New Zealand photographer Amos Chapple has made three reporting trips to Iran since 2011. He visited areas that he described as «stupendously photogenic,» but was more interested in uncovering unfamiliar facets of Iranian society. He said that every foreigner he met was taken aback to find that the real Iran differs greatly from the way it is depicted in the Western media. One of the greatest surprises for Chapple was that although the government continues to incite anti-Western sentiment, he felt nothing but goodwill from ordinary Iranians.

Incredible photos like

these explain why,

in spite of its regimen,

I’ll always be in love with Iran