Wrestling Blogs - Noel Thompson

We arrive at the Bazar (mall). Security tells us to make sure to watch our valuables...We are briefed to walk in packs and stop very five minutes to regroup. Its like entering a recon mission making sure we are all buddied up...

As we proceed it must of been 300,000 people at the bazar women wearing the traditional grab very conservative.... We are dodging push carts and people as it becomes a clustered mosh pit... You think traveling through a college bar is tough in group...

Food and clothes carpets everyone selling something from their shops as we make our way through the human jungle of the bazar...

We stick out like soar thumbs in this place if anything happens in minutes we could be surrounded by thousands of people...

The plan works so far. I ask our heat (security) Hussain how many times he has been to the bazar he tells me only three times...

That did not boost our confidence very much...

In wrestling we live in a culture that breeds no fear so we continue on and becoming more exploratory...

We head down various corridors that sell different items.

We see a mosque we decide to stop and check it out...

As we begin to look deeper in the mosque the locals realize we are there, a man approaches.

He begins to speak to our security in Farsi he was not pleased.

You feel the situation was at a breaking point.

Our first un welcomed encounter...

After I left I thought about the situation.

Would we want someone coming into our church and filming discreetly?

My answer would be no if were not granted permission...

We regrouped and pressed on.

You realize quickly we are not in the free world as that situation could have changed quickly.

You begin to realize this fraternity we are all apart of "wrestling" is what is giving us this kind of access to the part of Tehran.

We thank our gracious host because they let us take a glimpse of there culture.

After the Bazar we head to a great restaurant where we receive a warm welcome, Barboud.I walk through the door they say Obama and they see Mike Novo and call him Rooney from the Manchester United football team.

Food was great. We head back to the Olympic Hotel.

We have a team meeting to be briefed on the tomorrows competition.

We begin to prepare.

Coming soon: Tatki Cup