Salmiya

“He always wants to go to places I have never even heard about!” Madame Hanan in the Salmiya office of Alghanim Travel did not really complain to the fat Kuwaiti lady sitting in front of her with her two daughters. It was Ramadan, and the office had opened again late. “Yazd!” the fat lady replied. “I’ve never heard either.” “Well,” I tried to explain, “it’s the center of Zoroastrianism in Iran, don’t you know?” She didn’t. I talked about fire temples, eternal flames. An ancient religion, much older than Islam. “So what?” she asked me. “That is why you want to go there? Do you really want to see that? Worshipping fire?” It was hopeless. Madame Hanan made the fat lady's reservations while her daughters started staring at me. I loved these late evening visits at Hanan’s office, close to the Al-Qana’a Towers, my residence. I spent hours there, and my destinations always turned out to be an extra challenge for Hanan. She was from Palestine and I could feel the pain when she talked about...

Unexpectedly, Tehran presented itself in early November this year more than charming. The air was clear and sun shining every day while temperatures were very comfortable at 22 centigrade. An obligatory visit of the Carpet Museum at the north western corner of Lahle Park with its small but selected collection and exhibition of pieces mainly from the 18th and 19th century would prevent me from buying more carpets in Tehran’s bazaar. The nearby Museum of Contemporary Art is also interesting. Besides displaying paintings, sculptures and very interesting installations by local artists, the fine collection includes works from Picasso, Max Ernst, Magritte, Miro, Edward Hopper, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, even Francis Bacon. Our hosts took much care of us so that we were guided, on a special tour, also through the Archaeological Museum (part of the National Museum of Iran), Golestan Park, and the incredible National Jewels Museum which is located in what can be called a walk-in bank saf...

Tehran , November 2007