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TEHRAN: Until recently, a walk down the narrow covered streets near Tehran’s Sayyed Esmail Shrine was like a journey into Iran’s rich cultural past.

In shops all along the tight, teeming alleyways, blade smiths pounded steel bars into daggers and swords, embroiderers carefully stitched intricate designs into hand-woven fabrics, and leather-crafters fashioned rawhide into horse and donkey saddles.

You might imagine that the Islamic Republic of Iran would have an interest in cultivating such industries, yet today, the streets of the neighborhood look nothing like they did just 10 or 20 years ago.

Shops that used to house the artisans now peddle imported appliances, cheap Chinese shoes and fake Adidas apparel.

Abdolhasan Allahkaram says that when he closed his shop in the neighborhood two years ago, he was the last Giveh repairman in Tehran.

Giveh, traditional Persian shoes which date back at least 1,000 years, were once the favored footwear of Iran’s wealthy class, but they have now all but disappeared from the capital.

Today’s well-heeled residents of Tehran shun Giveh in favor of global designer labels like Gucci, Fendi and Christian Louboutin. Even those who can’t afford luxury footwear seem more inclined to buy low-quality, Chinese-made loafers that are sold throughout the capital.

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