Iran: the friendliest people in the world
Times / Will Hide
22-Feb-2009 (2 comments)

The metal door to the synagogue swung open and a small boy skipped across the courtyard. He looked puzzled at the three people who stood before him, two of whom were clearly not Iranian. He led us up some steps to the temple, where I slipped a skullcap on to my head. A lady came towards us, smiling. “Are you Jewish?” she asked. “No,” I replied. “Sorry.” My friend Annette and I went inside anyway, past a table of food laid out for Passover, and sat at the back as an elderly man read from the Torah in front of eight others. I'd never have guessed that my first time inside a synagogue would be in Tehran, but Iran is full of surprises. It has a fundamentalist leadership that many in the West believe to be as nutty as a box of pistachios. But it also has a population of 65 million, most born after the 1979 Islamic Revolution (which culminated in the return from exile of Ayatollah Khomeini 30 years ago this month), and far removed from the dour and menacing stereotype often portrayed on the 10 o'clock news. The ordinary Iranian people are by far the friendliest and most welcoming I've met in more than 20 years of travelling.

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capt_ayhab

Excellent Article

by capt_ayhab on

Excellent article JJ. I took the liberty to post it in current.com

//current.com/items/89838021/iran_the_friendl...

Thanks

-YT


khaleh mosheh

Interesting

by khaleh mosheh on

The GIYUS guys also put in an excellent appearance on the comment section of the Times on that one. I guess any article showing Iran in a good light has to be 'neutralised'.