This is the last bit of my travelling impressions.
On the following day, 17 June 2010, we visited the bazaar of Kermanshah, where traditional shoes (geeveh) are woven. The ones that are still used by local men are usually woven in cream thread, but women’s and children’s slippers and shoes are woven in a variety of colours. I bought a tiny pair of shoes woven in turquoise and yellow, now displayed on our mantelpiece, and another similar one to take to my nephew in Athens. I also got a bag sewn of real kilim, not like tone ones sold in souvenir shops. The friendly shopkeeper suggested that we go round the bazaar to see the old gate that was brought back from Imam Ali’s shrine in Najaf, Iraq, when a new one was installed there. He didn’t have any more information on this, but the gate was worth seeing. I touched the old wood; my hands tingled with the vibrations of prayers that have been said over the centuries in Imam Ali’s shrine. For a moment, my eyes welled up wondering whether I would ever visit the holy shrines in Najaf, Karbala, Samarra and Kazemain, all in war-fraught Iraq.
As with gates in traditional houses, it has two different door knockers, one on each leaf. The heavier one which produces a heavier sound was meant to be used by men and the lighter one by women. Believers have tied small pieces of ribbon or fabric to the door knockers, a visual metaphor of the knotty problems of their everyday lives and a physical anchor of their prayers for a solution. On either side of the gate two candle niches carried small lit candles, and on their low railing, more ribbons and small padlocks are attached, with the same significance.
We returned to the Taq e Bustan for late lunch. It was late afternoon when we decided to sit in the grounds for tea before the long drive home. We left Kermanshah at 6.30 pm. At about 10 pm we stopped at a leisure park near the town of Razan. Local families had spread their picnics on the grass, while children played around on the swings. We had a supper of freshly baked barbari bread, white cheese, tomatoes and fruit and then set off again. We arrived home at 4 am, as the call to the morning prayer was heard.
