Kebabi

Mirza, downtown Tehran.

I met Mirza at a kebab shop near Imam Khomeini Square in southern Tehran which is the poorer end of Tehran but where all the historical sites and cheap hotels are located. It was late and I was starving after a long infuriating day of trying to arrange my onward journey. As I was walking back to my hotel, I saw Mirza standing outside calling out to customers. He smiled at me and I decided to satisfy my hunger at his little shop. I sat myself down and thought I ordered a kebab but I must have thought wrong because minutes later, something very un-kebab like was served up by Mirza. Even though it was not what I thought I had ordered, it tasted much better than a kebab. Mirza lingered around my table, eyeing me with a nervous curiousity as I wolfed down my dinner. I smiled and introduced myself and we soon began chatting. The whole conversation consisted of about 5 words in English and lots of frantic flipping through my Persian to English dictionary but it was a heartwarming conversation. Just what I needed to lift my spirits after a long day.

After a couple of minutes, more customers started streaming in, partly to catch the soccer match that was showing on the little TV in the corner and so Mirza had to get back to work. I finished up my drink, paid and left. The next morning, I decided to detour by Mirza's kebab shop and saw him mopping the floor. I smiled at him and asked if I could take a photo. This is the photo from that morning. He was a bit shy or unsure of himself and his body language shows it; the way he placed his left hand behind his back and the other on the metal tray, his thumb clinging on to the familiar. In the morning light, I noticed that he looked a lot older than his age and had a matured weariness in his eyes. Maybe that comes with working at such a tender age. This is the story of my encounter with Mirza the Kebabi, one of the many brief but meaningful conversations that I'd experienced in Iran. This is what traveling is all about, a journey and a string of meaningful conversations, reminding you that there is a common thread running through us all; Humanity. But like I said yesterday, we humans always find a need for a narrative. So this is my story, but don't take my word for it. Experience it for yourself.