Iranian Hospitality

Like many other people who have the idea of traveling to Iran, you might have heard about Iranian hospitality. So what is special about Iranian Hospitality that everybody talks about it?

Iranian hospitality is limitless

Iranian have a saying that “guest is a gift from God” showing how they feel about their guests and they cherish them like a precious jewel. This is a lovely fact that whoever has traveled to Iran can remember vividly. There are lots of stories out there about Iranian hospitality from a nice little smile in the street to giving a free map to the tourist.

To clarify what I`m going to talk in this article, let me bring some examples! Have you ever been offered to stay with a random local person that you just met five minutes before or pampered by local people because they believe visiting their town means being their special guest? Is it happened to you to be in a place where people generously offer their food and snack without expecting anything back or had a last minute invitation to a local traditional wedding or ceremony and be treated like a VIP guest? If the answer to these questions is “not yet”, you should definitely travel to Iran to experience Iranian Hospitality! Iran is a place where you would never be worried about accommodation, food, and loneliness!

How deep routed Iranian Hospitality is?

Iran is an incredibly diverse country that is rich in cultural and historical terms, representing a recorded human history that stretches back some years. there is considerable evidence for commercial hospitality that dates back to at least a thousand years. Following a short background to Islamic hospitality, there has always been a strong tradition of hospitality in the Islamic world.

I should mention that Iranian hospitality is something more than trying to be polite! Besides the cultural part of this attitude, Muslims are advised to treat their guests with so much respect and love. This fact plays an important role in Iranian hospitable culture as well. These stories and other similar ones might happen to you when you are traveling in Iran. You might see random people who cannot speak English but they! While traveling around Iran, you will see people happily starting a chat with you or welcoming you. Therefore, the English word you will hear more than any other word is” Hello! Welcome!”

Is this Iranian hospitality only for foreigner tourists?

The answer to this question is definitely “No. It is not! “ there is an attraction in Iran that is not listed on the UNESCO world heritage sites or the national treasury list or on any map or guiding books and applications, it is only in the heart of its people and will be devoted to the guests with kind eye contacts, genuine smiles, small friendly talks, an invitation for a tea or dinner and no matter what cities or region in the country you go since there are so many different ethnicities in Iran you will be received with open arms, Iranian hospitality is one of the reasons Lonely Planet called Iran the most rewarding destination on earth.

So what is Taarof? Any useful tips?

Now that we are talking about Iranian hospitality, I should mention an act/ phrase called Taarof. Taarof is a really confusing expression and the manner in Iran, which might confuse you a lot.

Taarof basically is a manner of being polite and hospitable, but everybody knows that it should not be taken seriously! You might see the Taarof words when you are to pay for a taxi or shopping. The salesperson or taxi driver might tell you something which means: “That’s an alright dude! You don’t have to pay!”. However, the truth is you should decline the offer politely and pay your money! I know that it looks so confusing, but it will be fun as well.

You will find similar examples as soon as you start traveling to Iran! Don’t panic though! you will easily realize when it is about Taarof and when it is a serious offer! But what if you are doubtful about an offer? Don’t worry! Just memories the word Taarof and ask if it is a Taarof!

Iran gets under your skin because of the welcoming people. Right in the moment when you feel scared because you are in a different and unknown country with strangers who don’t recognize your language and you don’t understand theirs, their deep kindness come to save you and let you know that we can make our world smaller and better place to live just by being kind to one another. Iran is a country where you can connect with the people at a different level from the vocal language. You will have a connection by the feelings that are in the soul of every human being, it is a universal language that we all know by heart.

As a conclusion, I can say that hospitality is something deep routed than just a polite manner for Iranian people! As long as you are new to Iranian people`s home, car, town or country, you are their guest and you will be treated as a guest!

You can enjoy your time in Iran with the Tehran Hospitality Tour

Hospitality tour in Fuman  Rasht Gilan