Since 1999, I have been a photographer for The Associated Press. I try to shoot on the streets of Tehran as well to show the world what life is like in my hometown, but a lot of my coverage focuses on Iran’s leadership or relations with the West. This is a fantastic chance provided by the fire festival. The festival, called “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, takes place in the hours leading up to the Wednesday before Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
On Tuesday, the eve of the final Wednesday of the Persian year in Tehran, Iran, an Iranian man displays a firework in honour of Chaharshanbe Souri, also known as the Wednesday Feast, an ancient Festival of Fire.
The fire festival also includes an Iranian take on trick-or-treating, where participants walk door to door and get buckets of water and a seasonal mix of berries and nuts. However, it’s not always a simple task. Some Iranians, especially women who are not wearing the country’s required headscarf, or hijab, are nevertheless uncomfortable having their photos taken.
As smoke fills the air and pyrotechnics burst randomly overhead, the excitement occasionally outweighs safety concerns. Every year, there are injuries and occasionally fatalities. In the end, a fragment of a flaming firecracker got lodged in my left shoe. It only left a tiny blister and burned a hole in my sock, but other than that, I’m fine.
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