charcoal pit Blood of the rooster

In our behind-the-scenes series, CNN reporters shared their experience covering news and news producers around the world.CNN-Iranian boss-We are leaving Tehran this morning for the Kurdish border.Controlled northern IraqIt takes about 10 hours.An Iranian contact told me that it would cost thousands of dollars to cross Iran a few months ago.Now, it's clear that dozens of journalists-Up to 200 so far-Cover possible northern front lines in the war against IraqEight people from CNN are heading to the city of El Bille.We are a mixture of photography enthusiasts, satellite engineers, producers and journalists.We will take 12-Sightseeing bus.A little blue van.Most of our 50 boxes of TV equipment and personal items are packed.As we packed up, I walked through the street and filmed our trucks and buses in front of the small apartment building we stayed in.At the corner of my eye I saw a man carrying a beautiful black cock coming out of a small convenience store.He gently put it on the side of the road on the busy street.Then he cut off his head with a box razor.Its body was beating like a heart for a while, and a deep red water filled the cobblestone asphalt.The Rooster's crown is nearby.Then he wiped some cock blood with his hand on the front panel of his white car ---Red stain with several feathersOur local producers told me that when iranians bought a car, they sometimes had such a ceremony.-He said a bloody baptism was carried out for road safety and good luck."However, it's not very lucky for the cock," I said.So we had that guy apply a little blood to our blue pickup truck.When we started our journey, we thought, maybe we should wipe a little on the bus as well.We walked very slowly.The over-The packed pickup was a few miles behind us.At four o'clock P.M., we are not even half.We decided to go only to the Iranian city of daguri near the Turkish border tonight.We stopped for dinner at a restaurant on the side of the road.One of our drivers can speak a little English.He told the owner--A short, fat, bald man with 3-day-Old stubble in a gray suit coat-We all wanted chicken kebabs and rice.This place is as big as a small cafeteria. we are the only one here.The door at the glass entrance is decorated with the poster of the frowning Ayatollah homini.Our food arrived in a few minutes.The Hot Plate was filled with chicken nuggets, and white rice was piled high with yellow saffron on it.When CNN reporter Jane Alaf took a piece of chicken apart with a fork, we were about to dig in.She doesn't like what she sees.I do the same.I think we can wipe it out of the bus and good luck to you.Jane told the owner that she wanted to cook a little more.That's what I asked other people.Our driver is not there.He prayed in the next room.The owner did not understand.He thought we didn't like the food here and showed us the other food on the menu.I grabbed a plate and walked back to the kitchen with him.At the back, there is a rectangular charcoal pit where the meat is cooked on a long metal skewer.I told him we were going to put the chicken back on the grill.He acknowledged with a smile: "OK, OK," he said, waving me away and smiling.Everything is fine.Then one by one, the rest of the table begins to be served on their plates.The chef looked angry.There was a traffic jam in his kitchen.Our driver has finished his prayers and is now shocked by the fact that we have created an international event.He looked at the pink chicken and picked it up with his fingers and shrugged his shoulders and said, "it's okay, it's okay."No," I told him."We all want it to do more.Tell him it's a cultural thing: Westerners like their chicken."Our driver has a limited level of English, but he is able to express my opinion.All the chicken on the grill went back.The owner stopped smiling when the plate came back.We eat quietly, pay our bills, go back to the bus and get on the road.As the Hills approached us, the road became narrower and narrower.See CNN for updates.Com's Iraq tracking system