Persian Charity

On the way from Tehran to Isfahan, we stopped in Kashan to visit the Borujerdis House, the house of a wealthy merchant. It has a beautiful house, a rectangular courtyard, a central water channel, intricate carvings and plaster work and wind catcher towers.  A legend also says that the three wise men who followed the star to visit Jesus at his birth at Bethlehem were from Kashan.   

Wandering on the street after lunch, while others were busy texting on the Internet, I chanced upon a group of men cooking something in big cauldrons.  

They seemed friendly.  So I went close to look, and found stews of meat and vegetables.  

We did not speak each other’s language.  But their gestures seem inviting.  I believed they were actually inviting me to stay and eat with them.  One of them insisted that I at least eat some of the fruit.  I peeled and ate an apple, and thanked the man as much as I could. 

Later, I found out that they were cooking food to be given to the poor.  The day was the eve of a holiday in memory of one of the 12 Imams.  That chance encounter is one of my most rewarding moments in Iran.  I learn first hand how friendly and charitable the Iranians are.