For you, and other readers of this thread about Iran, be sure to check out this brief article about the Iranian people:
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/2011/11/iranian-people-poem/

Let us know if you decide to go and we can help with advice and planning!

@Sam: More coming. If photos are especially your thing, stay tuned for our website redesign early next year.

@Hopskip: Thank you! Iran wasn’t dangerous in the least — at least not any more noticeably than anywhere else we’ve traveled.

@JoAnna: That was our goal in going to Iran, especially at this time. Not a place where much in the way of reality on-the-street impressions (from ordinary people) are coming out. We are hoping to help change that.

@Claire: I’m glad that we are able to help break through on Iran. Hopefully, one photo and one story at a time, we can help add some other voices to the discourse on Iran.

@Erik: More coming, including Iranian food and a bunch of UNESCO sites.

@Miranda: Glad we could help inspire, plant a seed of a future visit to Iran!

@Sutapa: I’m so glad we had an opportunity to see the Tomb of Esther. It’s not an especially popular or must-see site, but how it’s taken care of (and that it’s Esther) make it fascinating and worth a visit. As for its appearance, the outside of the tomb probably dates from the late 1800s. With any of these tombs, they’ve been built, rebuilt and maintained over the centuries.

Esther’s tomb is right next to Mordecai’s (Esther on the left, Mordecai on the right)

To your question regarding why the tomb’s preservation isn’t’ publicized more, we asked ourselves this question about so many things. It’s just not exciting enough or deemed newsworthy enough. In fairness to the news cycle, however, media does report whenever students threaten to tear the tomb down (as they are apt to do whenever Israel does something to irritate them).

Excellent questions.

@Chris: The Iranian people are certainly happy, or happy enough in face of the sorts of challenges they have to deal with. And yes, the eyes in Iran — as anywhere else — do say so much.

@DJ: Glad you enjoyed them. Iran is an amazing and surprising place to visit.

@Amer: Thank you. I’m glad you enjoy our style of coverage. The Middle East and Central Asia can use all it can get of this type of coverage, the sort that focuses on ordinary life and not on the exceptional and the extreme.

@Andrea: Fava beans are huge! And they are exceptionally tasty, particularly the way they are served in Iran.

Vegetarians in Iran would have a difficult but not impossible time. There’s a heavy leaning toward meat and kebabs throughout the country. However, if you look hard enough, you can find vegetables, vegetarian stews and soups. From our travels, I’d suggest that the northwest probably contains the best culinary options for vegetarians.

Stay tuned for am upcoming complete Iranian food post, including food for vegetarian travelers!

@Catherine: We do remember! (And very coincidentally, we were recently sharing with some other travelers our conversations with you regarding solo female travelers in places like India.)

Regarding solo female travel in Iran, we can recommend it. However, I’ll allow Audrey to respond to that more in depth in a comment of her own. I think she’s also going to write about the subject of women in Iran (travelers and Iranians) in an upcoming post.

@Faruque: Thank you! Great to hear from you. More coming soon.