The Places That Welcome You In

Some places are known for their views. Others for their food.
But some, rare ones, are known for how they make you feel.

Not just served.
Not just accommodated.
But welcomed.

There are places where hospitality isn’t a service.
It’s an identity. A way of being.

Japan greets you with quiet rituals of respect.
In Georgia, they offer homemade wine before you even sit down.
In Morocco, the tea keeps flowing until the story ends.

I once spent a few weeks driving around in Morocco.
Six times, we were invited into homes to eat with families we’d never met.
They didn’t know us.
But they welcomed us.

And then… there’s Iran.
Feared by some, misunderstood by many.
But not by those who’ve actually been.

Everyone I know who’s visited says the same thing:
They’ve never felt more cared for.
Never been welcomed with such warmth.
Never met strangers so ready to give, without asking for anything in return.

The Persian word for guest is mehmoon.
And in Iran, being a guest means something.
It means you’re part of the home.
It means they see you.

This kind of hospitality doesn’t scale.
You won’t find it in loyalty programs or five-star spreadsheets.
It lives in people, not policies.

And maybe that’s the real lesson.
We build tourism around places.
But what we remember, what changes us, is people.

The warmth.
The pause.
The kindness that expected nothing in return.

It doesn’t cost much.
But it means everything.