Dreaming of a Summer's Night in Tehran

Photo from Five Days in Tehran by Brian Appleton, Iranian.com, August 25, 2008.

Tehran nights are so special around this time of the year. Hidden inside homes and offices under air conditioners and water coolers during the long and hot days, people step out into the balmy evenings at night. Families, couples, young adults, older couples, everyone finds a park, an area of Tehran near a river, near some trees, to walk around or to sit on a wooden bed covered in rugs to have a meal of kebab and bread, a sandwich, or a home-made picnic. All around, you hear the sounds of laughter of grown-ups and the gleeful screams of young children. I remember seeing kids riding the playground sets and swings of Mellat Park, or playing badminton together into the small hours of the next day on a Shahrivar night. Those summer's night picnics are something I miss very much. The smell of barbequed corn, balal, and the sight of perfectly peeled fresh walnuts soaking in a jar of water are unforgettable smells and tastes and sights of my life in Iran. I miss it. Wouldn't it be nice if right now I could pack a picnic basket and go to Darakeh with my family, I wonder? It would. It really would.

Even if like me, you can't go have a summer's night's picnic with your loved ones in a city you love, you can still love your family and friends. Go do it. Have a good Tuesday everybody.