Don’t prejudge a place you’ve never been. Governments are not the people, and the people are not the government. That’s what Houston-based philanthropist Franci Neely says are the main takeaways from her travels. In her quest to visit every country in the world, Neely has snapped poignant photos of locals and landscapes alike. And while she’s not picking favorites among her hundreds of destinations, she has an earnest plea for her fellow Americans: Visit Iran.
“I went to Iran sometime after one politician called it evil— and Iran is one of the places that affected me most deeply,” Neely says. “The reason that I loved visiting Iran was not only because of its people, but also because of Iran’s place in history.”