The maze of an alley
City outline in Iran
A year ago, I was trying to send my address to someone in the US for something he wanted to deliver and funny enough I never got the package but at the time, by his shock I realized how different city outlines are in Iran from those of western cities, more specifically America 'cause I've managed to get completely lost in Venice and I can't imagine France being much better by the looks of it. Germany was a different story though.
Anyway, I was distantly aware that the word alley has a whole different sense in cities such as Tehran and New York. For one thing, a ten storey building might have its main doors open in an alley in Tehran which is totally unimaginable for a New Yorker.
Most of the alleys are actually streets, just thinner in length and traffic flows in them freely, or not so much freely depending on the car parking situation. But even dead-ends in Tehran are not those deserted areas you see in American series and movies. A dead-end might be so wide you could park two heavy trucks and still have an SUV in the between without so much of scratch and then again some are so narrow two people can't cross without their shoulders brushed. In some neighborhoods one has to wait for the other to pass before they could go, narrow as those alleys are.
Wider alleys might even turn to be famous neighborhood, accommodating stereotypes of one profession or class of society similar to what a lane might represent in western culture.
In desert adjacent cities and in their older neighborhoods where the buildings have passed the test of time, architectures had even brought up roofs over alleys so the passersby are protected from the wrath of sun.
This tune is played yet again differently when you leave for the suburbs and town where gardens are plenty. For a novel I'm currently translating by Mr. Abolfathi IG, I had to literally make a new term for a type of alley outside the confines of the city near Nahavand. I've used the term 'garden lane' for want of a better word as they're more like wide alleys between different walled up gardens of which usually tall trees make a form arch over and based on the pleasant atmosphere made, they are desirable paths for a leisurely walk or ride. The Persian combination for those pathways consists of the word alley and garden, Kocheh-baq.
I'd appreciate if anyone can suggest a better term or at least point me to a more English friendly one.
So, if you're traveling in Tehran's younger areas don't worry about the maze of alleys but in older section, don't expect to find parallel lines. For example, if you venture in Qeytariyeh, you'll find an almost full circle of a street by this name. So, keep your online maps updated and enjoy the scenery.