This time, Layout's journey took us from Shiraz, the birthplace of Gabbeh, to Mashad, Iran's second largest city.
To travel to Iran, a major Middle Eastern country, we will fly from Haneda to Doha and then from Doha to Tehran.
Doha is a city in Qatar that is well-known to those of us who grew up worshiping Kazu Miura, as the site of the "Doha Tragedy" when the Japanese national soccer team lost their spot in the World Cup after playing against Iraq. I still vividly remember the confusion and sense of loss I felt when the equalizer was scored in added time. And now, I'd like to move on to the main topic by telling you about the "Johor Bahru Joy" that occurred four years later, on November 16th (late at night on the day of my wedding), when Okano's goal secured Japan's first appearance in the World Cup.
Lots of records 
Staff aiming at the marble 
We became good friends
The purpose of this trip was not only to buy goods but also to see the flea market that is held every Friday in Tehran.
This event is held in a multi-story parking lot adjacent to a commercial facility, and is quite large in scale, with shops lined up tightly in the six- to seven-story parking lot.
It's quite crowded 
A very clear telescope
The stalls sell a wide variety of items, including clothing, records, books, miscellaneous goods, vintage accessories, junk, and other items that I don't know what to think, as well as carpets. There are also food trucks, so it's quite a varied market.
Amidst the throngs of people of all ages and genders, I wandered up and down the street, searching for bargains and negotiating prices. After visiting my favorite stores multiple times, I started bumping into a boy with similar interests, and we had fun chatting, asking each other if we'd found anything good. It seems he'd bought a digital watch.
Hit it off 
The one on the left just says "carrot."
I got a Czech and a German red clock, and a British telescope for my son. Of course, we also got lots of fun souvenirs!!
Lion and fish are my favorites 
Which one is Czech?
The next day we headed to Shiraz.
I often hear rumors from Iranians in Japan that due to economic sanctions, Iran's domestic airlines are unable to obtain new aircraft parts, and are therefore using old, refurbished parts. Indeed, at the edge of the domestic airport, there are many planes that appear to be being used for parts, which is somewhat curious, but I decided to board this plane that is operating in this way (although the way airplanes operate is quite scary...) and fly to Gabbeh's hometown of Shiraz.