TEHRAN – Croatian scholar Yasmin Dar (Yasmina Mehic) has written her travelogue of Iran in a book entitled “On the Roads of Persia”.

The Croatian publishing house Cekape plans to release the book on June 15, 2022.

In a meeting with Dar on Thursday, Iranian ambassador to Zagreb, Parviz Esmaeili, praised her for writing the book.

Dar visited Iran in 2018. She wrote the book through a series of shorter units, based on her visit to the Iranian cities such as Tabriz, Isfahan and Shiraz. 

However, what seems even more important is that travel through Persia leads to an inner journey that opens up many questions about appearance, identity, thinking about the meaning of life and the world in which we live, editor Darija Zilic wrote in a preface to the book.

In this dreamy-realistic prose, the author plunges into the depths of her own being through the spiritual character of the Persian poet Hafez, but her narrative is not solely mystical.

In a foreword, Ivana Pavelic, wrote: “‘On the Roads of Persia’ is without a doubt an impressive work, one of the few of its kind in the Croatian literary sky.”

“In this extraordinary time, when all travels for several years have become difficult to achieve and we can only reach the desired destination with our ideas, the author’s book offers to transport us to new spaces and open new vistas.

“Experienced travelers will especially enjoy this book, which meticulously describes those things that the average casual traveler misses, and from which the passionate traveler, but also the talented author speaks,” she added

Dar has also said, “When I was 14 years old, I stepped into that magnificent Istanbul, I never dreamed that it would be my journey without returning.”

“By digging into the book ‘Santhan’ by Borne Bebek, new worlds opened up to me. With Darko Berljak, I stepped into the distant world of Tibet and with awe entered Potal, a once forbidden place for women.

“Since then, there have been numerous trips in all directions of the world, sometimes in company and sometimes alone.

“And here, after so many years of walking around the world, I decided to write ‘On the Roads of Persia’, created between reality and dream. These events forced me to stop a little while in the tours, and I was inspired to write, and thus touch only a part of this wonderful Earth. But maybe some will offer this or another time, and maybe understand others in their personality.”

Photo: A poster for Croatian writer Yasmin Dar’s book “On the Roads of Persia”. 

MMS/YAW