Nishlija Perdrag Pronović and Liubica Vidanović, both owners of private companies, recently returned from their adventure in Iran, covering a distance of 11,000 kilometers on motorcycles, IRNA reported on Monday.
Nowhere else in the world have they witnessed such a profound inclination among people to offer hospitality and help to strangers as in Iran, they said. One thing that struck them as particularly amazing was that Iranians seem to genuinely derive pleasure from performing acts of kindness, and not expecting anything in return.
Prior to visiting Iran, the adventurers said they had set out to explore a country known for its ancient civilization, undeterred by the steady stream of negative coverage that Iran receives in the Western mainstream media.
They ended up spending 18 days in Iran, a country with a population of 85 million and spanning an area approximately 19 times larger than their home country, Serbia.
Pronović, who has previously traveled on motorcycle through more than 30 countries, said they made no mistake in choosing Iran as their destination.
“Iran is a country of contrasts,” he pointed out.
The adventurers said they encountered regions where the roads stood 2,200 meters above sea level, followed by areas as much as 28 meters below sea level. They found it remarkable, for example, that the entire Caspian Sea lies below sea level.
They discovered that the Caspian green belt along the sea coast serves as Iran’s main granary, with rice fields extending as far as the eye can see.
They saw how other parts of Iran are separated from the Caspian Sea by mountains towering over 3,000 meters, preventing clouds from passing through and reaching Tehran, the capital, and the central and southern regions.
The journey took the Serbian adventurers further south through vast desert expanses in central Iran, which were reminiscent of scenes from the movie “Mad Max,” as they rode 500 kilometers in landscapes with no vegetation in sight. Naked mountains and plains stretched through vast swathes of deserts, where the slightest breeze stirred up dust from the surroundings.
“In such regions, as soon as you see a small amount of vegetation, you know there must be water,” Pronović said.
Those landscapes stand in stark contrast with Iran’s bustling cosmopolitans they visited: Tehran with a population of 15 million holds the highest population density in the country; the second-largest city, Mashhad, is home to 3.4 million people, followed by Isfahan with 2.2 million inhabitants.
Pronović’s travel companion, Vidanović, also shared his impressions of the 18 days spent in Iran, expressing astonishment at the captivating historical and cultural sites, both in cities and villages. However, it was the people who left the most profound impact on him.
He said, “I have traveled extensively around the world, but nowhere have I witnessed such a strong inclination among people to help others.”
“Iran is a country with highly educated people, modern cities with excellent infrastructure, metro systems, tall buildings, and shops selling products from around the world,” the tourist added.
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