Iran - 3 or 4 week trip - solo backpacker (female)

I am planning on traveling around Iran in late April and early May, in which I hope the weather will be still pleasant while covering myself with a scarf.

I am solo female backpacker and interested in its people, culture, architectures, etc.
I am not big on big cities even if they offered a great deal of everything. If possible, I would go to much smaller towns and seek chances to meangle with locals and experience Iran hopefully a bit closer. Except Isfahan, I am up for any suggests that you may have in mind, small towns, cities, etc.

Any of your comments are extremely helpful to firm up my trip.

Thank you all and I am very excited!

BootsnAll recently featured a Traveler Postcard from two people who visited Iran late last year, in case this is at all helpful:

Traveler Postcard: Audrey & Daniel in Iran

Traveled in Iran in late 2010. Had to go on tour too (American). Ask away...

You are picking a dangerous year to visit Iran. Depending on ur nationality (And maybe that is irrelevant) -- if/when fighting breaks out, things could get "sticky." U could get stuck. I was aware of the risk in 2010...but went anyway (Part of a 2nd RTW)...then after a few days there got nervous and cut the trip from 2 weeks to 1 week. Was 1 of 3 travelers (Didn't know them) in a group for the 1st week, and would have been alone the 2nd with just a guide. Though the latter in and of itself is not the reason I cut the trip short - the tour company was great/reputable.

Tehran - Shiraz - Persepolis - Isfahan - some small village which I forget the name of - also a place called Kershan?? I forget (Just south of Natanz in the desert). Skipped Yazd, Mashad (sp?), and one other place...I'd remember if I looked on a map...

But, there is more to the story...about why I got nervous, which I'll share if anyone wants.
On the bonus side -- because of cutting my trip short -- ended up doing a drive by of the entrance (A few hundred feet away) to the nuclear facility in the news - Natanz...passing by anti-aircraft guns, and I think I spotted a missile defense truck recently brought in from Russia. And then later passing by (On the highway) - city of Qom - location of an underground nuclear facility.

Right before Iran, I was in Bahrain and Jordan (Waiting for my visa). Bahrain as we know broke out in violence last year (And protests in Jordan)...it was interesting to see places that I drove around in a rental car now in the news with people getting shot. Bahrain being a nation FULL of upscale malls and "modernity"

Anyway --

Public announcements about April/May/June for an Israeli attack on Iran...also September/October.
It is 2012...everything is connected...

Keep up to date with stories from:

http://www.guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/fe ... ary-action

http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.debka.com - Specialized news outlet with plenty of focus on Iran/Israel
http://www.rt.com - Russia Today
http://www.haaretz.com - Israel

Use Google news searching for -- IRAN WAR ISRAEL NUCLEAR or some combination of those.

Also this story...

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/m ... -is-near-/