Rick Steves is basically the human embodiment of a sensible travel sweater. He’s the guy who taught us how to find a "quaint" pension in the Cotswolds and how to pack a month’s worth of clothes into a carry-on. So, back in 2008, when he announced he was taking a camera crew to Iran, people kinda lost their minds. It felt like watching your favorite, soft-spoken history teacher suddenly decide to go cage diving with Great Whites.
But for Rick, it wasn't about the adrenaline. It was about the "Travel as a Political Act" philosophy he’s been preaching for decades. He wanted to see if the "Axis of Evil" label matched the reality of the people on the ground. Honestly, the results were more surprising than a free hotel upgrade.
The 2008 Journey: Why He Actually Went
You’ve gotta remember the vibe in 2008. The drumbeats of war were loud. Talk of "pre-emptive strikes" against Iran was a staple of nightly news cycles. Rick Steves, being the classic idealist he is, figured it was a good idea to get to know people before we started bombing them. Simple, right?
He didn't go as a journalist. He went as a travel writer. The distinction is huge. Journalists look for the "gotcha" moment; Rick looks for the best local bakery. By focusing on the culture, the food, and the daily grind, he managed to bypass a lot of the bureaucratic posturing that usually clogs up Western reporting on the Middle East.
The Iranian government gave him a visa, provided he stuck to a guide. He wasn't exactly "free" to roam, but he wasn't exactly in a bubble either. He hit the heavy hitters: Tehran, Esfahan, Shiraz, and the ruins of Persepolis.
Death to Traffic: The Surreal Reality of Tehran
One of the most famous stories from the Rick Steves in Iran special involves a traffic jam. Tehran is a monster of a city—14 million people, smog that’ll make your eyes water, and a total lack of traffic lights at major intersections. It's chaos.
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Rick was sitting in the back of a van, staring at a massive, ten-story mural that said "Death to America." It’s the kind of thing that makes a Westerner’s stomach do a flip. Suddenly, a guy in the car next to them rolls down his window. He doesn't yell. He doesn't throw anything. He hands a bouquet of flowers through the window to Rick's driver.
"Give these to the foreigner," the man said. "And apologize for our traffic."
Later, his driver got so frustrated with the gridlock he started shouting, "Death to traffic!" Rick asked him about the "Death to America" slogan. The driver basically shrugged it off. To many Iranians, "Death to [Something]" is just a linguistic intensifier. It’s like an American saying, "I’m gonna kill that guy for cutting me off." They don't literally mean they want you to die; they’re just venting. It’s a nuance that gets completely lost in translation.
The Things Nobody Tells You About Iranian Daily Life
Rick’s journals from the trip are full of these "wait, what?" moments that didn't always make the final cut of the PBS special.
- No Urinals: Seriously. Rick did a "comprehensive search" across hotels, airports, and universities. Nothing. In a religious society where purity is a big deal, the "squat" is the only way to go. He found it a bit time-consuming, to say the least.
- The "Alcohol" Loophole: Iran is a dry country. No booze. But people still want that beer taste. They drink non-alcoholic "malt beverages" that come in cans and look just like Heineken. Rick joked it’s like being a kid again, pretending you're drinking the hard stuff.
- The Nose Job Capital: You might think a theocracy would be modest, but Tehran has some of the highest rates of rhinoplasty in the world. Rick noted all these young women in headscarves with surgical tape across their noses—a status symbol of beauty and wealth.
Persepolis and the Weight of 2,500 Years
If you want to understand why Iranians are so proud—and why they don't appreciate being talked down to—you have to look at Persepolis. Rick describes it as "pharaoh-like." It was the heart of the Persian Empire back when the Greeks were still figuring things out.
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When Rick visited, he saw more Western tourists there than anywhere else in the country. But what struck him most was the locals. They weren't there to pray; they were there to celebrate a heritage that predates Islam by a millennium. For many Iranians, their identity is Persian first, Muslim second.
This is the kind of context you don't get from a 30-second news clip about centrifuges. Rick realized that the "soul" of the country is rooted in this ancient superpower status. They aren't a "new" country trying to find their way; they're an old one that remembers when they ruled the known world.
The Pushback: Was Rick Being Naive?
Of course, not everyone loved the documentary. Critics accused him of being a "useful idiot" for the Iranian regime. They pointed out that he didn't grill anyone on human rights or the nuclear program.
Rick's response? He’s not a political analyst. He’s a guy who believes that "travel tears down the walls that ignorance puts up." He admitted that the government was "objectionable" and that he didn't like the theocracy. But he argued that we can disagree with a government and still respect the people.
He met chemistry students who were frustrated by the mandatory headscarves. He met mothers at the martyrs' cemeteries—women mourning sons lost in the Iran-Iraq war—who just wanted peace. He saw the humanity in the "enemy." Whether that's naive or revolutionary depends entirely on your own worldview.
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Why This Matters in 2026
Fast forward to today. The geopolitical landscape is arguably even more tense. The Rick Steves in Iran special has seen a massive resurgence in views on YouTube and PBS lately. Why? Because we’re still stuck in the same cycle of demonization.
We tend to view "other" countries as a monolith. We see the government and assume every citizen is a carbon copy of the leadership. Rick’s journey proved that the "man on the street" in Tehran is often just as confused and frustrated by their government as we are by ours.
He didn't find a country full of monsters. He found a country full of people who love poetry, eat incredible pistachios (the best he’s ever had, apparently), and are genuinely curious about the West.
Actionable Takeaways from the Rick Steves Approach
If you’re looking to broaden your own horizon without actually flying to Tehran, here’s how to apply the "Steves Method" to your own worldview:
- Consume Media from the Source: Don't just read American takes on foreign news. Look at translated reports or documentaries like "Onze man in Teheran" (Our Man in Tehran) to see a different angle.
- Distinguish People from Politics: Whenever you hear a news story about a "hostile nation," consciously remind yourself that there are millions of parents, students, and shopkeepers there who have zero say in what their leaders do.
- Humanize Through Food and Art: Iranian cinema is world-class. Watch A Separation or Children of Heaven. It’s much harder to "other" a culture when you’ve seen their stories and shared (even vicariously) their table.
- Re-watch the Special: It’s still available for free on the Rick Steves website. It’s an hour of your life that might just change how you see the world.
At the end of the day, Rick’s trip wasn't about endorsing a regime. it was about proving that the world is a lot smaller than we think. As he famously says, "Travel is fatal to prejudice." Even in Iran, maybe especially in Iran, that still holds true.