Classical Persian Music Concert in a Palace Garden

This evening, with some new friends, mainly PhD students in Islamic mysticism at Tehran University, I went to a concert by one of the great classical Persian musicians, Ustad Muhammad Reza Lotfi, who plays the tar, sitar, and also sings. The concert took place at Afifabad Park and Palace in Shiraz, a former pleasure spot of the Shah's wife before the revolution. I manage to find my friend in the chaos of the entrance, she was kind enough to invite me and buy the ticket for me...Iranians are like that, incredibly generous, always willing to give and make others happy.

So the first thing that happened when we entered is that a woman in a black chador stopped me and saying something about hijabs, I thought I was in trouble. But then she smiled and gave me a little booklet of prayers that had perfume in it, my friend said that I received a "prize" since I was wearing a full hijab, unlike most of the women there, who had lots of hair sticking out. In Iran, when I can't be bothered or plan on going to the university, I wear a maghna'eh, or one-piece hijab that is quite boring and plain, but on most days, I wear my hijab Egyptian-style, and cover everything up, but only some women wear their scarves like this here in Iran. Usually women will dress very fashionably and will wear a very loose scarf meaning they are less religious or they will wear a black chador, meaning they are religious - at least superficially this is what the scarf means, no one can judge what is in people's hearts. There don't seem to be very many women who embrace chic hijab style and still cover up, the concept hasn't gotten here yet. Compared to somewhere like Egypt, hijab styles are pretty boring here.

Anyway, back to the concert, after the initial surprise of receiving the prize, we headed to our seats. Ustad Lotfi came on stage with his entourage and just blew me away, it was kind of the equivalent to being stuffed with Iranians sweets, like gaz, faludeh with flower essences, carrot ice cream, sohan, and more. The sweets here have indescribable tastes, inducing an array of memories and emotions, as did the music and singing tonight. I just sat and took it in, it lasted for several hours, but it felt like several minutes. Lotfi was an unimposing man, wearing a loose shirt and pants, all white, he never spoke a word to the audience, he came on stage when the concert started, tuned his sitar, and began to work his magic on the audience. I don't think I have ever just sat back and enjoyed music so much, it was like eating the most delicious desert or receiving a massage.