PERSIAemagazine - Travel | Culinary

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b="en_2011_03" p="2" v="travel culinary culture "

b="en_2011_03" p="2" v="no2 / 2011 emagazine "

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b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="report "

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b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="history "

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b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="sights "

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b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="editorial "

b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="camera view "

b="en_2011_03" p="3" v="content "

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b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="celebration "

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b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="recipe "

b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="travel report "

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b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="insiders tip "

b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="art "

b="en_2011_03" p="4" v="year 1 issue 2 / march 2011 "

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b="en_2011_03" p="5" v="pleasantly warm and sunny a gentle breeze is a constant companion of the whole spring season winter first holding on tightly in the highlands slowly disappears summer begins in june visible at first in the southern eastern and central region it is often hot and brings a lot of sunshine now and then interrupted by rainfalls while high levels of air moisture at the persian gulf at temperatures of 35 °c to 45 °c are hard to bear the inhabitants of the western northern and northwestern regions enjoy a mild summer thanks to the alborz "

b="en_2011_03" p="5" v="iran is one of the few countries in the world where the four seasons are clearly distinct at the same time at any point in the year you can always experience one of the four seasons in some part of the country irans great variation in temperature precipitation and air moisture is different from place to place and from season to season length of the seasons varies between regions spring starts with iranian new year and is chilly at first usually with rain showers gradually its getting "

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b="en_2011_03" p="6" v="though the milder the weather becomes at the persian gulf you can even go swimming in the wintertime it is exactly because of the variation in climate that you can get almost all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year using fresh ingredients is indeed one of the hallmarks of persian cuisine hamid farroukh phd editor hfarroukh@persiaemagazinecom "

b="en_2011_03" p="6" v="and zagros mountain ranges fall starts out pleasantly warm and sunny in september turning foggy and rainy in november you might be surprised to learn that there are places reaching 2000 ml of annual precipitation in the regions at the caspian sea and in the northern parts of the country alongside the mountain ranges the color orange can be observed in nature throughout the year winter starting in december in the western and northwestern regions is pretty cold with temperatures of 15 °c to 20 °c and heavy snowfalls the further south you go "

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b="en_2011_03" p="8" v="sailing as well as a beautiful beachscape langerud was one of the most important wharfs of northern iran under the reign of nader shah afshar (17361747) the historical downtown is divided into two parts by the langerud river the most important archeological site is pole kheshti" a historical brick bridge leading across the langerud river "

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b="en_2011_03" p="10" v="of the palace of darius (reign 522486 bce) in susa/south western iran and can be admired at the louvre in paris "

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b="en_2011_03" p="12" v="it was originally founded in 66 by judas thaddeus every year on july 1st christians from all over the world gather there to remember the martyrdom of st thaddeus in 2008 the monastery was designated as a world cultural heritage by the unesco "

b="en_2011_03" p="13" v="the characteristic image of shiraz "

b="en_2011_03" p="13" v="vakil complex "

b="en_2011_03" p="13" v="under the ruler karim khane zand (reign 1750 until 1779) who called himself "vakil" (advocate of the people) shiraz became the capital of persia with extensive building activity bestowing a special splendor on the city a lot of it has been destroyed in the wake of earthquakes but the vakil complex dominates the image of downtown shiraz to this day "

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b="en_2011_03" p="14" v="served as karim khan's seat of government and residence the rectangular building covering an area of 2800 m² is located at the end of "

b="en_2011_03" p="14" v="arge karim khani the downtown citadel of karim khan "arge karim khani" is the most striking element of the complex it served "

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b="en_2011_03" p="15" v="in tiles depicting rostam the hero of shahmaneh the book of kings of the persian national poet ferdowsi the residential area is directly adjoined to the wall at the inner side all rooms open on the big and beautifully planted inner courtyard where you can enjoy the aroma of lemon trees the inner courtyard is an ideal spot for those who want to take some time out after a long sightseeing trip you "

b="en_2011_03" p="15" v="the pedestrian area the citadel is surrounded by thick high walls the corners of which are fortified by towers the walls are 3 m strong at the base and 280 m at the top they are 12 m high while the towers rise up to 14 m because the ground has sagged on one side of one tower it is leaning bringing to mind the tower of pisa above the entrance of the castle you can see an image made "

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b="en_2011_03" p="16" v="pars museum right across the citadel stands a pretty octagonal garden pavilion built as a guest house for foreign dignitaries during the zand dynasty the building later became the mausoleum of karim khan but his rival aqa mohamad khane qajar the founder of the succeeding dynasty ordered the tomb to be opened and the remains to be transported to golestan palace in the new capital tehran today the building houses the city museum of shiraz with its valuable collection of exhibits some of them dating back to the 2nd millennium bce impressive tile work at the exterior walls with typical 18th century floral motifs and hunting scenes as well as magnificent murals at the interior walls round off the picture of the museum "

b="en_2011_03" p="16" v="can have a nice rest on a bench at a big water basin between the lemon trees the rooms comprise an old bath house a photo exhibition room with historical pictures of the city and a room with life size wax figures displaying the scene of a french merchants visit of karim khan in the presence of some dignitaries the design of the castle combines military and residential architecture "

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b="en_2011_03" p="17" v="marble block beautiful tile work with realistically depicted flowers can be admired in the arcades surrounding the inner courtyard "

b="en_2011_03" p="17" v="masjede vakil pretty close to the citadel you will find the vakil mosque built in 1773 in contrast to irans typical 4liwanmosques it only has two iwans and covers an area of about 10000 m² an iwan is a hall closed at three sides with a completely open front the extensive winter praying room (shabestan) situated behind the southern iwan is particularly impressive it is supported by 48 monolithic columns in five rows the columns are adorned with upward spiraling notches and the capitals have leafshaped patterns the 4 level pulpit has been cut from a single "

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b="en_2011_03" p="18" v="stone there are small underground corridors for collecting the evaporated water allowing the floor to warm up more quickly the bath house comprises several vaulted rooms with remarkable frescoes in the pendentives of the spherical segments used for a darker contrast color on the lighter stucco background the stone columns and marble basins are equally impressive at the ceilings you can admire beautiful or¬naments and motifs or scenes from classical persian literature today the bath houses a museum on the traditional art of weaving "

b="en_2011_03" p="18" v="hammame vakil the vakilbath is located immediately west of the vakil mosque built in 1776 the bath house conformed to the most modern architectural principles of its time for instance the door is relatively narrow and gently sloping towards an octagonal lobby built slightly below ground level furthermore the entrance to the changing room was built in an angular pattern all of theses measures prevented the warm air from escaping outside and the cold air from passing inside though the floor is made of "

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b="en_2011_03" p="19" v="vaulted brick roofs cover the alleys of the bazaar providing for a pleasant temperature all year round the windows in the domed roofs make for a beautiful display of light labyrinthine inner courtyards with adjoining storage buildings and romantic domed "

b="en_2011_03" p="19" v="bazaree vakil "bazare vakil" the concluding element of the vakil complex is situated east of the vakil mosque it is considered a masterpiece of persian architecture wind domes in the "

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b="en_2011_03" p="20" v="imagine this special atmosphere it is well worth while your time to saunter around and have a look at the different stores offering carpets spices and clothes "

b="en_2011_03" p="20" v="plazas give the bazaar its unique character at many corners of the bazaar you can hear the pleasant twittering of the nightingale if you havent experienced the abundant offerings and the hustle and bustle of the bazaar you can hardly imagine "

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b="en_2011_03" p="21" v="there is no better opportunity to visit tehran than the iranian new year holidays at the beginning of spring during that time many tehranians travel to other cities so that you end up stuck in traffic much less often and can enjoy the relatively fresh air "

b="en_2011_03" p="21" v="tehrans top 10 "

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b="en_2011_03" p="22" v="accessible by subway canopied and openair observation desks at different heights an art gallery the museum of the war of defense (iranianiraqi war from 198088) a sky dome as well as a revolving restaurant with 400 seats and a beautiful panoramic view of the city are among the tourist attractions of borje milad "

b="en_2011_03" p="22" v="miladtower at a height of 435 meters borje milad" is the highest tv tower of the middle east and the fifth highest in the world the head covers an area of 13000 m² making it the worlds biggest tower head the multipurpose skyscraper was designed by the architect mohammad reza hafezi and completed in 2005 borje milad can be seen from almost anywhere in the city and is a real eyecatcher it is considered a hallmark of the capital borje milad is part of the tehranian international trade and convention center" the project comprises the tower a five star hotel a conference center a world trade center and an itpark the building complex has been designed to meet the demands of companies in the global economy of the 21st century offering sites of trade information communication meeting and accommodation all in one spot the tower is conveniently located at the crossroads of four main tehran highways and is also easily accessible "

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b="en_2011_03" p="23" v="seat of government the coronation ceremonies of several iranian kings took place in this palace complex eg that of reza shah pahlavi in 1925 on the famous marble throne the complex comprises a reception palace whose foyer is one of many rooms at the golestan palaces clad with beautiful mirror mosaics the white palace today housing the ethnological museum with wax figures of different iranian ethnic groups in "

b="en_2011_03" p="23" v="golestan palace tehran is a modern city those who are still looking for the orient in tehran will find it here it is an oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the big city on the grounds of the citadel (arg) built in the 16th century under the safavids a beautiful palace complex within a magnificent garden in the middle of tehran was constructed in the 19th century under den qajars who used it as a "

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b="en_2011_03" p="24" v="typical settings the marble throne iwan the sun palace considered one of the first skyscrapers in tehran the wind tower palace combining elements of qajarian and european architecture and the mirror room with the famous painting by the persian master painter kamalolmolk the tiles siding of the exterior walls with decorative patterns from the qajarian era as well as ceilings and interior walls adorned with mirror mosaics offer a unique oriental ambiance to the visitor "

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b="en_2011_03" p="25" v="national museum at iran's oldest and most important museum you can explore 300000 exhibits on an area of more than 20000 m² with regards to quantity variety and quality of its giant monuments the museum is among the most renowned museums of the world it often lends artifacts to exhibitions at other museums around the globe the buildings architecture was matched to the sassanid palace "iwane khosrow" of khosrow i in ktesiphon and houses items from different eras of iranian history from the stone age until islamic time the tour is organized as a journey through time in the prehistory and early history collection comprising "

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b="en_2011_03" p="26" v="surena at the battle of carhaee (53 bce) and a bust of queen musa the wife of phraates iv beautiful works of persian miniature and calligraphy can be admired in the islamic collection housed in the newer part of the museums and opened in 1996 finally we recommend a visit of the significant collection of coins and seals objects that mainly came from archeological excavations of historical sites "

b="en_2011_03" p="26" v="more than 10 000 items you will find for instance tools from the yafteh cave in lorestan that are about 35000 years old but also the stone stele of hammurabi from the 18th century bce the life size statue of darius the great from about 500 bce made in his honor in egypt and later brought to susa is the most impressive exhibit in the achaemenid collection in the seleucid parthian and sassanid collection you will find a bronze statue thought to represent the famous parthian general "

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b="en_2011_03" p="27" v="you couldnt buy here the bazaar is traditionally of great economic significance for iran and many other economic zones of the world it can easily be reached by subway even if you dont want to buy anything you shouldnt miss this fascinating experience the inviting view and the aroma of the spices as well as the impressive architectural structure reminiscent of old tehran are enough to merit a visit you should set aside a few hours but be careful not to get lost it is not without a reason that the bazaar is called a city within a city in the bazaar goods are often transported by a cart the transport workers usually cry out "beppa" meaning "attention" that is a call for making way which you should better follow speedily tehran is a metropolis and you can shop in many locations but the atmosphere of the bazaar is unique "

b="en_2011_03" p="27" v="bazaar do you feel like shopping in a 10 km canopied labyrinth lets go to tehran bazaar it is one of the biggest bazaars and the worlds largest canopied one with ten thousands of little shops in many nested alleys of older and newer quarters it wasnt founded until the 16th century and significantly expanded in the 19th century the bazaar has several entrances and is divided into different departments: gold carpets spices leather silk watches perfume etc there is hardly anything in iran that "

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b="en_2011_03" p="29" v="are also stored here the most famous exhibit is undoubtedly the daryaye nur diamond (sea of light) at 182 karat the largest diamond cut from one piece the jewel globe is also one of the museums showpieces it has a diameter of 66 cm and was created in 1869 by persian goldsmiths while the oceans are depicted by means of emeralds rubies have been used for the continents all in all 34 kg of gold and "

b="en_2011_03" p="29" v="museum of jewelry almost straight across from the german embassy in tehran the iranian national bank houses the most important jewelry collection in the world so far neither their historical nor their material worth has been properly assessed the crown jewels of the safavid kings (15011732) are the core component of the collection but valuable pieces of jewelry from succeeding dynasties "

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b="en_2011_03" p="30" v="36 kg precious stones ie 51366 pieces were used for the jewel globe other superlatives to name a few are the richly adorned sunandpeacock throne the pahlavi and empress farah diba crown as well as naseredin shahs ceremonial sword decorated with 12384 diamonds 275 rubies and 214 emeralds "

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b="en_2011_03" p="31" v="distances in the giant complex you take a bus to go from one palace to the next if you are pressed for time make sure not to miss the white and the green palace the white palace at 5000 m² living area the largest one of the palaces has a simple modern facade the sophisticated 145 m² mashad carpet in the ball room the floors and stairs of fine yazd marble as well as the wall paintings with mythological scenes from shahnameh in the dome area are among the real eye catchers of this palace "

b="en_2011_03" p="31" v="sadabad palace complex in the north of tehran the giant palace complex sprawls on a plot of ca 110 hectares built in the 19th century by the qajar kings as a summer residence it was expanded in the 1920s to be used by reza shah pahlavi and later his son the last shah of persia the palace complex consists of eighteen palaces some of which have been changed into museums eg museums of miniature and calligraphy because of the long "

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b="en_2011_03" p="32" v="the green palace owes its name to the greenish of the façade siding the mirror room in this palace conveys an incredibly beautiful oriental flair it boasts a finely knotted 70 m² carpet as well as walls adorned with noble stucco patterns and magnificent mirror facets parts of the furnishings and accessories of the shah era have been preserved in both palaces "

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b="en_2011_03" p="33" v="panoramic view of teheran the visitors are a diverse crowd but mainly young iranian men and women leaving behind the big citys hustle and bustle at the end of their working day to seek out the fresh air and mild climate of darband they go for a hike chat drink a tea smoke a water pipe or eat persian specialties that are served everywhere darband is also a starting point for popular hiking and mountain climbing trails leading up to the towchal peak in winter the area experiences heavy snowfalls zahirodowleh cemetery in darband is where famous iranian poets writers "

b="en_2011_03" p="33" v="darband not far from the sadabad palace complex the idyllic suburb darband is situated north of tehran at the foot of the alborz mountains at a height of 1700 m and away from the hustle and bustle of the big city you will discover an array of traditional tea houses and restaurants nestled into the mountain offering treats and water pipes since most of these venues are located close to a river they not only offer a great visual experience but also an acoustical one a chair lift will take you to the mountain tops where you can enjoy a fantastic panoramic "

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b="en_2011_03" p="34" v="you visit tehran make sure to spend an afternoon or an evening in darband "

b="en_2011_03" p="34" v="writers and artists are buried eg iraj mirza and forugh farrokhzad not to have seen darband is almost like not having seen the bazaar when "

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b="en_2011_03" p="35" v="figures and animals are real eyecatchers the carpets connections to persian literature can be seen in numerous motifs from shahnameh (the book of kings by irans national poet ferdowsi) the museum houses a library with a most precious collection of 7000 books as well as further publications and media on persian carpets in different world languages including german the museum also offers classes on carpet and gelim knotting and weaving the design of patterns and the repair of damaged carpets another attraction is the traditional tea house with wall calligraphies and the largest russian samovar of iran "

b="en_2011_03" p="35" v="carpet museum if you are interested in carpets you shouldnt miss the iranian carpet museum next to the laleh park in tehran with its piers the exterior of the museum (founded in 1978) recalls a carpet loom masterpieces of persian carpets from past centuries made at the centers of carpet art such as kashan esfahan tabriz und kerman are on display on an area of 3400 m² the sangeshku carpet from the safavid era is one of the oldest and most important carpets of the collection the bright silk carpets as well as the colorful woolen carpets with their motifs of "

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b="en_2011_03" p="37" v="in the north and south you see the gleaming snowcovered alborz mountains and in the east perches the highest mountain of the middle east damavand some 1600 m higher than the tochal the valley station in the suburb "velenjak is situated at a height of 1900 m the ride with the aerial tramway installed in 1978 takes about thirty minutes but you can deboard "

b="en_2011_03" p="37" v="tochal aerial tramway at 75 km one of the longest aerial tramways of the world the tochal aerial tramway in the north of tehran takes visitors to a height of 3700 m almost up to the peak of the biggest mountain of tehran the tochal (3964m)you can reach the peak in about a half hour and enjoy the beautiful panoramic view from there in the south you can see the city its houses appearing tiny now "

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b="en_2011_03" p="38" v="of 2935 m (station 5) tochal is also a resort for winter vacations a ski resort as well as a hotel at 3545 m are part of the tochal complex "

b="en_2011_03" p="38" v="deboard at any of the stops at different levels and hit the hiking trail tochal is a popular destination for daytrips and houses a restaurant at a height "

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b="en_2011_03" p="39" v="palace erected by naseredin shah (18481896) with artifacts and furnishings from more than 200 years all doors and windows are encased with colorful glass alongside the usual state rooms you can also see private living quarters offices and a completely furnished dentists office the jahannamamuseum in the west wing is another highlight of this palace it houses an art collection whose "

b="en_2011_03" p="39" v="niavaran palace complex the palace complex in the northeastern suburb of niavaran is the ideal site for those who want to get an impression of what life was like for the iranian rulers you can visit several palaces here some of which have been changed into museums and cultural exhibitions the one most worth visiting is the sahebqaraniyeh "

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b="en_2011_03" p="40" v="room and the private rooms of the pahlavi family which have been preserved like they have been left the beautiful garden pavilion kushke ahmadshahi as well as the private library collection with 23000 works from the past for centuries primarily in farsi and french on history art and culture "

b="en_2011_03" p="40" v="whose objects were souvenirs or gifts to farah diba or objects purchased upon her request extremely valuable pieces and works from all over the world are a part of the collection spanning the time from prehistory and early history up to modern times among them works by picasso pissarro and renoir further sights of this complex are above all niavaran palace with the impressive blue "

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b="en_2011_03" p="41" v="an overall top view of pasargadae at cyrus time note the canal water channels; the two rectangles are gardens "

b="en_2011_03" p="41" v="pasargadae was the imperial capital of cyrus the great and it was here where the "persian gardens were formed these were in essence an achaemenid project which further developed refined and expanded the babylonianassyrian concept of the garden the endresult of this was paridaeza (old iranian: park walled garden) or the "persian garden the term paridaeza is of iranian origin and originally refers to the enclosed hunting grounds of the median kings "

b="en_2011_03" p="41" v="the persian gardens "

b="en_2011_03" p="41" v="pasargadae "

b="en_2011_03" p="41" v="by kaveh farrokh phd kaveh farrokh has been recognized as an expert in the field of iranian history and linguistics by venues such as the university of british columbias continuing studies division and wais at stanford university kaveh farrokh is the author of several text books and articles in peerreviewed journals & universityvenue publications "

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b="en_2011_03" p="42" v="a top view of a reconstruction of the persian garden at pasargadae note water channels at rim of garden (see also history channel program "engineering an empire: the persians") "

b="en_2011_03" p="42" v="jasmines and exotic grasses arrian has described the gardens as "a grove of all kinds of treeswith steams and encompassed by a large area of "green grass (arrian expedition of alexander vi 29) the pasargadae complex was indeed a unique symbiosis of iranian (medopersian) anatolian (ie ionian) and mesopotamian civil engineering techniques these would be the harbinger of persopolis citypalace and other achaemenid sites such as the recently discovered palace at tang e bolaghi "

b="en_2011_03" p="42" v="the persian gardens at pasargadae were built in accordance with mathematically based geometric designs there were 900 meters of channels constructed of carved limestone; these transported water throughout the garden this was essentially a sophisticated irrigation system featuring stone waterchannels and open ditches that were designed to channel water into small basins at every 15 meters in the garden the garden itself was planted with a variety of fruit and cyprus trees flowers such as roses lilies jasmines "

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b="en_2011_03" p="43" v="the maydan e shah in isfahan dated to the safavid era "

b="en_2011_03" p="43" v="lexicon which facilitated its transmission to other european languages the greeks romans and succeeding european civilizations were to build parks and gardens on the persian model the breathtaking gardens of versailles france the baroque gardens of belvedere palace of austria or the butchard gardens of victoria canada may never have existed today had it not been for cyrus gardens at pasargadae even the bible commemorates the word "paradise in its lexicon the influence of the persian gardens has also spread to the orient notably china and then japan probably mainly due to the arrival of sassanian refugees to china after the collapse "

b="en_2011_03" p="43" v="the persian garden has certainly survived into the postislamic era the basis of such a design was built into the pavilion of shah abbas the great (r 1588 1629 ad) of the safavid dynasty (15021736 ad) many small towns and villages in modern iran today continue to have gardens that derive their inspiration from the achaemenids of old cyrus gardens have exerted a profound legacy outside the borders of iran and especially in europe the greeks adopted the persian garden after alexanders conquests of persia and most likely during the ensuing seleucid era the persian term paradise entered the roman lexicon "

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b="en_2011_03" p="44" v="the gardens at versailles place in france "

b="en_2011_03" p="44" v="a garden in tehran in 1971 "

b="en_2011_03" p="44" v="indian subcontinenet can be found in indias taj mahal place built by the moghuls (15261707) "

b="en_2011_03" p="44" v="collapse of the sassanian empire in the 650s ad although earlier influences cannot be ruled out the most notable example of the influence of persian gardens in the indian "

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b="en_2011_03" p="45" v="a chinese garden "

b="en_2011_03" p="45" v="conference in iran in 2004 which witnessed talks and presentations on the subject it was also agreed that the submission of a registry for unesco would entail the study and classification of the architectural and civil engineering styles utilized in the construction of each of the gardens as these would vary according to era (ie achaemenid parthosassanian safavid etc) the persian gardens have indeed withstood the test of time further readings: chahin m (1975) ararat the ancient kingdom of armenia history today xxv (6) pp 418427 "

b="en_2011_03" p="45" v="the role of unesco today iranian news services have reported that since december 2005 unesco has been cooperating with experts in iran to tabulate a list of heritage sites pertaining to persian gardens in iran dr adel farhangi (the advisor of the director of the research center of the cultural heritage and tourism organization ichto) reported that a team of experts is compiling documents on sites (for submission to unesco) in the fin garden of kashan shazdeh in mahan fathabad in kerman and dolatabad in yazd the initiative to register the persian gardens was first made in a conference "

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b="en_2011_03" p="46" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="46" v="the taj mahal completed by 1648 is now a unesco world heritage site the structure exemplifies a synthesis of indian turkish and iranian architectural themes one of the most striking iranian influences can be seen in the design of the gardens and waterworks of the locale the term "taj mahal is persian for "the royal gounds or more literally "the crown locale "

b="en_2011_03" p="46" v="stronach d (1985) pasargadae in i gershevitch (ed) cambridge history of iran: vol2 the median and achaemenean periods great britain cambridge university press pp 838855 "

b="en_2011_03" p="46" v="farrokh k (2007) shadows in the desert: ancient persia at war oxford: osprey publishing frye rn (1984) the history of ancient iran munich germany: ch becksche verlagsbuchhanndlung arberry aj (ed) (1953) the legacy of persia oxford: clarendon press "

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b="en_2011_03" p="47" v="in the gregorian calendar nowruz falls on march 20 respectively march 21 depending on whether vernal equinox happens before or after 12:00 tehran time march 20 or the following day counts as the first day of the iranian calendar year this explains why nowruz is not always celebrated on the same day of the gregorian calendar world cultural heritage nowruz is the most widespread iranian holiday celebrated by millions of people from north west china up to the mediterranean sea eg in india "

b="en_2011_03" p="47" v="nowruz means "the new day" and is the most important iranian holiday its roots going back thousands of years it starts with the astronomic beginning of spring the point in time that also constitutes the beginning oft he iranian calendar year therefore nowruz is referred to as the new year holiday the moment in which the new year begins is calculated in an exact way: it is the moment of vernal equinox "

b="en_2011_03" p="47" v="nowruz "

b="en_2011_03" p="47" v="new year holiday "

b="en_2011_03" p="47" v="colorful world cultural heritage "

b="en_2011_03" p="47" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="48" v="history according to legend nowruz can be traced back to jamshid a king from ancient iranian mythology the legend has it that jam made demons he had previously conquered build a flying golden throne for him he put up a crown bedecked with jewels sat down on the throne and was flown into the sky by the demons that were now at the service of mortals when the sun rose its light falling on throne and crown everybody rejoiced and added "shid" meaning "light to jams name that day jamshid initiated a big celebration and called it nowruz (new day) since the universe started turning on that day and the deity created the world the first human was said to have been created that day with joy and verdant nature encompassing the world some scholars see the origin of nowruz in the celebration of the passage from winter to summer in agricultural and pastoral culture without a doubt rites of fertility and renewal are reflected in several customs in ancient times kings used to hold congratulatory receptions for groups of their subjects on the first five days of the new year giving everybody a personal holiday gift the sixth day "

b="en_2011_03" p="48" v="india in turkey and even among jews of iranian descent in israel it is celebrated by all ethnic groups since it is not a privilege of a specific religion nowruz even is a public holiday in the countries of afghanistan albania aserbaidshan georgia iran iraq (kurdistan) kasachstan kosovo kirgisistan tadschikistan turkmenistan and usbekistan millions of expat iranians celebrate nowruz in their host countries especially in the usa canada great britain and germany in march 2009 the canadian parliament unanimously passed a law to include nowruz in the national calendar of canada on march 15 2010 the us house of representatives passed a resolution with respect the recognition of the historical and cultural significance of nowruz as a representative of 10 countries that celebrate nowruz as their new year holiday iran was elected by unesco to register nowruz as a "masterpiece of oral and immaterial heritage of humankind in early 2010 the nowruz holiday was included in the list of world cultural heritages unesco emphasizes harmony with nature and a respectful attitude towards the natural sources of life as a unique feature of the holiday "

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b="en_2011_03" p="49" v="ceremony tracing it back to achaemenid kings (559330 bce) there are also historical chronicles of sassanid kings (224651) sumptuously celebrating nowruz with colorful customs a detailed account of a celebration at the sassanid court can be found in nowruznameh (the book of nowruz) iranian calendar the ancient iranian calendar consisted of 12 months of 30 days each between the old year and the new there were five additional days called "the stolen five during that time family members lit candles and lamps set a table with food and beverages and were convinced that the spirits of he deceased would visit the house and the family the most blessed moment of nowruz was the morning sunrise at that moment iranians longingly looked to the sun believing that everybody who tasted "

b="en_2011_03" p="49" v="called great nowruz was spent by the kings with close relatives over the course of time the celebration grew into the 13 day event that we know today most researchers agree that the reliefs from the apadana palace in parse (persepolis) depicting a parade of giftbearing ambassadors of different nations are the oldest documents of the nowruz "

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b="en_2011_03" p="51" v="preparations as early as at the beginning of esfand (the 12th iranian calendar month) the nowruz preparations begin first there is spring cleaning male or female at home or at work everybody is cleaning each corner each window each shelf pretty flower pots are put in the windows everything needs to look pretty and smell nice broken things are repaired useless things are discarded next comes shopping for things that are needed in the house new clothes and shoes for the family are also purchased on those days clothing stores and shoe stores are a buzz of activity buying "

b="en_2011_03" p="51" v="honey three times and lit three candles before speaking would be cured from all pain there were no regular leap years yet so every 120 years a 13th month was added in order to compensate for lost time it was not until 1006 ce that a calendar reform to place under the auspices of the persian scientist and poet khayyam inserting a leap year every four years and firmly linking nowruz to the beginning of spring khayyams calendar was more precise than the gregorian calendar 500 years later the modern iranian calendar is based on khayyams calculations "

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b="en_2011_03" p="52" v="gifts and writing holiday cards for faraway friends and relatives are also part of those early preparations ten to fifteen days before nowruz wheat barley or lentils are set up to germinate in water up until nowruz they each grow on a little plate into a "sabzeh a little green carpet in the past twelve different seeds were used for that purpose based on the way in which they grew people made predictions on the quality of the harvest in the new year nowruz ambassadors now the nowruz ambassadors' "amu nowruz" and "haji firuz" are called upon to tell people on street the good tidings that nowruz is near amu nowruz meaning uncle nowruz" is a figure from iranian mythology representing kindness love and friendship he wears a white garment a long cap and a long white beard haji firuz wears a long magicians hat is garbed in red and has his face colored black he is always up for a joke makes people laugh plays his tambourine and joyfully sings with a funny voice about the coming spring keeping your chin up and forgetting your sorrows: "

b="en_2011_03" p="53" v="will supposedly stay healthy all year there are many customs for this day distributing ajile moshgelgosha" a "problemsolving" nut mix is meant to make wishes come true pistachios peanuts hazelnuts as well as dried fruits such as raisins and dates are among the main ingredients "

b="en_2011_03" p="53" v="sir i greet you sir chin up sir look at me sir wipe away your frowning sir notice that everything smells of candy sir why dont you laugh chaharshanbesuri on the eve of the last wednesday of the year a fire festival called chaharshanbehsuri" takes place in which firework and firecrackers are used be it in the alleys on the street or in the countryside at least three fires are used usually desert bushes are used since they have a high flame and a nice aroma man or woman young or old jump across the fire and sing: my paleness for you your redness for me my coldness in you your warmth in me "paleness" stands for something bad or damaging such as sickness and the word "redness symbolizes something good eg health whoever sings this jumping over the fire "

b="en_2011_03" p="53" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="54" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="54" v="the future the most widespread custom is "ghashogzani": little girls and boys hide under a veil and hit on their neighbors door with a spoon until they receive sweets or nuts in the little bowls they brought along alternatively they might get splashed with water by the neighbor which is "

b="en_2011_03" p="54" v="ingredients of this mix "fal gush is another custom of this evening: younger women cover their face in order not to be recognized they cower in twos or threes at a street corner and eavesdrop on passerbys based on the conversations they eavesdropped on they make predictions for "

b="en_2011_03" p="55" v="(vinegar) somagh (a sour spice) sib (apple) sir (garlic) and senjed (mulberries) often sonbol (hyazinth) sekkeh (coin) and sepand (incense) are added part oft the table setting are also: a mirror symbolizing good fortune a chandelier with candles a glass jar with water in which little goldfish swim as a symbol of life "

b="en_2011_03" p="55" v="taken as a joke since persians consider water as a symbol of enlightenment in some parts of iran old vessels are thrown down from the roof top into the street in order to break them the old has to be replaced by the new in order to receive nowruz in cleanliness and freshness usually small change is put into one of the jars to be found by and give joy to the first passerby in the morning haftsintable on the last friday of the year people commemorate their deceased ancestors and visit them at the cemetery the purchases of giant amounts of baked goods fruits and nuts for the innumerable mutual visits during the nowruz holidays and for the ingredients of the holiday meals slowly come to an end the last hours before nowruz are about the most important nowruz custom we are talking about the "haftsintable" meaning the "sevenstable" on the eve of the new year a candle is lit seven items starting with the letter "s" are put on a table decorated with a beautiful table cloth: sabzeh (the grain germs having grown by now into a little green carpet and tied with a gift ribbon) samanu (a sweet dish made from wheat germs) serke "

b="en_2011_03" p="55" v=""

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b="en_2011_03" p="56" v="putting seven items starting with "sh on the table among the seven items starting with "sh" are sharab (wine) and sham (candle) supposedly haftshin was changed to haftsin after the onset of islam in iran on the grounds that wine is forbidden in islam it is true that in antiquity many words were pronounced with "s" in "

b="en_2011_03" p="56" v="painted hardboiled eggs as well as a variety of flowers baked goods and nuts the holy book diwane (poetry collection of) hafiz resp shahnameh (the book of kings by ferdowsi) are also put on the table sometimes you read that "haftsin" (seven s) used to be haftschin (seven sh) in the past with people "

b="en_2011_03" p="57" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="57" v="existed prior to islam feast on the eve of the new year everybody gathers at their parents or grandparents house to eat the holiday dinner "sabzi polo ba mahi" it is fresh fried fish or smoked fish with herb rice based on a special herb mix new family members receive gifts on that evening already "

b="en_2011_03" p="57" v="some regions and with "sh" in others making the claim theoretically possible as far as the items are concerned some people are unaware of the fact that the words sharab (wine) and sham (candle) did only enter the persian language from the arabic after the onset of islam the persian words for wine and candle are "mey" and "mum" hence a haftshintable with wine and candle can not have "

b="en_2011_03" p="57" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="58" v="the book on the haftsintable it is important that they be newly printed bills this is why the national bank has to print new bills for every nowruz other gifts such as toys are also given mutual visits persians now spend a total of twelve days visiting relatives friends and acquaintances near and far and being visited by them in return first the older people are visited later they return the visit at the younger peoples place this custom guarantees that people visit each other at least once a year even if they are fairly distant relatives everything is geared towards reconciliation the potentially bad past is laid to rest music and dance as well as the consumption of huge amounts of sweets nuts and fruits and finally the freshly printed bills for kids who are excited about them and keep them in their money banks at least during the holidays are all part of the visits if people visit a family in mourning they bring cheerful colorful clothing so the family can cast off their black mourning clothes and attempt a new beginning in some cities custom demands that mourning families be visited in the morning of nowruz already "

b="en_2011_03" p="58" v="often a gold coin or something they can use before dinner something is put aside to take gods blessing into the new year countdown bathing on nowruz is mandatory everybody has to partake in it in order to experience the change of the year in a clean state some body cleaning rituals dating back to sassanid times are still practiced by ethnic groups in the highlands a reconciliation of all who have been fighting before is also a part of nowruz hearts have to be cleansed of all lament everybody puts on clothes that were specifically bought for nowruz all gather around the haftsintable with the children especially looking forward to the new year with excitement when the old year has given way to the new year people sweeten their mouth with baked goods or honey everybody hugs kisses and congratulates each other the younger ones are gifted by the older ones usually with bills that have been previously put between the pages of "

b="en_2011_03" p="59" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="59" v="sizdah beh dar the thirteenth day is called sizdahbehdar on this day large groups of families relatives and friends meet for a big picnic in the countryside in order to keep the misfortune of the thirteenth at bay everybody takes along their sabzeh (the little green carpet) dance music joy and outdoor games are hallmarks of this day a swing suspended from a rope tied between two trees commemorates jamshids ascension eating ashe reshteh a pasta casserole as well as lettuce with sekanjebin a kind of sweet syrup is also part of sizdahbehdar if possible the sabzehs are thrown into a country river the gold fish are also traditionally released in a river young women of marrying age tie knots into grass blades and make a wish while singing the following song: the thirteenth outdoors next year in the house of the husband holding a child characteristic for sizdahbehdar is the lie of the 13th"traditionally people played pranks on each other that day since sizdahbehdar often "

b="en_2011_03" p="59" v=""

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b="en_2011_03" p="60" v="often falls on april 1st it is thought by many that april fools day has its origin in this ancient persian tradition legend has it that sizdahbehdar was already celebrated as an outdoor festival by jamshid and his people according to chronicles sizdahbehdar goes back to 536 bce mire nowruzi in former times there was an array of other interesting and elaborate nowruz customs we will conclude by mentioning one of them: the delightful spectacle of the prince of nowruz (mire nowruzi") for a few days often times five an ordinary man took the local princes place and gave funny orders for the sake of entertainment which were then put into place after the holidays the real prince returned and the orders of the prince of nowruz were annulled "

b="en_2011_03" p="61" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="61" v="fun in the gorge "

b="en_2011_03" p="61" v="tangeh vashi "

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b="en_2011_03" p="62" v="m the mountain river savashi runs through it reaching its lowest water level in the summer hence the gorge which is also frequented by trekkers can be traversed on foot in the summer sometimes though with the water up to knee level a unique experience after traversing the first gorge and continuing on for two "

b="en_2011_03" p="62" v="tangeh vashi" is the name of a gorge in the alborz mountains some 15 km northwest of the town of firuzkuh in tehran province due to the mild climate and the vicinity to the capital it is a popular destination for a day trip for the people from tehran tangeh vashi is about 300 m long with rock faces up to 100 "

b="en_2011_03" p="63" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="63" v="old has been protected from sun and rain in its location and is therefore relatively well preserved a visit of tangeh vashi with many people is a lot of fun if you want to avoid big crowds though visit on a weekday walking shoes are a must since summer sandals are not a match for the pointy rocks on the river bed "

b="en_2011_03" p="63" v="more kilometers you come across the second gorge ending at a waterfall tangeh vashi is not only a natural monument it also houses one of the three qajarian rock reliefs the 6×7 m relief shows a hunting scene of fathalishah (reign 17971834) inscriptions framing the scene commemorate events from his reign the relief which is about 185 years "

b="en_2011_03" p="63" v=""

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b="en_2011_03" p="65" v="the persians were among the old civilizations pioneers in carpet weaving an art which in the past cen "

b="en_2011_03" p="65" v="the history of the persian carpet a pinnacle of great art goes back several millennia "

b="en_2011_03" p="65" v="from antiquity to present times "

b="en_2011_03" p="65" v="the persian carpet "

b="en_2011_03" p="65" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="66" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="67" v="were worked into the flowers and lawns while crystals gave an illusion of water unfortunately during the arab storm (637 v chr) the carpet was cut by the invaders into many pieces which were then sold off individually carpet art reached its high point under the safavids (15011722) innovative small design influenced in part by illumination and ceramics was the midwife of the grand floral court carpet the making of court carpets on demand began two of the best carpets of safavid times come from the mosque of ardebil and were dated back to 1539 many experts consider those carpets to be the pinnacle of carpet art the bigger one of the two carpets is on display at the london victoria and adam museum the smaller one at the los angeles country museum in the 19th century export to europe began to flourish at the end of that century european and american companies began to organize production by craftspeople for western markets today there are more than 60 carpet proveniences in iran making for a great variety of patterns beautiful colors and design quality among them are also trendy productions "

b="en_2011_03" p="67" v="turies has reached a high level of perfection through creativity and ingenuity in 1942 russian archeologists found a 283 x 200 cm carpet in a scythian princes tomb in the pazryk valley of siberia based on the general pattern of the carpet it is considered to be persianachamenide after undergoing analysis the carpet was dated back to the 5th century bc boasting 36 knots per cm2 it is of an extremely high quality suggesting a relatively long time period of development historians say that the court of cyrus the great (reign 559529 bce) in pasargadae was adorned with beautiful carpets the sassanids (224651) had an outstanding textile art and an elaborate carpet art at their disposal the legendary 27 m2 baharestan (spring land) carpet in the throne room of khosrow ii parviz in ktesiphon is said to have been the most precious carpet of all times the carpet was made from the finest silk and depicted a garden landscape with water flower beds trees bushes and lawns the garden paths were knotted with threads of gold the brooks with threads of silver furthermore precious stones "

b="en_2011_03" p="67" v=""

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b="en_2011_03" p="70" v="without detergents usually in mountain brooks this way the natural wool lanolin which is essential for the longevity of the carpet is preserved after the wool has dried it is handcombed in order to separate the clean long fibers from the rest today there is a more efficient technique for that process called carding the fibers aligned through the combing process are now spun by hand into an uneven thread making the finished carpet appear softer and more vibrant than it would look after a mechanical process before the dyeing process the spun threads have to be twisted into yarn the yarn is dipped into potassium alum immersed in the dye washed and hung up to dry the knotting is based on a pattern on scale paper drawn up by a designer in a regional style each individual knot has to be knotted exactly according to this pattern there are carpets with a density of more than 1000000 knots per m2 which allows for very intricate patterns while warp and weft form the ground fabric of the carpet the pile is created by working the knots into the ground fabric a loom consisting of a wooden frame with two cross beams is used for knotting the warp threads are "

b="en_2011_03" p="70" v="productions such as the gabbeh carpets with their abstract design and playful geometrical figures materials because of its outstanding properties sheeps wool is the material of choice in making carpets above all it is dirt repellent resistant to moisture and cold elastic and not easily inflammable because of fluctuating climate conditions persian breeds of sheep grow the perfect wool for carpets as a basic material in elegantly shimmering rugs as well as for decorating woolen carpets silk being the most refined textile component is used alongside with wool silk enhances the pattern in woolen carpet endowing it with a unique glow for dyeing carpets ecological plantbased dyes are used their multitude of pigments giving the carpet a warmer hue there are many natural colorants eg barberry curcuma saffron tamarisk blossom as well as walnut husks and onion skins creation since climate in spring is the most agreeable for sheep shearing is usually done during that time the wool is washed manually and without "

b="en_2011_03" p="71" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="72" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="72" v="stretched around those cross beams according to desired width some consecutive weft threads are used to form the selvedge of the carpet the socalled kelims the actual knotting is done row by row in this process the pile material is noosed around two ore more warp threads in either a symmetrical or an asymmetrical loop though both techniques are of equal technical quality the persian knot allows for softer lines and thus for a greater scope for creativity the excess material is cut knot by knot by a weaving "

b="en_2011_03" p="72" v="weaving knife row by row is packed down tight with a hammer comb followed by the insertion of two or more (always inserted in twos) weft threads after a few rows are completed they are cut with special scissors to the provisional pile height to allow for a better recognition of the pattern when the carpet is cut from the loom the ends are overcasted and the sides are bound to prevent fraying it is shorn to the final pile height cleaning and stretching are the final stages of carpet making "

b="en_2011_03" p="73" v="illustrates the details and precision going into each handmade creation the movie is the winner of the full frame documentary film festival "

b="en_2011_03" p="73" v="elham asadi's prizewinning documentary is a beautifully executed recognition of the ancient iranian tradition of carpet weaving "the poot "

b="en_2011_03" p="73" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="74" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="74" v="present the trailer of this movie and thank ms asadi for her great contribution "

b="en_2011_03" p="74" v="2010 in the category "short movie and was selected at the amsterdam international documentary film festival (idfa 2009) we proudly present "

b="en_2011_03" p="75" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="75" v="travel report by paulina von mirbach "

b="en_2011_03" p="75" v="the following travel report has been kindly provided by ms paulina von mirbach and mr ernst heusch it is about their 45day trip in 2008 we will publish more excerpts in our subsequent issues some pictures were provided by the editorial staff "

b="en_2011_03" p="75" v="of iran "

b="en_2011_03" p="75" v="highlights "

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b="en_2011_03" p="76" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="76" v="original length of 500 meters the valerian dam is among the longest bridges ever built in iran to this day the dam is an impressive sight its remaining arches rising on both river banks and even in the middle of the river defying time and environment once again however ernst and i are speechless at the sight of the completely trashed surroundings of such a cultural heritage site in our eyes it is utterly incomprehensible the next item on the agenda are the shushtars waterfalls and the watermills from qadjarian times in my "

b="en_2011_03" p="76" v="sunday may 4 2008 dezful shushtar choga zanbil dezful since we just went to sleep at 3am getting up is harder than usual as we leave the hotel at 9am for the 60 km trip to shushtar it is already terribly hot after a few minutes on the black leather seats i'm already soaked i am relieved when i can finally get out of the car we visit the relics of the valerian dam modeled on a roman blueprint that shapur had built in the 3rd century by roman prisoners of war after his victory over emperor valerian with its "

b="en_2011_03" p="77" v=""

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b="en_2011_03" p="80" v="now we go 50km west to climb the only remaining iranian ziggurat (tiered temple) in choga zanbil the heat is glaring plus we didnt eat anything yet so i am pretty exhausted when we finally have reached our destination and crawl out of the car only ernst is enviably in great shape as always but the sight of the 3000 years old giant tiered temple makes up for everything it is a pure brick pyramid (fortunately the upper layer consists of fired bricks otherwise there wouldnt be much left of the pyramid) whose top tiers used to be the site of a temple for elamite deities though only the two bottom tiers are completely preserved the ziggurat of choga zanbil is the best preserved of the world also you will find in it several vault arches an astonishing achievement in craft for the time in which the ziggurat was built ernst is very excited about finally getting to see such old unaltered vault arches the 50 km water system built by the founder of this holy site king untash napirisha (12751240 bce) to provide his city with freshwater from the north is just as extraordinary talking of fresh water: i need that urgently now otherwise our driver noticing just like ernst how my blood pressure "

b="en_2011_03" p="80" v="opinion they are the only heritage of the qadjars worth preserving; their flamboyant kitsch is not really worth keeping the watermills though present a fantastic sight: completely enthralled we stand at the barbed wire fence pressing an eye against the mesh to observe the splashing of the froth the course of the falling turquoise water and the white crest waves dancing in the wind where the waterfalls meet the river ernst and i try getting closer to this spectacle but give up on the endeavor when a fight breaks out right next to us since we dont really feel like joining in we quickly go a different way the last sight in shushtar is the friday mosque since its construction was first begun in 866 it is one of the oldest mosques of iran its architecture corresponding to the original structure of a mosque: no dome with 6 adjoining bays and 13 naves thus the mosque forms a rectangular basilica in later times the mosque has been expanded and added upon but it has remained a sight worth seeing above all its minaret consisting entirely of bricks with the words "allahu akbar in kufi script worked time and again into turquoise lazed bricks in its upper part is immensely beautiful "

b="en_2011_03" p="81" v="being soon shaken by cramps but that is soon to pass and we head back fortunately without getting lost "

b="en_2011_03" p="81" v="pressure is very low presses a cup of ice cold water in my hand and i gulp it down too quickly for ernsts warning "

b="en_2011_03" p="81" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="82" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="82" v="to go to bed immediately but theres a dinner at a friend of our drivers on the agenda at first the atmosphere "

b="en_2011_03" p="82" v="too many times upon arrival at the hotel in dezful i first jump in the icy shower (what a treat) and would like "

b="en_2011_03" p="83" v="liberal atmosphere of the house after dinner the men disappear in the living room again once the cleanup is done (very simple: the tablecloth with everything on it is rolled up and tossed) we women continue on with our amicable chat later on we move on to serious topics for instance the host mother tells me that she hasnt seen her favorite brother for 20 years and has never met his children since he lives in canada and cant get a visa for iran neither can she get one for canada when it is time to leave ernst and i are showered with gifts and good wishes the whole family walking us to the car we havent even been back to the hotel for 15 minutes when there is a knock on our door: our host has driven after us because his sister really wanted to give me her koran as a gift i am very touched this is the greatest honor you can experience here especially as a christian the people here are truly very kind and generous thinking about how i can best express my thanks for such a great token of friendship i fall asleep monday 5 may 2008 dezful susa dezful with a good plan on how to best thank the family of our hosts from "

b="en_2011_03" p="83" v="is slightly tense we sit on chairs in one big circle women on one side men on the other and are offered fresh fruit since the men mumble in farsi at great speed and the women dont say a word i dont know what to do i am happy when our host escorts me and his very pregnant 20 year old wife his sister inlaw (19) and his little sister (18) to his mother in the kitchen as soon as he has left the room all headscarves disappear and at the same time as if this was a little conspiracy all inhibitions true the women are disappointed that it is only short stubbles emerging from under my headscarf and not as expected long blond angel hair but i can make up for it by showing off my knowledge of farsi so we meddle in farsi and english through all family affairs and i slowly begin to feel very much at ease then the "table" is set (ie a giant plastic tablecloth is spread on the floor which tons of food to be heaped upon it) as a guest i am not allowed to help and we sit down crosslegged on the floor savoring the delicious persian dishes prepared by mother aunt and sister of the host those three though eat yesterday's leftovers in the kitchen which surprises me given the otherwise quite liberal "

b="en_2011_03" p="83" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="84" v="carrying the wooden bars for the roof of this gigantic hall of columns we saunter around on the vast excavation site for a long time but dont make any further interesting discoveries except for a little fox around 4pm we are finally ready to leave too late for going anywhere else so we end up checking in at the same hotel as in the previous nights going to downtown dezful again to see two column wall mosques from the 9th to the 10th century the first the friday mosque of dezful boasts was has become an absoluter rarity: the side facing the inner court is completely open the vaults above the 18 columns are all differently stonewalled and adorned a great sight the second mosque we visit is visibly smaller unfortunately a lot of it has been ruined by modern "supplements for instance the originally column wall towards the inner courtyard has been closed with awful pistachio green metal doors in the side arcades you can still admire the beautiful straight glazed brick decor of the original building though a little frustrated by our unproductive day we return to our hotel and go to sleep early in the hope for an early start tomorrow that would allow us to "

b="en_2011_03" p="84" v="yesterday i go on a short car ride to susa i want to look for a persian edition of goethes "westeastern diwan" and send it to dezful with a long letter in farsi before we arrive in shush it becomes evident that our driver hasnt taken the last two long nights very well so we have to give up our plan of continuing on to haft tepe and ahvaz for today while our driver takes a short nap in the parked car ernst and i get on our way over the 4 connected rhomb shaped settlement and royal hills of the ancient city of susa archeologists have found evidence of at least 4000 years of continuous settlement history here for instance temples royal tombs and a craftspeople settlement of all of this almost nothing is recognizable for laypersons anymore (not to mention missing markers) only on the northern hill some relics of darius palace remain with kneehigh walls archeologists have reconstructed the outlines of achaemenid king darius' i (522486) palace giving us a rough impression of the expanse of the site in the apadana area (the official reception area of the palace) you can still see the bases of 36 columns originally topped by twoheaded bull capitals "

b="en_2011_03" p="85" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="86" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="87" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="88" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="89" v="stonewalled barrel vault has survived the past 4 millennia nearly undamaged those vaults (in that size category) are among the oldest in the world an excellent little museum is adjoined to the excavation site counting among its exhibits great models of the ziggurat of choga zanbil as well as finds from both elamite sites the rest of the day passes pretty uneventful in the car the heat is glaring our clothes hugging our bodies very unislamic and even the flies buzzing "

b="en_2011_03" p="89" v="make up for the time we lost today tuesday may 6 2008 dezful susa haft tepe behbakan after having waited for our breakfast for almost an hour we depart once again for susa 30 km south when we were in susa the previous day the museum adjoined to the excavation site was closed since our first impression of susa was a bit disappointing we want to make up for that now especially since we have to pass through susa on our way to haft tepe anyway at the museum some impressive exhibits found by french archeologists are on display among them the well preserved part of a giant bull capital as well as beautiful pottery from the 5th millennium bce we continue on to haft tepe some 20km south of susa this historical excavation site was discovered by chance in the 1960s at excavations for power vaults since then a temple with two adjoining funerary chambers a palace site and the remains of two ziggurats from the 2nd millennium bce were claimed from the dust the ziggurats (as well as the temple and the palace) are admittedly poorly preserved in the funerary chambers though a stonewalled "

b="en_2011_03" p="89" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="90" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="90" v="spontaneously decided to spend a day at the persian gulf deferring our trip to shiraz until tomorrow the day is pretty uneventful only the landscape is fascinating in the early morning we drive through rolling hills covered entirely with a neon green weed and its bright yellow blossoms giving the slopes a very unusual iridescent color later when it has become almost too hot to breathe we drive through an incredibly vast palm grove if the sky was blue and clear "

b="en_2011_03" p="90" v="buzzing around the roadside fruit stands appear to bat their wings more slowly the heat finally conquers us in behbahan where we have to make to with the only (for me incredibly disgusting) hotel i hope i won't catch athletes foot or something else here wednesday may 7 2008 behbahan bandar bushehr since we still dont know when gerd from la will join us we have spontaneously "

b="en_2011_03" p="91" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="91" v="instead of grey and foggy this would be paradise before we leave the palm grove we see a donkey with her colt from afar strolling towards us on the left lane shortly afterwards we finally get to bushehr because of the unbearable heat we spend a good part of the afternoon reading in our hotel room we wait until 5 pm before we get out again to explore the downtown which according to our guidebook consists entirely of adobes unfortunately in recent years a large part of the old town was demolished to be replaced by ugly new structures the remaining ones of the beautiful adobes are in decay and will probably have all but disappeared within the next 10 years before we return to the hotel we enjoy coffee cookies and the sunset at the persian gulf now quickly to bed: after all we "want" to get up at five thirty tomorrow morning thursday may 8 2008 bandar bushehr bishapur shiraz we hit the road very early to escape the muggy late morning heat in bandar bushehr after an hour of driving which i use to "

b="en_2011_03" p="91" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="92" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="93" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="93" v="make up for last nights lost sleep we have our breakfast picnic at the edge of a giant palm grove it is incredible: date trees as far as the eye can see in all directions only interrupted by the freeway cutting right through the grove after another hour of driving we reach our destination bishapur more accidentally than through map reading skills it is the site of an incredibly impressive sassanid palace complex founded 266 ce by shapur i to this day a palace structure and a very well preserved anahitatempel are enclosed within the city walls especially the temple with its "

b="en_2011_03" p="93" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="94" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="94" v="2000 year old walls vaults and water system for ritual purposes demonstrates to me my own irrelevance in the grand scheme of things on the other side of the street outside of the walls of the old city stretches a long gorge (tange chowgan) in its rock faces are chiseled 6 sassanid rock reliefs in part extremely well preserved all of them impressive these rock reliefs again depict mainly scenes of investitures or victories over strong enemies above the south wall of the gorge towers the ruin of a sassanid fort entirely built from quarry stone since "

b="en_2011_03" p="95" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="95" v="we are struggling with the heat we pass up the climbing tour retreating to the air conditioned car now on to shiraz an absolute highlight of our tour that i have been looking forward to from the beginning unfortunately gerd called us last night to let us know he wouldnt be able to come to iran hence we continue on as a trio for the remaining part of the trip some 50km short of shiraz we have a lunch picnic though the atmosphere right next to the freeway in a quasidump and surrounded by squalls continuously blowing sand on our food leaves a lot to be desired when we have finally arrived in shiraz we take some time out in our hotel room before leaving at 8pm for the third picnic of the day our driver has organized sandwiches and beverages we sit down on a bench in one of the many parks of shiraz enjoying the cool evening breeze afterwards we go for a short walk chancing upon the tomb of the most famous and beloved persian poet hafez never before have i entered upon such a magic site the tomb a beautiful white marble sarcophagus canopied by an octagonal pavilion which seems to float "

b="en_2011_03" p="95" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="96" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="96" v="on its slender columns is embedded in a garden with palm trees and cypresses flower beds and water basins little terraces and arcades birds are twittering crickets are chirping frogs are quaking and hafez verses are quietly sounding throughout the garden to be continued in the next issue "

b="en_2011_03" p="97" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="97" v="just in time for nowruz we want to show you in this issue how to prepare the traditional new years dinner it is sabzi polo ba mahi" a special herb rice with fish traditionally served with kuku sabzi" a type of herb omelet: "

b="en_2011_03" p="97" v=""

b="en_2011_03" p="98" v="kukusabzi "

b="en_2011_03" p="98" v="as soon as the egg has solidified cut into 4 pieces then cut each piece in the middle again using two forks turn each of the 8 pieces frying the other side arrange the pieces on a round platter garnish with slices of tomato and lemon "

b="en_2011_03" p="98" v="preparation thoroughly wash herbs let drip and finely chop them in a bowl stir eggs with salt pepper and curcuma beat until fluffy add herbs flower baking soda the finely chopped clove of garlic (and walnuts and barberry if desired) mix well in a tefloncoated pan heat plenty of oil pour in the eggherb batter distribute it evenly with the back of a spoon and let simmer in the covered pan at low heat "

b="en_2011_03" p="98" v="ingredients for 4  fresh: parsley coriander leek und field garlic a 200 g  6 eggs  1 tablespoon flour  1 teaspoon baking soda  1 tablespoon barberry (optional)  2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts (optional)  1 garlic clove  1/2 teaspoon curcuma  oil salt and pepper as needed  12 tomatoes  1 lemon "

b="en_2011_03" p="99" v="sabzipolo ba mahi "

b="en_2011_03" p="99" v="mix put the lid on the pot as soon as the rice starts to steam pour some boiling water mixed with oil over the rice wrap the lid with a kitchen towel let herb rice steam some 30 minutes at low heat wash the fish cut away the fins and scales with a knife cut off head and tail cut the fish lengthwise in 4 pieces cut each piece in the middle marinate the pieces for 45 minutes in a mix of chopped onions lime juice salt and pepper coat the pieces in a batter of flour curcuma and saffron then fry "

b="en_2011_03" p="99" v="preparation thoroughly wash the rice let it sit in a bowl of salt water for at least 1 hour wash and finely cut the herbs then mix them put the rice in a sieve bring rice to boil in a pot of 1 liter lightly salted boiling water after 5 to10 minutes when the grains of rice are al dente put the rice back in the sieve and briefly rinse with cold water cover the floor of the pot with a few tablespoons of oil heat the oil at medium heat cover the bottom of the pot with slices of potato pieces of bread or lettuce leaves put a layer of rice and a layer of herb mix in the pot gently fold in the herb "

b="en_2011_03" p="99" v="ingredients for 4  500 g basmati rice  fresh: parsley coriander leek und dill a 200 g  1 white fish (ca 1 kg)  100 g flour  1 große onion  1 glass lime juice  oil saffron curcuma salt and pepper as needed  12 potatoes or 1 thin flatbread (lavash) or a few lettuce leaves for the rice crust (tahdig) "

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b="en_2011_03" p="101" v="emagazine "

b="en_2011_03" p="101" v="prsia emagazine is an independent online magazine and invites all readers to participate in this magazine with their contributions reviews and photographs media statement "

b="en_2011_03" p="101" v="imprint persia emagazine friedrichstr 23 60323 frankfurt am main germany tel: +49 69 98667526 fax: +49 69 98667527 info@persiaemagazinecom wwwpersiaemagazinecom publishing & editorial hamid farroukh phd taxno: 01281602826 final editing diplomsprachenlehrerin luzia farroukh translations beate damm phd layout & media editor nader garshasebi architect advertisements see "

b="en_2011_03" p="101" v="cover: ali dareini; p 4a: payam naserinezhad; p 4b: net _efekt; p 4c: shahram sharif; p 4d: jiahungli; p 611: ali samii; p 1213: dynamosquito; p 14: kamshots; p 15: zereshk; p 16: dynamosquito; p 1819: indigoprime; p 20: m samadi; p 21: arash_khamoosh; p 2224: ali samii; p 25: zereshk; p 26: mrminoque; p 27: fabienkhan; p 28b: leo71538; p 29a: siroos777; p 30 shahram sharif; p 31: hamed saber; p 3233: ali samii; p 34: zereshk; p 35: arezusharghi; p 36: zereshk; p 38: fabienkhan; p 39: hamed saber; p 4045: kavehfarrokhcom; p 46: blueshade; p 48: ali dareini; p 49: ali samii; p 52: pedramgh; p 53: reza nazarbeygi; p 59: khorashad; p 6063: ninara; p 64: arie m den toom; p 67: arie m den toom; p 68: patrick chevillard; p70: fabienkhan; p 71: dake; p 7273: elham asadi; p 7677: ninara; p 8081: dynamosquito; p 8485: pentocelo; p8687: rainer fischer; p 8889: victimiser13; p 92: dynamosquito; p 93: sebastià giralt "

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b="en_2010_12" p="1" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="1" v="travel culinary culture"

b="en_2010_12" p="1" v="no1 / 2010 emagazine"

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b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="celebration"

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b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="report"

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b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="recommendation"

b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="celebrity"

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b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="editorial"

b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="camera view"

b="en_2010_12" p="2" v="content"

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b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="recipe"

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b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="travel report"

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b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="insider’s tip"

b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="craft"

b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="culinary"

b="en_2010_12" p="3" v="year 1 issue 1 / december 2010"

b="en_2010_12" p="3" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="4" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="4" v="for a swim in natural waters in one day persia is a cradle of civilization whose significance in cultural history can be felt throughout the times and all over the globe from the persian empire of ancient times to the master poets of the middle ages to the artistic splendor of modern times persian cuisine is simply a must for everybody who loves good food not without reason did immanuel kant vouch for persians to have refined tastes in addition to politeness and"

b="en_2010_12" p="4" v="i have always wanted to introduce people from my second home country germany to the great country where i was born and raised a country that offers as much as a continent in any respect there is hardly another country which boasts as many scenic contrasts as persia does you can explore farstretching steppes thick jungles great lakes and waterfalls here the climate is as diverse as a color palette if you feel like it you can go skiing and go"

b="en_2010_12" p="4" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="5" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="5" v="covering the thematic range of travel life style culture and cuisine spiced up with interviews and recommendations and peppered with authentic travel reports will stir up your interest of travelling to my home country and introduce you to the perks of persian culture hamid farroukh phd editor hfarroukh@persiaemagazinecom"

b="en_2010_12" p="5" v="good poets when he respectfully called them "the french of the orient” persia has always been an exotic travel destination it was first visited by germans in the 16th century since then countless generations of germans have travelled to persia their travel reports all share two features: they describe the allure of the country and stress the hospitality of its inhabitants i am hoping that inspiring reports practical advice and insider’s tips"

b="en_2010_12" p="6" v="damavand"

b="en_2010_12" p="6" v="At 6.510 m, the peak of an inactive volcano is iran‘s highest mountain. part of the alborz-mountains in the province mazandaran, 80 km north of tehran, it is embedded deeply in persian mythology and folklore. at the same time, damavand is the highest"

b="en_2010_12" p="7" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="7" v="mountain in the entire middle east and besides the kilimandscharo one of the highest standalone mountains in the world the difference in altitude between the foot of the mountain and its peak amounts up to 4700 meters significantly more than the altitude difference at mount everest"

b="en_2010_12" p="8" v="eternal love"

b="en_2010_12" p="8" v="in 2002, remains of two lovers were found at 8 meters down during excavations at terrain of the blue mosque in Tabriz. the find is estimated to"

b="en_2010_12" p="8" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="9" v="be around 3000 years old and can be viewed at the museum of the iron age in tabriz"

b="en_2010_12" p="10" v="tehran at night"

b="en_2010_12" p="10" v="a rooftop view of tehran shows the viewer a 13 million metropolis that never rests. no matter when you go out, you will always find the city full of life and with energy. tehran is considered to be one of the"

b="en_2010_12" p="11" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="11" v="liveliest cities of the world you can have a conversation with different people at various locations join them and enjoy your stay in tehran you’ll always be welcome"

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v="the square allowing for great sightseeing driving around the square in a carriage to the sound of horse hoofs is like a journey back in time the four sides of the square house pure 17th century persian history the unique architecture and the perfect art decorations make visitors spend many hours here a visit of this"

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v="a six storey royal palace two mosques with unique architectural features and a bazaar with a beautiful portal frame a giant rectangular historic square in isfahan known as„naqshe jahan"

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v="it is the second largest historic square after „tiananmen"square in beijing in 1979 naqshe jahan square became the first object from iran and the 10th object overall on the unesco world cultural heritage list fortunately car traffic is banned from"

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v="a panorama view of naqshe jahan place"

b="en_2010_12" p="12" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="13" v="and 160 m in width to convey a feeling for its size a comparison with other squares that european travelers are more familiar with should be interesting for example the place des vosges in paris set up at the same time by henry iv in paris is at 140 m × 140 m just ¼ the size of naqshe jahan square naqshe jahan is 6½ timesthe size of piazza san marco in venice it is even greater than the red square in msocow"

b="en_2010_12" p="13" v="square is unforgettable conjuring up a big adventure at every corner the history of isfahan is stored at naqshe jahan naqshe jahan was commissioned in 1590 by shah abbas i the great at first for an area of100000 m² due to some changes around the square as well as the addition of a row of stores the area was reduced to about 90000 square meters today the square is 560 m in length"

b="en_2010_12" p="13" v="greater than the red squaremore magnificent than st peter’s square"

b="en_2010_12" p="13" v="naqshe jahan"

b="en_2010_12" p="14" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="14" v="the main entrance is positioned 2/3 of the long side are to the right and 1/3 to the left of the visitor it is a well chosen position with respect to the main buildings: entering the square you are closer to its north end and in the vicinity of the bazaar at the same time you can see the splendor of the mosques further south and the palace in the distance all around the square are twostorey arcades"

b="en_2010_12" p="14" v="more than 10 times the size of grand place in brussels which measures 110 m × 68 m tour we enter the square via the main entrance located on the west side we look over a rectangular square and find ourselves on one of its long sides to our left and right are the short sides of the rectangle the way"

b="en_2010_12" p="14" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="15" v="the artisans in the shops all around the square working from dust to dawn on maquetry book illustrations copperand silverworks textile painting etc the square also merits a night visit the night lighting conveys a pleasant atmosphere and makes for an unforgettable experience even after the end oft he day’s activities at the time of its construction the square was used at night for telling inspiring fairy tales and for showing acrobatic performances one oft he most charming features of the naqshe jahansquare consists in the impression of unity that it conveys in spite of its giant size and expansiveness in other words the buildings are perceived as being close together even though they are relatively far apart the design of the place was apparently well thought out in terms of daylight too: you can enjoy the sunshine in most parts of the square for the entire day shade is provided by the arcades covering the shops finally a visit of naqshe jahansquare often provides the opportunity to observe iranian craft masters doing restorations in woodwork painting and architecture"

b="en_2010_12" p="15" v="with shops producing and selling mainly crafts at the north side one of the short sides you will find the portal of the bazaar "qeysariyeh" once known as royal bazaar across the square on the south side is the great abbasimosque which can be called indeed one of the unique mosques of iran or even the world both long sides of the square each boast another building drawing the visitor’s attention if we divide the west side into three parts the beautiful „aliqapupalace" is towering the arcades about one third south one side north is the main entrance through which we just passed on the east side straight across the palace is another mosque„sheikh lotfollah" whose dome surely is the most beautiful dome construction of all mosques in iran a little further north across from the main entrance is the other entrance to the square on two sides of the square we notice a stone door under shah abbas the great those were the doors for the polo game which regularly took place on the square those doors convey an impression of life during that great epoch the square is still extremely lively today mainly due to"

b="en_2010_12" p="16" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="16" v="view of the square like the persian king once did a spectacular view that everybody wants to captivate on camera superlatives of persian painting can be admired on the walls in the various storeys of the palace you can see verandahs with columns of beautiful woodwork as well as impressive wall paintings the largest room the music room is on the top floor it is encased in wood with the encasing being not too tight and fitted with openings for vases and other vessels this provides sounding port providing perfect acoustics for musical performances"

b="en_2010_12" p="16" v="buildings the four most outstanding buildings of the naqshe jahansquare are distributed among its four sides each side houses in its arcades one of those wonders of persian architecture we will now turn to each one of the buildings with a short description aliqapupalace at 68 m the aliqapupalace consists of six storeys all of which are decorated with genuine persian art from a third storey liwan carried by 18 wooden columns visitors have a"

b="en_2010_12" p="16" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="17" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="18" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="18" v="besides the impressive patterns in the multicolored tiles and the windows which make the room appear as an endless sequence of patterns up until the top of the dome other features worth mentioning are the masterpieces of inscriptions in nasta’liq as well as the outstanding use of light: a beautiful muted light enters the prayer room through fine grids in fayence framed windows"

b="en_2010_12" p="18" v="lotfollahmosque the 32 m dome of this mosque is undoubtedly one oft he most outstanding mosque domes in the entire world its geometrical and architectural harmony as well as its tile work and colors are without equal the mosque built at the private mosque of the shah does not contain liwans minarets and inner courts it mainly consists of an antechamber and the square prayer room under the dome"

b="en_2010_12" p="18" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="19" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="20" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="20" v="pots in the corridors are considered an outstanding example of stone masonry in this mosque as well as in lotfollahmosque the visitor is imperceptibly guided by the geographical setup of the square in the qebleh direction meaning mekka the facade of the entrance portal seamlessly blends into the facade of the naqshe jahansquare the dome was executed in a twolayer fashion the outer dome is 54"

b="en_2010_12" p="20" v="great abbasimosque this mosque is a perfect example for the combined effects of diverse traditional iranian crafts like architecture tiles wood stone and metal works nowhere else can you find such a range of mosaics it can hardly be topped in terms of quantity either about 18 million roof tiles and 472500 wall tiles were used in the building even the marble flower"

b="en_2010_12" p="20" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="21" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="21" v="m high and is at a 15 m distance to the inner dome providing a sounding board which makes for excellent acoustics the mosque has an arcadeframed inner court and two other inner courts with schools: „naseriyeh" and „soleymanieh" in the court of the soleymaniehschool you can see an interesting stone: the way the sun shines on this stone allows you to tell the time on any day of the year"

b="en_2010_12" p="22" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="23" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="23" v="corridors the numerous shops are grouped according to craft for example textile printing copper and silver smith shops miniatures and maquetry each have their own department the products in almost all of the shops are artfully handmade you can browse barter and shop to your heart’s content"

b="en_2010_12" p="23" v="qeysariyehportal the main entrance to the bazar perfectly blends into the double row of arcades on the square and is adorned with a mural and with tile work the mural depicts the victorious battle of shah abbas the great against the usbecks and the celebrations at court behind the entrance you will find the bazaar with many vaulted"

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v="the hotel room view of the compound facing the beach and on the persian gulf is magnificent staff is very friendly and helpful the interior design and the ambiance are charming providing material for many great photo shots livemusic with outstanding singers as well as many different sports and leisure activities contribute to a wellrounded impression of the hotels if you have stayed there once you will always compare"

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v="grand hotel dariush is a luxurious 5starhotel on the magic kish island the jewel of the persian gulf the hotel built on an investment of 125 million dollars has been constructed in achaemenid style and perfectly meets the standards of tourism as well as of great architecture it is gigantic and at the same time true to style in every detail this is why the hotel has also become one of the sights of the island"

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v="grand hotel dariush"

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v="luxury on kish islandthe jewel oft he persian gulf"

b="en_2010_12" p="24" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="25" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="26" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="26" v="century made shiraz a literary center of persia and beyond the persian poet hafez was born in 1319 in shiraz since he already"

b="en_2010_12" p="26" v="the birth of two persian poets in the same town sa’di in the 13th and hafez in the 14th"

b="en_2010_12" p="26" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="27" v="not until the 18th century during the zand dynasty a mausoleum was built in his honor at beautiful park grounds in shiraz the first german translation oft the divan dates from 1814 and is by the austrian orientalist joseph von hammerpurgstall this translation influenced goethe to the extent that he considered hafez his twin brother after reading hafez’ ghazals goethe felt rejuvenated and took a romantic turn his 1819 westeastern divan was inspired by hafez due to this close connection between hafez und goethe weimar has been a twin town of shiraz since 2009 friedrich rückert’s 19th century translation is considered to be the best translation into german johann wolfgang von goethe on hafez: and let the world entirely sink hafez with you or else with none i will compete let joy and pain be ours as twins in common translation j whaley an example from the divan:"

b="en_2010_12" p="27" v="knew the koran by heart at the age of 8 he was given the famous name hafez meaning "one who knows the koran by heart” he was also very familiar with the works of other great persian poets like sa’di rumi and kahyyam hafez spent almost his entire life in shiraz and already became a legendary poet during his lifetime even beyond the country there is no persian household that does not own his divan (collection of poetry) nowadays his divan is often used as a book oracle some qhazals a persian song form which since the 19th century has also been used as a rhyme format in german poetry are also used as song texts persians like to cite hafez for the sake of poetic expression a well as for giving advice hafez embodies the peak of persian poetry he perfected the ghazal though his poetry at first glance is about love the beauty of nature and wine it mirrors his soul’s devotion to the divine due to his critical attitude he often was at odds with the rulers of his time in his poems he deplored the hypocritical and powerobsessed people in his environment when hafez died in 1389 he was buried under a cypress tree that he had supposedly planted himself"

b="en_2010_12" p="28" v="in the land of the magi none like me can be lost pawned my gown in a place in another my books i must my heart mirror of the king is all covered with dust i pray for a clear word light up the path that i must i repent no more wine from the beautiful seller; drinking wine without that face is but lust narcissus may mock your ways you keep calm insight blindintheheart will not trust none but candle can speak of this tale why the moth in this tale only goes bust my tears run from my eyes streaming down to grow beauty by my side this is my cost bring me a vessel of wine; without my friend my eyes flood like the sea with heart's disgust i praise my beloved speak to me of no other for wine and beloved i fear none i distrust infidel played the reed beside the gates of the tavern what a lovely song played in my heart the morning gust if godliness comes from what hafez has alas if after today morrow ain't lost"

b="en_2010_12" p="28" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="29" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="30" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="30" v="and celebrating persian festivals are connected to the changes in nature and are of agricultural significance within the past two millennia there were indigenous and foreign rulers in iran who tried very hard to commit those ancient persian festivities to oblivion in most cases in connection with an accusation of religious blasphemy"

b="en_2010_12" p="30" v="in preislamic times no mourning ceremonies were known in iran fasting wasn’t part of the religion either there were only joyful festivities and parties with eating drinking"

b="en_2010_12" p="30" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="31" v="family feast relatives near and far gather in the house of the family’s elder during that longest night of the year and joyfully spend it eating drinking telling stories and talking together even though shabe chelleh is not an official holiday iranian radio broadcasts special programs in honor of the day eating watermelons and cantaloupes pomegranates and apples a variety of nuts especially sweet ones and roasted sunflower seeds as well as dried fruits are all part of the celebration of that night one or two days before the festival the young men are sending fruit and „khonchaqs" to their fiancées homes and pay a visit to the fiancée’s family „khonchaq" is a rectangular tray covered with printed fabric and decorated with multicolored flowers in foil and with ribbons sometimes several men carry one khonchag each to the home of the bride in exchange the families of the young women give gifts of clothes and fabric until way into the night beautiful memories are told and there are readings from novels the older people read from the divan (collection of poetry) of hafez one of the greatest persian poets (cf also the article in our current issue)"

b="en_2010_12" p="31" v="blasphemy these days some of these festivities are no longer celebrated in full ceremony others have retained their name only there are however some traditions that are still widespread and are celebrated in style one of them is the celebration of shabe chelleh also called shabe yalda shabe chelleh chelleh night is an ancient persian festival whose roots even predate zoroaster the ancient iranian philosopher and the religious founder it is the celebration during the shortest night of the year ie december 2122 corresponding in the iranian calendar to the night proceeding the first day of the month dey according to legend the powers of ahriman (the evil one) reach their peak during this night and the following day belongs to ahura mazda the god of wisdom since after this night the days get longer and the nights shorter this celebration expresses the victory of the sun over darkness in zoroastrian tradition people were called upon to stay out of harm’s away during that night therefore they spent the night in company stayed awake and ate the last fruits of summer nowadays the celebration is also a"

b="en_2010_12" p="32" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="33" v="provided by the word „yalda" another name of that night yalda is a word of syrian origin and means „birth" the mithras cult was first introduced to iran thousands of years ago by arian immigrants mithra the son god remained a strong symbol of devotion in the centuries that followed during the achaemined time the first great persian empire of antiquity mithras became a major god equal in status to (god of all goodness) and anahita (god of water and fertility) even though zoroaster’s teaching became the state religion during sassanid times mithra’s significance remained undiminished this is demonstrated in a relief of taghe bostan where ahura mazda is crowning ardeshir: mithra is present as a witness of the ceremony over the course of several centuries the mithra cult spread via greece to the roman empire and became very popular in the ranks of the roman army shabe chelleh was always celebrated very sumptuously in the 4th century due to a mistake in calculating leap years mithras’s birthday was placed on december 25th up until then the birth of christ had been celebrated by all branches of the christian church on january 6th"

b="en_2010_12" p="33" v="during chelleh night there is snowfall at many places in iran one of the traditions of that night is eating snow with shireh" some sort of syrup kind of like eating ice cream but the snow may not be part of the first snow of the year since one can’t be sure of its purity in the sassanid era the second great persian empire of antiquity there was a tradition of the king descending from his throne and seeking out the plains he sat down on a white carpet and sent his guards and servants on vacation the king spent the day with simple peasants called them "brothers" ate of their food and listened to them so that they could report their concerns at their leisure this festival was also called the 90day festival since there are exactly 90 days between this festival and nowruz the iranian new year at the beginning of spring as mentioned above the origin of the festivities on chelleh night goes back to prezoroastrian times it is the birth night of mehr also called mithra mithras is a god figure and the mythological personification of the sun it stands for goodness and faithfulness (covenant faithfulness) as well as power on earth a parallel is provided"

b="en_2010_12" p="34" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="34" v="only the armenian and orthodox churches still celebrate january 6th as the birth of christ at its roots christmas is basically the celebration of that birth night of mithra which once was introduced by legionaries in the roman empire as the festival of light and is celebrated today on december 25 it is said that mithras was born from the light coming out of the interior of the alborzmountaints and that"

b="en_2010_12" p="34" v="after christianity had become the state religion in rome the representatives of the new religion realized that it would be impossible to abolish the traditions of the mithras cult those would remain people’s memory forever since the mithras cult was still very popular in roman europe the roman church took over many of its rituals and propagated december 25th as the official birthday of christ"

b="en_2010_12" p="34" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="35" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="35" v="shine goodness will prevail and the long wait and loneliness will be over "the sight of you each morning is a new year any night of your departure is the eve of yalda” (sa'di)"

b="en_2010_12" p="35" v="iranians of early history gathered at night in the caves along the mountain range to witness that miracle at dawn those people were called „yare ghar" meaning something like „cave companion" since chellehnight is the longest and darkest night of the year it symbolizes a lot of things in persian poetry eg separation from a loved one or loneliness and a long wait but after shabe chelleh the light will"

b="en_2010_12" p="36" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="36" v="the abc of persian cuisine"

b="en_2010_12" p="36" v="treats for the palate"

b="en_2010_12" p="36" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="37" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="37" v="leaves combinations of meat and fruit and ground nuts for thickening sauces compared to turkish and greek cuisine persian cuisine uses less garlic also persian cuisine is less spicy than indian cooking and uses less fat than arabic cuisine persian cuisine has a unique style you need time to prepare and to let it simmer persian nutrition distinguishes between "warm" categories (dates nuts ginger etc) and "cold” categories (lettuce yoghurt red beet etc) the perfect preparation consists in"

b="en_2010_12" p="37" v="persia has always been a multiethnic country from a geographic point of view it is as diverse as a continent add to that the story of mutual influence with neighbors near and far the long and lively history of the country with its conquests and foreign reigns in spite of many regional traditions of cooking there is such a thing as persian cuisine which is popular throughout the country and has barely changed for centuries as early as in the 7th century the sassanids refined cooking by creating rice casseroles marinades made from yoghurt and spices stuffed wine leaves"

b="en_2010_12" p="38" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="38" v="typical ingredients persian bread is typically used as side dish or as a wrap for the starter course major varieties: " "taftun” a round flatbread made from wholemeal flour "lavash” a thin flatbread made from wheat flour and "barbari” another flatbread made from wheat flour and "sangak” made from rye flour and baked on pebbles therefore holey and dark another important ingredient is persian rice mainly grown in province of gilan at the caspian sea if it is not available it can be substituted by"

b="en_2010_12" p="38" v="a balanced combination of the two in one dish respectively in emphasizing according to the guest’s taste persian cooking presents itself as colorful and fragrant as one of the oldest cuisines of the world it is nonetheless surprisingly modern and healthy fresh ingredients of high quality and rich in vitamins are combined in a straight composition that balances the different flavors then carefully cooked and served with unique aromas and in an esthetically pleasing way"

b="en_2010_12" p="38" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="39" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="39" v="pillars of persian cuisine many dishes have their own herb mix which can be bought ready made at the deli frequently used herbs are fenugreek coriander peppermint parsley basil leak dill spinach cresse terragon and oregano the main spices are turmeric chili ginger cardamom cinnamon cloves and of course persian saffron a less well known spice is persian „somaq" it consists of the dried and ground dark red berries of the sicilian sumac often sprinkled on grilled meat to give it a tangy lemony note"

b="en_2010_12" p="39" v="basmati rice persan cuisine knows two ways of preparing rice: „kateh" und „polo" using the kateh method rice is cooked until the water is soaked up after adding butter the lid of the pot is wrapped in a kitchen towel and the rice is made to swell on low heat using the polo method you put the rice in a sieve wash and let drip it is then simmered at medium heat in a pot whose bottom is covered in oil producing delicious crust as an extra if you serve it with butter it is called "chelo” polo is often used as one oft he layers of a mixed dish herb and spice mixes are one oft he"

b="en_2010_12" p="40" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="40" v="important role roasted and salted they serve as a snack they are also added to stews and rice dishes or used for decoration finally we need to mention dates used in main dishes (including salted ones) as well as in preparing dessert with nuts and rosewater etc starters in persian cuisine the line between starters and side dishes is slightly blurred an almost obligatory starter is „nano paniro sabzi" bread with feta cheese and fresh herbs like basil mint cresse radishes and scallops there is also a whole range of"

b="en_2010_12" p="40" v="pulses like black eyed beans chick peas lentils green beans baqalibeans and yellow peas are usually soaked overnight in tepid water and can be used in hotpots as well as in stews and rice dishes other specialties include dried lemons used mainly in stews berberis fried in butter oil used with saffron for decorative purposes pomegranate syrup giving the dish a fruity bitter sweetness and „kashk" dried whey speise giving a sour creamy note to the dish nuts especially walnuts pistachios almonds and pine seeds play an"

b="en_2010_12" p="40" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="41" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="41" v="there is a broad range of thin and thick („asch") soups some of which are only cooked on special occasions main courses while a lot of starters are vegetarian vegetarian choices for main dishes are less numerous most of them combine vegetables with pulses or dried fruit or nuts or filled with fruit and rice adding pulses and nuts provides protein most main courses are grilled dishes stews or casseroles mainly using veal chicken or minced meat for the grilled dishes („kabab") the meat is marinated in"

b="en_2010_12" p="41" v="yoghurt dishes which can be prepared with spinach bear’s garlic garlic or cucumbers pickled vegetables as well as wine leaves stuffed with vegetables and salads are also part of it there are also dishes which can serve as starters or as main dishes for the small appetite those are mainly eggplant dishes („mirza qasemi" „kashke bademjan" and „halim bademjan") but also meat balls („kufteh") omelets („kuku") with herbs eggplant zucchini or potato as well as dishes with burger patties(„kotlet" and „shami")"

b="en_2010_12" p="42" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="42" v="precooked rice with a mixture of other ingredients everything is then cooked together until done fish dishes from a variety of sweetwater and saltwater fish are also part of the main dishes a great variety of fish can be found not only in the caspian sea and the persian gulf but also in the rivers and lakes of the country fish is rarely cooked or smoked more oftenit is fried or grilled and sprinkled with orange or lime juice if you can afford it you should try persian caviar which is excellent"

b="en_2010_12" p="42" v="onions lime and yoghurt then grilled on flat skewers on charcoal the flat skewers produce a cross surface and soft inner texture of the meat if „chelo kabab" is served including saffron rice well grilled tomatoes are a must the stews („khoresh") are a combination of meat vegetables herbs spices pulses and nuts sometimes also fresh or dried sweet and sour fruit which needs a longer stewing period after frying the meat and onions the special feature of casseroles („polo makhlut) is the layering of precooked"

b="en_2010_12" p="42" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="43" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="43" v="beverages as a warm beverage the unique persian tea is a must it is ofen prepared with cardamom or cinnamon and served with limes another alternative is persian coffee which is prepared like turkish coffee but glazed with ground cardamom and rose water water is always offered at a persian meal almost equally widespread is "duq” the national persian beverage a refreshing slightely salted yoghurt drink with chopped peppermint leaves add to this countless variations of equally refreshing "sharbats” usually made"

b="en_2010_12" p="43" v="finally we should mention „abgusht": a special meat hotpot served in two courses an ultimate cult dish desserts in addition to fresh fruit and fruit salads scented with rose water or orange blossom water sweets are another popular dessert besides sweet solid food like saffron rice pudding ("sholeh zard”) saffron cream ("kachi”) and saffron cake ("halva”) another dessert offering is persian ice cream ("bastani”) and sherbets ("paduleh”) combinations of dates and an array of persian bakery prepared with ground nuts cardamom vanilla rose water and other ingredients are an option for dessert as is a great choice of dried fruit"

b="en_2010_12" p="44" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="45" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="45" v="source: reza haidari kahkesh and dr utamaria roos persische gaumenfreuden"

b="en_2010_12" p="45" v="from boiled syrup with water mixed with herbs and fruit juice following preislamic tradition persian restaurants abroad serve persian wine "in exile” the vine is shiraz and the most famous wines were named after the great persian hafez (royalshiraz) khayyam (shiraz imperial) and mowlana who sang the praise of wine in many of their poems"

b="en_2010_12" p="46" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="46" v="idyllic and never conquered by an enemy"

b="en_2010_12" p="46" v="citadel rud khan"

b="en_2010_12" p="46" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="47" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="47" v="pouring melted material respectively shooting according to iranian reports the fortress has never been conquered during its history never did an enemy manage to enter it currently a forest park with infrastructure for tourism is being constructed at the citadel making it a soon to be major attraction in the province of gilan"

b="en_2010_12" p="47" v="about 20 km southwest of the city of fuman in gilan province at the caspian sea the impressive citadel towers at 600 meters on a hill overlooking the village rud khan next to the eponymous river the citadel is 1500 m long and covers an area of 50000 m² it was built during the time of the sassanids (224642) and restored during the seljukdynasty (10401194) it was considered one of the defense forts of the ismaelite movement the fortress consists of two parts the citadel and the barracks the citadel in the western part of the fortress is a twostorey brick building the barrack in the eastern part consists of several buildings with many windows in all directions there are twelve entrances on the eastern as well as the western side of tthe fortress the buildings also house a bath a cold water pool a water reservoir a prison as well many living units which are surrounded by the walls of the fortress it is surrounded by 40 intact watch towers with octagonal rooms and vaulted ceilings all walls and towers have vertical openings which were destined for"

b="en_2010_12" p="48" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="48" v="with intricate geometrical patterns this is khatam kari a form of marquetry that is more than 1000 years old the historic point of origin of this art is not exactly known there are however khatam works pointing to an art based in shiraz for example the 1000 year old pulpit of the jame’mosque in shiraz in iran shiraz"

b="en_2010_12" p="48" v="there is a range of persian crafts such as wood work marquetry gelimweaving glass work pottery miniature painting but khatam is the most striking one it only takes a stroll through the bazaars of tehran isfahan or shiraz to discover those boxes adorned"

b="en_2010_12" p="48" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="49" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="49" v="table which won the gold medal at the 1958 exhibition in brussels the most immediately striking element of khatam works are the mosaics the inlaid elements are so intricate that it is hard to imagine how this work has been carried out by a khatam kar (meaning khatamartist) some families have been passing on this craft from generation to the next for centuries"

b="en_2010_12" p="49" v="constitutes one of the most important centers of this art form though khatam kari exists in some other countries such as india syria and palestine it is not as refined there as the iranian khatam khatam kari is indeed a special art of iran iranian khatam works always make first place at international exhibitions maybe the best example of this art in modern times is the khatam"

b="en_2010_12" p="50" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="50" v="the materials are processed into cylindrical tubes using special tools triangles are cut from those tubes in several steps varying according to the desired pattern they are pasted into bundles those bundles are usually segments of geometrical shapes in the next step those bundles are put together on a thin layer of wood glued and put on the desired object (table chair box etc) finally the surface is carefully sanded"

b="en_2010_12" p="50" v="materials the materials vary to suit the respective pattern the gilded parts are mainly brass sometimes silver in very precious pieces gold the white parts consists of ivory camel bone or horse bone the other parts consist of different kinds of solid wood production using the cross section of a triangle"

b="en_2010_12" p="50" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="51" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="51" v="precision in measurement and symmetry is the most important feature this is why even the best artisans wouldn’t be able to produce a good khartam if the design was flawed untarnished clean varnish as well as harmony of colors and materials used are other important criteria finally: the smaller the patterns and triangles the higher the quality of the work"

b="en_2010_12" p="51" v="and varnished varnish does not just add shine to the object it also protects the khatam against heat and cold while in the past all steps were done by hand the cutting and polishing of the materials is facilitated by machines these days making the art accessible for less well stocked wallets the design and the putting together of the pieces into different patterns remains a master craft quality all edges angles and patterns of a khatam have to be symmetrical"

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v="travel report by paulina von mirbach"

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v="the following travel report has been kindly provided by ms paulina von mirbach and mr ernst heusch it is about their 45day trip in 2008 we will publish more excerpts in our subsequent issues some pictures were provided by the editorial staff"

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v="of iran"

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v="highlights"

b="en_2010_12" p="52" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="53" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="53" v="thursday april 24 2008 tehran qazwin in the middle of the night we land at tehran international airport after having passed a surprisingly unremarkable baggage and passport control we spend a very uncomfortable night on even more uncomfortable plastic chairs always under the vigilant glance of a young girl looking down on us s from her billboard watching over the enactment of the iranian laws for covering up up until 8am we still make some unsuccessful"

b="en_2010_12" p="53" v="wednesday april 23 2008 departure in frankfurt shortly before landing the whole airplane turns into the prop room of a big theater: all women pull headscarves shawls chadors from bags backpacks or purses and an array of accessories meant to help with keeping those unruly things on their heads within a few minutes all female passengers of lufthansa flight 601 fra ika are in costume and my own personal charade of six weeks has begun"

b="en_2010_12" p="53" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="54" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="54" v="gentleman who takes us to the travel agency where everything becomes as clear as mud money constitutes a significant challenge: it takes some back and forth until we hold iranian money in our hands respectively in bags since a euro corresponds to"

b="en_2010_12" p="54" v="unsuccessful attempts at sleeping in my case interrupted time and again by startling in panic since i am not used to my sliding headscarf yet but want to avoid provoking the girl on the billboard at 8am we are delivered from this comic ordeal by a"

b="en_2010_12" p="54" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="55" v="largest inner court yards of a mosque but in spite of all admiration for the artful tile mosaic and the brickwork masterpiece we are all gagging for a drink now our eye rings could very well compete with the olympic rings so after a welldeserved hot shower dead tired and filled to the brim with new impressions we fall into our beds which appear like heavenly gifts to us friday april 25 2008 qazwin alamut qazwin at 7 am we depart for the famous assasine fortress alamut from where the old man of the mountain (hassan sabeh at 2000m send off his shiite martyrs to eliminate his political opponents the drive though only about 100 km long stretches out for 3 hours we have to toil through narrow serpentines up and down the elburzmountains but worse torture is to come: the fortress can only be reached on foot unless you want to imitate those tourists leaving the work to tiny donkeys who almost break down under their lazy burdens but are cudgelled up the steep mountain by inexorable peasant boys in the glaring heat and wrapped in my black shawl i try to climb"

b="en_2010_12" p="55" v="14000 iranian rial we are lugging around bundles of money wish it was all euros… when we talk about our planned route at the travel agency iran markaz a lot of completely incredulous faces keep gathering around us nobody can understand what kind of a tour is ahead of ernst and me let alone that we do that voluntarily when everything has been settled (which takes a lot longer here than everywhere else) we still set off on the same day much to my surprise in the glaring sunshine and at 32 degrees c in the shade i am sweating so profusely under my headscarf that every move on the black leather seats of our rental peugeot is screeching like an overused tire (just to mention in passing: people who invent black cars without air conditioning for the hottest countries of the planet should be locked up in one) upon reaching qazwin even though we are pretty wiped out by the long flight the sleepless night the hassle about the money and the sun we bring ourselves to walk around the entire downtown to see the famous friday mosque said to have been built by harun arrashid this mosque is a giant building also boasting at 4000 m² one of the largest"

b="en_2010_12" p="56" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="56" v="opening up after we have overcome all those obstacles lets us forget the long drive the climb and the heat very fast: to the left and the right of"

b="en_2010_12" p="56" v="the seemingly endless steps up to the fortress no easy endeavor if you step on your own hem all the time but that fabulous mountain vista"

b="en_2010_12" p="56" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="57" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="58" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="60" v="a brick dome of a 20 diameter and is half underground so that only the dome flatly above ground level is visible from outside inspired by this late evening discovery we buy 3 flatbreads on our way back to the hotel partially devouring them on the roadalready half way to the hotel an old iranian passes us suddenly stops turns around and breaks off a big piece of bread while ernst and i look at each other in surprise the man calls out "that’s the iranian way" still laughing we reach the hotel and fall into bed feet first saturday april 26 2008 qazwin ab garm sultaniyeh zandjan around 7pm we turn into culture vultures again quickly and with closed eyes we pass the old gadjarian kitsch city portal then on we go to the gonbande (=tomb tower) of hamdollah mostowfi unfortunately qazwin clocks don’t tick along our time line: it would be two hours until we’d be allowed to visit the inside of the tower with its magnificent turquoise coned dome but we don’t have that much time since we still want to reach ardabil via ab garm and sultaniyeh there’s a great atmosphere"

b="en_2010_12" p="60" v="us impressive rock formations rise up beaming in all hues of green through a slope of blooming cherry trees we see the four 5000 mpeaks of the elburz steeped in gleaming golden sunlight shortly after our driver tears through this magic landscape like a road hog in good persian fashion sometimes with glee on the wrong side of the road since the back seat does not provide the luxury of a seat belt i in good german fashion get slightly scared but we still get back to quazwin safe and sound we want to visit the imamzadeh hossein there the tomb of the son of the 8th shiite imams hazrate reza but since it is friday and i am obviously not covered up enough yet (2 or 3 sassy strands of hair are creeping out from under my headscarf always looking for the light and immediately being pointed put by an attentive muslim citizen) we scrap this plan and return to the hotel but we don’t give up: even though it feels very strange to me to be immediately" outed" as a foreigner and to be stared at on the road ernst and i set out again and discover an impressive old cistern not mentioned in any of our guidebooks the construction reaches 20 m underground is crowned by"

b="en_2010_12" p="60" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="61" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="62" v="masterpieces of brick masonry the 8 sides of the compact towers are built in a perfect way so that none of the mosaics repeats on another side up until our arrival a few hours later in sultaniyeh 160 km west of qazwin we are convinced that at least for today nothing will impress us a much as those two tomb towers but then we stand in front of the supposedly largest brick building of the world: the tomb of oldjaitu son of an ilkanide ruler and himself a sultan of this region the monumental octagonal building whose construction was begun in 1305 is crowned by a gigantic dome encased in turquoise tiles and has a magnificently executed interior and exterior unfortunately the restorative work is disappointing: at every other corner something was started well but almost nothing is completed still we are so fascinated by this work of art that we forget to check the time until 4pm we will not be able to make the 400km trip to ardabil but we are flexible: after having visited a small mosque in the vicinity of the oldjaitu monument we find a hotel in zandjan at 40 km away and spend the rest of the evening strolling through the gigantic bazaar"

b="en_2010_12" p="62" v="on the street now: hundreds of honking cars and semitrucks each try independently of any traffic rules to go their very own ways packed motorbikes cruise in between the cars: in front usually young men wearing tight jeans short tshirts and the latest trends in american haircuts often young women completely wrapped in black shawls cling to them holding on to their "protectors" with just one hand since they need the other one keep their veil from sliding our car is rumbling through a pothole for lack of a seatbelt my head bumps against the roof of the car my headscarf which i can’t manage at all yet slides down to my shoulders in panic i pull it up again and hide my unislamic hair in the meantime we have reached the freeway it is noticeably more quiet and less busy allowing us to enjoy the magic scenery i don’t know where to look at first this wild jagged scenery of mountains and plateaus is fascinating we drive past centuries old adobe ghost towns and prairie dogs playing at the roadside to ab garm (ca 110 km south west of qazwin) at the outskirts of this tiny hamlet are two tomb towers (occupants unknown) perfect masterpieces"

b="en_2010_12" p="62" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="63" v="roof having been razed everywhere on the road men are throwing stones which are then piled into little towers by others this appears to be a sign of respect for the dead here asked by our driver the police officer tells us that all 5 passengers in the taxi have died in the accident we are deeply shocked and spend the rest of the drive to takhte suleimann in silence takhte suleiman is the only remaining one of formerly 3 sassanid fire sanctuaries on the relics of this fire sanctuary the mongolians constructed a palace hence the archeologists found wall relics from two epochs on top of each other since this excavation site tickles ernst’s archeological interest a lot we spend several hours here running around in the giant space and admiring the lake rich in minerals which rests between all those old walls the sediment deposits make the banks of the sea look like a giant sliced layer cake then we drive 3 km to zande suleiman this is another lake that used to be rich in minerals but is now dried up over the course of the millennia its banks have grown more than 100m in the sky now forming a crater around the disappeared lake when it still held"

b="en_2010_12" p="63" v="sunday april 27 2008 zandjan takhte suleiman marageh at 6:30 am we are on the go again at a beautiful sunrise we leave zandjan going west hoping to reach the fire sanctuary in takhte suleiman at around 10 am with hair and scarf being tousled by the headwind we discover more of the fascinating iranian landscape giant crimson sand dunes tower to our right while endless green hills stretch out to our right these hills are sprinkled all over with tiny purple flowers through our open windows we can hear the twittering of iranian birds unfamiliar to us mountains emerge in the background with their gently descending slopes looking like giant chinese sharpei dogs lying down every once in a while an ancient iranian adobe village cuddles up to one of those mountain folds the "sharpei dog mountains” change their color according to the light ranging from grayish green to turquoise i get goose bumps from so much natural beauty but at the next turn we view something horrible: a taxi completely slid underneath a semi with its whole"

b="en_2010_12" p="64" v="stone relics of the temples are visible even today the hike up the cone is"

b="en_2010_12" p="64" v="water the lake was declared a water sanctuary around this cone the"

b="en_2010_12" p="64" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="65" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="65" v="up here is absolutely worth it: a truly unique spot the remaining drive"

b="en_2010_12" p="65" v="very strenuous and calls for mountain goatlike skills but the view from"

b="en_2010_12" p="66" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="67" v="overdone blue pomp while standing in the mausoleum which connects to the main prayer room we are suddenly surrounded by a crowd of female students they are wearing iranian school uniforms and are at most 13 years old they keep staring at ernst and me chatting chuckling and pushing each other our way until one of the girls finally ventures to interview us in english where are we from why did we travel to iran do we like it here she translates our answers for her curious classmates immediately when i answer her last question in farsi saying that i think iran is very beautiful it creates a real havoc: they all want to have their pictures taken with ernst and me there is a big scrimmage as each girl wants to have the first picture of the blond foreigner whose hair keeps poking out from under the headscarf the really daring ones even put their arms around me during the photo session but none of the girls dares to do that with ernst at first i am very embarrassed i could swear that my face turns crimson but when i realize how much fun the girls are having with this i play along exhilarated by this positive encounter with the geniality of the iranians we then stroll through the tabriz bazaar"

b="en_2010_12" p="67" v="to maragheh is very exhausting: it is brooding hot the road is packed and the road signs more than scarce when we arrive at around 6pm i am too worn out to really take in and appreciate the fascinating tomb towers (gonbade sokh and gonbade qabus) i just want a shower and a bed monday april 28 2008 maragheh tabriz after a restful night at a great hotel and a pretty uneventful drive we reach tabriz about 120 km north of maragheh at around 11 am first we look for a hotel then because of the catastrophic parking situation we take a cab to downtown tabriz we first visit the blue mosque (masdjede kabud) this 15th century building now a museum owes its name to its bright blue tile decoration which was almost completely destroyed with the building in a 1779 earthquake but has been partially restored since the beginning of restoration work in 1973 but in many sections of the mosque "only" the brick architecture underneath the tiles immensely beautiful and precise was restored ernst and i almost like it better than the overdone"

b="en_2010_12" p="68" v="the hotel we visit the arg (iranian: fortress) of tabriz the remains of a giant brick building can be found at the site where in the 4th century the largest mosque known at that time was built: (mosque of ali schah) even though just a single wall remains of the original building one can sense what a monumental building of almost megalomaniac proportions it must have been filled to capacity with new impressions and delicious freshly squeezed melon juice we then return to our „hotel" tuesday april 29 2008 tabriz ev oghli bastam orumiyeh saqqez today we’re off to an early start since we got a long trip ahead of us we drive around about 200 north east until we reach bastam situated right at the turkish border at 10:30 am on the way there we try unfortunately without success to discover a uratean fortress but bastam totally makes up for that first disappointment of the day it is here on a mountain ridge that we find a uratrean fortress built in 700 bce urateans preferred strategic sites like this one which allowed them a very far sight all around leading to an early discovery"

b="en_2010_12" p="68" v="bazaar we also visit the friday mosque situated right in the middle of this bazaar built in seldschukian time it has been destroyed by earthquakes and rebuilt many times only the columns date back to original building i am only allowed to enter the separated and visibly smaller women's section afterwards it is on to the bazaar again when we enter the spice hall we are hit not only by the loud calls of the puffers but also by intense aromas of spices from all over the world and by a blaze of colors piled up into pyramids in giant striped redyellow cotton sacks read and green curry competes with pepper in various hues and with herbs for many different uses next to those giant sacks tiny glass vials containing 23g of real saffron are arranged on a little table the next booth offers 10 different kinds of pistachos the adjacent booth offers dried fruit galore including the delicious lavashak a persian specialty consisting of a dried plum paste pressed into sheets a popular travel snack for iranians our driver barters with the merchants in due iranian fashion after they have reached their agreement we leave with a giant bag of lavashak dried apricots and dates before driving back to"

b="en_2010_12" p="68" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="69" v="continuing to saqqez we cross the border into „wild kurdistan" referred to derisively as „texas of iran" by our driver since this province is one oft he big drug traffic regions of iran he points out the high police density in this area; we pass a checkpoint at about every 5 km on one hand that provides some safety on the other hand the sight of heavily armed police is not exactly encouraging trust in local manners here wednesday april 30 2008 saqqez kermanshah after a very long and restful night in saqqez we leave at 8:30 am we have to go about 300 km south during the drive i try to decode the honking language of the iranians the general rule is: honking is done always and everywheresometimes for no reason and often it is not clear who is being honked to but there are at least three kinds of honking (this much i have been able to figure out so far) with an unambiguous message each: honking once and briefly: „hey thanks cool of you to let me pass" usage: mainly after successful overtaking maneuvers in which the person overtaken has passed to the"

b="en_2010_12" p="69" v="discovery of potential enemies we slowly climb the mountain until we have reached the fortress there are signs of settlements all over the mountain: remains of walls and water pipes as well as clay shards galore but the fortress itself is the most impressive sight by far 2700 years ago the urateans cut the floors and wall foundations of their fortress right into the rock 2700 years ago clay and quarry stone built on the foundations of ca50 m completed the walls the view from up here is phenomenal too especially since the growth pattern of grass and grain in the valley makes the structure of the former settlement visible even today i am deeply impressed we spend almost all of the remaining day in the car until we reach saqqez a good 425km south of bastam we do stop for a coffee break at lake orumiyeh it is a gigantic salt lake almost 10 times the size of lake constance but due to its 30% salt content lifeless and unpopulated what puts a damp on the unique landscape of iran with all ist wonders and what shocks us anew every are the garbage heaps all over the country anywhere you look somebody has dumped plastic bags old clothes or construction debris"

b="en_2010_12" p="70" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="70" v="everywhere because honking is the favourite hobby of a driving iranian … by the time we have reached kermanshah have moved into a hotel and have had some food it is half past four already too late to go bisotun as planned spontaneously postponing the trip until tomorrow we drive to taqhebostan (literally: arcs of antiquity) 5 km north east of kermanshah they are beautiful reliefs from the 47th century ce cut in the backsides of two grottos they have been executed extremely well and since they are pretty much outdoors"

b="en_2010_12" p="70" v="side on time repeated honking: dear cow (or: sheep donkey goat dog or person ) you are in my way off the road or i’m gonna flatten you" usage: any time a creature dares to interrupt the drive of an iranian as attested by lots of roadside kill the threat is often followed through with sadly continuous honking: „get out sunday driver here i come i am faster than you and just so you know as a matter of principle i never break or yield "usage”: always and everywhere"

b="en_2010_12" p="70" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="71" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="72" v="day’s plans before going to bed thursday may 1st 2008 kermanshah bisotun sare pole zohab qasre shirin kermanshah"

b="en_2010_12" p="72" v="outdoors it makes the fact that they have made it through the past 1500 years so well laughing at wind and weathereven more impressive since there is a sudden thunderstorm we quickly return to the hotel as every evening we talk about the following"

b="en_2010_12" p="72" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="73" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="73" v="mountain respectively the surrounding area is a site of historical significance since it was located directly at the main traffic artery from the mediterranean sea to china therefore in 520 bce darius i the third great achamenid ruler had a rock relief"

b="en_2010_12" p="73" v="early that morning we are jetting to bisotun that little town is located about 30km east of kermanshah and displays traces of settlements dating back as far as 40000 bce a unique feature of this location is the socalled "mountain of the gods" this"

b="en_2010_12" p="74" v="constitutes a milestone since it contains besides the graphical images a trilingual inscription in old persian elamic and neobabylonian it tells the"

b="en_2010_12" p="74" v="meant to demonstrate the legitimacy of his rule to all passersby placed exactly here from a historiographical point of view this relief constitutes"

b="en_2010_12" p="74" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="75" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="75" v="inscription that first enabled european to decipher cuneiform inscription leading to a much more comprehensive understanding of the cultures of"

b="en_2010_12" p="75" v="same story of darius i defeating his domestic enemies and subsequently mounting achamenid throne as the legitimate ruler it was this trilingual"

b="en_2010_12" p="76" v="above all walking paths so that we can only admire them from afar in spite of the glaring heat which is especially tough for me under my black shawl we decide to go another 30km west to qasre shirin that town situated directly at the iraqi border attracts us because of its sassanid fire temple and the palace"

b="en_2010_12" p="76" v="that time in addition to the dariusrelief cut into the rock at a height of about 60 meters numerous other rock reliefs from many different settlement epochs; as well as a safawidic bridge can be found at bisotun much to our dismay documentation of this immensely significant site is very flawed the fact that bisotun is a part of the unesco world cultural heritage increases our frustration about a lack of people taking care of the site in addition we are confronted with the same phenomenon that we had already encountered in sultaniyeh: restoration work has been started in every corner but nothing has been completed disillusioned we get on our way reaching sare pole zohab at around 2pm it is situated about 250km west of kermanshah and is the site of the oldest remaining rock reliefs of iran four lulluba reliefs from the second millennium bce but like other places sare pole zohab lacks any signposts or documentation without our driver who contrary to old clichés about men is asking for directions everywhere we probably wouldn’t have found the reliefs even for the trained eye they are hard to notice since they are very weatherbeaten in parts and situated high"

b="en_2010_12" p="76" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="77" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="77" v="displayed as monuments from the iranian iraqi war not exactly lightening up the atmosphere since only few wall relics remain of both temple and palace and there is once again no floor plan helping us out to fill in the blanks we soon get on the long way back to kermanshah where we fall into our beds as flat as three bike"

b="en_2010_12" p="77" v="of khosrow ii (ca 600 ce) within the range of those 30km the countryside changes dramatically the area around qasre shirinis completely dried up; with giant thistles and palm trees growing as lonely desert dwellers a ghostly silence permeates the city itself with giant military barracks and burnt out tanks"

b="en_2010_12" p="78" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="78" v="it is still closed giving us time for a classic coffee break improvised on the hood of the trunk when the site opens half an hour later we don’t remain the only visitors for a long time: very quickly we are joined by 34 iranian families starting their friday holiday trip with a little bit of regional history the ruin of the zoroastrian goddess temple is gigantic wall remains enclose an area of 220 x 210 meters the iranian archaeologists have rebuilt some of the original"

b="en_2010_12" p="78" v="tires hoping to start fresh and wellrested tomorrow friday may 2 2008 kermanshah kangavar hamadan borudjerd at around 7am we are off to kangavar 90 km east of kermanshah we want to visit the ruin of a parthian anahita temple from the second century bce when (thanks to road signs) we reach the site at 8 30 am"

b="en_2010_12" p="78" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="79" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="79" v="rundown steeland brick constructions abound and have fallen victim to the attempt of spicing them up by garish neon ads garbage is everywhere on the streets the multitude of cars tearing through the city with loud honks have never even heard of fine particle filters and bestow a haze dome on their surroundings but here too like many times on this trip real treasures are hiding in the second and third row of houses we first visit gonbade alavian this"

b="en_2010_12" p="79" v="original stairs and columns (all onepiece masterpieces in granite) unfortunately our imagination is taxed once again: there is no floor on site or in our guidebook nonetheless i am impressed anew by the skills of stone masons architects and craftsmen of 2000 years ago after duly having admired the site we go some100 km northwest to the city of hamadan at a height of 1800 m like all modern cities we have seen so far hamadan is not exactly beautiful: cheap"

b="en_2010_12" p="80" v="visitor by its immense playfulness a group of young iranians flooding the tower by numbers and by noise makes us leave sooner than planned we quickly reach the ekbatana excavation site ekbatan also called haqmatana was once the capital of the meders (715550 bce) the hill"

b="en_2010_12" p="80" v="funerary tower dates back to seldjukian times (ca 1100 ce) but this is only attested by the tomb room itself situated underground beneath a beautiful groined vault interior and exterior decoration dates back to the time of iikhanide settlement (ca 14 century ce) and overwhelms the"

b="en_2010_12" p="80" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="81" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="81" v="student groups are having a tour this time only boys between the ages of 8 and 11 after a while i notice that whenever i bend over a glass case a semicircle of boys is starting to form around me while one boy sneaks to the other side pretending to take a picture of the displays but at the"

b="en_2010_12" p="81" v="on which the city once stood is part of the modern metropolis and has been slowly uncovered by archaeologists since 1995 a great museum with finds from this area as well as two completely excavated settlements protected by roofs has been opened for visitors at the museum some"

b="en_2010_12" p="82" v="after an earthquakefree night sleepless nonetheless thanks to the wornout mattresses which acquainted"

b="en_2010_12" p="82" v="last moment he quickly raises his camera to shoot a picture of the blond foreign woman surrounded by his buddies this procedure makes me smile until i realize that it is also one of the expressions of the iranian understanding of the relationship between men and women in the afternoon we visit the mausoleum of esther and mordechai an important memorial site to the dwindling jewish community of iran the mausoleum is 2500 years old the brick dome only dates back to the 14the century in the interior are two sarcophagi incredibly artfully and beautifully carved from indian ivory very impressed we leave hamadan going south not without having given a glance at the very elegant and modern funerary monument of the famous doctor and philosopher abu ali sina (avicenna) erected anew in 1952 in his honor we stay over night in borudjerd where we hear that there was an earthquake last night saturday may 3 2008 borudjerd khorramabad pole dokhtar andimeshk dezful"

b="en_2010_12" p="82" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="83" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="83" v="kermanshah an incredible fortress is waiting for us originally built by the sassanids it has remained in use"

b="en_2010_12" p="83" v="acquainted my tailbone with the floor we quickly depart for khorramabad in that city some 450 km south of kermanshah"

b="en_2010_12" p="84" v="this nice gesture of welcome but it’s going to get even better: amidst lots of laughter our driver translates the parts of the conversation that i didn’t understand apparently the two women congratulated him on his beautiful wife (to be considered goodlooking in an iranian outfit is a compliment that goes down your back like hone) a misunderstanding that he hastened to clear up and that he was clearly embarrassed about: after all i am only 4 years older than his daughter still chuckling we get into our car again and go looking for the sassanid bridge of whose original 27 arches only 5 are said to remain since we don’t know our way around in khorramabad and the missing signs as well as the complicated oneway system of the city put us in a difficult starting position it takes us a long time to find this impressive example of sassanid architecture when we have finally found it we behold a gigantic ruin rising out of a green riverbank this would be a fairytale view if it hadn’t been "blessed” with household garbage and other junk since the heat is conducive to a quick expansion of a bad odor and it is not much fun to wallow in dirt we leave this sad testimony of negligence of this beautiful"

b="en_2010_12" p="84" v="for many centuries and has therefore been maintained well throughout this makes the fortress falak aflak the only historical site in iran that we "get to know” in a really good condition furthermore this fortress has been set up in a very loving way surrounded by a beautiful rose squeaky clean and perfectly decorated we are very impressed the walls of the fortress also house a museum documenting the ethnic history of this area and displaying beautiful lure bronze sculptures afterwards we visit a traditional persian tea house its big padded seating areas and swaths of shisha exuding an almost medieval flair strengthened by tea and coffee we saunter downhill observing two young iranian women cutting roses from the bushes on the slope we don’t know that we are being observed in turn: we have hardly reached the foot of the hill when we see them walking towards us they address our driver the three of them converse for a while at the end of the conversation the young women press the freshly cut roses into ernst’s and my arms and walk away while they are getting further and further away from us they turn around a few times beaming at us i am happy about"

b="en_2010_12" p="84" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="85" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="85" v="pole dokhtar i am so worn out by the heat drying us up in the driedlandscape that i barely can take in any impressions my goodness i am so relieved when i finally get to have a cold shower at our clean () hotel room in dezful to be continued in the next issue"

b="en_2010_12" p="85" v="beautiful country and tear through another breathtakingly beautiful landscape 55km west via sarab to another sassanid bridge the pole kashkanrud (persian: bridge over the kashkan river) originally had 13 arches and was approximately 20m high after having paid our respect to this old masterpiece we have to tend to a very modern need for a snack so we have a leisurely picnic with bread cheese and watermelon in the "city park” of sarab danreh freshly fed we move on to the next bridge: pole dokhtar on the way there we chance upon another bridge in brief: mamulan the arches of this bridge are very impressive cut into rock on both banks of the river this unexpected meeting which no guidebook had prepared us for constitutes another highlight of our day when after a long and slow drive behind dozens of trucks creeping up and down serpentines in the glaring sun we finally reach"

b="en_2010_12" p="86" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="86" v="two vegetarian recipes"

b="en_2010_12" p="86" v="in this edition we would like to show you how you can prepare the two most important and popular vegetarian dishes with eggplant they are called mirza qasemi and kashke bademjan"

b="en_2010_12" p="86" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="87" v="mirza qasemi"

b="en_2010_12" p="87" v="pepper and tomato puree stirring frequently fry until the water is completely evaporated add salt and pepper to the mix then push it to one side of the pan in the other half of the pan scramble eggs mix with the rest serve on a platter"

b="en_2010_12" p="87" v="p r e p a r at i o n grill eggplant until they are done on the inside peel remove heads and chop by hand or in the chopper put tomatoes in boiling water to soften their skin peel them crush garlic and fry in a pan in hot oil until they turn red add eggplant and tomatoes plus a little bit of turmeric pepper"

b="en_2010_12" p="87" v="ingredients for 4 ? 4 big dark eggplants ? 8 cloves of garlic ? 3 tomatoes ? 4 eggs ? 1 tablespoon tomato puree ? olive oil salt pepper red pepper turmeric if needed"

b="en_2010_12" p="88" v="add salt and pepper and stir for 3 minutes using medium heat peel grate and stew garlic also stew chopped peppermint leaves serve eggplant mash on a flat plate garnish with stewed peppermint leaves and garlic as well as chopped walnuts and some kashk"

b="en_2010_12" p="88" v="p r e p a r at i o n slice eggplants horizontally into 4 parts salt them slightly let them drip in a sieve for 1 hour so they lose their bitter components fry them in a pan on both sides chop fried eggplants peel chop and fry onions mix onions well with eggplants and kashk (save some for garnish)"

b="en_2010_12" p="88" v="ingredients for 4 ? 6 mediumsized egg plants ? 250 gr kashk (persian sour cream) ? 2 onions ? 2 clove of garlic ? 1 cup of chopped walnuts ? freshly chopped peppermint leaves ? butterfat for frying salt and pepper as needed"

b="en_2010_12" p="88" v="kashke bademjan"

b="en_2010_12" p="88" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="89" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="90" v=""

b="en_2010_12" p="92" v="cover: fabien dany; p 46: alisamii; p 8: hamed saber; p 10: farrokhi; p 12: arad mojtahedi; p 14: alisamii; p 16: rh_blax; p 17: sorosh; p 18: ninara; p 19: indigoprime; p 20: koohkan; p 21a: seierseier; p 21b: indigoprime; p 22: seier+seier; p 23: martijn munneke; p 2425: hotels offizielle webseite: p 26 wikimedia; p 29: alisamii; p 3034: wikimedia; p 35: hamed; p 36: angel qerquist; p 37a: dynamosquito; p 39c: sheriw; p 40d: marshall astor; p 41: ali samii; p 42c: ali samii; p 42d: hapal; p 43a: kambiz kamrani; p 43b: ali samii; p 43c: nintin badhwar; p 43d: ali samii; p 46: navid k; p 47: mardetanha; p 52ac: alisamii; p 54: picasaweb; p 56: payampak; p 58: qiv; s 61: nomenklatura; p 64: elnaz; p 66: vive le vélo; p 71: ali samii; p 74: dynamosquito; p 77: enis&matthias; p 78: philippe chavin; p 79: philippe chavin; p 80: nick taylor; p 90: amir sardari"

b="en_2010_12" p="92" v="prsia emagazine is an independent online magazine and invites all readers to participate in this magazine with their contributions reviews and photographs media statement"

b="en_2010_12" p="92" v="imprint persia emagazine friedrichstr 23 60323 frankfurt am main germany tel: +49 69 98667526 fax: +49 69 98667527 info@persiaemagazinecom wwwpersiaemagazinecom publishing & editorial hamid farroukh phd taxno: 01281602826 final editing diplomsprachenlehrerin luzia farroukh translations beate damm phd layout & media editor nader garshasebi architect advertisements see"

b="en_2010_12" p="92" v="emagazine"

b="en_2010_12" p="92" v=""