After lunch (a traditional Iranian rice dish with a sauce of beef and
vegetables and a side order of yogurt) at the base's crowded and lively
mess hall, my guide informs me that I can visit the base operations room.
On our way, I try to imagine how such a room might look, picturing various
scenes from World War II movies: Detailed maps of battle fields, a conference
table with chairs neatly arranged around it, aerial photos... As we enter,
I realize my fantasies were not far off.
The operations room of this NLA headquarters base - which covers a section of western Iran - is a 20 by 30 meter rectangular hall. The walls are covered with detailed maps of the regions under this command, enlargements of photographs taken with a telephoto lens showing the bases and positions of the Khomeini regime forces and enlarged photographs of some of the memorable scenes of this base's victories. To one side of the hall are several large and remarkably intricate sandtables showing in detail the topography of various regions.
Go to next page. Go to previous page.
