Persia (Iran) - Home to some of the world's most hospitable people

Yesterday's TV News channels in Australia were full of reports of the address given overnight by Iran's President at a USA University. He was "welcomed" to the microphone by an address that criticised his regime - and him personally. He responded by saying that the remarks were ill-informed and that no visitor to Iran would have been treated so badly.

As I watched and listened, a few thoughts occurred to me. I wondered (1) whether the USA President would have even been invited to speak at an Iranian University; and (2) if he was to be so invited, whether his safety could be assured, quite apart from his being received/welcomed warmly.

I then turned my thoughts to the extremely warm hospitality I received in Iran just a couple of years ago. Sure, I went to Iran not entirely sure of how Westerners would be received - and it must be said that my companions and I saw very few Westerners (just a couple from Europe and another couple from North America). However, I found the Persian people to be extremely warm and enthusiastic in their hospitality - just as "The Lonely Planet" had said I would!

Just as we urge visitors to Australia to distinguish (positively or negatively) between our Government and our people, so it is important for us to make that distinction where Iran is concerned.

In Ahvaz - a City in the South West of the country, still showing the damage from the Iran/Iraq War of decades ago, and very obviously still a Military City - we were asked what we thought of the Iranian Government (in broken English that was far better than my Farsi!). Our reply: "We are only visitors to your country. We love your country and your people" - all of which was true and was readily accepted.

In Tehran, where this picture was taken (in the famous "Grand Bazaar" which has some 10Km of covered streets), we found that most people were simply anxious to get on with their life.

By the way, if you think the traffic in China is chaotic - steer clear of Tehran. It is much worse!

Terra Cotta Warriors - Clay Army Guarding Dead Emperor

Surely one of the wonders of the human world is the Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors, near Xi'an, China. The First Emperor, all-powerful (it seemed) in life, was more than just a little anxious about what would happen to him in death. So he commissioned an entire Army of warriors to accompany him in the underworld.

Excavations have revealed that the Army - with Infantry, Cavalry, etc. - has been stationed in the place where a living Army would have been. There is a hillside a Kilometre or so from the main location, and it is thought that this houses the bodily remains of the Emperor - even said to be floating in an eternal river.

I visited the Terra Cotta Warriors in September 2006, and was amazed by the scale, and by what that told me about the lengths people will go to in order to deal with their insecurities and fears concerning death. For myself, I am glad that Jesus Christ offers me a fulfilling life here and now, and an assurance of eternity in His presence, so the fear of death has no hold on me!

Visitors to the Museum are told the story of how the Warriors were discovered by Mr Yang while digging a well. Mr Yang now works at the Museum, signing books about the Museum. Looking at Mr Yang, I got the impression that he would much prefer to still be digging wells, instead of being gawked at by tourists all day long. There is a sign asking people not to photograph Mr Yang, but that is ignored by many. My friends and I wondered whether there was a rotation system to determine who would be Mr Yang today, but on purchasing a set of Postcards, I saw that there was in fact a whole family of Yang - four of them - who were involved. Although we only saw one Mr Yang in person, it seems that all the Messrs Yang take their turn on duty - I'm sure they just can't wait!

Da Xiang - the origins

I travelled to China with a group of friends in 2006, and I acquired a reputation for having a good sense of direction and a good memory. When we were in Shanghai and about to leave for home, Eric asked his son - a resident of China, fluent in Mandarin, what would be a good name for me - and he suggested "Da Xiang" (Large Elephant) - he said because elephants never forget! Or was he really making reference to my size? In either case, I adopted Da Xiang as my Chinese name, and promptly purchased a Chinese caligraphy seal with these characters.

The name has really taken off. I visited my sister in Thailand and came home with a set of wooden carved elephants. My daughter then gave me an elephant mug for Christmas - which sits on my Office desk and is used daily.