At night we visited the Isfahan river bridges, with romantic steps down to the water's edge. This is the place to be in Isfahan at night. Many Iranians stroll, sit and talk, cook supper, smoke, laugh, and watch the water flow under these amazing structures that have been in daily use since the sixteen hundreds, and standing up well until recently to heavy car and truck traffic. People stay up late at night, having fun, even on work nights. There are soccer games going on after midnight as well as numerous families and groups of friends hanging out together.
People go to the hills with a grill and cook kebabs and sleep out under the stars.
This is not an occasional sort of thing. Everywhere, late at night, there are people still out enjoying themselves. If anthropologists ever sought the ancient, original source of partying, no doubt all the evidence would point to Iran. These people are the true, original party animals. Throughout the entire life span, they basically keep the playful, highly social natures that we Americans are expected to give up when we shed our teenage skin and become adults.