Foreign visitors to Iran often arrive with many preconceptions of it, and then leave with a different impression. The view they had gained from a distance is dissimilar to the one gained within the country. This is especially the case if the exposure is more than just a quick trip, as in the case of the Greek writer and photographer Iason Athanasiadis, who lived there from 2004 for three years.
Athanasiadis who has travelled widely in the Middle East and Central Asia went to Iran to study Persian language and culture. He says this decision was the best he has ever made adding that Iran grabbed him with its beauty and its imposing capital of Tehran. He stayed in Tehran and also travelled around the villages and countryside taking photos which he has exhibited around the world.
In this multimedia report narrated by Iason Athanasiadis we gain a glimpse of Tehran and other Iranian cities through his lens.