Before writing about surprises one finds traveling in Iran, I figure most of you are probably thinking, why travel there in the first place? That’s the question many of my friends asked. Iran was  the epicenter of one the the greatest civilizations in history — the Persian Empire, which stretched from Europe's Balkan Peninsula—in parts of what is present day Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine—to the Indus River Valley in northwest India and south to Egypt. It was a global hub of culture, religion, science, art and technology for more than 200 years before it fell to the invading armies of Alexander the Great. And then there's a reason to go for those interested in present GeoPolitics in the Middle East, but more on that a little later.