A REAL TEACHER SHARES HIS IDEAS AND WORKS WITH YOU

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SUPERMAN  IN  TEHRAN

Waiting for Superman

            It was middle of the summer, schools were closed and the school children were on their usual three-month holiday in Iran. During such a long period of time, they did not have much work to do except go to the evening classes to learn something. Among the hobbies, the kids were mostly interested in fine arts, music, English or computers.

            Apart from the clever boys, there were some giddy ones who preferred staying idle at homes rather than learning something useful. On the other hand, when they got bored sitting inactive indoors, nearly all of them headed for the streets to pass their time somehow. Although it was the hottest season of the year, the idle children wouldn't mind wandering about on the streets. The only problem was when they were away from their parents they naturally looked for something to amuse them with.

            That summer, it was widely spread that a super powerful man was going to Tehran. The news said that the man was the best of the West and was the children's favorite star, ‘Superman’. The rumor of his arrival had made children so happy that they wished they had seen the man very soon.

            Superman's pictures were on sale everywhere in the shops. Nearly all children had bought one or two of them to show to their friends and share joy. When Superman's over-excited supporters met sympathetic friends somewhere, they talked about their hero and highlighted his unusual acts. Some of them believed that Superman had the Divine power, and in a flash of lightning, he could destroy the highest building in the world. "You know.'" they said, Superman needn't flap, he just wishes where to go and he is there at once." A great number, who liked him more, said, “when the man flies, nothing can stand in his way. He simply flies and crashes everything he sees.”

            On the other part, there were some wise children who rejected the powerful fellow of the West. They believed that Superman was only a tale invented by the fanciful children.

            Time was passing very slowly for the fans; they were now running out of patience. Some of them lost hope and abandoned the idea of seeing Superman, while a great number were still expecting to meet him.

            After a long expectation, one day the anxious boys came to know that Superman had been seen flying in the sky. A man had sighted him in the west part of the country. He had witnessed that the super star flying at the highest speed toward Tehran then.

            The wise and mindful children didn't pay any attention to the news; they were just after their businesses. It was only the careless children who were trying to see their wonderful man.

            Although nobody knew from which direction Superman was going to enter Tehran, hundreds of kids had come together at Azaadi Square to welcome the hero on his arrival.

            Some of them just wished to see the man; a few others wanted to shoot some photos of the world star. There were also some mischievous children among the crowd who had something wicked in their minds. They wanted to make fun of the man and tease him if they could. For example, a naughty boy was carrying his slingshot with him and wanted to sling some rocks at the super star to prove his own superiority over Superman’s. No matter what everyone was thinking of, they were all looking highat the sky to see the man on his arrival in the city.

The End of a Dream

            It was three in the afternoon when suddenly some of the children shouted, “Superman is coming.” They were looking at a certain point in the sky and trying to draw their friends' attention. The cries of the kids made the crowd look at the same spot. He was right. Superman was there. Everybody was astonished to see that he was flying high in the sky. He was moving as fast as a bird. Superman was wearing a tight suit with a dark mantle on his shoulders - he was flying toward Azaadi Tower. The hero was also wearing a pair of goggles-like ribbon on his eyes, with two holes to see through. When he came closer to the tower, he slowed down his speed to descend.

            Superman was just preparing to land on the tower when he was faced with a 747 airplane flying toward him. The plane was also getting ready to land at Mehr-Abaad Airport, about two kilometers away from Azaadi Square. There was an imminent challenge between the plane and Superman; they seemed to be going to crash very soon. The plane was roaring, but the man was bearing it. At last Superman put out his right hand in rage and seized the plane on the left wing. After pulling it up and pushing it down twice, he forced it aside and cleared his way to land safely.

            When the plane fell off the course, it lost its balance and began diving down for a few seconds. But soon, before smashing the ground, it rose again miraculously high into the sky, and hovered disorderly twice over Azaadi Square and finally zoomed toward Mehr-Abaad Airport to land in peace.

            Seeing the man push the plane off the track, the waiting crowd believed that he was the same man they had been expecting for. Almost everybody kept quiet when Superman was over Azaadi Square and preparing to land on the roof. When the man was only a few yards from the tower, he suddenly turned two successive somersaults and after getting into the diving position, the star swooped down and settled on the roof at last.

Superman on the Tower

            As soon as Superman's feet touched the tower, he rested his hands on his waist, walked twice round the edge of the roof and cast a glance at the whole city. Then he moved to the east part and watched the waiting crowd on the lawn. The boys got excited, they clapped and applauded him for a few minutes; some of them cried out, "Welcome Superman".

            There were but a few odd members in the crowd who were jeering and giving raspberries. Paying no attention to the disloyal kids, Superman saluted his supporters by waving his hands to them. A few minutes passed like-wise before the crowd kept quiet and got ready to receive their hero. Finding the occasion suitable to land, Superman cried to the crowd to stand back and give him a chance to dive onto the ground. He repeated his order, and warned the children twice, a third time, and even for the forth time, but a bit louder. No one moved. They were reluctant to step back, because everyone wanted to see the man's landing on the ground for himself. So apart from a few timid ones, who were scared of Superman falling on them, most of them stayed where they were. Everyone was yelling to the others to back up. At last it took quite long time for the bullies to push back the giddy ones and make enough space for Superman to descend at last.

            The super star examined his mantle to see if it was safe to dive. Then he fastened his shoelaces, and checked his goggles to make sure they were all right. Now being confident of his gear, he took some deep breaths - by lifting up his arms, then stretching them out to either side and finally letting them fall to the first position. He also rubbed his arms and stretched his legs several times. Finally feeling secure of his overall and with high moral, he suddenly cried out while kicking his feet fiercely against the roof. It worked superbly. The kick made him bounce up high, - even higher than the walls round the roof for fences.

The Fall of Superman

            When Superman leaped into the air, he straightened his legs behind and stretched his arms to the diving position. The start was superb, but unfortunately, when he was just departing the roof, the lower part of his cloak got caught on one of the bars for the flags. The catch was swift. It happened so swiftly that Superman couldn’t avoid it. He tried hard by holding the cloak with both hands and pulling it up, then to the right and next to the left, but all in vain.

            Although the super star was trying to save him, the waiting crowd thought that it was a part of his future show that he was going to act later. So they started clapping and shouting ‘bravos!’ Some of them were still whistling and encouraging him in his remarkable acts.

            By now Superman had lost his balance and fallen circling in the air and bumping against the hard stone wall of the building. The only thing he could do was to shield his head with both hands. By now Superman lost his balance and fell circling in the air and bumping against the stone wall of the building.

            Although the boys had stepped back to allow him to land, there were yet some clumsy ones standing at the bottom of the tower. They didn’t care what was going on up over their heads.

            It didn’t take long when everybody noticed that the man was in danger, so they kept quiet and were confused about what was happening. The falling star was only a few yards before smashing to the ground when luckily the heedless children moved out of the way.

            By then, the police had also arrived and were trying to bring orders and help the hopeless Superman. The first thing they did was to push the children back to protect them and the man from danger. In the mean time, a few policemen rushed to Superman, who had just fallen. After bouncing once he had landed flat on his back at the bottom of the tower.

            Two of the policemen presented a stretcher and after laying the wounded super star on it, they carried him into the waiting ambulance through the gate. The policemen acted quickly and took him to the nearest hospital to Azaadi Square.

Superman in the Hospital

            In the hospital, they attended to Super-man quickly. First, they gave him a pain killer injection, and after connecting an IV. With a serum into his right arm, the nurses dressed his wounds. He had lots of injuries and cuts on his body, legs and arms. But, his head injury was the most serious, so they had to give him stitches on the head and wrap it up with a long piece of bandage. Apart from his pains and bleeding, he had broken his right foot and left wrist in the accident. They took him into a suitable ward where the specialist could treat him for his illness.

            Superman' s ward was facing the garden where he could see everybody in the hospital who pass by. As a result, he met many people and made some good friends who helped him in some way or another. Although his new friends didn’t know English, they could manage to make conversations with him through the other friends who knew some English.

            A few days passed likewise until they thought of inviting an interpreter to stay with Superman during his stay there.

            Of course there were some people in the hospital who could translate the Star’s words into Farsi, but they decided to invite the doorman’s cousin, who, they believed, knew English well.

            The cousin of the doorman was rather a stout man, originating from a Turkish speaking town in Iran. The man had recently mastered his English language at Istanbul University, in Turkey. Since his return to Iran, he had been called Dilbilan, (linguist), by his friends - though he preferred Dilman to Dilbilan. Even though Dilman had been living in Tehran for many years, he had a very strong Turkish accent when he spoke Farsi. To make matters worse, his third language, English, was also affected by his thick Turkish and Farsi accent. Therefore, when he spoke, he used all the three languages with the same pitch. In his part, Dilman wouldn't care how bizarre his third language sounded, he just tried to help people understand what he said.

            Most of the time Dilman sat next to Superman in the ward and tried to amuse him with his odd speech. One day, when they were talking about the things they had in common, Dilman wanted to recount of his past and bygone to Superman. So he said, “Once I was the best celebrated man in our hometown, Ardabil. I was in my twenties when I made people wonder about my heroic acts. On many occasions, I used to lie flat on the mass of sharp pointed nails and let some over-loaded trucks pass on my chest! I felt no pains at all.

            “It was also a part of my show to break strong chains with my hands, and bend thick iron bars on my knees. Everybody knew of my lifting heavy weights off the ground. I lifted about 300 kilos slung on my neck. To do so, I would always hire a certain donkey for the show - the animal weighed exactly 300 kilos. That is why my friends often called me ‘Dilman, the donkey lifter’.

            When Dilman was recounting his bygones, Superman was astonished, and said, ‘So you are superior to me the super power!’

            During his stay in hospital, Superman learned a lot of things about the people and their culture in Iran. He also learned some useful phrases in Farsi. Of course he picked up the new phrases with strong Turkish accent. For example he learned the common daily phrase of, ‘Haal-e shoma chetoreh?’ (How are you?), as ‘Haloo! Shima chetoreh? Which means, ‘Fool! How is Shima?’ It was why people in the hospital burst into laughter when he talked to them.

            It took Superman three weeks to recover, and now he was going to leave the hospital very soon. As he had already told his friend, he wanted to visit Tehran to see how people lived there, the super star was also thinking of starting a show business as soon as he left hospital.

Superman Leaving Hospital

            Superman said 'goodbye' to his friends in the hospital; he hugged the men-nurses and gave kisses to those who had given him the best services. Then he walked out of the hospital with his friend, Dilman. First they stood in front of the hospital for a few seconds and wondered where to go. Each one said something until Dilman suggested going up the street. They began strolling away casually until Superman asked his interpreter to take him to a tailor. He wanted to have a new mantle made. The super star claimed that he needed the mantle to fly over the city and see everything for him. He also promised Dilman that he would fly him on his shoulders when he got the cloak.

            They kept walking and looking for a tailor until Dilman noticed one across the street. It appeared to be a poor shop in the distance and the signboard over the window read, ‘Tailor for

            Stars’. They crossed the road and stood in front of the shop to read the signboard once more. Dilman read it for his friend, but it was, ‘Tailor for the Super Stars’. It was quite what Superman wanted, so they both walked into the shop like the film stars walk into the saloon bars on the screen. Each of them greeted the star-adoring tailor, and before the man could say any word or even reply their greeting, Dilman introduced his friend to him and asked for a mantle for his show business.

            By hearing Superman’s name, the shopkeeper got delighted and, in the mean time, was very proud of seeing such a famous star face to face in his shop. Therefore, he greeted the star once again and turned to Dilman saying that he was quite familiar with Superman’s name, so he would be pleased to carry their orders immediately. While he was still expressing his affection to Superman, he pointed to the only sofa available in the shop, and invited them to sit down. He wanted to make conversation with them while sewing the mantle. They sat on the unstable sofa, and the man ordered some tea, and three soft drinks very quickly.

            Next, ignoring the pile of unfinished shorts and shirts in the shop, the man measured up Superman for the mantle and started sewing it right away. In the mean time, he started a friendly conversation by saying, “Well, how strange it is to see the super star in front of me in my shop. Now, I believe what they say, ‘Mountains meet!’ Let me prove how much I love the stars, especially the super stars.” While still talking, he turned and pointed to the wall behind him and told Superman, “Look! This is your photo on the wall, once I cut it out from an evening paper. You see! I have pinned it up on the wall to prove my affection to you.”

            Neither Dilman nor Superman could see the photo from where they were sitting; what they saw was only a piece of pale paper pinned up among some other yellowish pieces. So Superman became curious and stood up, stepped nearer to the wall to observe the remainder of his lost and past glories. He walked closer to the pictures on the wall and investigated them thoroughly, but couldn’t recognize his photo among the other faded ones. The star tried harder and at last noticed a picture of his, but nailed upside down among the other pictures of stars!

            Feeling sick at the sight of the photos, Superman returned to his seat, sat and started sipping his tea. Dilman then started a conversation by counting his friend’s remarkable acts and facts in the past. He kept talking so much about his friend’s strange shows in the past that finally all of them burst into laughter. First Dilman himself laughed. He laughed at the story he was just telling. But the tailor was laughing at Dilman’s strange pitch of speech when he spoke. Superman could neither understand what he was talking about, nor pick up the sense of humor in his speech. He was just laughing at the tailor’s toothless mouth when he laughed.

            Right then two men walked in and one of them asked whether his suit was ready. The tailor got embarrassed and answered he was sorry about that, it wasn't ready yet. Then, while still apologizing for the breach of his promise, he asked the man politely if he could come for his clothes the next Monday, because …” Hardly had the tailor finished his phrase when the man got furious and shouted at him he couldn't waste time coming to his dirty shop any more. The angry customer claimed that he had been calling for his suit for ages, and each time had been fooled in different ways. So, while ignoring the tailor's apology, he seized his half-done suit from among other cut-up pieces of clothes and after slamming the door behind him, they both left the shop in anger.

            The incident upset the star-adoring tailor and he not only ceased laughing but also stopped talking to his star customers. He dropped the mantle-like cloth away and picked up some uncut material and began cutting aimlessly. They all kept quiet for a while until the star and his friend seized their unfinished mantle and without saying ‘goodbye’, left the shop at once.

The New Useless Mantle

            After leaving the tailor's, they entered a quiet alley so that Superman could try on the semi-sewn mantle to see if it was all right. He wore it, but unfortunately it looked terrible on his shoulders. Apart from its deformity, the rough-run stitches on the clothes were clearly seen from a long distance. There were not any buttons or laces on the collar to secure the mantle from falling off.

            Although Dilman joined the edges of the collar with a pin, the worst thing was that the ill-shaped sheet was absolutely useless. It wasn’t a real magic cloth, just a decor to save him his dignity. He still tried it several ways, but none worked. At last the Star fell hopeless and believed that it wouldn't help him in his future flights. So being quite disappointed, he asked his friend what to do with the lot. Dilman, being totally annoyed at the event, advised him to keep it just for a rainy day. Thus Superman took his friend's advice, and after rolling it up, he saved it under his arm perhaps it might become useful one day.

            They returned to the main street and went on watching the shop-windows. They walked for a few minutes, but Superman didn't like it. He, therefore, asked his friend to take him to some places of interest instead of showing him the bare shop-windows or the crowded streets. Dilman agreed and decided to take him to Azaadi Square, because, on his arrival in Tehran, Superman had not seen it well. From the very moment of his arrival, he had fallen down the damn tower and was taken to hospital.

            They waited for a taxi to take them to Azaadi Square. There were a lot of cars passing, but all were packed with passenger. There were many different kinds of cars on the street, from the latest models to the oldest models of Opel. There were also too many motorbikes and bicycles meandering everywhere on the street. Superman was just looking to his right for a taxi when Dilman told him to look at the left-hand side for an empty car. They waited for about fifteen minutes until at last an old private car stopped for them and the driver inquired in Farsi, ‘Koja Agha?’(Where to Sir?) “Azaadi Square,” Dilman answered. Although there were already three passengers in the car, the driver called out ‘Hurry up; jump in quickly’.

The First Sightseeing

            As soon as Superman and his interpreter got in the car and sat in the back seat, the car speeded up toward Azaadi Square. The man was running faster than the permitted speed limit and meandering among the cars driven by his own type of the drivers. Superman was afraid of watching the man drive so heedlessly, so he closed his eyes to hide his panic. Dilman turned to his super star friend and after reproaching him a bit, he assured him nothing bad would happen, because everybody drove like that in Tehran. After listening to his friend’s remark reluctantly, Superman opened his eyes

            A few minutes passed in silence then Dilman looked at his friend and said, “Do not trouble troubles until you really face troubles.” Next he turned to the driver and said, “You know, Mr. Driver! This friend of mine, I mean this gentleman, is the same Superman that everybody knows. He has come to Iran to visit our country, specially Tehran.”

            The driver was already familiar with the name as ‘Superman’, so while he was still driving the car at the same speed, turned round, and after observing the man thoroughly, answered, “Of course he is not! This friend of yours looks too miserable to be the same Superman I know.” Soon after, while turning his face from the man, the driver whispered “Silly! You fool are making a mountain out of a molehill! This man does not seem to know his right hand from his left.”

            One of the passengers sitting next to the driver had never heard such a word as super-anything at all, so after sneering a bit, he said, "I am also a supoor¹ man; in my opinion supoor men are not so important to talk about.” The man's misunderstanding irritated Dilman, therefore, he answered, "Superman, not the supoor man. It means an extraordinary man." After hearing Dilman’s explanation, the genuine supoor man didn't talk any more, and the dispute settled down at last.

            Next, the driver ask Dilman why his friend had chosen Tehran to visit, but not some other countries-such as Afghanistan, Daghistan, Ozbakistan or Pakistan! “ Here in Iran,” the man continued, "Everybody is a superman, so who cares about seeing any more supermen!"

            Being bombarded by the driver's sarcastic remarks, poor Dilman regretted what he had said, therefore, he mended his word by saying, ‘I was really pulling your legs, because my friend is a tourist - a simple tourist, who has just come to visit Tehran.”

            They arrived at Azaadi Square, and after paying 50 rials² to the driver, Dilman and his friend got out of the car in despair. Then while Superman was holding the ill-shaped mantle under his arm, they walked to the center of the park to watch the tower clearly from there.

            While they were quite near the tower, Dilman began explaining what he knew of the structure and the surrounding to him. Superman had a very bad memory of the whole area, so he didn't care how splendid the place was. He was now thinking of the tragic side of it - the day when he had fallen down the 'devil’.

            Dilman went on explaining that Azaadi Square, and the great tower, was built in 1971.The whole area was 50,000 square meters, and the height of the tower reached to 45 meters. Then he pointed to the west, and said, that was the road to Karaj. While he was pointing to the left side of the road, Dilman said, Mehr-Aabaad Airport was roughly about two kilometers away from the square. Of course Superman had already seen the airport; he had flown over it before landing on the tower a few weeks earlier.

            Dilman made Superman stand straight to see the bus terminal on the right. There were lots of cars, and buses inside the enclosure with too many people in or outside the area. Then Superman turned and watched the wide street behind him and asked his friend what street it was. Dilman replied that it was the extension of Azaadi Street³. It was one of the largest streets in Tehran that started from Azaadi Square and stretched up to Imam Hussain Square. "You know," Dilman said, "This street divides Tehran in two parts, the north part and the south. It crosses many major streets and joins to Imam Hussain Square. From there it still goes many kilometers to the east.” Dilman made it clear that neither taxis nor any private cars would take passengers from one end to another. “If anyone,” Dilman said, “Wants to travel such a long distance, he has to change several cars or taxis. Apart from those vehicles, there are also central city buses that run through. On the whole, most people prefer traveling by buses than any other means, because they are granted by the government.”

Superman in the Terminus

            Superman was tired and wanted to sit on one of those comfortable benches at Azaadi Square, but Dilman suggested they go to one of the tea-shops inside the terminus. It was not a bad idea Superman thought, so they crossed the road and walked into the bus station. There were lots of buses in motion or standing by to take passengers. People were also in large numbers. Some of them were trying to get on the buses, whereas too many were still wandering about inside.

            Dilman and his friend went into one of the tea-shops and the man in charge served them tea at once. It was very delightful to relax after such a long tiring walk and ride to Azaadi Square. When they were drinking the tea, Dilman promised to take Superman to Enqelab Square next. He said that it was one of the busiest squares in Tehran. They could see not only many kinds of shops there but would visit Tehran University and the famous book-shops around as well.

            Dilman paid for the tea and they left the shop. As there was nothing more interesting to see inside, they walked out of the terminus.

Superman in Panic

            Dilman wanted to take a taxi. Therefore, without caring about the heavy traffic, he suggested they cross the road but out of the pedestrian crossing. Superman was astonished at his suggestion, so he didn’t take him so serious and stayed where he was. Dilman pushed his way through the careless crowd, and without looking at either side, he zigzagged up to the middle of the road. There, he stood for a seconds and turned round to see if Superman was following him, but to his surprise, he wasn't. The super star was still standing by the side of the street and waiting for the cars to stop for him to cross! When he proceeded to take a step forward, a passing car frightened him by blaring the horn. Thus he stepped back in panic and waited by the gutter. The star was totally confused and wondering how to cross the road. To make matters worse, the mantle under his arm, was nearly falling down to the ground. He was quite unable to hold it because the nasty jaywalkers were jostling against him and pushing him from side to side.

            Dilman shouted at him not to panic but cross the street, or otherwise he wouldn't succeed in seeing anywhere at all. Although Superman was still confused and wondering whether to take his friend’s advice or take care of him not to be run over by cars, he gathered all his force and tried at last to cross the road. He took three successive steps forward, but all of a sudden was pushed back by a fierce punch from a man riding at the back of his friend’s scooter. The punch was so hard that Superman lost his balance and nearly fell down to the ground.

            Finding his friend so helpless, Dilman returned to him and after reproaching him for being so clumsy, he advised him not to panic but cross the road as the others did. He also reminded him of the wise saying ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do’! By listening to what his friend said, Superman held Dilman on the arm and both crossed the street out of danger.

            They stood on the other side of the street where too many cars and taxis were going to Enqelab Square. Lots of cars passed without noticing them until one of the taxi drivers stopped to let them get on.

            The passengers, in the car, were quiet and so were Superman and his friend. But the car radio was on. It was playing music, or now and then saying something dull to Superman; it was a kind of mumbo jumbo, he thought. The driver was smoking heavily and blowing the smoke in the tiny room of the machine; he occasionally puffed it out through the partly open window. Of course he wouldn’t puff it out if there had not been two ‘NO SMOKING and THE PASSENGERS ARE IN THE RIGHT’ signs stuck on the dashboard.

            On the way from Azaadi to Enqelab, the taxi stopped at eight traffic lights, and apart from those certain stops, the driver pulled up several times to replace the old passengers with the new ones.

Superman in Enqelab Square

            The taxi stopped in Enqelab Square and after paying the driver, Superman and his interpreter left the car. First they walked onto the sidewalk and stood in front of the cinema to cast a bird view at the whole area. Dilman pointed to the east part and told his friend that it was the continuation of Enqelab Street. It stretched not only to Imam Hussain Square, but also continued kilometers away to the east.

            Although there was a giant pedestrian overpass in the square, connecting the east part to the west, there were still too many people in the middle of the circle - walking from one side to the next. Dilman suggested they climb up the overpass and watch the surrounding from there. They went on the bridge. First, Dilman showed his friend Azaadi Street where they had traveled through a while ago. Then he pointed to the opposite side of the street and said it was Enqelab Street. When Dilman was showing him the long Enqelab Street, he also pointed to the huge Tehran University on the left, and the book-shops on the right hand of the street. Superman was still watching the shops when his friend drew his attention to the middle of the square saying that there had been a statue of Reza Shah⁴ mounted on a horse back there, but soon after the Islamic Revolution, it had been toppled by the people. The street, on the north part of the square, went to Amir-Abaad, where the Laleh Park and the Fine Arts Gallery were. The other end of the street stretched down to the railway station.

            They climbed down the pedestrian overpass and walked round watching the shop-windows. There was almost everything in the shops, luring the passers-by to buy things they didn’t need. There were several hi-fi shops near the cinema where some teenagers were standing in front and looking at the things in the windows. Most of the items bore badges, pictures of the certain film stars, or at least some different phrases in English-though meaningless. There were many pictures of the celebrated stars on sale and a small group of children were busy watching them. They were mostly interested in Superman’s pictures.

            In one of the pictures, Superman was diving from the top of a skyscraper onto the roof of a ten-story building. While admiring the super star’s pictures two boys were expressing their wishes they could see him with their own eyes. While they were still counting the good points of the super star, Dilman was delighted and surprised to see his friend was so much admired by the kids. Therefore he was about to introduce Superman to the boys when the star advised him to wait and see what else they were talking about. Superman wanted to know how much he was respected by his fans.

            One of the boys was telling his friends about Superman's power. He believed that if Superman found his way to Tehran, he would destroy and smash everything that stood in his way. Superman was delighted to hear about his old missing power again, because he had almost forgotten his fame and game since his arrival in Tehran.

            Now, quite confident of his popularity among the children, the super star decided to step nearer to watch his own diving photo, and in the mean time to introduce himself to the boys. He got ready, wore a pleasant smile on the face and tried to push his way to the front of the crowd. But to his surprise, hardly had he taken any steps before he received a hard elbow punch in the stomach by one of his tiny fans. The boy not only struck him in the stomach, but also assaulted him by saying, "You the clumsy man cannot stand in my way when I am watching my popular star!" His friends also bombarded the poor super star with the nasty remarks without even looking at him in the face to see who he was!

            Their humiliation disappointed both Superman and his friend, therefore, they decided to leave the place for Vali-e Assr Square⁵.

On the Way to Vali-e Assr Square

            It was not too far to Vali-e Assr Square, they could even walk there if they wanted to, yet Dilman suggested they travel on a city bus which ran from Enqelab Square to Imam Hussain Circle. Although Superman didn't know where Vali-e Assr Square was, he agreed with his friend at once. They paid ten rials for the tickets at the box-office, and waited for the bus at the end of the queue.

            There were already a few buses waiting at the bus-stop, though two of the drivers were busy registering the timetables, or having some other official formalities done. The third driver, who seemed to be apparently helpful to people, was leaning out of the bus window and directing an old man to find a toilet somewhere. The poor man looked very miserable for his pressing technical problem!

            The waiting passengers in the line had lost their patience and were beginning to curse at any buses and the bus drivers. Right then, luckily, two other buses arrived and the conductors called the passengers to get on, but one by one. The first two passengers got on with no difficulty, but the third one delayed only because his two little children and the heavy luggage he was struggling to take into the car. It was just enough to hasten the waiting crowd! they rushed to the entrance and tried to enter the bus all together. Superman and his interpreter couldn't get on. Neither could some of the clumsy ones standing in front of them in the queue. After loading twice as many passengers, both of the buses left and another one approached calling the remaining passengers to get on.

            The super star and his friend got on the bus and sat close together in the middle. The bus was too dirty and old, there were numerous pre- or post-revolution battle cries scribbled everywhere, even on the ceiling. The traffic was terribly heavy and the bus could hardly do more that 20 kilometers per hour. The ride was pretty tiring for Superman, though Dilman claimed it was moving faster than the double-decker buses. It took fifty minutes to cover the distance between Enqelab and Vali-e Assr Square.

            When they got off the bus at Vali-e Assr Square, Dilman invited his guest for some snacks in one of the snack bars off the main street. They went into a small, but busy cafe where the service was quick. Dilman asked for two big cheese sandwiches and two large mugs of buttermilk. Though Superman didn't know such a drink as buttermilk, he liked it and asked for one more. After getting quite fresh, they left the bar and walked to the square again. Dilman suggested they sit on a bench in the park and rest for a while. Superman accepted the idea and they picked a quiet place near the Town Hall. It was very fascinating to sit in the sunshine in such a beautiful park and watch the people and the attractive building of the theater. There were a few people sitting on the benches or lying on the lawn idle. Some of them were reading books or magazines, however a few pretended to. The main building, the Town Hall, was one of the best architectures in its types. It resembled the arts and architects of Iran.

            After about an hour sitting in the park, Dilman asked Superman to go to his father-in-law’s. He said they could stay at his house as long as Superman was going to stay in Tehran. Dilman also revealed that he had been living with his father-in-law since he had married his daughter, Golnaz. He added that his father-in-law was a very hospitable man and would surely enjoy having Superman with him as a guest. Although in the beginning Superman seemed rather reluctant, later he on he accepted going with him. Thus they both returned to Enqelab Square to take the cheapest means of transportation to Dilman’s residence, in Javadieh.

Superman on the City-bus

            There were many different kinds of vehicles going to the railway station and Javadieh, but the cheapest ones were the city-buses. They charged as little as 20 rials for the whole journey; this was why most people preferred traveling by them.

            The line was long, Dilman and his friend had to join the line and wait until their turn came. Although there were not any buses at the bus stop, four of them arrived together. To Superman's surprise each bus took the passengers from the different parts of the line. Dilman and his friend finally got on the last bus at last.

            As usual, it was packed with passengers and there were not enough seats for everyone to sit. So Superman mixed with the other straphangers in the middle. When the bus started, it made a sudden jerk and pushed the straphangers to the end of the aisle. Superman tried to keep his balance by holding the loose bar on the ceiling, and also leaning against two the standing passengers. There was another irritating problem, it was the low ceiling of the bus. The star had to bend his head and stand with his two legs apart all through the journey. To make matters worse, several odd legs were passing between his legs from either side but he didn't care whose legs they were.

            Dilman, on the other hand, was squeezed with some other passengers behind the front door. He was not in touch with his friend to see whether he was enjoying the ride.

            The driver had to stop the bus twice every five minutes for passengers to get off. . When he stopped the bus, Dilman had to step down to give way to someone to get off or two new ones to get on. The passengers were calling ‘stop’ in succession. Some of them called the names of the streets they wanted to get off. It was of course hard for Superman to understand what they were calling, but he could guess somehow. For example, he could easily pick up the phrases of ‘Negahdar! Goftam negahdar’ which meant, ‘Stop! I told you stop’.

            Although the traffic was heavy, it did not take them more than an hour to cover the distance between Enqelab Square and the Railway station.

Superman in Javadieh

            When they got off the bus at the railway station, Dilman asked his friend to step on the sidewalk and have a glance at the whole place first. Superman climbed up the sidewalk and while watching the whole sight of the square, he caught sight of the main building of the railway station. It was not attractive, or in his opinion, it didn’t match Tehran at all.

            There were lots of cars, taxis or buses all packed with passengers. The shops were still open and there were a lot of people wandering about in the circle and the streets around. They were mostly the passengers who preferred traveling by train than any other means. On the whole, Superman didn’t like the place at all.

            Seeing his friend not interested in the sightseeing, Dilman suggested they go to his father-in-law’s, but on foot, because it was not too far to take a taxi. He also said that it was safer to walk on the sidewalk, or they might have been run over by one of those careless drivers. Superman also liked to walk because he wanted to get to know the area where he was going to live. Thus they both started walking towards Dilman’s father-in-law, Mash Musa.

            On the way home, Dilman kept talking and showing his friend every side and sight until they reached the house. Superman stood back for a while and his interpreter rang the doorbell. In a minute, one of Musa’s tenants opened the door and after greeting them casually, he invited them in. They walked into the courtyard and Dilman asked his friend to stay in the yard while he was going to report their arrival to the family. He went inside and first asked his wife and then his mother-in-law to put their veils on so that their new friends would not see them. After letting them know of their arrival, Dilman invited his friend into the room and introduced him to his brother-in-law, Kamaal. Although Kamaal was not a sociable person, he greeted Superman and, as it was customary, he gave three big kisses on his face and invited him to sit cross-legged on the upper part of the room.

            It was ten PM. when Mash Musa returned from his work and Dilman introduced his guest to him. They shook hands and Mash Musa also gave him a warm welcome by kissing him on both cheeks. They all sat in the main room and once more Mash Musa greeted him by saying, "Khush Amadid" (Welcome). After a long conversation, Superman found his host very hospitable, so he told him all about his sweet bygones and great incomes in the past. He also told him the purpose of his traveling to Tehran. Mash Musa listened to him carefully and at last promised to help him and do his best during his stay in Tehran. Dilman too gave his word to accompany him as a translator in the city.

Superman in the Private Room

            It was nearly midnight and everyone felt tired. So was Superman. Mash Musa took him to the other end of the house, into a small private room to sleep. He wanted his new friend to feel at home, and in the mean time, to keep the stranger away from his family at night. In the super star’s idea also it was good to have a private room, because he was dead tired and wanted to sleep as soon as possible.

            When Superman was left in the tiny room, he latched the door from behind, then stretched his hand to draw back the dark curtain hanging close behind the door. He wanted to go to the other end of the room and make his bed ready. He drew back the full-length curtain, but suddenly got shocked to see that there was no gap between the wall, but only the bare wall in front of him.

            There were not any holes, windows or a ventilator on the walls - the only breathing facility was the cracks in the old decayed door. The star got rather upset, but very soon he muttered to himself. “Anyway, the house is not for me, and above all, I am so tired that I am going to fall sleep very soon. So why should I care?” Once more he stated aloud that, “It is not my own property and neither am I going to stay here for good.” By saying so he was contented with what it was, and without wasting time, got ready to sleep.

            He took the blanket from the corner of the room and after spreading it two-ply on the floor, he rolled his mantle as a pillow, and lay on his back to sleep. He didn’t need to spread anything on him, because it was terribly hot. The tired star stretched his weary legs to the full length, but unfortunately they touched the wall. Next he bent them to prevent the inconvenience. He turned on his light, and very soon on his right, but finding both uncomfortable, he lay with his face downward. It was still worse. He found each way painful until he lay on his back again.

            Hardly had the super star been in the room for a few minutes when he felt the air was too heavy to breathe. He jerked from side to side and once again he lay flat, then tried to lie prostrate. No matter how hard the star struggled, he couldn’t sleep at all. He was just helpless and wondering what to do. In the end he remembered what Dilman had told him in the hospital. He had said that his father-in-law had a small room in his house called ‘A home made hell’ by the members of the family!

            According to what Dilman had narrated, many years before Mash Musa and his neighbor, Mash Khalil, the baker, had bought their houses from a jerry -builder.

            The man had botched up some shops and apartments and also several small houses called, 'Shelter for the penniless citizens'. Then after selling one or two at rather a reasonable price, he had sold them all at much higher prices to people. He had also succeeded in selling two of the smallest ones to Mash Musa and Mash Khalil, the baker.

            Right from the beginning, Mash Khalil had made a big furnace just behind Mash Musa's rooms to bake bread in. Since then the perpetual heat coming from the bakery had made Mash Musa's tiny rooms even hotter than the bakery itself.

            That night Superman sat awake till morning, and apart from suffering from the extreme heat, he kept thinking of his glorious past and bygones. It was nearly time for the sun to rise when he dozed while squatting in the middle of the room.

            The night ended likewise and it was time for the dawn prayers. As usual, Mash Musa and his wife got up to pray, and according to the family habit, nobody slept after praying. They sat for breakfast instead. Dilman sent Kamaal to invite Superman for the morning meal.

            While they were sitting cross-legged round the tablecloth on the floor, Mash Musa asked his guest if he had had a good sleep the night before. Superman couldn't catch quite what he said, nor was he interested in answering him! He didn't even look at Dilman when he was translating his father-in-law's words to him. Some time later without waiting for Superman’s reply, Musa added that he could stay with them more if he wanted to. The super star just stared at them and was wondering what to say. But seeing his friend so quiet, Dilman answered his father-in-law, “Of course Superman had a good sleep, because he had a private place of his own, and above all, there had been nobody to disturb him during the night!”

Touring the City

            That morning Musa didn't go to work, because he wanted to take his guest and Dilman sightseeing. Seeing them go together, Kamaal asked his father to go with them. “Because,” Kamaal said, “I have nothing special to do at home, except watching the repetitive cartoon films on TV.

            It was eight o'clock when they all got in Musa's car; Kamaal and Dilman sat next to Musa, and Superman was seated behind the chauffeur in the back seat.

            As it was Musa's main job to carry passengers in his car, this time he also wanted to take someone, because he didn't like to waste his time doing nothing.

            Mash Musa started the car and drove it out from their narrow meandering alley. As soon as the car entered the main road, Musa stopped it by someone's request. It was a small family - a young man, rather shorter than Superman, with his fatter and fitter wife. They also had a sweet plump child with them, who had a beautiful red balloon and a toy pistol in his right hand, His left hand was free to hold his father on the left trouser to keep from getting lost.

            First the fat man got into the car, but without apologizing to the others for causing them delay. Although Superman squeezed himself against the left door, there wasn't enough room for the man to sit in ease, let alone for his bulky wife to get in. But, to everybody’s surprise, the woman lifted the plump child and after dropping him on her husband’s lap, she forced herself into the car and struggled to sit next to her mate. Soon after, she was trying to close the car-door, but she failed. She tried it twice, thrice and then successively several times, and still didn’t succeed. Seeing his wife in trouble, the man helped her by slamming the door harder a few times; but the damn door remained unlocked. In the end the driver himself got out of the car in rage and closed it simply by two kicks.

            There was not any more room in the car to swing a rat, let alone a cat! They were literally sandwiched in the tiny car. To make matters worse, the child wanted to play with his toys, but he was so badly pressed between his father and Superman that he couldn’t breathe properly. A few minutes passed accordingly until it began with Superman who was pressed together and nearly running out of breath. He was not only stuck to the car-door, but was bearing the heavy weight of the bulky man who was leaning on his chest. The star was just trying to free his right arm from behind the man, though it seemed impossible. Superman couldn’t blame the man for bothering him, because the man was also badly pressed to the back chair by the stout mother of the child.

            In the end the suffering super star couldn’t bear the inconvenience any more and he tried to release himself by any means. Thus he gathered his force together and with a sudden jerk, pulled his right arm out from behind the man. The pull was so swift that he suddenly burst the beautiful red balloon of the child and made him cry at the top of his voice. He then started screaming so loud that everybody in the car lost patience. He became so restless that his father got annoyed and gave him a few smacks on the hands. He also gave Superman a sharp look in his face. Soon after, the child’s mother kept assaulting the star for his bad behavior and the rudeness to people in public!

            Musa drove for nearly forty minutes until he reached the Grand Covered Bazaar. After paying 100 rials to the driver, the passengers got out of the car and apparently waited for another one to take them to the German Embassy. As the man had already related in the car, they wanted to get visas for Germany to spend their New Year Holiday there, away from the boring life in Tehran!

            It was forbidden to park cars near bazaar or the streets around, so Dilman's father-in-law searched for a place to leave his car, and take his guests to the Ancient Golestan Palace and into the bazaar. Musa drove to the side streets and the allies, then after a long time, he returned to the first place again. He repeated the same trip around until at last he lost hope in finding a parking site. Therefor, he had to drive some two miles away to Baharestaan Square. There, he couldn't find a proper place to leave the machine, either. Musa drove into numerous short and long aligned and blind allies and after nearly twenty minutes, he reached Safi-Ali Shah Street. Luckily there were some free places there. Musa selected a decent place and after parking the car, he chained the steering wheel and locked the doors before walking to Baharestaan Square.

            They were finally at Baharestaan. It was a rectangular square with rows of shops on both sides. The Parliament House was in the east part of the square facing to Jumhury Street⁶. Next to the Parliament was the Parliament Library, and on the left, there stood the magnificent mosque of Martyr Motahhari⁷ -it was enough to bring into one’s mind the long glorious history of the architects in the past

            Musa and his friends walked round the square watching the different shops-from the religious centers to the few dull musical shops. Afterward, Musa took them into the mosque to have a look at the building from inside. Superman was delighted to observe such beautiful architectural designs in just one place, inside a single mosque.

            Dilman asked his father-in-law to take them to bazaar next, because Superman would enjoy seeing the Grand Covered Bazaar. Musa accepted the idea and said, “Unless you walk, do try to take a taxi.” They agreed unanimously and set out for the bazaar though Superman was lingering behind.

            -- Musa took them to Jumhury Street and after twenty minutes’ walk, they entered Laleh-zar and strolled down the street. There were too many different shops on both sides of the street. They saw a few cinemas, theaters and the tapes and Records Company among them. They walked and talked until they reached rather a big square called Imam Square. It was a large Square with its own typical traffic and jaywalkers. The Telecommunications Center stood on the south part of the square, with lots of hi-fi radio and TV shops were on the opposite side, facing the telecommunications Center. As Musa told his friends, years before, that part had been called, ‘Posht-e Shahrdari’ (Behind the Municipality) - though there was not any a sign of the municipality building then. The Shah had demolished it about two decades before.

            The Central Bus Station was in the middle of the square, whereby one could travel to many parts of the city.

            Musa showed Superman the Commercial Bank on the left, and told him the Central Post Office was just opposite the Bank, off the square. Musa finally showed his guests the old Sculpture Museum on the corner of Ferdowsi Street. It was called ‘Muzeh Sanatee’ (Industry Museum).

Superman Observing the Heaven

            Dilman had once visited Industry Museum before traveling to Turkey, so he recommended they see it together. They went to the box-office and Musa got four tickets for 200 rials. They walked in and for a few seconds tried to adjust their eyes with the dim light in the room.

            First Dilman showed them the statue of Shah Abbas mounted on the back of a black horse. The king was looking at his army drawn on the opposite wall.

            There were some statues of the contemporary countrymen depicting the culture of the nation. Among the various things to watch, most viewers were interested in looking through two holes. The children in the museum were also curious to watch that part more than looking at the beautiful painting or the carving. Superman asked his friends what the holes were about. Dilman answered they were two different places that almost everybody was going to visit one day. Saying so, Dilman took him to the first hole, asked him to look through and see the strange things inside for himself.

            Superman looked inside through the first hole, it depicted the Heaven. The sight was superb! There were innumerable tall fruit bearing trees, they had been grown neatly by the stream full of fresh water - running down into vast rivers. There were so many colorful birds nesting or resting on the most colorful flowers making the whole place look elegant. Superman was delighted to witness the Garden with his own eyes. After a few minutes he left the hole reluctantly and went to Dilman to ask whether he could enter the main Garden when he died! To his question, Dilman, as well as Musa, answered, “Of course you can!”

The Hell Frightens Superman

            They walked to the next hole and each one looked inside in turn. First Musa looked through the slot and got very confused by what he saw. He was totally annoyed by the sight, so he left the hole, yet didn't say any-thing to his friends. He just took his son, Kamaal, to the other part of the museum to watch the beautiful pictures instead.

            Dilman was not interested in hole-watching at all, so he also walked away to see something else - preferably the painting and carving. There remained only Superman who wanted to know what was going on inside.

            The hole was specially fixed low for the small children to see inside easily; it was below chest--high for an average person. When Superman was standing by the hole, there was luckily no one near to disturb or ask him to be quick in his observation Therefore, he stood in front of the board, bending his body to level his eyes with the slot. He even potted his hands and kept them at the sides of his eyes to see the sight well. This hole was not the Garden, but the Hell! Now he was observing the sky-high flames with millions of skulls and skeletons burning to ashes within. He also saw too many odd shaped creatures torturing the sinful dwellers. Superman was so confused that he was involuntarily kicking the ground. In the end, he was frightened, and left the hell go to ‘Hell’ and returned to his friends hurriedly. The scared star told them what he had witnessed behind the screen. Since he was totally affected by the scene, he asked Dilman whether they would take him to the Hell when he died. “Of course you will,” his friends answered unanimously. “Because it is waiting there for your kind of stars and spongers,” they said.

On the way to Bazaar

            Mash and his guests left the museum; it was time they rested for a while. Everyone was hungry and tired, so Musa promised to take them somewhere to eat. “It is just a ten-minute walk,” he said. “Let’s walk there. They didn’t waste time in Imam Khomeni Square, but all followed Musa down to Nasser Khosrow. There, Musa invited them to a decent restaurant to eat some food.

            After sitting in a peaceful corner, Dilman asked his father-in-law to order some Chelo-Kebab for them. Kamaal also liked the same food, but it was only Superman who had no idea about food in Iran. Musa, therefore, asked the servant to bring Chelo-Kebab for them all.

            Food was served immediately and all enjoyed eating in the busiest part of the city. After relaxing for a while, each one had a big cup of tea as well. Musa paid the bill and they left the restaurant for the Grand Covered Bazaar. It was not too far so they could walk and see the shop windows and the people on the street. There were many peddlers everywhere. They were selling almost everything rare in the shops or drugstores.

            Musa took them to the end of the street, and after crossing the major road, they stopped in front of Grand Bazaar. There were a lot of people around, mostly on the sidewalk-buying and selling things related to the antique shops just in front of Bazaar. They were also changing money into different currencies.

            Musa and his wondering friends entered Bazaar, walking down and watching things in the shop-windows. They could see the most gorgeous and precious things down to the tiniest, but most valuable items. They could also see the most beautiful Iranian carpets and the most expensive diamonds all in one place. Compared to the main entrance, the other end of the bazaar was dull, so they left the plain part quickly and walked out to the next street. It took them about two hours to finish touring the Grand Bazaar, when it was time they ended their touring there.

Superman Watching the Peddlers

            Neither Dilman nor his father-in-law, or Kamaal had said their midday prayers, so they went to the nearest mosque to pray. When they were in the mosque, Superman waited outside for them, next to a tinsmith’s near the mosque.

            There were lots of small shops on both sides of the street with many peddlers around. Superman stayed there watching people and the things going on. Most of the peddlers were trying to end with their remaining goods on the stall, or they put their goods all over the sidewalk. One could find anything he needed, though most of them looked next to nothing. Among the scattering retailers a young man, who was selling a small 7-band transistor radio, drew Superman’s attention to him. The set, in his hand, was on, and he was walking up and down the sidewalk for someone to buy it. The man was calling for his goods and demonstrating it to draw the attention of the passers-by to it. Now and then, a man went to him and casually asked for a price, but after finding it too expensive, they walked away without even touching it.

            The man noticed Superman and went straight to him asking whether he was interested in the set. Although Superman didn’t answer the man, he thrust the radio into his hands and asked him to pay as much as he wanted to. While the man was still insisting him to buy it, Superman noticed that the case of the set was broken and tied up with some black thread just to go with the color of the radio. Apart from the breakage, the set broadcast only MW. With a poor sound, even though it was labeled ‘7-Band Graphic Equalizer. Luckily, because Superman couldn’t speak Farsi, the man felt hopeless and left him for another possible customer.

            The man approached several passers-by and tried to draw their attentions to the unit. Even though every-body knew there was a trick to it, the man finally succeeded in cheating a simple-minded man. The poor man paid two times more than the real price and took the rot with him.

            Superman waited there for about twenty minutes until Mash Musa, Dilman and Kamaal left the mosque and joined him again.

Back to Safi-Ali Shah

            It was getting dark thus the men decided to go back to the same place where they had parked the car in the morning. Musa suggested they catch a through bus for it was much cheaper than the private cars or the taxis. They agreed with him and all got on the bus going to Baharestaan. Compared to the rush hour, traffic was lighter and the bus was running faster. They reached Baharestaan Square a bit after the sunset. Neither of them was interested in touring, because they had visited the whole place in the morning. Now what they really needed was the car, so they went to Safi-Ali Shah Street to get it.

            The only trouble was that in the morning, they had parked the car away from the nearest lamp- post, and now it was quite dark about the parking site. In the sheer darkness, Musa fumbled for the keyhole and tried to open the car door. He tried it several times and at last succeeded in unlocking it. They all got in the car and Musa started the engine. He didn't wait for it to warm up, but released the hand brake and pushed the accelerator. To his surprise the car did not move! Next he pushed the pedal harder, it jerked and jumped a bit, but still didn't move forward. Amazed by the incident, Musa got out of the car and checked every part of the machine thoroughly. He walked round the car, touched the body and the bonnet until he found the secret to it. It was the tires of the car. Someone had deflated them in their absence. "But why” he thought. His friends also got out of the car and were shocked by the incident.

            Seeing his father in trouble, Kamaal got upset and walked about to see if he could find the reason. For a moment, he thought it might have happened by someone jealous of their car. But very soon, he changed his mind and decided to investigate it more.

            He searched everything that seemed dubious and at last noticed a ‘Four Wheels Will Get Deflated’ sign, scribbled on the entrance of a private parking lot. It was then Kamaal understood that his father had parked the car in front of the doorway to a garage!

            By hearing what Kamaal say, Musa got upset and wondered what to do in the pitch darkness. He was quite hopeless, and decided to leave the useless machine there until the next day to attend to it. So, he asked his friends to follow him to Baharestaan Square to take a taxi home. It was certainly painful for the exhausted party to return to the square on foot, and above all, Superman had developed a serious problem by then. After a long tiring walk during the day, he had not only worn out his shoes, but also injured some of his toes. Now he couldn't walk properly, without dragging his legs behind. For the same reason he fell far behind his friends when they walked.

Back to the Hot Room Again

            It was about eleven o'clock, shops were closed and there were few people in Baharestaan Square. Musa and his friends stood in the middle of the street and started waving at the rare passing cars to get a ride. Some of them stopped, but when they learned the journey was too far, they would speed up again. A few minutes later, a Musa type of a driver pulled up his private car and after negotiating the fare, he let them get. There were not any other passengers in the car, the driver also promised not to take any, so it sounded good after all.

            First the man drove slowly, then gradually speeded up until he was driving about eighty per hour. The streets were free from heavy traffic and the ride was miraculously good. They reached Javadieh in thirty-five minutes, and went to Mash Musa's house at last. It was rather late and everyone was dead tired, thus they went to bed immediately. Superman also entered his private room.

            When the star stepped in, he found the room even hotter than the night before. He was not surprise, because Musa had already told him that his wife always closed the room-door during the day to prevent their silly cat, Mastan, from entering the room. Of course the room was free from any pets and rats now, but it was too hot. It had been literally changed into a Turkish bath. No matter how hot it was, Superman had to stay there at night. So he closed the door and prepared to sleep.

            That night, apart from the extreme heat, he was suffering from the toe injuries, all his toes had been blistered and one or two were still bleeding. The star spread the blanket on the floor and after putting his mantle as a pillow, he lay down to sleep. In the beginning the pains and passion kept him awake, but only at dawn he slept for a while. As soon as he fell asleep he began dreaming a sweet dream. The star dreamt that he was gliding in the sky-just next to the stars. He was gliding smoothly and was absolutely free to go anywhere. His dream lead him to another dream wherein he was flying over the Channel, from Dover to Calay. That was an exceptional flight, because the super star had been invited to France to present his latest show. He was hurrying to be on time. The star was zooming forward and soaring upward the clouds - he flew so high that he could see only the sun. It was too big, much bigger than the sun people saw from the planet earth. It was shining more brightly, and was too hot to bear it, let alone to look at.

            Superman was moving toward it, but all of a sudden he noticed that the sun was also racing down towards him. It was getting nearer and nearer until it touched him on his hands. The burning ball was so hot that the star felt terrible pains on all parts of his body. Superman was trying to get rid of the extreme heat radiating from the sun, but it wouldn’t let him go. Finally the fiery ball stood face to face with Superman and was touching him on his hand and face. To save himself from the blazing ball, the star suddenly swerved to the left and dived downward to the ground. When he was coming down at his high speed, he hit his right knee to the highest peak of a mountain and hurt it badly.

            The harsh crash upset his dream and startled him. He got up in horror at once. As soon as he opened his eyes, the sun disappeared though Superman was still suffering the extreme heat that was burning him. Now the heat was not from the sun, but the bakery behind the wall! It was then that the star understood the burning sun was nothing except the hot wall he had been pressing himself against.

A Day at Home

            It was rather late when the family got up. After praying, they made breakfast. Mash Musa invited the others for breakfast. While sitting together round the tablecloth, he asked everyone if they had a good sleep. They all answered positively. Superman also said, “I really had a night last night!”

            After having their meals and talking about the sight-seeing the day before, Musa declared that he was going to have the tires of the car inflated and start his business; so he could take anybody to the city center if they wanted. Dilman accepted going with him, but Superman asked Musa whether he could stay at home and rest instead. Musa didn’t object unless his son stayed at home in case if he needed some help. It was accepted by Superman and stayed at home with Kamaal, while Dilman accompanied his father-in-law to fetch the car.

            When Musa and Dilman were away, Superman asked his host to teach him some more about Tehran, because he was tired of walking in such heavy traffic and crowded city. Kamaal liked the idea but he said they needed a map and some pictures of the city to help Superman learn the places well. So he went to the nearest book- shop and got a guidebook and some pictures of the places of interest.

            After his return, Kamaal placed the map on the floor and started teaching Superman about the places and palaces in Tehran. He helped him to learn the names of the roads and the streets in detail. In his part, Superman also began reading the directions on the map in English. He read, “Tehran is about 1,200 sq km, and it is situated at the foot of the Alburz Mountain. The maximum temperature is 42 centigrade degree, and minimum 16.”

            Then Kamaal pointed to the parks and told his guest, “There are now many parks in Tehran. The smallest of all is Juybar, which is not more than 160 sq m. But on the other hand, there are lots of parks such as Park Mellat, Danishjoo, Saee, Laleh, and so many others.”

            When Kamaal was counting the parks for him, Superman wished his mantle had been with him and he could have flown over the parks to see everything for himself.

            Kamaal interrupted his dreaming and drew his attention to the palaces and the museums in Tehran. He said, “Golestan Palace was one of the oldest buildings remaining since the Safavis’ period. Once it was renovated during the time of Nasser A-ddin Shah. The Palaces includes the Salutation Auditorium, Museum Hall, Brilliant Hall, Ivory Hall and the Crystal Hall. The tallest of all is the Shams Ul-Emareh, which was used by Karim Khan Zand-prior to Nasser A-ddin Shah.”Kamaal talked so highly of the places and palaces that Superman wished he had fallen on one of those rather than Azaadi Tower. But Kamaal didn't let him day-dream by saying that the Marble Palace was the best among them. It had been built during the time of Reza Shah 1932-1935. The design of the building was a combination of both East and the West. Kamaal also pointed to Baharestaan Palace by saying that the Palace and Motahhari Mosque or School had been built during the time of Mirza Hussain Khan Sepahsalar. “Think of it," Kamaal said. "The architecture of Motahhari School is a combination of the magnificent design of Imam Mosque⁸ in Isfahan, Aya Sofia in Istanbul, and the Chaharbagh School in Isfahan. It was built in 1880."

            After an almost two hour talk, Kamaal was still talking monotonously. His explanation about the chiefs and chieftains, domes and designs was so tiring that Superman got bored and fell asleep involuntarily. He dropped his head on Kamaal's right shoulder and began snoring. Although Kamaal couldn’t bear his heavy weight on him, he didn’t move and his friend snoozed in ease.

            Superman was apparently dreaming of something sweet, Kamaal guessed, because he had a pleasant smile on his face. Kamaal continued talking about the parks and palaces though his guest was still dreaming and muttering something vague to him. Kamaal paid close attention to him and finally he gathered that Superman was speaking of something great in his dream. His muttering sounded to Kamaal something like kings, crowns, killing and crime; so he gathered that his guest had become a king in his dream.

            According to his murmuring, he was in an enormous palace, sitting on the throne and wearing a brilliant crown on his head. His court-guests were sitting around the mansion, and the musicians were seated in the middle of the chamber. The orchestra was trying to play some soothing melody for the super king, but what the king was hearing was only the deafening beats of drums!

            Kamaal got quite tired and couldn’t bear the heavy weight of Superman on his shoulder any more. Beside that his heart started beating violently. Just then the two hard beatings: the beats of the drum and Kamaal’s heart beating, made the super king crazy and he suddenly shouted, “stop that rubbish. Put it away at once!” Now scared by Superb-man’s treat, Kamaal was frightened and moved back in horror. He acted so quickly that it made the king collapse and his sweet dream stop.

            After a short pause, Superman came to his senses and asked his host to give him some more information about the city. This time Kamaal began telling his guest about Tehran National Fair that had been inaugurated as the Asian Commercial Fair in 1970. He told Superman that from the beginning, there had every year been many different exhibitions held from all over the world. Also each year, in May, almost all the publishers presented their publications to the visitors. The exhibition itself was built in a vast area about 130 hectares, and there were 62 huge halls in it.

            Kamaal also let his friend know that Great Tehran was full of arts and culture. He referred to the museums, such as Iran National Museum. Kamaal said that it was inaugurated in the year 1937. It was full of painting, calligraphy, earth-wears, ceramics and many other fine carving and stones. They all dated back to the period of Achaemenians. Before 1986 it was called the Ancient Iran Museum. Being interested in the subject, Superman was trying to understand everything Kamaal was saying, though it was hard for him to catch or even keep in mind all the things he said. The only thing he could pick up rather easily was Reza Abbasi's Museum. It had been established in 1975 on Shariati Street. All the pre- Islamic things were kept in the museum.

            Time passed quickly and it was nearly midday. Kamaal stopped lecturing. He wanted to rest for a while and have lunch perhaps. Right then his father and Dilman also returned home for lunch.

            Food was ready and they all sat to eat. While they were having the meal, Dilman talked about how much trouble they had gone through in shifting the car on Safi-Ali Shah Street. He also added that they had been fined 200 rials for speeding.

            After having their meals, Superman expressed his homesickness to Musa and asked his permission to return to his country. As the Star said, he was feeling badly homesick. He also revealed that he hadn't been to Tehran to sit idle. The main reason for his flying to Iran was to demonstrate his endless power and entertain his audience. When Superman was talking about the show and entertainment, he also mentioned the nasty accident he had on his arrival. He believed that he had become hopeless since his fall from the tower.

            Musa felt sorry and sympathized with him for his misfortune. Then he asked Superman how he could manage it to return to his country, because he had lost his power and could not fly any more. After hesitating a bit, Superman answered, "I'm sure I can't fly, but if you help me, I will travel by bus or something else."

            Being generous and helpful to people, Musa promised to help him by any means. Then to prove his generosity, he asked Superman and also Dilman and Kamaal to get in the car and go to the bus-terminal. He thought of sending Superman to Turkey, and from there, he might find a way to mingle with his own type of people and travel to his homeland, in Europe.

Superman at the Bus Terminal

            It was four o'clock when they arrived at the Bus Terminal, after parking the car inside. Musa sent his son to the box-office to see if there were any buses to Istanbul. While Kamaal was away, Musa took Superman and his son-in-law outside, in front of the terminal. He wanted to buy something for Superman to take with him as a gift. First they stopped by the gate and had a look at the people jostling about, and the things put on the sidewalk for sale. To Superman's surprise, the whole area was crowded. There were hundreds of people: men, women and kids hurrying to enter the enclosure or leave it with bundles and suitcases in hand. There were a lot of peddlers and stall-keepers. They were not only selling things, but also buying rags to sell as goods later. The peddlers outnumbered the stall-keepers; they had spread their goods on the bare sidewalk to draw the attention of the passers-by. Some of them were selling cloth-ing and the things essential for the travelers. One could get food, nuts and ornaments at a very cheap price there. They were also selling all kinds of trumperies, old and new clothing or shirts and shorts.

            Musa got a box of cigarettes, and Dilman also bought some chewing gums for Superman to chew on his way back to his country.

            Kamaal returned from the box-office in despair, because he was told that they had stopped taking passengers to the foreign countries since the revolution had taken place. By hearing what Kamaal say they felt hope-less, yet continued to walk along the sidewalk and glance at the things in the stalls.

            Dilman casually picked up a pair of trousers from one of the stalls and measured them by sight to see if they were all right for him. They were too big for him, so he dropped them back where they were. They left the first stall and approached the next one. There, Musa picked up a T-shirt marked, ‘John Mickel- Paris’ on the chest. It was not his taste so he dropped it just where it was. Next Dilman proceeded to take an old army blanket from under a pile of other clothing, but right then the whole lot fell down to the ground in a mess. Dilman felt embarrassed and was just going to apologize to the man when Superman cried, “Look! It is my mantle. It is there under that blanket.” Dilman looked at the old mantle crumpled under the pile. He took the wrinkled cloak and gave it to Superman to see if it was his garment. The star looked at it attentively and believed that it was his own. The super star became delighted. He was so happy that he thanked the man several times, but in English! Amazed at the incident, Dilman asked the stall - keeper how he had come to it. “How!” the man answered. “I got it from the trash-man for the district. Now I am selling it for some small coins-actually I am giving it away.” Learning the man’s demand, Dilman paid him as little as the cost of a box of cigarettes and got the mantle for his friend.

            Superman was extremely excited to come to his mantle again. So he dropped his new, but ill-shaped mantle in the stall and wore his own old sheet on his shoulders to see if it worked properly. Fortunately it did. While the wrinkled sheet was on his shoulders, he walked on the sidewalk for a few seconds. It was a miracle, he suddenly felt inclined to fly. His friends, and the people standing near, could clearly see his feet rising off the ground. While Superman was examining to see if he could fly, some people were standing close to him and watching his movements. It was just that then everybody understood that he was the famous Superman. It did not take long before hundreds of boys rushed to the scene to visit their favorite star.

            By now police had also turned up and were fighting to disperse the crowd. It was rather a hard job for the police to push back the anxious crowd, therefore, they decided to take the super star away from the crowd in the police car. While they were leading him away, Dilman also followed him as his interpreter. The police kept the star in the car for a few minutes and after making sure that he was the same famous Superman, they took him to the center of Azaadi Square in the car, and from there, they lead him up to the roof of the tower. It was the highest point for him to take off and fly to his country.

            When Superman was on top of the tower, he waved to the children waiting down on the ground. The boys also waved back the star and after wishing him a ‘Good flight’, Superman pushed his feet hard against the roof and in a few seconds he rose high into the sky. Everybody in Azaadi Square was watching him fly high in the sky. When Kamaal and Musa were watching their guest fly, Dilman was standing back and weeping for his friend was departing. In a few seconds, Superman moved forward and soared upward at the highest speed possible. Some children clapped and cried ‘Khoda Hafiz⁹’ to Superman. It didn’t take long when the star soared higher and higher until he disappeared behind the clouds.

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1. Supoor is equivalent to a ‘trash man’ in English

2. According to the rate assigned by the Central Bank, a dollar paid 72 rials then.

3. Previously called Shah Reza Street.

4. The ousted Shah’s father

5. Previously called Pahlavi Square

6. Previously called Shah Street

7. Previously called Sepah-Salaar Mosque

8. Previously called Shah Mosque

9. Goodbye

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