Iranian picnics

Poem after poem of the classic era (twelfth to thirteenth centuries ad) extols the virtues of al fresco eating (usually, of course, with copious quantities of wine), and much classic art is dedicated to the same theme – young lovers or groups of friends sharing food under a tree or in a courtyard. They do of course (for most of the year) have the climate for it, and the people possess a sort of childlike spontaneity which sees little outbreaks of picnicking by the road, in car parks – anywhere there’s room for them to sit down, and anytime they’re a tad peckish. It is not unusual for my mother-in-law to cook a full meal (rice and all), decide it is a nice day, wrap the whole lot up and cart it off to the park.