Tehran will not win any prizes as the most beautiful city in the world. Pollution often hangs over the city blotting out what would be the wonderful backdrop of Mt Tochal, and with 14 million people its roads are clogged with traffic, and its subway trains are worse than Tokyo at rush hour. Yet it is unmissable, has great food, parks and museums, and is the vibrant hub of Iran.

Going to any war cemetery can be a depressing experience. There are always huge numbers of graves of young men who never got to experience life much beyond their childhood. The Behest-e Zara war cemetery on Tehran's southernmost city limits is no exception.

The storming of the USA Embassy on the 4th November 1979 remains a pivotal memory for Americans and, along with the ongoing hostage crisis, led to a distrust of Iran which continues to the present day. For the Iranians, the 'Conquest of the American Spy Den', was equally an important part of their revolutionary history. The CIA had meddled in Iran's affairs before, and there were fears that they would do so again to try an overthrow the newly installed revolutionary government.