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Photo credit: Lindsay Fincher

Good Manners in Iran: 3 Tips for Travelers

Tehrani girls. Photo credit: Ann Schneider
Tehrani girls. Photo credit: Ann Schneider

MIR’s Director of Sales and Iran Travel Expert, Joanna Millick, has traveled to Iran numerous times and jumps at any chance to visit again.

American travelers to Iran are often surprised by the warm welcome they receive.

In Iran they really roll out the red carpet for Americans, and want to speak English with you and take photos of you. This is genuine and comes from the heart. 

That said, there are some long-standing traditions and some modern rules that may be unfamiliar to Iran-bound travelers. Here are three ways to help you navigate them, and come away with a richer travel experience.

There’s a custom, or way of interacting, in Iran that your guide may have to help you negotiate. It’s called taarof, and it’s about hospitality, good manners, and being the best host ever, and it’s a cornerstone of good manners in Iran. What it means for the traveler is that an Iranian person will offer you the shirt off his or her back, but good manners require that you refuse it.

For example, on my first trip here, I came alone and traveled only with a guide. A gentleman in a coffee shop got to chatting with me in Farsi. My guide was translating for both of us, but when the man invited us to his family’s home for a meal, the guide stopped translating and seemed to be arguing with him. I tried to make my guide tell me what was going on, but he wouldn’t talk about it until we had taken our leave of the man.

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