Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-01-13
STREETS OF TEIIERAN
Scenes to be Witnessed in a
Persian Thoroughfare.
How the Trade5men Ply Their Various
Occupations in the Open Air


S. G. W. Benjamin, recently United
States minister ut the court Of Persia, de-
scribcs his impressions of that country in
the Century. He says "In such climate
as that Of Teheran life is naturally passed
chiefly in the open air The chill of win
ter, rarely severe, seems to make little
difference in the habits of the people.
The shops are all open to the streets; the
customers stand outside, and even the
shop-kccpcr attends to most of his bust
mess from the exterior Of the shop. If
he is q baker grocer, or costcrmOnger, in
all probability he and the customer Both
stand in the street, rctreating into the
shop only when string of camcls or a
dashing cortcgc forces them to move out
of the way. A carpenter may frequently
be seen arranging apiece of joincry on
the pavement in front of his shop. The
schools often in no-wisc differ from the
shops; in the midst of a crowded thor
oughfarc one may see twenty or thirty
lads seated on their heels repeating the
lesson together in monotonous tone.
"Another common sight in the streets
of Tchcran is the itincrant barber The
Koran enjoins the masculine Mohammc.
dan to shave his crown. The Sunnccs
shave the entire head excepting long
lock in the center whereby, it is said, the
archangel may pluck them out of the
grave. But the Shcahs or Persian Mus.
sulmans shave from the forehead to the
napc Of the neck, leaving a highly priced
lock on each side. 1t is, therefore, COM
mon to sec man Of the lower classes
seated on the pavement, going through
the operation of having his head shaved
The remaining hair and the beard are
dyed, and it is rare that one sees gray
hairs in Tchcran. The first tint applied
is hcnna, an orangc-ycllow vegetable dye
Many consider this so handsome as to
prefer it without the further
application of indigo which most select.
The last tint, combined with the hcnna,
imparts durable and rather agreeable
dark brown color to the hair The wom-
en- also have their hair dyed and join the
eyebrows with the pencil. All classes
make use Of the bath at least once week,
the wealthy having baths attached
to their dwellings. No Christian is ever
permitted admittancc to the baths of the
Persians. The public baths answer the
purpose of clubs and sewing circles; the
women go in the morning, take their
sewing with them, and, after being thor
ougly steamed and scrubbed devote sew
eral hours to smoking the "kalian," en-
brOidcring, and discussing the scandal of
the ncighborhood, which they assiduously
circulate on their return home.
"Anothcr street sight of Tchcran is the
tea-houSc, equivalent to the cotfcc-house
of Constantinople or the bccr-gardcn of
Munich. These establishments are gen
orally throngcd towards the close of the
day.
Both wine drinking and card-playing
are forbidden to true believers and there
fore, neither is seen in these places of pub
lie resort. But both are freely induIgcd in
at home. The card-playcrs of Persia use a
set of twenty cards in five suits of four
each
at is an interesting fact that America
must relinquish the claim of having in
vented the gamblers favorite game of
poker, for it was known in Persia centur-
les ago. The game played by the Per-
slams is in principle poker or brag pure
and simple, and betting often runs high
with then.
"Another characteristic sight in the
streets of Tchcran is the bread. Persian
bread is made in sheets the thickness of
cole leather; the best quality is somewhat
thinner. 1t is formed in the shape and
size of side of leather. The baker with
bare arms dcXtcrously raises sheet of
this dough from the counter where it is
rolled out, toSscS and rolls it over his left
arm until reduced to the proper tcnuity.
With rapid fling of both arms he then
spreads it over the hot floor of the oven.
In few moments it is baked and spread
out to cool. If there is II convenient
ledge in the street near the shop, one
may see it covered with layers of bread.
This bread is cheap, one cent a sheet, and
what is more it is sweet and nourishing,
and, with curds, cheese, and fruit, forms
a staple article of diet with large part
of the population. Consequently, one
constantly meets with people carrying
sheets of bread homo with them, the
women holding them in front like leather
aprons"