Val Berry

'Don't go, you'll be kidnapped' was the advice of my friends and family before I left for Iran and yes, we were kidnapped by a number of local families,- for tea! Total strangers came up to us and invited us for chicken barbeque lunches, gave us delicacies of almonds, berries which we couldn't name and so many smiles that we began to feel like celebrities. I don't think I have ever felt so welcomed to a country. (May 2011)