Singing under the bridge, Esfahan

One of the more memorable moments from our trip was hanging out under Khaju bridge in Esfahan one night, together with new German friends Reiner & Theresa, our host Mohammad and also Omid – a friend I have from the language exchange website italki. We listened to people sing all sorts of traditional Persian songs unaccompanied. It was only men singing as it is forbidden for females to sing in Iran. There were lots of people gathered all the way along the bridge and various singers here and there with crowds surrounding them. Some were singing traditional songs that many knew, others were ad-libbing, making up songs as they went to amuse and entertain those gathered around.

Singing under Khaju Bridge, Esfahan, Iran.

Antony got talking to one older man who spends most evenings there listening to the singing and chatting with people that are hanging out there. He was retired but his wife still worked- hanging out here was his main pastime. Under each section of the bridge there were people sitting on carpets they’d brought along, drinking tea, eating snacks etc. It was a wonderful atmosphere of people relaxing and enjoying themselves. Every so often police would come around though and break up the fun. Most singers had friends who kept guard at either end of the section they were in. As soon as they could see officials coming they signalled to the singer who promptly stopped singing and disappeared or started talking and mingling among the crowd. It seemed strange that such a positive thing like singing Persian songs should be stopped. Our host said the police just wanted to protect people and they get nervous when there are big crowds, they just want people to be safe. I don’t know if I believed his positive spin on this- it seemed to me like they performed more of a kill-joy role. It usually didn’t last long though. After the officials moved on to other parts of the bridge the singer started up again. This apparently happens every night of the week, people go there and sing for others. They don’t appear to busk or ask for money, they just enjoy music and sharing it with others.

Kiwis out there @ Khaju bridge, Esfahan, Iran.

We heard some amazingly talented singers. Being there was a huge motivation for me to learn Persian. I could grasp parts of sentences but was so keen to know what everyone was laughing at when the old guy was making up his own humorous songs about love. It would be wonderful to understand the beautiful imagery in the poetic lyrics of traditional chants and songs too. Maybe next year!

With friends in front of another of Esfahan’s bridges, Iran.