Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Refl ecting on My Motives…
and the Real Souvenir I Carried Home
Returning home to the US, I faced a barrage of questions—mainly, “Why
did you go to Iran?” Some were skeptical of my motives, accusing me of just
trying to make a buck. (As a businessman, I can assure you there was no
risk of a proi t in this venture.) Reading the comments readers shared on my
blog—some of whom railed against me for “naively” acting as a Jane Fonda-
type mouthpiece for an enemy that has allegedly bankrolled terrorists—was
also thought-provoking. h e whole experience made me want to hug people
and scream at the same time. It was intensely human.
I didn't go to Iran as a businessman or as a politician. I went as what I
am—a travel writer. I went for the same reasons I travel anywhere: to get out
of my own culture and learn, to go to a scary place and i nd it's not so scary, and
to bring distant places to people who've yet to go there. To me, understanding
people and their lives is what travel is about, no matter where you go.
I have long held that travel can be a powerful force for peace. Travel
promotes understanding at the expense of fear. And understanding bridges
conl icts between nations. As Americans, we've endured the economic and
human cost of war enguli ng Iran's neighbor, Iraq. Seeing Iraq's cultural sites
destroyed and its kind people being dragged through the ugliness of that
Young couples—regardless of their presidents—share the same basic dreams and aspira-
tions the world over.
