Changing weather

The weather is suddenly cooling here in Tehran. Four weeks ago it was decidedly hot, a week ago it was noticeably cooler and this evening its not just cool we are considering putting on sweatshirts. OK, so our apartment is well up the slopes in North Tehran, high enough to have a definite difference in temperature between the lower levels and even the training centre where we are working.

Now the question is, who turns on the heating system for our apartment? It seems to be a common boiler system so presumably it will be the building superviser, assuming he realises it is needed in due course. At present its still fine and comfortable-ish, but another couple of weeks -possibly days in this unknown environment - and it might be a necessity!

Oh well, we shall have to wait and see. Four weeks almost down and counting.

BBQ Iranian style....

Two weeks ago I had the fun of a BBQ with some of my students and instructor staff who are working with us. We went out to a "villa", a sort of holiday cottage some distance to the East of Tehran near the town of Pardis. It lay in the lower foothills of the range of mountains that lie to the North of Tehran and we had a great day. Its amazing how much fun these guys can generate without alcohol, perhaps a message in there somewhere. A chess board was produced and we played chess while we ate, we played Whist as well - now here's the fun bit, I haven't played either for years so I'd actually forgotten how enjoyable it was. The food was carefully prepared, the meat pushed onto the long "sword" kebab blades and then carefully tended over the coals. A type of "Barbary Bread" rather like Naran bread in a sense, was used to line a large earthen crock and the cooked meat was placed inside it and the bread folded over it to keep while more chicken and tomatoes were roasted on the coals. Salads, cold drinks, water and yohgurt to mix with the rice, roasted garlic and a range of other things made the meal. Definitely a feast for a king.

Sunday in Tehran

Sunday in Tehran is - well, the equivalent of Tuesday anywhere else. Yesterday we had a shake up with a small earth tremor, today we had a suicide bomber blowing up some Revolutionary Guard bigwigs down South and have just been treated to the Parliament chanting "Death to the USA, death to the UK." I'm not sure why they have decided "we done it" but evidently some "high ranking sources" have the evidence according to the news.

Well, I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings in diplomatic terms, but, frankly, I can't for the life of me see either the Us or the UK government being stupid enough to back any terror group no matter how much they dislike the present regime. And that is saying something since my opinion of the honesty levels in Whitehall or Westminster is that a snake would have trouble getting under it - in fact might get over it without effort. And as for the intelligence levels ....

Anyway, we get on with our work and deal with our students who are bright, switched on and eager to learn. They are great guys and at least one has said privately "don't worry about the politicians - its all for show."

As I write Mausi is heading for Ankara to teach some police there about Fire Investigation. I gather she will have the same deal we have here - lecture in one language to a class listening to an interpreter in another. Look, don't knock it, it works and we get a good response from the students all the way. At least Mausi's course is only a week!

Today being Sunday, I missed my communion and my dose of incense and music. Somehow the daily office just doesn't give the same lift. But it will keep me going until December.

Shaken, not stirred

We had a bit of a bump today in Tehran, late this afternoon the city was shaken by a small quake - it is right next to a major tectonic faultline - which apparently clocked up 4.5 on the Richter scale. It was a sort of double shock where we were, almost what you'd expect from a blasting charge set off in the ground a little way off.

It didn't seem to disrupt much, though we did learn that Tehran gets about 400 of these in any one year. All I can say is that I hope we don't get anything bigger during the next five to six months. After that they can shake, rattle and roll all they like!

More in the Bazaar

This exquisitely decorated vault is one of four in a old part of the Bazaar, sadly the other three are masked by bundles of electric cables of varying age and provenance. Ancient bricks, hand made and quite possibly (from their shape and finish fired in the old manner of piling wood over the dried bricks and firing it. In places these bricks are covered by beautiful tiling as can be seen in the following picture.
All the Mosques are decorated in the most amazing tiles, the colours vibrant and the designs incorporating texts from the Quran, geometric patterns and sometimes decorations that would not look out of place in the Gothic cathedral. The passage in this picture is one leading back to the street bordering the Bazaar and from which it is possible to reach the former "Kings Mosque" which is situated in the middle of the Bazaar. It is now called the "Imam's Mosque" - the term Imam meaning "Leader" and usually having a religious connotation. It is a term they use in relation to the Prophet, Jesus Christ, and the "Hidden" Imam is the one who will be revealed at some future date.

The Bazaar is certainly a place of hidden histories and beauty. For me it brings to life some of the Thousand and one nights stories as well.

Bazaar tales ....

The Bazaar in Tehran is huge, it covers over 146 hectares and is a maze of narrow intersecting passageways with shops and stalls on each side. It is piled high with goods for sale and just about anything can be bought here. It is primarliy a wholesale market and much of the structure is very old indeed. In the oldest parts brick vaults soar above you with openings in each vault to allow air circulation. On the pavement pedestrians compete with porters trolleys, motorcycles and even fire appliances. Courtyards dotted throughout the maze are also home to shops and piles of stored goods and in some areas an upper storey has walkway access.
Beneath your feet is a further maze of tunnels and store rooms stuffed with every kind of goods. From a fire prevention point of view a nightmare, from a life safety point it goes beyond nightmare. The potential is horrendous, yet it has been standing for at least two hundred years and some parts for more than that. In the centre is a huge mosque and open square and the interior has some hidden gems of architecture for the keen eye. And then there are the carpet sellers. None of the machine made type here, these are the hand-made variety, exquisite works of art in silk and wool, hand knotted to the woven backing.

The place just oozes history and atmosphere, though how it can be preserved for the future without a major renovation and restoration and some thought to reducing the fire hazard, I'm not sure.

Surpise birthday cake

My students and my colleague in arms on this contract surprised me on my birthday with a cake, party hat and the insistence that we take a break and celebrate the event. It is one of the nicest and most generous birthday surprises I have ever enjoyed. It is typical of the ordinary Iranians as well, they are a generous people who take friendships seriously and welcome guests with a warmth you seldom find elsewhere.

We in the west often have no real information on another people or culture other than the diet of sound bytes we get from the Media who often have the facts wrong or distorted. After all if you want to paint someone as an enemy, you have to make him look backward, evil and scheming. That is the art of propaganda. Yes, the politics here are not like ours, and they are convolluted, confrontational and sometimes just plain difficult. But are our politicians any different? Are't they just as blind, pigheaded and sometimes so ignorant they make us ashamed?

Perhaps we ought to get to know the real people a little better before we judge a nation.