Australia has lowered its travel advice on Iran: a great reason to get on the Trans-Asia express
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Version 0 of 1. The train from Istanbul to Tehran is one of the greatest train rides in the world. Over four days the Trans-Asia express winds across Turkey, and through the mountains to the east. The terrain is rugged, but filled with natural beauty. After stopping to cross lake Van, a second train takes you all the way into the heart of Tehran. It was the best possible introduction to a country I had heard so much about but understood so little of when I visited Iran in January 2011. Now more Australians may hopefully take up the opportunity to visit the country, after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade lowered its travel advice to the country. Travellers are now advised to exercise a high degree of caution, rather than to reconsider their need to travel. At the time of my visit it was a volatile and intemperate time in the region. My trip took place shortly before the Arab Spring began to sweep across the Middle East and North Africa. Iran had experienced protests following the 2009 election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leading to a major crackdown on dissidents. The advice then – and up until recently – was to reconsider the need to travel to Iran. Unsurprisingly, tourism was not booming at the time I visited. On the entire train there were only a handful of westerners; a few Norwegians on a skiing adventure, a British man, a Spaniard, a Canadian and me. It was difficult to enter the country and gain visa approval. The border checks were cumbersome, and intimidating. At the time I was researching a story about the underground rock and hip hop scene in Tehran, and the stories I heard showed a regime that was desperate to stop the spread of western ideas. Music became a powerful vehicle of dissent, and the struggle of those who fought for the seemingly simple task of playing an instrument has been well documented. But Iran was beautiful and fascinating and I loved every minute of it. The people I met there were all friendly, and treated foreign travellers with enormous respect and courtesy. It’s a majestic country that’s full of the history of empires long dead. Tehran is a bustling metropolis, full of hidden secrets that are just beneath the surface. It’s a far less conservative city than most would imagine, with an exceedingly youthful population. It’s reassuring to hear that Australia has lowered the travel assessment for Australians to travel to Iran (although it is important to note that a high degree of caution is still recommended). The decision follows similar moves by the UK government, with the foreign office relaxing travel advice in July. The slow opening up of Iran to the rest of the world since the end of the reign of Ahmadinejad and the historic nuclear deal can surely only be positive, and will hopefully allow more people to experience the beauty of this mysterious country. |