Lot to Take In
First few days felt like a constant blizzard of new places and new faces, seen through the haze of my still jet-lagged brain. First came quality time with the close family..cousins, aunts, uncles and grandmother. Many, many cups of sweetened Persian chai straight from the spigot of my grandma’s somovar kept the conversation flowing. Endless fruits and pastries, noon-o-panir brunches, and ghormeh sabzi lunches. The first few days were spent in the warm embrace of family, as if to energize me and help brush up my Farsi. Next came extended family, many of whom I was meeting for the first time. Said my pleasantries to the best of my abilities and tried my hand at the delicate and utterly insincere taroof game. Was mostly met with amused chuckles…After a few rounds of that I was ready to shake free of the extended branches of the family and venture out into the city.
This is Imam Khomeini Square…the downtown and hub of Tehran. Where the 4 million Green Movement protesters marched, blocks away from where Neda was murdered. The Tahrir Square of Tehran. Tehran University is right down the street, and dozens of revolutionary book stores line the main thoroughfare. The intellectual and cultural nucleus of anti-government activity is in Imam Khomeini Square. The name of the square spites them all.
Just pause for a second and imagine 4 million people swelling around that roundabout a year and a half ago. In Egypt, a country with almost 10 million more people than Iran, Tahrir square filling up with just hundreds of thousands of protesters toppled Mubarak. The Ayatollahs of Iran haven’t budged.
Tags: imam khomeini square, Iran travel, tahrir square, tehran
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