Iran ─ Persia: Ancient & Modern

Iran, or Persia as it was formerly known, has been a melting pot of civilizations for millenia. The Islamic revolution in 1979 and subsequent events led to a long estrangement with most western nations but early in 2016 the Lauscanne Accord Agreement and then national elections resulting in far more liberal representation in Iran’s Parliament have boosted the country’s relevance and greatly increased its attractiveness to both ?travellers and traders”?aka tourists and business people?alike.

Dr. Christoph Baumer is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland and of the Explorers Club, New York. Baumer has traveled extensively in Central Asia, China and Tibet. He lives in Switzerland. Helen Loveday has a BA in Chinese and a PhD in Chinese archaeology, following time spent in Central Asia, she became attracted by Iran and began studying Farsi, the national language. Loveday lives in Switzerland, where she is a curator of the Baur Foundation Museum and is a senior lecturer at Geneva University. Bijan Omrani attended Lincoln College, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Geographical Society. Omrani authored Overland Asia, and co-authored Afghanistan, A Companion and Guide, published by Odyssey Books & Maps. Bruce Wannell read Modern European Languages at Oriel College Oxford, but later grew interested in the Iranian and Islamic world, living and travelling in Iran and Afghanistan for several years. Wannell lives in York, England.