{"id":5406,"date":"2026-09-01T05:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/?p=5406"},"modified":"2026-09-01T05:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T05:27:09","slug":"what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"

What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran<\/span><\/h3>\n

Aryana Mahasseni<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"When people find out my family is from Iran, they usually have questions. I don’t mind answering them at all. In fact, I wish people asked even more. But instead of asking about politics or the headlines they’ve seen on the news, I wish they asked about the Iran I’ve been lucky enough to know all throughout my years of growing up traveling back and forth.<\/p>\n

I’ve been visiting Iran since I was only a few months old. Tehran, the capital, is where my dad grew up and is where much of my family still lives. Some of my favorite memories were made there and when I think of Iran, I don’t think of the news. Instead, my mind returns to crowded bazaars, fresh bread from neighborhood bakeries, beautiful parks, and a culture that has existed for thousands of years.<\/p>\n

If you asked me about Iran, these are the questions I’d hope you would ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is Iran actually like?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

People are often a bit surprised by my depictions of Iran. The country is diverse and mixed with rural areas as well as highly urban cities. My family lives in Tehran, a city of millions that is busy, modern, chaotic, and full of life. Like any major city, there are tall buildings, busy streets, honking, and plenty of traffic. But one distinction that always stands out to me is the amount of parks and green spaces built into Tehran. Parks are everywhere, and in the spring they become especially beautiful with blooming flowers, trees, and families gathering.<\/p>\n

And then, there are the cats.<\/p>\n

Stray cats are everywhere, and they’re easily one of my favorite parts of visiting Iran. If my family loses me for a minute, they’ve usually found me crouched down petting another cat.\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the food like?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Persian food deserves far more attention than it gets. Most people know about kabobs, but that\u2019s only the beginning. There are rich stews like ghormeh sabzi, fragrant saffron rice, fresh herbs served with almost every meal, and endless cups of Persian tea.<\/p>\n

My favorite element of Iran’s gastronomic scene are the bakeries. The smell of fresh bread drifts onto the sidewalk long before you even see the door. Fresh sangak never makes it all the way home. By the time I get there, I’ve already torn off piece after piece on the walk back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere should I go first?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

If I could recommend only one experience, it would be Jomeh Bazaar, the Friday market. It is a staple activity for my family. The market is full of antiques, handmade crafts, old books, jewelry, artwork, carpets, and little treasures you would never expect to find. Every booth has something vastly different. Even if you don\u2019t buy anything, just wandering through the aisles and seeing what catches your eye is part of the fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes Iranian hospitality so special?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

One of my favorite parts of visiting Iran is the people. Of course my relatives make me feel at home, but it’s not just family. Complete strangers asked to hold me as a baby, started conversations, or went out of their way to help without expecting anything in return. Especially with my mom, a blonde, blue-eyed American, who is clearly not from Iran, locals welcome her with excess warmth, kindness, and excitement to learn her story. Whether you\u2019re sitting down for tea, visiting someone\u2019s home, or simply asking for help, people genuinely want you to feel welcome. It\u2019s something I have noticed consistently with every visit, and it\u2019s one of the reasons I always look forward to going back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you love most about Iran?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

I love Iran because of the feeling I get each time I visit.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s walking through bazaars with my family. It\u2019s eating warm bread from a neighborhood baker. It\u2019s spending afternoons in Tehran\u2019s parks. It\u2019s ziplining in northern Tehran. It\u2019s gathering for traditional meals. It\u2019s hearing Farsi all around me and feeling connected to a culture that has shaped my family for generations.<\/p>\n

The next time you meet someone from Iran, ask them about their favorite food, their favorite city, or the memories that make them smile. You may hear a story about a country that looks very different from the one you\u2019ve imagined. And that\u2019s the version of Iran I hope more people get the chance to know.<\/p>\n

Aryana Mahasseni is an ISSD alumnus and a freshman at UCLA<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran Aryana Mahasseni When people find out my family is from Iran, they usually have questions. I don’t mind answering them at all. In fact, I wish people asked even more. But instead of asking about politics or the headlines they’ve seen on the news, I wish they<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran Aryana Mahasseni When people find out my family is from Iran, they usually have questions. I don’t mind answering them at all. In fact, I wish people asked even more. But instead of asking about politics or the headlines they’ve seen on the news, I wish they\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Peyk Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"708\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"535\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030\"},\"headline\":\"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":767,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/\",\"name\":\"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg\",\"width\":708,\"height\":535},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/01\\\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Peyk Magazine\",\"description\":\"Persian Cultural Center\u2019s Bilingual Magazine\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/peykmagazine.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/admin_en\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine","og_description":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran Aryana Mahasseni When people find out my family is from Iran, they usually have questions. I don’t mind answering them at all. In fact, I wish people asked even more. But instead of asking about politics or the headlines they’ve seen on the news, I wish they","og_url":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/","og_site_name":"Peyk Magazine","article_published_time":"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":708,"height":535,"url":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030"},"headline":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran","datePublished":"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/"},"wordCount":767,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg","articleSection":["Articles","Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/","url":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/","name":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran - Peyk Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-01T05:27:07+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-01T05:27:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/aryana-Peyk-225-titles-English.jpg","width":708,"height":535},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/2026\/09\/01\/what-i-hope-people-ask-me-about-iran\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What I Hope People Ask Me About Iran"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/","name":"Peyk Magazine","description":"Persian Cultural Center\u2019s Bilingual Magazine","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b8758493a366338985bb7c506eb1e030","name":"admin","url":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/author\/admin_en\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5406"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5407,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5406\/revisions\/5407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/peykmagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}