Iran
When we mentioned to people back home that we were going to visit the middle east we got a lot of raised eyebrows.  Many people couldn’t understand why we would want to come here, because it was violent, full of religious fanatics, woman haters, terrorists, etc, etc.  We were told over and over that if we must go, we must be very careful.  When we mentioned that we were going to visit Iran, the response was almost universally met with “WHY!?! Are you mad?!?” The image of Iran in the western media is usually one of insane religious clerics, hostage taking, talk of wiping Israel off the map, destroying the great Satan, riots, covering of women, flag burning, and so on.  People thought we were crazy to come here. Our families were very worried for us, this being of course a hotbed of “Muslim fundamentalism.”