Book "Unforgettable Iran". Chapter 2.2 Bazaar of Tehran (gold, fruits and spices)
We make a bazaar in Tehran.
That evening Ramin organized a tour of the bazaar for me. The eastern bazaar is now not at all the bazaar that was painted in the paintings of two hundred years ago. This is an ordinary market, the same as Luzhniki in Moscow. A product that one seller has, hundreds of others have, smaller sellers buy goods from wholesalers, then resell to buyers. I didn't find anything special about this. Of course, hundreds of all sorts of exotic spices are sold at the bazaar, but these spices are only exotic for us, and routine for sellers - they always have to think about how to sell more in order to become richer.
On the other hand, at any bazaar in Tehran, you can buy everything that you have been dreaming about for so long: souvenirs from Isfahan, decorated with blue enamel, carpets, copper utensils from Kerman, nougat from Tabriz, pashmak and baklava from Yazd, sohat from Shiraz, masghati from Sirjan and more.
Add to your image mountains of nuts in bronze vases: walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios and almonds with and without skins, several varieties of dates, hundreds of different spices whose names I don’t even know, local figs, pomegranates, tangerines and oranges, and also avocado, mango and passion fruit brought from neighboring Pakistan.
I would not like to list all the goods that can be found there, because the bazaar in Tehran is all the bazaars of Iran in one place, you can find everything there. Therefore, when describing a new city, I will also describe its bazaar, talking about special unique goods that are produced in this particular region.
In Ramadan, the bazaar was open until 11 or 12 in the afternoon, then closed until 6 in the evening. But after sunset, the real trade began. Sweets made from flour, eggs, honey and sugar prepared especially for Ramadan were brought to the counters: “zoulbiya” in the form of a ring and “bamiya” in the form of balls.
We all washed down with a national drink - freshly squeezed juice, for example, melons are served with crushed ice. In makeshift canteens, they served porridge with pieces of chicken - "halim". It is served in a very interesting way: first they put porridge, then put five or six tablespoons of sugar on the right side of the plate, and a few tablespoons of cinnamon and some other seasoning on the left, everything needs to be thoroughly mixed and eaten.
I also managed to visit the jewelry market, it seemed to me that it occupies a whole block! I have never seen so much gold, jewelry here is sold like pies from a stall - one seller serves ten customers in a small kiosk. With the permission of the owner, I take pictures of the necklace and bracelets I like and tell him that in Russia there are usually five security guards and one customer in the store, and photography is prohibited.
- How much is a gram of gold, - I ask, looking at the bracelet.
- It depends on the price on the exchange, - the seller answers and shows the calculations on the calculator, now one gram of pure gold costs ~52 dollars, the prices for products vary from $70 to $90 per gram, depending on the sample. I advise you to buy 750 gold, the rest of the alloy is silver. Do you want to buy this bracelet?
“I don’t know if a woman in Russia would wear it, it’s so massive, we often wear chains, ” I answer
- The bracelet is a very good gift, Iranian women are very fond of gold and wear it a lot.
Indeed, later I often saw women wearing such massive bracelets, I didn’t see chains on anyone, because a woman’s neck is usually closed. Probably, bracelets are loved precisely because they can be flaunted.
Saffron on the table, family health.
We walked between the rows, stopping occasionally to try something.
- What is it?
- I point to a huge round aquarium, only filled not with fish, but with some kind of red powder or seeds.
- This is saffron, - Ramin answers, it is used as a spice.
- So much! Why did they put it on display?
- Saffron is very expensive. They put it in such a transparent container to show how rich and solid their company is.
I'm wondering how much saffron costs.
- For feran che gkhadr mishe? Ramin asks in Farsi.
- Davazda hezar - yek mescal, - the seller answers. Twelve dollars for a miskal (a unit of mass equal to 4.6 grams).
Reference. The modern name "saffron" comes from the Arabic word "zafran", which means "to be yellow". Saffron is harvested by hand, the stigmas of saffron flowers are used as spice, while the flower itself has only three red stigmas. Thus, it is the most expensive spice in the world.
A pack of saffron weighing 1 gram at this market costs about $3, while in Moscow only half a gram is sold for $6. I decided to wait for a trip to Mashhad, where saffron can be bought even cheaper, since that is where it is harvested.
It seemed to me that saffron in Iran is even loved too much. A brief historical digression: Cleopatra seems to have dyed her hair with it, Alexander the Great smeared saffron on wounds received in battle, since saffron is an antiseptic, and something else on his body - saffron stimulates love abilities. Modern medicine also recommends drinking saffron to normalize blood pressure and improve vision. Therefore, they try to eat, drink, chew and smear this spice as much as possible.
- We often add saffron to our dishes, - Ramin confirms my assumption.
- Can you cook chicken with saffron? I ask again.
- Of course, we often cook chicken with saffron, this is our national dish.
We also often decorate the dish with yellow rice, which we pre-soak in saffron for color.
What is that yellow thing? I point to a jar of something yellow sprinkled with cinnamon.
- This is our national dessert - "cho le zard". But this is also a dessert with saffron - "masghati"
- And this strange-looking yellow cookie, - I do not calm down, - with saffron?
- This is “kolo mpe”, a cookie with a date inside, saffron is also added here.
- Do you add saffron to tea?
- Yes, saffron tea is very useful. And now I want to treat you to national ice cream. "To hell! ”, - Ramin turns to the seller, and we are handed two servings of yellow ice cream with saffron.
Author: Kozlovsky Alexander.
Book: "Unforgettable Iran". 159 days hitchhiking.
Source: http://sanyok-belarus. people. en/
