Valley of Friends:

Tehran is a really noisy city. I mean it’s never quite even in the middle of the night you can still hear noises & it is much worst in the main streets…. Well, not that I don’t like it, I even find it appealing, but still there’s time that you need to go to a quite place…. I’m living up the main street of Tehran & my place is in the middle of tow highways & this very main street; so you say it, silence is a luxury to me.
Tehran is hilly & most streets have slight slopes… & I happen to live up on a hill. (You know a friend of mine who lives in Netherlands always says you live on a high mountain! But well, to me it is only a little hill.)
I’m sure you are wondering what these tow subjects have to do with each other. Well, in just 5 minutes walk from my house, down the Doostan (friends) valley is an old small park, where the only thing you can hear is the birds singing & the wind blowing. It is not like you are just 10 minutes away from a highway at all. & you know the whole area had maintained the style & texture over the years; the large houses & the way you can walk down the street & kids riding bicycles & happy couples who shares a nice afternoon tea together…. I just love the way it is here! Most of the neighborhood had basically lived over here for the past 20 or more years, so most faces are familiar & you always get a friendly nod passing someone. It’s like a really small town in this specific area…. Living here all my life, I had never paid attention to these little facts & subsequently I’m not surprised when I occasionally bump into ladies who are standing out doors talking to each other without scarves or Hijab of any kind (for a short time of course). Although to some of my friends it seems rather strange when I do the same thing.
So whenever I want to have a little time to myself, I just put on my favorite walking shoes & go down to this park. & I look at all these beautiful houses & I start making stories about them. Some of them had been wiped out & new multi-story buildings are growing fast. Well, I am not too happy about that. New-comers can change the overall mood of the area, but changes are inevitable….
Ah; I just wanted to tell you about this very nice place & I guess I babbled on once again. & hey it’s new year in a week!