I was recently in Iran producing a public television special and was amazed at what I learned.

I'm Rick Steeves and today we're starting a two-part series on Iran on Travel with Rick Steeves.

In the hour ahead, we'll talk with two Iranian American experts about Iran.

What makes it tick, how it's different from other Middle Eastern nations, and why Iran is so

enigmatic to Westerners. Then next week we'll explore what it's like to be a tourist in Iran,

from meeting the people to seeing the incredible sites of ancient Persia.

All of this is an effort to help understand what has to be one of the most intriguing countries in the world.

In just a moment, Hoomin Maj joins us to clear up some of the mystery about his home country.

He's an author and a journalist who works closely with Iran's competing political leaders.

And later in the hour, Dr. Fatelli Moghedam explores how globalization may actually be fueling terrorism in our complicated world.

Stay with us as we examine the often perplexing personality of Iran.

It's Travel with Rick Steeves.

Travel with Rick Steeves is made possible in part by American Airlines.

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In the last year I spent two weeks in Iran filming a one hour public television documentary that

will be airing all over the United States in the next week or so.

I never learned so much in two weeks about a country

as when I was in Iran. And I've never come away from a new country so perplexed and struggling

with a lot of complicated questions about what makes 70 million Iranians tick.

To get some clarification, we're dedicating this next hour to Iran.

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