We have noticed that Iran has been in the news a lot recently, for both good reasons and bad. Last week a young woman was hung at Evin Prison in Tehran, after her pleas for clemency were rejected. There is nothing good about that story and it is sad to read about it. When will the Iranians realize that carrying out such executions does nothing to improve the image of Iran abroad. As usual, there seems to be a tension between the “hard-line” conservative factions of the government and what may be termed the more “liberal” side. in this awful case it appears that the hard-liners won.
On the positive side, we read that Apple announced today that it would be selling its products in Iran. Since Pepsi Cola and Coca Cola have been there for years, with little publicity, why not Apple?
And, CNN will be showing Anthony Bourdain’s Iran travelogue on Sunday, November 2. At the same time, we have noticed that more and more organizations are offering tours to Iran. In addition to the New York Times and the Metropolitan Museum of Art offering Iran tours, we noticed that the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is also going to be offering a tour to Iran next year. While those tours are taking place, we will continue offering more or less identical tours to Iran at around half the price. As a matter of fact, our tours are generally more comprehensive than other tours offered. But whichever Iran tour people choose, it is a good thing that people are traveling there to see Iran for themselves, despite the many contradictions in Iran, such as the sad event described above.