Behind the hostel and the bustle of the shopping malls in Tajrish, a bazaar in northern Tehran where the old meets the new, lies an old street where time seems to have stood still. Here is Koocheh Zoghali (Coal Alley) with its old-fashioned public restroom, secondhand shops with all sorts of trinkets, a Tekiyeh where ceremonies are held during the month of mourning for Imam Hossein, and only one real coal shop remaining from the old days. Above them all is a huge crane casting its shadow across the street. The crane feels like a giant about to devour this old, narrow alley.