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I ask our driver to stop at Pasargadae, the site of Cyrus the Great's tomb and the remains of his palaces. Cyrus the Great was a Zoroastrian king who freed the Jews and allowed them to practice their own religion so the Jews greatly revere him, according to my minder. My first cousin's name is Cyrus and his brother's name is Darius. These kings continue to dominate the imagination of the Zoroastrian community.

I spend the morning traveling to Persepolis ("Persian City") to visit the remains of the palaces of the Achaemenid kings, Darius I, Xerxes and Artaxerxes. Many of my Zoroastrian friends in New York share the kings' names, although most Americans can barely pronounce them.

Iran is a country where issues concerning ancient faith and secular values constantly collide and force each person to consider her stance on the divide between a world struggling to retain its integrity through tradition and to evolve toward modernity through technology. I observe women draped in long overcoats using high tech cellphones to photograph ancient ruins.

I move on to Naghsh-e Rostam (Necropolis), the sites of the Achaemenid fire-temple and sanctuary, four royal tombs and eight Sassanian rock-reliefs, including the victory scene of Shapur I over Roman Emperor Valerian. Zoroastrian motifs are etched in the rich, dark-brown stone set alongside a creamy limestone. "I have created this in the name of Ahura Mazda," reads the pillars that face each of the four cardinal directions. Growing up, I recited ancient Persian prayers every night and concluded by asking Ahura Mazda, God, to bless humankind. My mother spent nights teaching me the prayers in preparation for my navjote—a ceremony where a young Zoroastrian chooses to accept the religion as her own. "Ahura Mazda is great and creates the sky, earth and the people; and he creates them happy," reads one inscription towering over my head.

The ancient ruins of Persepolis attract many visitors.

Experiencing the magnificent historic architecture and evidence of ancient civilizations was a serene experience that brought me a sense of deep equanimity. Of course there are downsides to Iran, as to everywhere, but there are few places left where one can gambol through a site like Persepolis and not meet a single other foreigner. In a strange way, Iran's image as a dangerous, restrictive and intolerant country has preserved her beauty for the few who come anyway. I find the Iranian people warm and hospitalbe. Perhaps their disposition towards foreigners is the result of having so few opportunities to challenge the misconceptions created by a media that has reduced their country to a crude, essentialist image.