Photos courtesy of Norma Maidel Norma Maidel, a member of the World Affairs Council, and her husband, Mark, visited countryside towns, museums and mosques on a trip to Iran recently.

Lavash, a white, flat and generally round bread is made in open fire ovens such as this one. The Maidels said they ate it at every meal, often stuffed with humus, feta and fresh herbs. Below, the streets of Tehran are clogged with traffic. Norma Maidel said of the Iranians: "They are so warm and so willing to be friends."

Mark and Norma Maidel were apprehensive when they arrived in Tehran in April.

"The information we were given by the State Department gave us the impression that we wouldn't be safe," Norma Maidel said. "We were told not to take anything with us that could be misconstrued as being controversial."

Whenever she told anyone where they were going, they would ask, "Aren't you scared?"

With all the forewarning they received, the couple was surprised to be greeted with friendly smiles in every part of the country as they traveled.

"Everywhere we went, they said, Welcome to Iran. How do you like it?'" Norma Maidel said.

The Maidels spoke Tuesday afternoon about their three-week visit to Iran at the Petroleum Production Pioneers' monthly meeting in Ventura. The couple from Camarillo has traveled to such places as Taiwan, Antarctica, Tanzania and Morocco. They have made presentations to the group about their visits to Bhutan in South Asia and Angkor in Cambodia.

"They're both very sharp people," said Floyd Claussen of the Petroleum Production Pioneers.

Norma Maidel, a retired educational consultant and a member of the World Affairs Council, said she has wanted to go to Iran since her parents told her about their visit to the ancient city of Persopilis.

While in Iran, the Maidels rode buses to seven cities. Finally being able to go to Persopilis was an experience Norma Maidel said was "truly exhilarating."

"The place is mammoth. It's a huge ceremonial area. It's one of the most spectacular sites in the world with huge carvings and huge rooms. But a lot has been destroyed over the years starting with Alexander the Great," she said.

The couple visited countryside towns, museums and mosques. They even visited engineering sites, such as the Qanat water system, which has been supplying the entire southern end of Iran since the 1200s.

Mark Maidel, a retired engineer, was especially excited to see that site.

Their photo slide show was filled with images of art dating back to the 5th century, green oases and smiling Iranian people. Each place they visited, Norma Maidel said, they found students, mostly girls and young women, on field trips.

"There they go on field trips to anywhere of national interest. They're getting the education of their country," she said.

She said most of the students she met spoke English and were more than willing to talk to her about their disdain for America's president and the unhappiness they have with their own leader. Yet in spite of these sentiments, she said, people would say to them, "We love Americans. We love America. We're so glad you came.'

"They are so warm and so willing to be friends," she added.