To report on the new bread prices, I decided first to enter through the northern gate of the Saadabad Palace Museum Complex and leave through its southern gate into the wealthy hillside neighbourhoods of northern Tehran, where I planned to examine prices and listen to buyers’ reactions.
However, soldiers guarding the entrance stopped both me and an Iraqi family carrying large suitcases.
“Since eight months ago, Golestan Palace in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and the Saadabad complex have been closed. No visitors are allowed.”
With the palace off-limits, I turned to the first bakery on the corner beside the complex.
It was an Azadpaz bakery, selling Taftoon bread made with unsubsidised flour at free-market prices.
