The Nostalgic and Charming Sculptures of Tehran Book Garden

"This is one of the loveliest places in Tehran, and one that changes people’s moods," a citizen journalist wrote to IranWire of the Tehran Book Garden. “A big bookstore, with a whole lot of cultural attractions."

On his reasoning for sending the images, he added: “I see photos of traffic, air pollution, power outages and so on quickly being published on social network. But interesting and beautiful things like this are less disseminated.”

The book garden in the Iranian capital is filled with sculptures of famous cartoon characters and puppet protagonists from the 1980s and 1990s. They delight adults and children alike, who flock to the space to take photos. During the pandemic, several of the Tehran Book Garden’s sculptures wore masks in a bid to encourage youngsters to do the same.