Walking the area around Abbas Abad Street, I search the alleys just in case they dumped my bag close. Everything is spotlessly clean, someone would have picked it up if it was here. I wind my way down tree covered streets to the magnificent river I had heard runs through Esfahan…only to find a wide dried up riverbed. Apparently the water has been dammed further upstream and won’t be running this summer. What takes the place of water is a man in the middle of the dirt singing. The sound travels across to the bank where I sit down to a lunch of fruit and bread and listen to the traditional homemade soulful Persian entertainment.
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| Bridges without water |
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| The dry riverbed with the small black dot to the right singing |
Crossing streets with an Iranian is how to navigate the streets on foot. If a driver hits you, they are at fault….so generally anything less than a truck or bus is relatively compliant with your need to cross the street. You could grow wings waiting at a pedestrian crossing. By making sure there is a local between me and the ongoing traffic I make my way back to Iman Square. Passing an beautiful old building that had a kitchy dinosaur and spinning world out the front…not sure why??? Water fountains, mosques, old palaces and bazaars to explore but luckily no money to be tempted to purchase the beautifully decorated plates and vases.
The hotel has a rooftop restaurant that looks over the earth coloured buildings punctuated with the two blue tiled roofs of the Iman Square mosques. The main waiter is a dwalf. Not sneezy, not sleepy, not happy, I get grumpy. A surly “you don’t want that” when I ask about the blossom water….ok. No smiles, no matter how polite I am…it’s now my mission to make him smile before I leave Esfahan…it could take that long. After dinner I lounge on the raised platforms covered with traditionally decorated Persian pillows. Enjoying the cooler breeze, watching the swallows dance in a sky turning a deep sapphire blue. The crescent moon glows while I sip tea with sugar between my teeth. This part of Esfahan is beautiful.
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| View from rooftop resturant as the sun sets |
Lessons learnt: If someone's life is so bad that they must steal...I wish them light, love and a better tomorrow.
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