I visited Iran twice: in 2014 and 2015. On the first visit I went to Manjil and Bam, two cities devastated by earthquakes in 1990 and 2003. I wanted to see how they were recovering. It was difficult to get a visa and I had to go to the Iranian Embassy in Istanbul and then to a police station in Tehran to get them extended. It is a great privilege to see a country through the intimate daily lives of its people In 2013, on a mission to Japan, I met a young Iranian who invited me to meet her family - the Mahdavians. On both trips I stayed in their home and they looked after me and showed me around. Iran has a long history and many important historic sites. Persia is one of the oldest civilisations in the world dating to 7, 000 BC. I visited famous sites - Persepolis, Isfahan, Shiraz, Yadz and Kerman. Iran is mountainous with deserts and lush green countryside. I visited both, climbed mountains, went skiing and paddled in the Caspian Sea.