seyed ali mohammad hosseini as tour guide
- The guides arranged by the agency were really great. We had Seyed Ali Mohammad Hosseini for the first 10 days of our trip. He went far beyond what a typical guide would do to allow us to experience the true Iran, and to enjoy our trip. He took us to the restaurants that made the best local dishes in each city so that we not only experienced the full range of Iranian cuisine, but also surprisingly didn't get tired of Iranian food after 10 days. My sister and I really loved the handicrafts in Esfahan. Ali actually took us to visit the master makers in their shops. When my sister and I had our camel bone boxes and paintings personalized by the master maker, it really made our day. Ali is also really well-rounded. Whether he was singing the call for prayer, or reciting Saadi or Hafez poems, or helping you to take the most artistic picture with just your cell phone, or picking the sweetest watermelon and grapes, making you special mint tea to treat stomach discomfort, all we could say was WOW. He also learned a few Chinese phrases so that my mom, who does not speak English, did not feel left out. When Ali started addressing all of us in our Shanghaiese dialect (he said he practiced hundreds of times at night), he was truly family
