October 2016. Café Naderi, Tehran, Iran. I have come on a pilgrimage to hang out in the Lalezar district, the mecca of the Tehran artistic bohemian set. This was the café of choice for several generations of writers and painters, such as Sadegh Hedayat in the 1920s or Bahman Mohassess in the 1960s, where they smoked and talked (their photos are up on the wall behind me). No difficulty believing I’m here, even though tea has taken the place of whisky. I don’t want to wake up.