It is officially Eid in Iran. One of the biggest holidays of the year, when you absolutely must visit your relatives. Like true Persians, we headed out early to Bafru (the city of Mohammad's ancestry, where many relatives still live). First stop, Agha's house. Agha is a delightful grandfather who loves babies and me! In fact, he often asks for me on the phone and speaks at length about how he misses me and wishes I would visit him with Mohammad. Agha's air conditioned room (yes, one room with A/C) has a wall of windows overlooking his baq-che (backyard). As I stand at the window, beckoning Agha to join me, I see a mid sized grove of pomegranates, apples, a trellis of grape vine which horshid-khanoom (Mrs. Sun) has unfortunately spent too much time shining down on and some roaming chickens. Agha is the one we explains to me about horshid khanoom's devious nature. How she has simply refused to lighten her rays and how she has proudly shone down on his poor grape vines everyday.
At Nana's house (grandmother's) we have a lot of laughs. After eating eggplant stew and split pea stew with rice the men head off to the masjid across the street. I think they were actually going to the masjid because it has central A/C and they wanted to nap :) sneaky men! Us women (plus Baba and Mohammad's brother) sat around talking and making fun of each other. The little girls desperately wanted to ask me questions, but they are so shy. I don't blame them, I hesitate to ask them what it is they want to know as well. Baba's sisters are very funny. Always making fun of each other and coming up with stories about each other. The girls have definitely ruled the house. Nana is the sweetest ever. I just love her so much. She is always grateful, always smiling, and not concerned with the small things in life.
The pistachio grove of Agha was our next stop. After picking up Agha we headed down several maze like dirt roads and past dozens of un-marked pistachio groves until we arrived at his. Agha proudly showed me his groves and plucked fresh pistachios for me to try. In the distance stood an old mosque with its clay dome rising above the trees. Without the power lines in the foreground it would be easy to imagine standing in the same place a few hundred years back and having the exact same view. After almost falling down a small canal, and being completely overwhelmed by the heat, we sought shelter in the nearby abanbar (ancient water storage facility).
After two stops at nearby relatives houses we returned to Agha's for dinner and then finally, around midnight, headed home. The two relatives were super kind and so,very welcoming. One had a traditional old style house with the courtyard and water pool in the center. I love these old estates. If Mohammad and I ever build a house here in Iran, I will insist on an inner courtyard with open patios and a nice pool full of fish!
At Nana's house (grandmother's) we have a lot of laughs. After eating eggplant stew and split pea stew with rice the men head off to the masjid across the street. I think they were actually going to the masjid because it has central A/C and they wanted to nap :) sneaky men! Us women (plus Baba and Mohammad's brother) sat around talking and making fun of each other. The little girls desperately wanted to ask me questions, but they are so shy. I don't blame them, I hesitate to ask them what it is they want to know as well. Baba's sisters are very funny. Always making fun of each other and coming up with stories about each other. The girls have definitely ruled the house. Nana is the sweetest ever. I just love her so much. She is always grateful, always smiling, and not concerned with the small things in life.
The pistachio grove of Agha was our next stop. After picking up Agha we headed down several maze like dirt roads and past dozens of un-marked pistachio groves until we arrived at his. Agha proudly showed me his groves and plucked fresh pistachios for me to try. In the distance stood an old mosque with its clay dome rising above the trees. Without the power lines in the foreground it would be easy to imagine standing in the same place a few hundred years back and having the exact same view. After almost falling down a small canal, and being completely overwhelmed by the heat, we sought shelter in the nearby abanbar (ancient water storage facility).
After two stops at nearby relatives houses we returned to Agha's for dinner and then finally, around midnight, headed home. The two relatives were super kind and so,very welcoming. One had a traditional old style house with the courtyard and water pool in the center. I love these old estates. If Mohammad and I ever build a house here in Iran, I will insist on an inner courtyard with open patios and a nice pool full of fish!
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