Amazing photos from Iran

If you want to see some amazing photos from Iran, then click on the link below
Unfortunately, the information about the photographers and the areas are not included

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/73022/

برای دیدن عکسهایی از ایران به آدرس اینترنتی بالا مراجعه کنید

جای اسامی عکاسان و اطلاعات مربوط به عکسها هم خالی

آمدي جانم به قربانت ولي حالا چرا

با تشکر از دوستی گرامی

همیشه دلم میخواست که این شعر را پیدا کنم و بخوانم، ولی هبچ وقت چنین فرصتی دست نداده بود. تا اینکه در جریان مشاعره ای با دوستان اتفاقی به این شعر رسیدیم. دوستی عزیز لطف کردند و این شعر را کامل نوشتند، منم یک کپی اینجا گذاشتم. خوشحالم که یکی از کارهایی که برای فرصتی مناسب گذاشته بودم به سر رسید

آمدي جانم به قربانت ولي حالا چرا ؟

بي وفا حالا كه من افتاده ام از پا چرا ؟

نوشدارويي و بعد از مرگ سهراب آمدي

سنگدل اين زودتر مي خواستي حالا چرا ؟

عمر ما ار مهلت امروز و فرداي تو نيست

من كه يك امروز مهمان توام فردا چرا ؟

نازنينا ما به ناز تو جواني داده ايم

ديگر اكنون با جوانان نازكن با ما چرا ؟

وه كه با اين عمر هاي كوته بي اعتبار

اين همه غافل شدن از چون مني شيدا چرا ؟

آسمان چون جمع مشتاقان ، پريشان مي كند

درشگفتم من نمي پاشد ز هم دنيا چرا ؟

شهريارا بي حبيب خود نمي كردي سفر

راه عشق است اين يكي بي مونس و تنها چرا ؟

استاد شهریار

Mohammad Hossein Behjat-Tabrizi (known by his pen name, Shahryar or Shahriar) a famous Iranian poet, born in Tabriz (1906-1988) , went to Tehran to study medicine. But he fell in love and left his studies about a year before his finals. He failed to be with his love, and his deep, burning love had a great effect on his life and poetry. The above poem is one of his famous love poems 'hala chera' which can be translated as 'why now?', written after a visit by his love after many years. To me the poem is inspired by love and anger and is full of nostalgic feeling. It's one of my favourite persian poetry.

مرغ باغ ملکوتم، نیم از عالم خاک

روزها فکر من اینست و همه شب سخنم

که چرا غافل از احوال دل خویشتنم

از کجا آمده ام، آمدنم بهر چه بود؟

به کجا می روم؟ آخر ننمایی وطنم

مانده ام سخت عجب، کز چه سبب ساخت مرا

یا چه بوده است مراد وی ازین ساختنم

جان که از عالم علوی است، یقین می دانم

رخت خود باز برآنم که همانجا فکنم

مرغ باغ ملکوتم، نیم از عالم خاک

دو سه روزی قفسی ساخته اند از بدنم

ای خوش آنروز که پرواز کنم تا بر دوست

به هوای سر کویش، پر و بالی بزنم

کیست در گوش که او می شنود آوازم؟

یا کدامست سخن می نهد اندر دهنم؟

کیست در دیده که از دیده برون می نگرد؟

یا چه جان است، نگویی، که منش پیرهنم؟

تا به تحقیق مرا منزل و ره ننمایی

یک دم آرام نگیرم، نفسی دم نزنم

می وصلم بچشان، تا در زندان ابد

از سرعربده مستانه به هم در شکنم

من به خود نامدم اینجا، که به خود باز روم

آنکه آورد مرا، باز برد در وطنم

تو مپندار که من شعر به خود می گویم

تا که هشیارم و بیدار، یکی دم نزنم

شمس تبریز، اگر روی به من بنمایی

والله این قالب مردار، به هم در شکنم

مولانا

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mohammed Jalaluddin Balkhi Rumi (known as Maulana which means our lord or our master) was born in 1207 A.D. in Balkh (the north-eastern provinces of Khorasan, which is at present part of Afghanistan). He is the grandson of Jalale-'d-Din Huseyn el Khatibi and Malika'i Jihan - daughter of Khurram-shah King of Khorasan. Escaping the Mongol invasion and destruction, his family traveled extensively, Age 5 him and His family settled in Baghdad.

He is most famous for seven books (six volume didactic epic works and Divan-e-Shams compendium of poetry in praise of Shams in over 45,000 verses in Persian) , and 24,660 couplets, in Persian and some in Arabic.

References:

http://www.spanglefish.com/Maulana/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawl%C4%81n%C4%81

Chaharshanbeh Suri (the festival of fire in the last Tuesday night of the year)

Persian New Year is on its way.

Tonight, the festival of fire (Chaharshanbeh=Wednesday, suri=red) arrives. It's an excuse or reason for celebration and a firework party to get into the New Year’s spirit as tomorrow will be the last Wednesday (Chaharshanbeh) of the year. However, the celebration happens at the night before that (i.e. the last Tuesday night of the year). According to Price (1), Wednesday in Islamic tradition represented a bad omen day with unpleasant consequences. This is contrary to Zoroastrian cosmology where all days were sacred and named after a major deity. By celebrating in this manner Iranians were able to preserve the ancient tradition. The festival is celebrated on Tuesday night to make sure all bad spirits are chased away and Wednesday will pass uneventfully."

Celebrating Chaharshanbeh suri, for a lot of Iranians today, represents efforts to keep their tradition alive; particularly in a society where festivals other than religious ones are considered redundant.

The main ceremonies for this night:

- Jumping over flames: People do that whilst shouting; 'sorkhie tu az man, zardieh man az tu', wishing for the red of fire (representing health) in exchange for their yellow colour (representing illness). In the olden days fire was made in fireplaces also, wishing for the warmth to stay in the house throughout the coming year. The ashes were then scattered in the water, taking away the bad luck. (2)

- ajil moshkel gosha (ajil=mixed nuts, moshkel=problem, ghosha=solving):
People eat mixed nuts and dried fruits, they also offered that to others. Ajil moshgel gosha consists of "pistachios, roasted chic peas, almond, hazelnuts, figs, apricots, and raisins. Local variations apply and the mixture is different according to the location and the group celebrating it."(1)

- ghashogh zani (ghashogh=spoon, zani=banging): People (usually covering their faces) banging on pans with spoons to get rid of bad luck and knocking on doors (somewhat similar to ‘trick or treat’ custom in Halloween) their pans is usually filled with eatables, in particular mixed nuts.

- fal gosh (fal=fortune, gosh=listening): People tend to make a wish, and then stand in the street ear dropping to hear the conversation of passer-bys. If there is anything positive and optimistic in the conversation, they belief that their wish will come true or there is good fortune to be expected. (1)

There are some variations in the way that people celebrate Chaharshanbeh suri locally. In some areas of Iran, for example, people jump over flames with a jug of water and then throw the water in the air, hoping for a prosperous year. (2)

Whether or not you celebrate Persian New Year, have fun today and happy Chaharshanbeh suri!

References:
(1) http://www.iranonline.com/festivals/Chahar-shanbaeh-sori-english/index.html

(2) http://www.mardomak.org/news/chaharshanbe_souri_86/

The Tomb of Kamal-ol-Molk

This is the processed picture that I took last summer from the tomb of Kamal-ol-Molk, a famous Iranian painter (1847-1940).

I was asked to add the original (below). Which one do you prefer?

عکس اولیه (زیر) و بعد از ادیت

Shah Abbas exhibition in London

Picture from my PC', whilst searching for information on this exhibition

Shah Abbas (1571-1629) was one of the rulers of the Persian Empire.

Shah Abbas: The Remaking of Iran, The British Museum, London, February 19 - June 14 2009.

I'd love to see this exhibition; If I managed it, there'll be a more detailed article.

نمایشگاه شاه عباس در لندن

کتاب شعری از احمد شاملو را میخواندم. تصمیم گرفنم که یک نمونه کوتاه از اشعار ایشان را بر روی این صفحه نیز حک کنم. ترجمه انگلیسی پایین هم گرچه شعری متفاوت است، ولی برای دوستانی که با زبان فارسی نا اشتا هستند اضافه شده

تا دست تو را به دست آرم

از کدامین کوه میبایدم گذشت

تا بگذرم

از کدامین صحرا

از کدامین دریا می بایدم گذشت

تا بگذرم

احمد شاملو

Ahmad Shamlu (1925-2000) a Persian poet, writer and journalist.

The Beginning
Untimely in a land unknown at a time yet not arrived. Thus, I was born
within the forest of beast and rock.
My heart
in void
started beating. I abandoned the cradle of reiteration
in a land with no bird, no spring. My first journey was a return

Translation taken from http://shamlu.com/trama.htm

تقويم سال ١٣٨٨ خورشيدى

Use the link below for accessing the New Year Persian calendar.

برای دسترسی به تقویم سال جدید به آدرس اینترنتی زیر مراجعه کنید

http://www.afzoode.com/

Nourouz recognition in Ontario, Canada

This is one of the rare occasions that I haven't been bored listening to speakers in a Parliament.

It's about Nourouz (Persian New year).
It starts in Persian, but the main part is in English

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQbCfelHSxI

Thanks to those who help to introduce Iran and its culture the way that it is.

Persian Ney Year is on its way!

Nourouz (or Persian New Year) is on its way. Iranians have celebrated the arrival of spring as their New Year for many centuries. As far as I know, Nourouz is one of the rare New Years that totally depends on nature and has nothing to do with a specific religion, culture or group. That is why I believe that we could all celebrate it. After all, it is mostly about renewal of life and a new beginning for Mother Nature and all livings.

If you would like to know exactly when Nourouz arrives in your region, use this link and select your region from the drop down menu. The top date and time is when you can join millions of Iranians and other people in the region (like Afghanis and tajiks that celebrate Nourous) to celebrate spring and Nourouz in the northern hemisphere simultaneously. Hope you can join us.

I can’t wait. There are many things that I need to do before Nourouz arrives. The first thing is spring cleaning. I am going to start from the kitchen today and work my way up through the house and hopefully finish in about 10 days. I best leave writing and get on with my cleaning, then.

نوروز در راهه. اگه دوست داشته باشید میتوانید با مراجعه به این آدرس اینترنتی تاریج و ساعت دقیق سال تحویل را در هر کجا که هستید،پیدا کنید. بهتره که من هم بروم و به خانه تکانی برسم که دیر میشود

:)

Pseudo-rock = صخره نما

Torghabeh, Iran

I spotted this creature whilst climbing the rocky mountains of Torghabeh (Khorasan's province, Iran). We originally went there to photograph the ancient carvings on the rocks (to read about our adventure and see my photos visit here). I felt that something moved fast in front of my foot; I quickly took this photo, which turned out blur, but this is my proof of seeing this amazing insect. I'll name it Pseudo-rock. What do you think, have I discovered a new specious or what? :))))

به دنبال سنگ نگاره های مشهور طرقبه (خراسان، ایران) از تپه های اطراف این شهر بالا میرفتیم که حس کردم چیزی سریع از جلوی پام گذشت، ازش عکس گرقتم ، متاسفانه واضح نشده ولی خوب برای ثبت کشف یک گونه جدید بدک هم نیست! حالا از شوخی گذشته این موجود عجیب که با محیطش سازگاری کامل داشت و من اسمش را "صخره نما" گذاشتم چیست؟ کسی میدونه