AUGUST 2019 • 85READER’S DIGESTknow how the world perceives them.
The constant refrain of "Welcome
to Iran", and numerous invitations
to dine at homes or pose for selfies
are in sharp contrast to Western
perceptions of a joyless, hostile land.
Leaving the capital behind, we
head 270 miles south to Esfahan.
In the 17th century, the dazzling
capital of ancient Persia was larger
than London and grander than
Constantinople, inspiring the Persian
proverb “Esfahan nesf-e jahan”
(“Esfahan is half the world”).
One of Iran’s 23 World Heritage
sites, Naqsh-e Jahan was designed to
showcase the Safavid empire’s finest