Emam mosque in Esfahan by Chiara Herlemann / SWNS

A woman who went to Iran as a tourist just weeks before the country descended into war says it was not the culture she expected.

Chiara Herlemann, who is originally from Germany, travelled across the Middle Eastern country for ten days at the end of May.

Before getting on the plane, Chiara says she was quite nervous about whether the trip would be unsafe after reading about Iran in online news reports. But, she was incredibly surprised when she arrived to find the country a welcoming and friendly destination.

“I was very nervous to go and a lot of my friends were warning me that it was really dangerous,” she told SWNS news agency. “Every time I saw something about Iran in the news it was just some blurry pictures that looked like North Korea.

“When I got there, I was so surprised.”

“Everything was so different from what I expected. The people were so friendly. The men were helping me with my bags and making sure I was okay.

The 28-year-old who now lives in London stayed in Kashan, Isfahan, located in the center of the country.

Chiara Herlemann visits Iran / SWNS

“People seem quite content there. They are getting on with normal life, picnicking, children were playing in ponds. There was no haggling or catcalling. It was just normal.”

Chiara works remotely for an investment company which means she can work while she travels the world.

Her favorite places to visit are those considered “unusual for tourism” so that she can “see what they are really like behind the headlines.”

About Iran, the frequent traveler says that there are a lot of misconceptions, especially surrounding their attitudes towards women and their support for the government.

“There are definitely misconceptions. Mostly about women’s rights and people being supportive of the government. They are not extremists. The population is separate from the government.

Iran popup book store – Photo by Chiara Herlemann / SWNS

Visiting for the first time, she was shocked to see that not many of the women covered their hair.

“I was surprised that most of the women are without head scarfs. That was always in the news that women aren’t allowed to show their hair, but it was very different from what I thought.

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“It is known as an Islamic country, but it doesn’t really feel like it, it was very westernized.

“As a woman you have an instinct when something isn’t right, and there wasn’t a single moment where I felt like that.”

Chiara says her favorite parts of the trip were the “kind people” and the food, with her favorite sight being the Blue Mosque.

Iran market scene – by Chiara Herlemann / SWNS

She also noticed how much the country had been impacted by international sanctions placed upon them. Upon arrival, Chiara says that she had to switch sim cards as hers wouldn’t work in Iran due to these sanctions.

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But, she said, everyone was still very kind towards her and that the measures have made the country “completely independent.”

The tourist was back home by the time the war between Israel and Iran kicked off on June 13.

The frequent social media user posted her experience to TikTok in a video with over 400,000 views captioned “POV: you landed in a country with a level 4 travel warning.”

Commenters on the post appear divided on the topic, but many wrote that they would also now like to visit the country because of how beautiful it looked.

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Chiara says that she would love to come back one day, with hopes to visit the south where people can drink and women can wear bikinis… “Iran is so big. I wish I had more time there.”

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