By Syma Sayyah, Tehran
Sometimes real life stories are stranger and even better than the stories
one could make up. Here, I share with you the story of my trip to Mahallat which is famous
for its hot springs and flowers. They hold a flower festival every year
in September and November. Mahallat
is located close to the mountains so it enjoys the mountain air and
weather. It has a cool wind in
spring and summer which makes it an ideal place for those who want to escape
from the heat of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom or Kashan and enjoy the gentle breeze of
the yelagh there.
Mahallat is about 360 kilometers from Tehran, south of Qom, east
of Arak and west
of Delijan. It is near Khomoyn in
the center of Iran. It is famous for several natural
products including flowers (carnations and chrysanthemums among others) and all
kinds of different stone for building, especially marble and travertine. Mahallat was an important place as far
as the Zoroastrians were concerned and it is also well known for its connection
to the Safavieh dynasty and the Ismailieh movement. Mahallat's illustrious man of letters
was Haj Sayyah who was born there in 1836 and the journal of his 18 years travels and
adventures in the West is one of the best diaries ever written by an
Iranian
I went to Mahallat
last month to see the lady called Pari who had a lot to do with what became my
name. Pari was my mother's best
friend when I was born, and so my mother wanted to name me such that she would
always remember Pari, and her friendship and kindness to her during her
pregnancy. Many names were
suggested, until they found PariSyma-my full first name, and named me as such. I
called Pari joon my Aunt Pari and it was very exciting to us when she moved to
England with her husband over 40
years ago. We always thought of her very kindly and when I was in
England as a student, I visited her a
few times.
My mother during her
last years especially when she came to London to visit my sisters met her old
friend Pari and they caught up with their life stories as old friends usually
do. Pari also visited my mum on the
rare occasions that she came to Tehran and early last year my mum told me that
she was back and has bought a place in Mahallat and we all had an open
invitation to go there. My
mother never visited her in Mahallat before she passed away last September and
when Pari came to our wedding in England in March, I promised to visit her there next time
she was in Mahallat. I also
mentioned that I had wanted to go there for another reason.
The other reason
that I wanted to go to Mahallat was to visit a lady who had moved there whom I
had met at a party last year. She
is a trained opera singer and musician, who studied in Vienna and lived in Spain for many years until she decided to come
back to Iran and had moved to this small
town. I had met Shahla at my good
friend and doctor Mahin's dinner party last year. Shahla had told me that, since she can
not bear the noise and pollution in Tehran, she searched many places and eventually
found a wonderfully nice and quiet refuge in Mahallat. She said that she is involved with
flowers, which Mahallat is famous for and is busy with the work she does in that
respect. I was impressed and
promised her that as soon as I could, I would go and visit her. My mother's illness and her passing and
later my wedding postponed this trip for a year.
I was very curious
that two women from different parts of the world, one having lived in London most of her adult life and the other, in Europe would choose to go and live in the same
place.
When we went to
visit her during Norouz in London, Pari joon mentioned that she would be
in Mahallat in April. Paul and I
decided to make plans and go and visit her there during the short time that he
would be in Tehran in April.
Our Tehran social life is a
very busy one (this time in particular) but eventually we found a day that
suited everybody to go there.
We booked a taxi to go and come back the same day, as due to a recent
operation I could not move my arm well and could not drive. I called Mahin, my friend to get
Shahla's number to arrange about visiting her too and told her that I was going
there to see my auntie there as well.
Pari joon wanted us
to stay overnight and enjoy the lovely clean air there but I told her that we
could not stay overnight as I had to have my stitches removed the next day. When Shahla called to confirm our
meeting, we realized that Shahla was Pari joons niece! I was stunned, what a small
world! it had never occurred to me that they were related, even though Pari joon
had mentioned that she bought a house there because of her niece.
We were talking
about this throughout the journey down which started at 5.00 am. We enjoyed the beautiful early quiet of
Tehran as we headed our way on to the highway towards Qom, then we took the road
to Delijan and Khomayn before reaching Mahallat. The scenery was pleasant and the air was
clean. We got there earlier than
expected and so we went to visit the hot springs, which I have written a separate
short report about.
We met Pari joon and
then went to see her niece Shahla who invited us into this beautifully decorated
house with many original art pieces, including original paintings by Mr.
Katouzian and Shakiba. We looked at her lovely patio with its colorful cactus
flowers. She told us that she has
busied herself with bringing life through flowers into the streets around her
house as well as several schools here.
She said that she wanted to be near the kavir (desert), and that
she has visited all Iranian deserts and loves Yazd in particular. Her husband who travels to see her at
the weekends from Tehran, where he has his
practice, was unhappy with Yazd being beautiful yet too far. So almost by accident, she came here and
stayed on to start a new healthy life and devoted her time to nursing flowers
and making the different parts of her neighborhood and city look beautiful with
her flowers and plants, provided for all at her own cost. I said 'but this is too much' she
replied 'but I enjoy it and enjoy others enjoying it too'.
She has also been an
inspiration to the city to clean the walls with permission from the
authorities. Her simple landscape
architecture has brought a simple beauty to the parts that have been touched by
her zest and efforts. She has an enthusiasm like a young girl which I had not
seen for a long time. When she
first came to Mahallat she tried to set up an orphanage but this project is
still waiting to come to fruition.
She now is thinking of working on the hot-springs with local business
partners, they are waiting for a loan from the Ministry of Tourism. They want to
clean them to a high standard and make them attractive. We hope they
succeed. Here are some pictures
from her work in Mahallat.
Related Articles:
http://www.payvand.com/news/01/jun/1062.html
http://hps.org/newsandevents/meetings/annual/50annual111.html
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=114744
http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=243897
If you would like a
list of places to see when you go there please check this site for good
information you could find it at:
http://www.iccim.org/English/Iran/markazi/index.htm
