Bahman Leaves Home

When d’Aki first met Bahman two summers ago he had just been sent back home, his passport confiscated by the Iranian authorities after trying to travel to Sweden. Sweden, a country with a prominent heavy metal scene, was somewhere that drew Bahman. He and a friend paid a large sum of money for forged papers, claiming they worked for a phone company. But, while waiting for their connecting flight in Warsaw, the Polish police didn’t believe their story. When in jail, Bahman learned the most important thing in his life was his understanding of hope.

“When you don’t have any hope for your life, you cannot understand this. You should just try without hope, it’s the most important thing.”

[aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_2625.jpg_2.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Bahman plays the piano at his family home in Tehran." captionposition="left"] Bahman says he feels “like a prisoner” in Iran, a musician without a band. Officially he is unable to play. His greatest dream is to go and live in the USA, Miami, he says, but he set his sights closer to home, travelling to Istanbul, where there’s a famous metal club downtown. [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_9930.jpg_3.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Bahman leaves a ticket office in downtown Tehran after purchasing a train ticket to Istanbul." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5296.jpg_4.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Bahman’s mother comes outside to perform a ritual as her son leaves home." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5362.jpg_5.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Inside the waiting room at Tehran's main train station." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6193.jpg_7.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Bahman plays music for his fellow passengers. The journey to from Tehran to Istanbul takes 72 hours." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5841.jpg_6.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Waiting at the Turkish border." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6153.jpg_9.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="For part of the journey, passengers take a ferry across Lake Van in eastern Turkey, before continuing their journey on a Turkish train." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5802.jpg_10.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Passengers wait at the border with Turkey." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5945.jpg_8.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6607.jpg_11.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Bahman's passport, stamped." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6137.jpg_12.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Passengers sleep on the boat as it travels across Lake Van." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/15_IMG_6424.jpg_13.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" caption="Revellers enjoy a concert at a nightclub in Istanbul." captionposition="left"] Soon after arriving in Istanbul Bahman found that getting to play in the club wasn’t as easy as he hoped. Instead he started busking on the streets, both alone and with other street musicians. [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6592.jpg_14.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" "Bahman plays the guitar with other musicians on the street in Istanbul." captionposition="left"] [aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_6700-a.jpg_15.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" "Bahman busks on the street in Istanbul." captionposition="left"] Soon after arriving in Istanbul, Bahman found that getting to play in the club wasn’t as easy as he had hoped. Instead, he started busking on the streets, both alone and with other street musicians. After a while, money got tight and Bahman returned to Iran before his three-month visa expired. In any case, Bahman’s time in Istanbul was his first experience abroad.

“Maybe you can’t reach your goals, can’t reach that thing you want, but you just try, without hope.”

[aesop_image img="http://panorama.madamasr.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_5735.jpg" align="center" lightbox="on" captionposition="left"]