Mashhad

I spent a week in the city of Mashhad, which is in the eastern region of Iran. That’s where my dad was born and where most of my dad’s side of the family lives. Mashhad is a big city that has one big landmark: the Imam Reza Shrine, or Haram. Shiite Muslims follow the teachings of Imam Reza and believe Haram to be holy. It is said that when you go to Haram for the first time, whatever wish you make will always come true. No, i wont tell you what my wish was when i went there.

As interesting as the city of Mashhad is and as important as Haram is for many, for me it was all about family. I have five aunts and uncles that live in Mashhad, and many many cousins there. Ameh (Aunt) Zari and Ameh Afsar were the two aunts i stayed with most of my time in Mashhad. They Ameh Afsar’s husband, Mr. Keyhani, just turned 70 but is the most athetic of all our family members. Every other day we went hiking up the nearby hill. I definetly appreciated the exercise especially given all the great food I was eating there. My aunt’s cooking skills are top-notch and can beat any Persian restaurant bar-none.

I have three beautiful cousins that I became very close with as I spent my time in Mashhad: Nastaran, Narges, and Nasim.

Nastaran lives in Tehran and is married to Hamid. I came with them and their son Nima to Mashhad. Thanks to Hamid agha’s driving skillz we got to Mashhad in blazingly fast. What was supposed to be a 15 hour trip was only 11 hours, and that including stops for snacks, gas fill-up, and lunch.

Narges also lives with her husband Vahid in Tehran. They have three really awesome kids, Mahta, Amin and Mohammad. Mohammad thinks that I may be from the FBI or at least know all about it. Amin is a really considerate kid. I gave him some gum and shared it with his brother even though he liked the gum himself.

Mahta loves to tickle. I kept telling her I’m not ticklish and she kept proving me wrong. She asks me 'Eiman, how old are you? How much do you weigh?' and told me thise annoying jokes like 'A bird is flying and drops and egg, but it never hits the ground, why? Beacuse the bird is wearing shorts' or 'Why can't an elephant fit into the hole of a sewing needle? Becasue its tail is tied in a knot and could get stuck in the hole’ Silly girl.