Next stop: Iran

Can I, should I, will I, won’t I?…. Iran has dominated much of the planning and decision making around this trip and, initially at least, not for the reasons that probably spring to mind. Getting to this point – this particular border – has been a journey that started with emotional and theoretical rumblings 12 months ago, long before I hit the rails. In October 2023, the concerns – reasons for don’t – mostly centred around the challenges and potential perils of travelling through the region of Balochistan. Back then, the Iran-Israel military situation was firmly in the guise of Hezbollah-Israel, as it had been for many, many years. Yes, the two nations were openly, very vocally, at odds, but there had not been the direct missiles fired, or the warfare in plain sight, that is now causing the world a great deal of concern.

My plan to still travel through Iran has, therefore, raised more than a few eyebrows recently, and caused some concern, and I do understand why. However, the decision to go ahead is a personal and well informed one. I will cross the border from Türkiye on Friday, and now that it’s this close, I feel really positive about it.

My personal motivation is easy to explain: I want to travel by train (and other land transport where the train ends. Or where I miss one! from Brighton to the Taj Mahal. It’s been a dream for some time, and it’s a challenge that I want to meet. Iran has always been a big part of that. I want to see the country, meet the people, and learn something of their outlook.

I am gleaning all the time from people on the ground about the current situation. I’m taking the temperature, interpreting what I can from sources within the country, and gaining a greater understanding of any immediate danger. Iran is a BIG country – nearly 7 times the size of the UK. That’s a lot of space, and the conflict is, as yet, not directly affecting populated areas or those I’ll be travelling through

Before setting off from Brighton, travelling through Iran was looking unlikely, no question. However, this journey has already changed me. Travel has that effect, it’s supposed to. And so, the nearer I’ve got, the more comfortable with the route I have become, and the more the need to see this trip all the way through has cemented. Removing myself from the constant media sensationalism, manipulation and interference of home (I do, of course, still ‘check in’) has changed my outlook. Travelling through Eastern Europe and into Türkiye, as I have just done, made the decision to continue travelling into Iran feel much less fraught.

These are tough places where people have lived through seriously hard times. They have seen war in recent years, lived under dictators, and are bordered by other conflicts, the outcomes of which will have massive implications for their own lives. Many actively support separatist movements. These circumstances have undoubtedly led to a different interpretation of risk to that of my own. In the UK, as with much of the west, we are living under an illusion of safety and wellbeing. A sense that it cannot happen to us whilst, in reality, conflict is only ever a few precarious chess moves away. Many of the world events that are beamed into our ivory towers are a lot closer than we recognise or care to admit.

Whilst the key focuses of the trip are and will always be more sustainable travel and making cultural connections, one additional point to writing this blog was to pick away at some of the thornier issues that arise; to shine a light on alternative views, see things with my own eyes, and report back on what I learn.

Cutting through the geo-political noise and looking behind the curtain was a big part of that, and I feel like I have already managed to see beyond the newspaper headlines. It’s not me being obstinate, or overly gung-ho, but on a personal level, the trip loses almost its entire value if I have to jump on a plane to skip over Iran. It doesn’t feel like something I can do.