. On the other hand, there’s no alcohol!

Well, in Revolutionary Ride, it certainly seems like the locals have no problem accessing alcohol and other banned commodities! 

Absolutely. There’s kind of an underground, parallel life. Young people use Instagram, have access to the west, many don’t wear the veil even though it’s very risky not to. The structures of power seem to be disintegrating. Visitors should obviously still obey the rules, but we’ll see how it changes.

Iran takes a lot of planning, and it’s a huge country. There are three cities you have to visit: Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz. They all have totally different cultures, cuisines, landscapes. But they are around 5–10 hours drive from each other, so don’t be afraid to take cheap domestic flights.

There’s so much to see across the country, too, it varies hugely geographically. From the Persian Gulf in the south, to green rolling hills in the north, near the border with Turkmenistan, to Damāvand, a huge volcano steeped in myth and legend. That’s a classic summer hiking destination. The trek takes a couple of days, and you sleep in huts on the way up. And then there’s the proper desert in the southeast corner near Pakistan, of course.

That all sounds amazing. Where else have you visited that really stands out to you? 

This January, I was in Cuba with my parents, and that was a very interesting experience. The situation there is not good just now. It was a blast from the past for my father, who grew up under a communist regime in Czechoslovakia. 

You know, there’s a 24-hour pharmacy, but you go in, and they’re selling nothing, the shelves are empty. They have no fuel. 100 years ago they were the world’s biggest exporter of sugar, and now they import it from Vietnam. There was a guy running around at 3am one night, blowing a whistle and shouting, “Pan! Pan!” because he’d managed to get some bread from the bakery. 

That said, I would still recommend that people visit. My philosophy on travel is that I travel to see the world as it is, not as I would like it to be. And by going there, you are in a way helping the local economy, you’re directly spending money with people, especially when you stay in casas particulares.

I think that’s something you miss when you stay in an all-inclusive resort, for example, which Cuba is huge for.

Yes, exactly. On our final two days, we decided that we wanted to see the Caribbean, so we stayed in an all-inclusive hotel in Varadero. Suddenly, there was food everywhere from morning to night. It didn’t taste as good as the stuff we’d had in tiny, family-run restaurants, either! There was so much food that must have been wasted.

Visiting Cuba at the moment isn’t an easy trip. It’ll take a lot of planning and coordination. I’d recommend booking your casa particular and then asking your host to help you organise everything else, like airport transfers. 

Do you have any other top destination tips?

Well, I was just in Detroit. It’s fascinating, you know there was this huge crash, and now it’s digging itself out. The Detroit Institute of Art has these gigantic murals by Diego Rivera, which just blew me away. 

And then there’s the Henry Ford Museum — I was there for six hours! They’ve got the presidential car that JFK was shot in, the car that Ronald Reagan was shot in, and the bus that Rosa Parks sat in. You can even sit in the bus! That was really special. And then there are other items from throughout American history, so many amazing things. That’s easily one whole day on its own.

Detroit’s a bit like an onion. Once you start peeling back the layers, you get it, and you’ll see that there’s lots to do there. They have good public transit, with a monorail, and a tram that goes in a straight line from one side of the city to the other. A car would still be more convenient, but I never felt unsafe while travelling around.

So, now onto your hometown, Prague. You’re a tour guide and spend lots of time showing people around. Where should they go?

Well, more broadly speaking, my favourite things about Prague are that it’s objectively the best-preserved city in Europe. And it’s consistently beautiful, not just in the centre. Plus, the lifestyle is great, very free. 

My favourite district is the Lesser Town, right below the Castle. People tend to only visit the first few streets, but never venture further. I think it’s got the distilled essence of Prague, full of hidden passages and little alleyways. There are lots of beautiful Baroque gardens, some with peacocks, and the street signs up there are beautiful. The area is full of little details.

If I have a guest visiting that I really want to treat, I’ll always take them to Café Imperial. It’s owned by a man who is like our version of Gordon Ramsay, but it’s not expensive if you come from Western countries. It’s Czech cuisine with a modern, updated twist.

But what I wish that visitors to the Czech Republic would do is go on trips outside the capital. Four days is about right for Prague, but if you can come for a week, get out of the city. The country is full of well-preserved gems!

Go three hours south to Český Krumlov — it’s a Disneyland of a town, ridiculously beautiful. There’s enough to do there if you want to spend the night. You can go rafting on the river, and soak up the atmosphere in the evening after the daytrippers leave. It’s the kind of place you should go on honeymoon.

Even the smaller towns just an hour away are worth visiting for the day, then you can head back in the late afternoon in time for a couple of beers in Prague. Easy!

Thanks so much for talking to me, Kamil. Safe travels!

Don’t forget to check out the free walking tours run by Kamil and his colleagues next time you’re in Prague!

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