2020.2/13 (Thu) Japan → Tehran Purchase Day 1 First Half
What kind of encounters await us this time, and what kind of scenery will we be able to see?
A trip always begins with excitement and packing your belongings into a suitcase.
Don't forget a little soy sauce, miso soup, and a scarf!
The flight to Tehran via Doha always departs in the middle of the night,
I left home after dark and headed to the airport, dragging my suitcase along with me.
I feel an indescribable sense of elation, and it's strange how the roads I always walk on look a little different.
It's been about 15 hours since we left Japan.
I watched movies that I don't usually watch and studied Persian.
Of course, we got plenty of sleep and will soon be arriving in Iran!
Iran is an Islamic country, so women cover their hair with scarves even before getting off the plane.
This is a must for all women, with no exceptions for foreigners.
I sometimes see non-Iranian women at airports or on airplanes tucking all their hair into the hood of their hoodies, and I'm wondering if this is acceptable.
I'm not good at styling my hair, so scarves are a great help to me, and when I put one on I feel motivated and think, ``Yes!''
The buying journey has finally begun!
Arrived in Iran!
We arrived at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport around noon.
When I got off the plane, the airport seemed less crowded than usual, probably due to the coronavirus.
It was supposed to be a long-awaited reunion with A-san, the interpreter who greeted me, but since we spoke on the phone almost every day while I was in Japan, it didn't feel like it had been that long at all!
Under the dim, gray sky of Tehran, we drove directly from the airport to the Grand Bazaar.
The uneven parking lot surrounded by buildings under demolition is very Iranian...
They make full use of all the available space. This is definitely off-limits in Japan.
As soon as we arrived at the bazaar, we went to check out some shops that sell Kashgai rugs, which was one of our goals for this trip.
Qashqai refers to the Qashqai people, who live around Shiraz in southern Iran.
Rugs from all over Iran are gathered in Tehran, so you can also see Qashqai rugs here.
Tehran's Grand Bazaar is very large and has everything you need, from daily necessities to groceries and clothing. There are tourists, but not many people from abroad, so most of the people walking around are Iranians.
Shops selling the same type of items tend to be concentrated in one area, and rug shops are also concentrated there.
February is winter in Iran.
Iran has a somewhat hot image, but it is very cold in the winter.
It depends on the location, but in the capital Tehran, the temperature is a little lower than in Japan, and the clothing is not much different from that in Japan.
As we walked through the maze-like bazaar, carts carrying rugs passed us at incredible speeds.
It's surprising that sometimes it's so close that you can almost see it, but scenes like this are commonplace. Everyone walks fast.
The first Kashgai rug shop we went to also sold cushion covers, and when I told them, "I use the cushion covers from here at home!", they just showed me lots of cushion covers and said, "We have lots here."
Since it was still the first day, we felt a bit sorry that we weren't planning on buying anything, but we looked at all the rugs and then went to the next store.
A good encounter...
Here we were also shown Kashgai rugs.
Found a great rug!
Most of the rugs in this shop have cotton warp threads (the fringe part), but this one is made of wool and is fluffy.
Here too, we were able to look at a variety of items, checking the design, the fineness of the weave, the quality of the wool, and the beauty of the finish.
I didn't buy a rug because I'm still researching the market.
I was very impressed by the warm, sweet Nescafe (for some reason, everyone just calls it Nescafe, not coffee or latte) that they served me, and the delicious pink strawberry flavored sugar that came with the chai.
Now, reluctant to leave the delicious Nescafe behind, we headed to another shop.
I found this cute shop guide!
Is it something like, "This makes it hard to understand the store, so let's just write it down ourselves!?"
The Persian letters are cute, but the roughly painted arrows are also nice.
Things that seem normal to Iranians are fresh to our eyes, and just walking around the city is a constant source of surprise, discovery, and excitement!
If you walk towards this →, you will find a shop at the back.
We decided to wait a little while for the owner.
During that time, I had a wonderful encounter.
The caramel in the blue wrapper that was served with the chai and placed on top of the sugar was delicious! (Another food item)
It has something like coconut cream inside, and it's very sweet but somehow nostalgic...I definitely want to buy some to take home!
I firmly placed the wrapping paper inside the notebook and took it home.
A moment later, the owner appeared in a shiny gold elevator.
They showed me some rugs, but there wasn't anything that really caught my eye... so I thanked them and left the store.
Thank you, owner, for introducing me to that caramel.
In this way, we visited 7 or 8 rug shops.
Before I knew it, it was already evening, and I headed to the shop of that person who I absolutely wanted to visit when I came here.
to be continued