We were excited to reach Abadeh, Nima especially. His whole life he has heard stories about this place, the town where years ago his grandfather Baba Abbas was mayor, where Mom grew up, and which was the purported origin of the favorite family card game Rook. Before arriving in Abadeh, we stopped briefly in the town of Abarqu to visit a wondrous 4000 year old cedar whose height, width, and demeanor were astounding. We arrived at the home of Ame Shirin (Baba Abbas’s youngest sister) and her husband Agha Rezania, some of the only family still living in Abadeh. Their love of the outdoors, natural healthy foods, and creative quilting guided our visit. We ate delicious food including an addictive sauce made of sesame seeds, grape extract, and honey which we devoured with every meal just because we couldn’t get enough. We drove to a nearby mountain where we picked wild herbs, ate watermelon, and hiked along the brush covered hills. Like many Persian homes, theirs was filled with carpets, many made right in Abadeh.
Before we left, Ame Shirin and Agha Rezania showered us with gifts, including quiltwork that she made and a wooden galyoon piece that he carved.Early one morning we had to say goodbye and head south to see the ruins of the ancient Persian Empire. Started by Cyrus the Great about 2500 years ago, the Empire grew and shrank to eventually become present day Iran. Fabled for his tolerance, Cyrus was sometimes even welcomed by the people who were swept into the empire. The most famous site, Persepolis (Takht-e-Jamshid in Farsi) was actually built by Cyrus’s son Darius and was unearthed in the 1930s. Before reaching Persepolis we stopped at Pasargade and Naqsh-e-Rostam, homes to Cyrus’s tomb and the tombs of subsequent emperors. Carved into cliffs, the rock carvings, beautiful in their own right, were a prelude to what we were about to see in Persepolis. The wild red poppies dotting the landscape were a taste of Iranian spring.
Persepolis itself was impressive. You can imagine that it was even more amazing in its heyday when roofs stood over the hundreds of columns and the reliefs were polished to a shiny black. But what remains is still a testament to its grandeur. The stairway leading up to the Gate of All Nations, the reliefs of international delegates walking hand in hand to the gates, and the multilingual inscriptions were well preserved. We met a couple of families, including one that lives nearby and hikes along the mountains around Persepolis every week. As we left the sun was setting over the columns, tinting them all with a golden hue. Our day ended when we arrived in Shiraz in search of Ame Vida’s and her husband Agha Rezania’s (different person than Abadeh) house. Who would have thought that the street numbers would change within 24 hours after we got directions!I fell in love with Shiraz- it is difficult to say it is my favorite city in Iran since Esfahan is pretty amazing, but still I loved it. The city has so many beautiful gardens full of citrus, grapes, and cedar trees. Every park is lovelier than the one before. The tangerine trees began to flower and their blooms scented the air with a sweet smell that reminded me of jasmine.
Our time at home was wonderful. We ate our meals under the pomegranate tree, again always fresh food including eggs from Agha Rezania’s chickens and fresh greens from Ame Vida’s garden.
We drank home-made sour cherry vodka (so many people have learned to make alcohol since the revolution when alcohol was banned for all Muslims in the country). We laughed at stories of the rivalry between Mom and Ame Vida, like when Mom (who is younger) used dubious logic (my father is older than yours) to argue that she is the oldest grandchild in the family. Agha Rezania told us of his memories working on agricultural development for the U.N. in Sri Lanka for 7 years. Though there were many sites including mosques and markets, our favorite sites were actually the tombs of Iranian poets Hafez and Sa’di. Poetry is such an integral part of Persian culture. Everyone can recite poetry, and poems are often used to express thoughts in the middle of everyday conversation. Many people visit the tombs of the great poets as some might visit religious sites. We spent the most time at Hafez’s tomb, which became one of our favorite places in Iran. It draws families, young couples, and young poetry readers to its beautifully landscaped garden and serene courtyard. It also draws people who want to determine their future - while touching Hafez’s tomb, they open randomly to a page in his book of poetry and read.
Nima’s poem encouraged him to seize the day, a nice reminder that maybe this world trip is the right thing at the right time. After watching the sunset, we sat and had tea with a young couple who told us about local music, life in Shiraz, and their studies. Another memorable part of our visit to Shiraz was our driver. He was hilarious and entertained us with colorful words - he wished many evils on the current regime (including "[khak tu saresh]" - dirt on their heads). His instincts kept him alive during his many years of fighting during the Iran-Iraq war of the 80’s, like when he responded to his commander who had told him to head to the front lines with "[If it's so easy why don't you go first]." Shiraz was a wonderful end to our week in central Iran.
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