Akbar Hashemi's Memoirs - November 24, 1999 - A Glimpse of the Air Force Rest Camp, Narrated by Hashemi

Complaints from a café owner about the lack of attention to the village, which happens to be the birthplace of the Larijani family, are interesting.

A glimpse of the Air Force rest camp, narrated by Hashemi.

[Today is a public holiday for the celebration of Mid-Sha'ban.] At 9:30 AM, I set off for the north via the Haraz road with some of the children. We faced several delays due to accidents causing road blockages. In the Larijan area, we stopped at a café. We drank tea and took a short rest. The café owner complained about the lack of liquid gas supplies and the delay in setting up the village's telephone service. He mentioned that despite the village being the birthplace of the Larijani family, no assistance had been provided.

At 1:30 PM, we arrived at Bishkela, on the coast of the Caspian Sea. It is the rest camp for the Air Force (NHAJA). Typically, it remains half-empty during the winter and is used for about six months of the year. Mr. [Abolfazl] Afshari, the camp commander, gave us a briefing. I had visited several times before, and with my help, the late [Mansour] Sattari, [then Commander of the Air Force], had expanded the camp. The weather was mild and sunny. In the afternoon, I walked along the seashore. The water level had receded. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, armed clashes had broken out among several individuals over the issue of [Osama] bin Laden, [leader of al-Qaeda].