Iran

2006-06-24T05:41:00.001-07:00

World Cup 2006
Are you fond of football? Has your country taken part in this World Cup?
What's your favorite team?
What do you think about the result of this World Cup?
Which team will win?
It's a difficult job to guess which team will win because the matches and the gained results are unexpected but I guess that Brazil will win the golden Cup since it's the
Best team with the highest technique in the world. I enjoy watching Brazil matches.
In my opinion Argentina, Spain, Germany, Italy, Suede, England and Portugal are good teams that have played very well and Argentina will be the second, after Brazil
And Germany will be the third.

My exams started with the initiation of these matches and I should study hard but as I've studied my lessons before starting the matches so I could watch most of the matches. I enjoyed Germany-Poland, England- Trinidad, Brazil-Australia, Ghana-Check the most. Ghana played brilliantly and I'm looking for Ghana-Brazil and to see the result.
I got very sad when Iran left the World Cup with one equal score. I think our players didn't play with all their abilities and they depressed Iranian people very much because we have famous players that play in Europe's league. Ali Karimi,
Mehdi Mahdavikia, Vahid Hashemian are the most famous ones. I hope they
Compensate in next Cup in 2010.

2006-06-18T04:29:00.000-07:00

I will greet the sun again;
I will greet the streams which flowed in me;
I will greet the clouds which were
my lengthy thoughts;
I will greet the painful growth of poplars
Which pass through the dry seasons;
I will greet the flocks of crows
Which brought me, as presents,
The sweet smells of the fields at night;
I will greet my mother who lived in the mirror
And was the image of my old age;
And I will also greet the earth whose burning womb
Is filled with, green seeds by the passion she has
for reproducing me.

I will come, I will come,
I will come with my hair,
As the continuation of the smells of the soil;
With my eyes, as the dense experiences of darkness,
Carrying the bushes I have picked in the woodlands
beyond the wall.

I will come, I will come,
I will come and the entrance will be filled with love;
And at the entrance I will greet again
those who are in love,
And also the girl who is still standing
At the entrance in diffusion of love.

Forugh Farrokhzad
( 1933 - 1967 )

This nice poem is for a woman which is one of the most famous poets in "Modern Persain Poerty": Frough Farrokhzad.

She brings the thoughts, feelings and desires of Iranian woman in her excellent poets very well.
Her famous books are "The Captive", "The Wall", "Rebellion", "Born again" and "Let us believe in the beginning of Cold season".

Her first rebellion in the real life was separating from her husband whom she had married at the age of 16 as arranged by her parents. She divorced at the age of nineteen and had a son who was going to live with his father. In a poem she
Says " I know that now a child is crying/ full of sorrow of separation from his mother/
But wounded at heart and distressed, I am on the pass of my desire/ My friend and my beloved is Poetry/ And I go to find it.

Forough departed from Romantic Neoclassicism poets and influenced by "Nima Yushij" succeed to become a modernist poet.
In an interview published in the literary periodical "Arash" she says:
"He [Nima Yushij] was my guide, but I was the maker of myself. I have always relied on my own experiments. I should have discovered how Nima managed to reach his new language and form. If I had not discovered this, I would have come to nothing. I would have become an imitator without consciousness. I should have made my own journey, that is to say I should have lived my life."
"poetry is a serious matter for me. It is a responsibility which I feel I have to my own individuality. It is some sort of answer which I should give to my life."

2006-05-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

photoes of Shajarian's concert for Bam (performed in Tehran)

A SINGER FOR ALL THE SEASON: Mohammadreza Shajarian
Mohammadreza Shajarian is number one in Iranian classical music. His voice
Is wonderful and gives you calmness. Both the music and the songs he chooses for his music are spiritual.
At the moment he lives in Canada and he has a lot of concerts
for Iranian people who live abroad.

Shajarian performed a concert with his all-star group at the Queen Elizabeth hall of the Royal festival hall in London on November 8, 2005.
The royal festival hall announced the concert, saying that ''a breathtaking performance by the living legend of Persian music, Mohammadreza Shajarian (winner of UNESCO's Picasso Award), alongside three of Iran's most celebrated musicians.”

Shajarian's all-star group consist of Hossein Alizadeh, (the tar virtuoso)
Kayhan Kalhor on kamancheh and Shajarian's son, Homayun (on Tombak),who is also a vocalist in the group.
Shajarian has always criticized the Iranian cultural officials for creating a bureaucracy that prevent his group from performing in Iran.

After the Bam earthquake, he performed a fantastic concert in Vahdat Hall in Tehran. About 3000 audience was in that concert. They were very sad for that big disaster and at the same time happy to see their own artist in Iran.
Their performance was very impressionable and much audience was crying.

2006-05-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

AN INTERESTING MEMORY OF MY CHILDHOOD

I was 7 years old and it was my first grade of primary school. I had a very nice teacher named Mrs. Cheraghi (meaning a device like lamp). She was a young middle height woman with hazel eyes and was very affectionate toward students.
She had a 7 years old son whose name was Javid and she always talked about him.
One of my friends Soheila and I really loved her and once decided to go to her house
But we didn't know where she lived so we were looking for an opportunity.

It wad teacher's day. All the students had brought gifts for her. Mrs Cheraghi gathered a lot of presents and we asked her how is she going to carry them and she said: there's
No worry my house is near hear. Soheila's and my eyes shined and we decided to follow her. we went behind her and was careful not to be seen. Fortunately she didn't turn her face so she wasn't aware of being followed by his naughty students.

Actually we get tired as it was a short way for her but not for us but we continued Until she stopped in front of a house in a beautiful alley that had two rows of big trees. The door was dark brown. We hide ourselves till she opened the door. Then very happily we vent home and we were very lucky that didn't get lost.

Months passed and Mrs Cheraghi didn't come to school for some days. We were worried for her and after a lot of searching we found out that she had just
Delivered a baby and during those months we hadn't noticed that she'd been
Pregnant. She'd given birth to a boy (I can't remember his name).

Soheila and I talked each other and decided to meet her. One day after school we went to her house. We liked to buy a bunch of flower for her but nor Soheila neither me had money. When we reached the alley our hearts were biting fast. we went toward her house but there were two or three dark brown door and we didn't know which
Was hers. We asked a neighbor and he showed us her house.

We knocked down the door and somebody (I can't remember who) opened the door
And asked who we were. We said: we're Mrs. Cheraghi's students. He or she guide us to her room. We knocked the door and she opened the door while she was suckling
Her baby. She was shocked to see us and invited us to her room. We said we missed you and wanted to see you and she asked how we knew the address and when we
Explained to her she laughed and asked us not to do that anymore and said you might lost. she brought us something to eat and let us play with her infant. We were extremely happy. After an hour we left her house and run toward our house.

After finishing primary school, I didn't see Mrs.Cheraghi any more. My friend, Soheila also moved away and I don't know about her. This memory was for 14 years ago and now Javid is 21 and that infant is 14 years old. The thing that caused me to
Write this memory was last night's dream. In my dream I saw Soheila's mother and asked her about Soheila and she said she's married.
I don't know where Mrs. Cheraghi, her children and Soheila are now but I hope a happy life for them.

2006-05-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

IT IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD!

I can't believe it!

DEZFUL BRIDGE is 1700 years old and was built by roman slaves during sasanian

times. The materials used for making this bridge are: clay, milk, hair of goat and

lime.The special thing about this materials is that they become stronger as

they are touched with water. It's the only one in its kind that carries light and semi_

heavy vehicles.

Dezful is a city in Khuzestan in southwestern of Iran. The name dezful consists of

"dej" + "pol" meaning "barracks" and "bridge". During history the word "dej"

changed to ''dez''. It's believed that ''dej'' was a castle (barracks) which would

protect the bridge across the dez river. There isn't any left from the castle.

Dezful Bridge lies on the left bank of dez river.

The cultural heritage organization of Khuzestan has decided to renovate it this year.

2006-05-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

let's go around Asia
Great civilization, adventure, history of mankind, mysterious nature and friendly people are the things that come to my mind when I hear the word "Asia". In my opinion it's the most exciting continent in the world as I'm a history lover.
Actually there are many interesting countries in Asia that worth visiting.
CHINA: TRADITION AND HISTRY
I like traveling around this ancient continent and if there was any chance for me
to do that my first choice would be China. I'm very interested to see The Great Wall of China from near as it's marvelous. Chinese temples have really unique architectures. Temple of heaven is really beautiful.
Summer palace in Beijing(the capital of China) with mountains, a lake and a temple is breathtaking.
HONG KONG:
Another beautiful country that was once a part of China and recently was separated
is Hong Kong. It's a fabulous country with lots of sky scrapers that some are the most beautiful in the world.

In Aberdeen (a town in Lantea island) you can have a boat trip and eat in the
swimming restaurants called "Jumbos". Throughout Lantea island beautiful scenery
and famous historical places are seen. One of the well known towns in this island
is "Tai O" and it's a fishing harbor. Nature lovers and hikers would love this island
since it's a place for hiking, camping, swimming and fishing. Tai O is called "the
Venice of the Orient"78.4 km square of the island is a park named "wild countryside
Park" and most tourists enjoy it.

ISTANBUL: A MIXTURE OF HISTORIES, RELIGIONS AND CULTURES

Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey, is the only city in the world that bridges two
Continents (Asia and Europe). It's the largest city in turkey and most of the population
are Muslim.
Istanbul is a collection of mosques and palaces. The diverse architectures of mosques are very striking. Blue mosque (built in 17th century) is really some thing.
Dombach palace (built in 1848) is in the European side of bosphorus strait.son of Mahmut the second wanted his residence to be like European palaces.
Halls decorated with nice vases, crystal glass of Venice for stairs, silver and crystal chandeliers, silk curtains and carpets and paintings of "Aiwazowsky" show the
European style of this palace. Topkapi palace, Sergalia palace and Hagia Sophia are
other interesting palaces.
Among the towers Lenders tower is something else. Lenders tower (Maiden's tower)
is on a tiny island at the entrance of Bosphorus. According to a legend, there was a
Prophesy that a sultan's daughter would die from the poison of a serpent so he built this tower in the water to protect his daughter. It's said that eventually she was bitten
by a serpent.

2006-04-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

ALISADR CAVE: The largest cave in the world that contains water.

Alisadr cave which is the largest cave in the world that contains water and offers
Canoes to its visitors, is in Hamadan in Iran. It's located in the hills of Alisadr villige.
It's 75km and is in the north of Hamadan. After one cave in the United states
it's the largest cave in the world. But the one in the U.S dose not have water.
It was inaugurated in 1967. There are two other caves in that hills named soo bashi and sarab and Alisadr takes its water from sarab.
There are small spaces like saloon that are connected to each other. The water is very cold, clear, odorless colorless and with ordinary taste but unfortunately polluted.
The cave is under calcium bicarbonate group and the ceiling is from calcium
Carbonat and other chemical compounds. The air in the cave is light.
Until now many canals have not discovered yet and just 2/100m is recognized.
The hight of the ceiling is 1/35m and the width of the canals are 2 to15m
And the depth of the water is 1 to 17m.
It is a very nice cave that worth visiting .canoes help you to enjoy the cave( four
People in one canoe)

2006-04-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

NOWRUZ: AN ANCIENT CELEBRATION

Making a web log wasn't so difficult for me. The only problem was that the web log address wasn't acceptable for more than 20 times. I asked my nephew to help me
But he couldn't then I asked Dr Marandy, my professor and she helped me kindly.
It's a new experience for me and I love it. I'm going to introduce my hometown to the world. I love to communicate to the world in this way.
Thanks to my professor.
NOWRUZ CELEBRATION
Nowruz (meaning new day, it's the first day of New Year) is a national celebration which is very dear for Iranian people. Our ancestors in thousand years ago would observe this celebration so it's an ancient custom among Iranian people. Nowruz is also observed in Countries like Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan and so on.
Nowruz is sacred because we believe that God created the universe in Nowruz and also our first Imam, Imam Ali, (peace be upon him) was born in this day.
Nowruz holiday lasts for 13 days and it's the longest holiday in Iran. It's in the spring
So every where is green and the blossoms are out and beauty of nature accompany
With the pleasure of people.
NEY YEAR EVE
On the eve of New year families get together to celebrate the rebirth of nature. everyone wears their best clothes and they sit around Haft seen table, talk to each other and wait for the moment of changing the year. They eat sweets, fruits and nuts.
The special meal for this night is rice, fish and vegetables.
At the exact moment of changing the year (called tahvilesal)
The members of the family kiss each other, congratulate the New Year and hope a
Successful year for one another. They also read Koran and thank God that they are near their family. There's a special pray for tahvilesal that means: Our lord please change our feelings to the best and purest feelings. Parents give presents to their children. People also make wishes and hope that their wishes will come true. People send SMS to each other and congratulate the New Year.
In the New Year every body's very happy and friendly.
During Nowruz a lot of tourists come to Iran and go to different cities. People are very friendly to them and help them to have a great time in Nowruz. Since hotels
Fill up quickly, tourists should reserve them in advance. They can reserve them by internet.
HAFT SEEN

Haft seen means seven "S" sounds. It's consists of seven things starting with "S" sound: Sib (apple), Serkeh (vinegar), Sekkeh (coin), Somagh, Samanoo, Sabzeh (sprout), Sir (garlic). There's also a small tank of golden fish on haft seen table. Each of these items is symbol of some thing for instance coin is symbol of money and sprout is symbol of life and liveliness.
During Nowruz people visit their relatives and give presents to them. Most families go on vacations around the country or prefer to go to other countries. People mostly go to the north of Iran to cities like Ramsar, Sary, masooleh, etc which are very beautiful or they go to Kish Island in the south. Kish is the most beautiful island
In our country and you can buy imported goods in low prices. Many people go to holy shine of Imam Reza (peace be upon him) in Mashhad.

SIZDEH BE DAR:On the 13th of Farvardin (Farvardin is the first month of spring) families go to the nature. They take food, fruits and nuts and eat out. In this day all the parks and green
Spaces are packed with people. The history of this day goes back to the superstition that figure 13 is evil and in the 13th of spring you should go to the nature and throw the evil out of your house. People who don't believe in this superstition go out to
See the blossoms on the trees and fresh grasses on the ground.
CHAHAR SHANBEH SOORI
The last Wednesday of the year called chahar shanbeh soori. On Tuesday evening lots of youngsters and mostly teenagers make a fire and jump over it. That's a very exiting job. They say to the fire: your red color is from me and my yellow color is from you.
That night is as light as a day.you can see fireworks every where.
BEFORE NOWRUZ

About a month before Nowruz the whole country get ready for it. They clean their house: wash carpets, wipe the walls and clean or change their furniture. They go shopping and buy new clothes. Every Nowruz the fashion changes and the young people fallow the new fashion.
MY EXPERIENCE OF NOWRUZ 1385(2006)
The moment I'm writing this issue is Nowruz in my country. Today is the 6th of
Farvardin and I have a great time. It is holiday and I don't go to university so I
Have a lot of free time to see my relatives, to watch movies and to sleep till 9 am.
This year I didn't have the chance to travel but I'm going to travel in the summer.

2006-03-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

TEHRAN A CITY OF TRADITION AND MODERNITY

My name is Farideh Esmaelie. I am studying English Literature at Azzahra
University. I live in Tehran, The capital of Iran. Although there are many tourists who come to Iran, visit this ancient country and enjoy it, there are some people in the world who do not know much about it. Now I intend to tell you about the city I was born in. Tehran is 2300years old. Tehran is 254 square miles. Almost 10million people live in it. It is located nearly in the north of Iran. Damavand, the peak of Alborz ranges is in the north of Tehran. Tehran is various in climates. It is stormy in spring, hot in summer, rainy in autumn and chilly in winter and during the year you can see sunshine every where. The north of Tehran has a fresh temperature because of the lack of air pollution so in the weekend some people prefer to go mountain climbing and jogging in Darakeh and Darband. Jamshidieh is the most famous and beautiful park in the city. It is also in the north. Other parks are mellat, laleh and some others. Tehran has interesting places that worth visiting. Shamsol-emare is historical monument, Saadabad palace where Iran's last king lived there. Darabad and seven plane trees Are museums that have various species of fish, insects, reptiles and mammals. Some of these species are very rare in the world. In anthropology museum you will be acquainted with diverse cultures of different cities in the past. Town of cinema will show you Tehran in the former century. Iran's historical movies are made there. Holy tombs such as shah-Abdul azim and Imamzadeh Saleh are always packed with their lovers. There prayers ask God for their needs and hope that God grant their request. After revolution, Shahyad tower(meaning remind of king) was named liberty tower. Milad tower is going to replace it as it is the tallest in Iran. Important football matches are played in Azadi stadium. It has the capacity of 100 thousands people.
Transportation system in Tehran consists of subway, buses and taxis. Subway has a great role in transportation since it carries millions of passengers every day. Hotels in Tehran are very convenient and many of them are international
So they have all the facilities for tourists. There are both traditional and modern restaurants. In traditional ones named sofreh_khaneh you can try Iranian delicious dishes like kebob and dizy. Sofreh_khaneh has a very warm atmosphere.
There you here Iranian classical music and beds covered with Persian carpet which people sit on them and eat. Modern restaurants have dishes from Italy, Russia, China, India, and Mexico and so on. For buying souvenirs the best place is bazaar.Mehrabad airport is for internal flights and Imam Khomeini airport for external flights so if you fancy to see other cities like Isfahan or Shiraz you ought to fly or you can go by train. Iranian people are friendly, respectful and hospitable toward foreign visitors from any country. I recommend you to backpack around Iran. You will love it. Welcome to Iran.