TEHRAN – After 12 days of winding their way through Iranian soil, an Australian couple, traveling in a classic Bean from England to Australia, has brought the curtain on their journey through the Islamic Republic.

Lang and Bev Kidby, who began their journey on April 1, from London, passed through countries including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and entered Iran through the Bazargan border crossing on Sunday, May 12.

During their 12-day trip in the Islamic Republic, the globetrotters paid some visits to the historical, cultural, and touristic attractions of cities such as Maku, Tabriz, Zanjan, and Tehran, and after a one-day stop in the capital, they headed to Kashan, Isfahan and Yazd.

Throughout their stop-off in Tehran, Lang and Bev toured the Historical Car Museum of Niavaran Complex, which is a home to a great number of eye-catching classic precious vehicles.

Kerman, Bam, and Zahedan were the other cities that the Australian couple passed through, each welcoming the cherished guests with open arms.

On Thursday morning, May 23, continuing their long 26000-kilometers journey, 2500 kilometers of which passed through Iran, the adventurous couple finally entered Pakistan from Mirjaveh border, taking memories of exploring days across the country with themselves.

In 1927, an Australian tourist named Francis Birtles, who was interested in driving and traveling, traveled from London to Australia with this Bean car and visited countries such as Iran along his route.

The couple have now redone the overland expedition almost a hundred years since Birtles’s journey, with the car these days classified as a valuable historical vehicle.

Lang and Bev Kidby, supported by the Historical Vehicles Association of Iran, in collaboration with the Touring and Automobile Club of Iran (TACI) traversed through the Islamic Republic, resuming the journey through countries including Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Singapore and finally will reach their destination in Australia.

Earlier this month, Ali-Asghar Shalbafian, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, brought to light that more than 450,000 inbound tourists traveled to Iran throughout the very first month of the Persian New Year [covering March 20 to April 19], which demonstrates a 30% influx in overseas tourists compared to the corresponding time of a year earlier.

XF/AM