In a small shop in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, Mohammed Rafi sells coloured pencils. He has no less than 50,000 of them crammed into a tiny space. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bänsch/dpa
In the middle of the winding alleys of the Grand Bazaar, Tehran's bustling heart of commerce, Mohammed Rafi holds up a hand in search of a pencil in his miniature kingdom of colour.
In a shop space that barely covers three square metres, he zeroes in on a particular pencil, one of over 200 different colouring pencils from behind his counter – each one a testament to his passion.
"To be successful in a profession, you have to love your work," says the 65-year-old. The scope of his entire business can be seen behind one narrow counter, where around 50,000 neatly sorted pencils are kept in a tiny space.
"My customers are not only artists, but also schoolchildren and people from all walks of life," says Rafi, demonstrating a pencil that writes in two colours at once. It's specialities like this that make his shop a mecca for pencil lovers and just about anyone who loves colour.
"What gives me the greatest joy is when children complete their set of colouring pencils by buying one single pencil," says Rafi.
He took the plunge into self-employment more than three decades ago. Today, this retailer has picked up a small following on social media, posting updates to around 24,000 people on Instagram.
The Grand Bazaar in Tehran is a sprawling, churning labyrinth. Having grown over the centuries, the network of winding, covered alleys extends over several square kilometres.
Even though many of the shops are tiny, the owners enjoy great social status here. One special aspect is that each section belongs to a specific group of traders.
Along the gold corridor, one jeweller follows the next, while in the stationery area, visitors find endless calculators, notepads and, of course, Rafi's thousands of colouring pencils.
Most international travellers are still unlikely to visit the bazaar for the time being, however, no matter how appealing the sight of this many pencils is. Various Western governments have advised citizens to avoid all travel to Iran due to the extremely restrictive laws on dress for women, the fear of arbitrary arrests and the potential for renewed conflict with Israel. – dpa
