Pictures! finally. these two are the US Embassy

And this is the dead dude

Sadly, that day my camera battery ran out and I got no more pics until the next day. Which is too bad, because the palace and the place we ate dinner were pretty spectacular.

I think I left off at the visit to Khomenei's humble abode. Man, that guy is popular here, which isn't a giant surprise. After his house, we went down a narrow winding road for a short way, to a cluster of some stores. Our guide got us all ice creams that come in a plastic cup with syrup, like we used to get at the mom n pop store as kids. Then we went around the corner to this amazing bread-making place. There are 4-5 basic kinds of Iranian breads, so far as I can figure, and this is my favorite one. They make it by mashing the dough flat, into a mostly oval shape nearly a meter long. Then they have a giant metal spatula (w/ handle at least 3m long) that they use to hoist it into the oven. The oven door doesn't close so you can see the stones covering the bottom and the shadows from the flames flickering. The stones pock mark the bread so when it's done they hang it on a nail, thru the pock mark, to cool. It's a little chewy and when it's fresh out of the oven, the most delicious thing ever.

To the north of Tehran are the Alborz mountains, and this was in the foothills. But next we piled back into the tour bus, and rolled down to the fashionable North Teheran district to check out a bazaar and do some shopping. Most of the women wanted to get something more suitable, as it's hard to find clothes that keep you covered, yet are bearable in the summer, at home.

The bazaar was not terribly different from Chinatown or even parts of the Mission, just way more stuff for sale, and closer together stalls. There was a huge produce/nuts/dried fruit market at the center. One person got raw pistachios and just threw one into her mouth -- without realizing it needed to be peeled and then shelled. oopsie. And after all that work, they don't even taste that good raw.

One thing I learned fast about bazaars is that if you don't push your way through, you don't get anywhere. If you let someone pass in front of you, it makes the people behind you impatient and they try to get in front. So it's not rude to be pushy, it's expected. Maybe people use the same rationale in traffic and that's why it's so crazy. Who knows.

I'm about to be timed out! More as I can. xo