Travel: Souvenirs from Fars

Published July 3, 2016
Samovar set in gold-plated brass -Photos by the writer
Samovar set in gold-plated brass -Photos by the writer

In Iran, you can choose from a myriad of delightful, expensive and inexpensive souvenirs, unique to its bazaars, including gold, gemstones, rugs, saffron, miniature paintings, handcrafted wooden inlay items and glassware. Beware though, that you will have to sift the refined from the kitschy.

Gemstones abound in every colour, shape and size, sold as loose stones or set in pendants, tops, rings and bracelets in gold and silver, including aqeeq of various colours, rubies, emeralds, moonstones and Iran’s famous colour-changing oh-so-beautifully-turquoise Nishapuri firoza, both shajari (with the veins) and clear. To get the best quality genuine stone, it is advisable to go with a reliable local.    

If you are looking for sugary nibbles, there is a Willy Wonka range of sweet selection: gaz, a chewy bite-sized nougat with rosewater, pistachios and almonds; tablets of sohan, made with flour, clarified butter, molasses, saffron, cardamom, almonds and pistachios, that stick in your teeth like butterscotch; lavashak, chewy bars of either a single fruit or a mix of fruits made by cooking, pulping, pureeing and then setting as sheets; ghotab and baklava, pastries filled with chopped nuts; pashmak, a local candy floss / cotton candy, and noghl or sugar-coated almonds are just some of the sweet treats. 

Undulating coloured hills of all kinds of spices and dried herbs including zereshk, sumac and saffron, their layers giving the appearance of sedimentary mountains, and seas of teas of every plant and flower sit in rows in towering sacks. The world’s most expensive spice, saffron, is used to enhance foods, drinks, desserts, sweets, and cakes with its fragrance and colour. Even sugar crystals are infused with saffron stamens.


When in an exotic land, make it a point to take as mementoes all its delectable arts, crafts and foods to relish back home


If you have a taste for caviar, here is the world’s best, and cheapest at source. 

Meenakari -Photos by the writer
Meenakari -Photos by the writer

Mountains of candied and dried fruits and seeds, some of the best in the world, beckon to be taken home as the perfect snack or gift for family and friends. Salted, unsalted, roasted and unroasted almonds, pistachios, cashews, raisins, dates, melon seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and nuts of every shape and size make you realise that the scope for drying nuts, fruits and seeds is limited only by imagination.   

Delicate and beautiful handicrafts in silver, copper, brass, mirror, glass, wood, leather, camel bone and stone abound — carved, sculpted, smitten, filigreed, latticed, embossed, engraved, inlaid and painted. Blown glass, glassware and crystal ware in vibrant colours and designs; miniature paintings and calligraphy on various materials; carved and engraved items depicting Persepolis and other historical matter; vessels of stone, gypsum and copper; ethnic jewellery and shoes; attar and musk; tiny surma containers; sheeshas in every colour with all their paraphernalia; baskets and mats in bamboo and wickerwork; hand-beaten copper and brass samovars in various shapes, sizes and finishes such as gold-lacquered; prayer mats in various degrees of plush and decorative fabric and rosary beads in glass, cloisonné, aqeeq, firoza and gunmetal — all these and more you can discover in the bazaars. 

Calligraphy on metal tray -Photos by the writer
Calligraphy on metal tray -Photos by the writer

Meenakari is stunning enamelware, painstakingly made from copper, steel or bronze. Each piece takes about two months to complete. It is first beaten into shape, then covered with white porcelain enamel, heated twice at extreme heat, covered with a base colour(s) and heat-treated again. The artist then paints the piece with a cat hair brush so thin and lines so fine, using up to seven colours, that even under a magnifying glass the impeccable craftsmanship strains the eye. The piece is given one last heat treatment and is finally ready. Needless to say, no two pieces are alike.

Khatami is a Persian art form of marquetry where exquisitely delicate pieces of precisely cut geometric shapes are embedded into various articles to create pieces that look like jewellery. The miniscule pieces are produced by bundling together long, thin triangular rods of various materials including wood, camel bone, brass, shell, mother-of-pearl, aluminium, twisted wire and even precious metal like gold and silver. When this bundle becomes pencil thick, the cut-away cross-section reveals the elaborate hexagonal or triangle design. Inlaid objects include ornamental doors and windows, mirror and art frames, Quran boxes, jewellery boxes, clocks, pen and penholders, cigarette holders and lanterns.  

Khatami inlay boxes -Photos by the writer
Khatami inlay boxes -Photos by the writer

Earthenware and pottery including decorative brick and tile from Qom; porcelain gilded plates inscribed with holy verses and monuments; charming clay work from Hamadan, and stoneware vessels and pots from Nishapur said to bring abundance.   

A little gold never hurt anyone. Jewellery is popular in Iran, and all shopping areas and bazaars are lined with 18 carat gold in exquisitely crafted intricate, exotic designs right out of Arabian Nights. You must pick up a chunky bracelet, or dangly earrings that sing like wind chimes in your ears. Silver jewellery imbedded with rubies, emeralds, aqeeq and firoza is found especially in the holy cities of Mashhad and Qom. 

Stoneware from Nishapour -Photos by the writer
Stoneware from Nishapour -Photos by the writer

 If you can afford Iran’s marvellous hand-knotted silk and woollen carpets, rugs, and wall hangings, the investment will pay off as family heirlooms. It takes an average of two years to knot together these works of art, and you can see some craftsmen weaving their magic in the centuries’ old ‘buzurg bazaars’. The knot density in fine, pure silk cloth-thin carpets is so extraordinarily high that you cannot tell the front of the carpet from the reverse. The unique colours are derived from natural dyes such as pomegranate skin, indigo, walnut shell, wheat husks and grape seeds. Carpet designs are based on their places of origin and include Qom, Kashan, Tabriz, Naeen, Kerman, Bahktiyari, Isfahan, Mashhad and Kerman amongst others.

Those carpets need crystal chandeliers, wall lights and table and floor lamps to make them glow. The lights in Tehran are so beautiful, they will bring tears to your eyes.

French lamps with glass cutwork chimneys -Photos by the writer
French lamps with glass cutwork chimneys -Photos by the writer

Textiles include material in brocade, silk, cotton, velvet and wool; the Irani chador, trench coats and headscarves; tapestry; block-printed calico with ancient Persian motifs in the form of bedspreads, wall hangings, cushions and satchels; felt, kilim (goat hair) and jajim (wool or cotton) — tribal woven material used as rugs, blankets, shawls or decoration; bedclothes and table linen decorated with crochet and needlework.

Shopping in Iran’s bustling bazaars is a fascinating experience. If you are lucky you can catch artisans working on their handiwork (polishing and honing gemstones, painting an enamel plate, knotting a silk rug or chiselling a pipe), ask them about the history and process involved, and if it’s near completion you can purchase that piece you just video-graphed being made.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 3rd, 2016

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