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Published: October 19th 2007
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N Tehran
Occasional rainly night, vali asr ave. One day I was walking around in Tajrish Square, north Tehran, looking for things to do. Started flirting with the idea of riding with one of these crazy motorcycle taxi guys. So started hustling with one of them to get the cheapest rate. He was a very pleasant fellow, whom I began to like. After we agreed on the price, he gave a me a tour of rich neighborhoods of north Tehran.
Moshtaba is a 24 year old migrant from Borjnurd, small town in Khorasan, north east Iran. When I asked him if ever any of those pretty Tehrani girls get behind the motorcycle is replies, not a chance. He is married with a small child and lives in North Tehran.
His family have been farmers, but their land holdings are small, which has prompted him to come to the city for work. He makes his living delivering food to well to do Tehranis in the north in the evenings and during the day hangs around Tajrish Square looking for customers. He works a total of 12 hours per day, 6 days a week. Most of his money goes for rent because he prefers to stay in the north
N Tehran
Construction bonanza where the streets are less chaotic and air, much cleaner.
We ride thru windy small streets line with 5 or 6 story houses. These neighborhoods reminded me of Paris, most of the houses being built in the Parisian style of architecture. Countless very fancy towers are seen scattered here and there in these neighborhoods. North Tehran has a hilly and green terrain, being at the foothills of the mountains, and fed by a number of streams. So most houses have excellent views of the city and surrounding mountains. To my dismay I later find that most of North Tehran used to be pockets of small villages filled with orchards, all obliterated by the onslaught of developers and high land prices.
We head north towards the rocky hills. It is still Ramadan restaurants are closed and we both are hungry. We stop by a store to get some food and take it to the mountains where one can eat without offending folks who are fasting. We climb a bit and he points to hidden alcove at the base of the mountain. It is a secluded area where all the big wigs of government including the president, the supreme leader,
N Tehran
Outside a nut seller's store Rafsanjani and the like supposedly have their mansions. No one has access there and it is heavily guarded. We finish the food, Olovieh Salad, with bread, salami and drinks.
Next we head down to the center of town, where the common man dwells, where the sound of wind is replaced by the ear scratching and mind numbing sound of traffic. Where the air is much dirtier, the houses much older. Shush is south of the city center which is even by today's standard quite south. This is the only part of town that still has the old style or architecture. The buildings and houses however are in bad shape because of poor maintenance and neglect. Like in the case of the old neighborhoods in Kerman, the inhabitants are probably all migrants, as most of the previous long time residents have left. In the old times the neighborhood kids here were known for their machismo and tough guy attitude; you never messed with a guy from Shush.
We stop by a well-known street, called the chicken seller's lane. (Koochey-i-morgh foroushan). This is a small side street filled with little shops selling all sorts of birds or mammals, but their
N Tehran
View from the hills specialty is chicken. Here and there you see well to do young couples from probably from the north strolling the lane looking for puppies. For a while three traditional looking women clocked in black chadors caught my attention. They were bargaining with a street chicken seller to decrease the price of 3 live chickens they were buying, probably for lunch or dinner. Once the deal was finalized, the seller literally stuffs the chickens in a black plastic bag and hands it over to the ladies. In this neighborhood folks don't buy the chicken cut and pre-packaged for sale at a local supermarket. They buy directly from the grower or the middle man.
Here is how it goes. The small time chicken or bird breeders in the near by city of Kashan, for example, grow the chickens and bring their surplus here for sale. Very much like our farmer's markets in the US, but instead of fruits, it is live chickens. They also boast that you can pretty much get any kind of animal you want, which includes tigers, lions and giraffes. When I shook my head in disbelief they said they were not kidding. All it takes, they said,
N Tehran
Vali Asr ave. is enough time and enough money.
The differences in manner of living, dress and appearance with north Tehran is stark. It is hard to believe that this is the same city. Before leaving the neighborhood, I witness an amusing argument between an older man and woman. The woman known to be poor was approached by the old man, who said to her that someone in the bazaar had just died and his family was serving free food in his honor. To this offer the woman was greatly offended. She called the older man by some names which I would reserve only for my close friends. This only made the older guy smile and made things worse. A small crowd by now had gathered which only helped fuel the woman's passion and the older guys humor.
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