In the recent years, during winter about 5000 swans migrate from Siberia to the wetlands of the Caspian town of Sorkhroud in northern Iran. The swans return back to Siberia after the the cold season ends. The swans bring life and beauty to the wetlands and attract many visitors. Environmental activists are also busy trying to educate the public to be a good host to their guests!
More beautiful pictures at: Payvand News
WASHINGTON — Alexander Rahbari fondly recalls his last stint conducting the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. It was the fall of 2005, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony was on the card, and the Iranian capital’s Vahdat Hall was packed.
“I conducted Beethoven’s Ninth in Tehran for seven nights. If I said I conducted the Ninth for seven nights in New York or Austria, I would be asked if there was anyone in the audience — after two nights the hall would be empty,” Rahbari said.
“But [in Tehran] it was full — so many people came. Later some newspapers complained that, after returning to Iran after so many years, I conducted the symphony for only seven nights.” […]
In 2012, the funding problems that Rahbari and his successors complained about silenced the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, whose roots dating back to the 1930s made it one of the oldest in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Iran’s National Orchestra, founded by Iranian-born composer and conductor Farhad Fakhreddini in 1998, suffered similar difficulties. Fakhreddini himself resigned in 1999, and the orchestra that performed only classical Iranian music dissolved in October 2012. […]
The election of President Hassan Rohani in 2013 has provided a glimmer of hope for the country’s orchestra scene, however.
“I’m very sorry that the [Tehran] Symphony Orchestra and the National Orchestra have been shut down,” Rohani said in a January 8 speech to artists and cultural figures. “This government will revive them in the coming months.” […]
Iran’s culture minister, Ali Jannati, added to the optimism when he said at the Fajr International Music Festival last week that the government aims to strengthen Music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karun-3_Dam
“The purpose of the dam is for power generation and flood control. The Karun III power generators are connected to the national power network as the peak power generation. With this power plant being operated, with the capacity of 2,280 MW,[4] and an average annual electric power generation of 4,137 GWh, a major portion of the electric power shortage in the country will be met.”
The Iran Job was shortlisted for the German Film Award and will therefore screen at the Berlinale – Feb 13 at 2pm at Zoo Palast 2 – followed by a Q&A.
Source: The Iran Job | E-Mail Campaign
Mashhad International Airport is the country’s second busiest airport only to Tehran Mehrabad Airport.
The airport also houses an overhaul facility for light and heavy aircraft where the specialists are engaged in rebuilding and modernizing the air transportation system of the country.
Source: Payvand News of Iran
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/galleries/middle_east/room_52_ancient_iran.aspx
“Iran was a major centre of ancient culture. It was rich in valuable natural resources, especially metals, and played an important role in the development of ancient Middle Eastern civilisation and trade. Room 52 highlights these ancient interconnections and the rise of distinctive local cultures, such as in Luristan, during the age of migrations after about 1400 BC.”
In 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany and the Soviet Union. The war and the destruction caused by heavy bombardment resulted in the displacement of millions of Polish civilians. Most of them were sent by Joseph Stalin to Russia as prisoners in labor camps in Siberia and other parts of the Soviet Union. It was not until Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 that Stalin freed the Poles and agreed to the creation of a Polish army to fight the Nazis, and that’s when the great journey started. Iran was chosen as the rendezvous point of the now-free Polish prisoners in Russia. […] Every day, more ships came from Russia bringing more Poles to Bandar-e Anzali. Some Poles also entered Iran from the north-eastern city of Mashhad.
The healthy men and women were organized in an army and were sent to join the war effort. The rest were sent to Tehran and Ahvaz. The sick were treated in hospitals in Tehran, and the American and British Red Cross donated clothes and food. Additionally, Polish language classes were established for the kids. The orphans were sent to Isfahan. Ryszard Antolak claimed that Iranian civil authorities and certain private individuals vacated the premises to accommodate the children. Schools, hospitals and social organizations sprang up quickly all over the city to cater to the growing colony. The new Shah took special interest in the Polish children of Isfahan. He allowed them the use of his swimming pool and invited groups of them to his palace for dinner. […]
After the war was over, many Polish men, women, and children who lived in Iran went back home. The Poles who lived in Iran, even for a little while, however, always remember Iran as a great host. As said by Ryszard Antolak, “The deepest imprint of the Polish sojourn in Iran can be found in the memoirs and narratives of those who lived through it. The debt and gratitude felt by the exiles towards their host country echoes warmly throughout all the literature. The kindness and sympathy of the ordinary Iranian population towards the Poles is everywhere spoken of.” In the summer of 2008, the Polish postal service issued a stamp commemorating the role of Isfahan in caring for Polish children. Source: www.mypersianspeakingfriends.org
In all, between 114,000 and 300,000 Poles are thought to have made it to Iran. […] “The friendly Persian people crowded round the buses shouting what must have been words of welcome and pushed gifts of dates, nuts, roasted peas with raisins and juicy pomegranates through the open windows,” wrote Krystyna Skwarko, a schoolteacher who came with her own two sick children to take charge of a growing orphanage in Isfahan. Skwarko’s book, “The Invited,” recounts a journey from Anzali, through Persia and on to New Zealand, where she and 700 orphans were eventually resettled. She died in 1995. More than 13,000 of the arrivals in Iran were children, many orphans whose parents had died on the way. In Russia, starving mothers had pushed their children onto passing trains to Iran in hopes of saving them. Skwarko’s impossible task was to wipe the scars of war from children who had been robbed of their childhood. […] Jewish orphans were cared for by a Jewish organization in Iran and later sent to Israel. Others went on to new lives in the United States, Britain, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and elsewhere. Source: Cornell University Library
Book on this topic: The Children Of Esfahan – Polish Refugees in Iran by Abolqasem Jala
6 Iranian women (Bita, Elham, Mahzad, Setayesh, Simin, Zahra), who are university students majoring in Graphics, did their dissertation by doing a painting on the outside wall of a sports club in Tehran. Here are snapshots of the women at work and their amazing work of art!
check more cool photos:
First snow of the winter season gave a white cover to the caspian coast city of Rasht in northern Iran on Saturday. Rasht is the capital of Gilan Province and the largest city on Iran’s Caspian Sea coast with a population of 551,161 (2006 census). Rasht is a major trade center between Caucasia, Russia and Iran using the port of Bandar-e Anzali. Rasht is also a major tourist center with the resort of Masouleh in the adjacent mountains and the beaches of Caspian as some of the major attractions.
Gilan has a humid Subtropical climate with plenty of annual rainfall, while Rasht is known internationally as the “City of Silver Rains” and within Iran as the “City of Rain”. The Alborz range provides further diversity to the land in addition to the Caspian coasts. Despite of the abundant humidity, Gilan is known for its moderate, mild and Mediterranean-like climate.
More photos: Payvand News of Iran
179 people in 39 groups had registered for the competitions. Among the participating groups, 13 were from other provinces. These groups created many giant snow sculptures which decorated the landscape and captivated the visiting people.
Boroujen is well known by its extremely cold weather, usually mentioned as one of the coldest Iran cities in national weather forecasts. It is located on an altitude of about 2197 meters from sea levels. Its climate is usually combined of moderate summer climates as well as very cold winters. Snow days are normally 122 days per year, and the temperature could reach -27°C. The maximum observed temperature has been 36°C. Average annular precipitation is 243 mm (24% in the spring, 1% in the summer, 33% in the fall, and 44% in the winter).
More photos:
Iran’s Vice President and Head of the Department of Environment Masoumeh Ebtekar has won the Energy Globe Foundation award for her long-term efforts in the field of environment protection.
Wolfgang Neumann, the Austrian founder of the Energy Globe Foundation, took a trip to Iran to present the prize to Ebtekar, who is the first women ever receiving the award.
Some more info about Masoumeh Ebtekar from Wikipedia:
Ebtekar was born in Tehran as Niloufar Ebtekar in a middle-class family. Her first name translates to “Innocent Water Lily” in English. Ebtekar’s father studied at the University of Pennsylvania, and she lived with her parents in Upper Darby of Philadelphia. During her six years in Philadelphia, she developed “near-perfect, American-accented English.”
[…]
Ebtekar has served as faculty member at Tarbiat Modares University, which is a post graduate academic center located in Tehran. As an Associate Professor in Immunology, she has taught, supervised and advised PhD and MSc students. Ebtekar currently teaches cytokines, viral immunology, HIV vaccines, aging, immunology of the nervous system and psychoneuroimmunology. She has currently filed 41 ISI scientific articles in the field of immunology in her name. In her speech to the Eleventh International Congress of Immunology in Tehran, she mentioned the detrimental effect of sanctions on the advancement of science in Iran and noted that sanctions should not be directed against nations. Ebtekar is a member of several research board committees and a reviewer for two international and four national immunology journals.
Check my reply to this post to read my comment.
Check the photos here: Payvand Iran News
Samira Makhmalbaf (Persian: سمیرا مخملباف, Samiraa Makhmalbaaf) (born February 15, 1980,[1] Tehran) is an internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker and script writer. She is the daughter of Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the film director and writer. Samira Makhmalbaf is considered to be one of the most influential directors as part of the Iranian New Wave.
At the age of 17, after directing two video productions, she went on to direct the movie The Apple.
…
Samira Makhmalbaf has been the winner and nominee of numerous awards. She was nominated twice for Golden Palm of Cannes Film Festival for Panj é asr (At Five in the Afternoon) (2003) and Takhté siah (Blackboards) (2001). She won Prix du Jury of Cannes, for both films in 2003 and 2001 respectively. Samira Mohmalbaf also won UNESCO Award of Venice Film Festival in 2002 for 11.09.01 – September 11 and Sutherland Trophy of London Film Festival for The Apple in 1998. In 2003, a panel of critics at the British newspaper The Guardian named Makhmalbaf among the best 40 best directors at work today.[4]
…
More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samira_Makhmalbaf
Abdol Hossein Sardari: Iranian Schindler
An Iranian official risking his life to save Jews? This scenario, while implausible nowadays, actually happened during the Holocaust.
Meet Abdol Hossein Sardari, a diplomat at the Iranian mission in Paris during the 1940s. Known as the “Iranian Schindler,” he helped thousands of Jews escape certain death – by turning the Nazi race ideology on its head. […]
Born into a privileged Iranian family, Sardari was a junior diplomat at the Paris embassy who enjoyed fine dining and the company of pretty women. After the Germans invaded France and the Iranian ambassador left the capital and went to Vichy to reconstitute the embassy there, Sardari was put in charge of consular affairs in Paris. When the Nazis started implementing anti-Jewish decrees in occupied France, Sardari made it his mission to protect his fellow Iranians in the region, regardless of their religion. […]
Writing on the letterhead of the Imperial Consulate of Iran, Sardari tried to convince the authorities that according to “an ethnographic and historical study,” the members of the Jewish communities of Persia and central Asia were not Semitic but rather Aryan, like the Germans themselves. […]
Sardari’s plan actually worked. When Jews were forced to wear the yellow Star of David, a directive was issued that Iranian Jews should be exempt. In addition, Sardari gave out between 500 and 1,000 Iranian passports, without the consent of his superiors. This saved 2,000 to 3,000 Jewish lives, as passports were issued for entire families.
Sardari never took any credit for what he did. When Yad Vashem asked him in 1978, three years before he died a poor exile in London, about his wartime activities, he responded: “As you may know, I had the pleasure of being the Iranian consul in Paris during the German occupation of France, and as such it was my duty to save all Iranians, including Iranian Jews.”
The Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and other Jewish institutions have posthumously honored Sardari for his actions.
Read more: Beating the Nazis at their own game | The Times of Israel
The BBC adds:
When Britain and Russia invaded Iran in September 1941, Sardari’s humanitarian task become more perilous. Iran signed a treaty with the Allies and Sardari was ordered by Tehran to return home as soon as possible. But despite being stripped of his diplomatic immunity and status, Sardari resolved to remain in France and carry on helping the Iranian Jews, at considerable risk to his own safety, using money from his inheritance to keep his office going. […]
Fariborz Mokhtari, the author of “In the Lion’s Shadow: The Iranian Schindler and his homeland in the Second World War,” a new biography about Sardari states:
“Here you have a Muslim Iranian who goes out of his way, risks his life, certainly risks his career and property and everything else, to save fellow Iranians,” he says. “There is no distinction ‘I am Muslim, he is Jew’ or whatever.”
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16190541
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/e4f47a04-6972-11e3-89ce-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2plOF8yt7
“Thirty-five years after it dropped off the tourist map, Iran may be set to return to the top of “must-visit” lists for 2014. Its attractions have never been in doubt – from ski resorts to beaches, stunning Islamic architecture, ancient archaeological sites and superb food…”one of the things our clients tell us they enjoy most is the friendliness and welcome provided by the locals.””
Amir Kabir dam, also known as Karaj dam, is a dam in Iran, located 63 kilometres (39 mi) northwest of Tehran and 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of Karaj. Amir kabir Dam was constructed on the Karaj River, and was the first multi-purpose dam in Iran.
Ref: Wikipedia
“Caspian Sea, the largest landlocked lake in the world, is located in northern Iran. The Iranian Caspian coast including the three littoral provinces of Gilan, Golestan and Mazandaran, with its thick forests and large-scale rice paddies presents a striking contrast to the dry inner plateau of Iran.
A four-hour drive from Tehran, the Caspian is Iran’s Riviera, with a narrow plain of paddyfields and orchards separating the sea from forested mountains where bears and leopards roam around ruined Mongol castles.”
Also: Wikipedia | Caspian Sea
http://www.payvand.com/news/13/dec/1175.html
“Pouya Idani of Iran won the World Youth Chess Championship 2013 held in Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. ”
Also: “Pouya Idani grabs the trophy in Khazar Open 2012”
http://www.chessdom.com/pouya-idani-grabs-the-trophy-in-khazar-open-2012/
“Now, when I go over my memories of that exceptional trip after having stayed in Iran for a few days, I see that the most prominent part of those memories is warm and honest treatment as well as the hospitality of the Iranian people. Everybody there hails you with a polite smile. I, having been born in a country where respectful treatment of others is of high importance, was in a good position to appreciate the respectful treatment of the Iranian people.
What I saw from the Iranian people during my short trip [to that country] was that they are always serene, well-mannered, and ready to offer all kinds of assistance and cooperation. I wondered why I didn’t know anything about the good and well-mannered people of Iran, who are very cultured and take pride in their culture and arts, before this trip?” –Noriko Ogawa
Noriko Ogawa is a Japanese pianist that traveled to Iran on an invitation extended to her by the Japanese Embassy in Tehran. She had musical performances in the cities of Tehran and Shiraz.
Read more at Payvand | Concert in Tehran: Iran from Viewpoint of a Japanese Pianist
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alborz
“Alborz (
listen (help·info) Persian: البرز), also written as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.[1] The highest mountain in West Asia, Mount Damavand, Amol, Mazandaran is located in the range.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elburz_Range_forest_steppe
“Elevations typically range from 2,000 to 4,000 metres (6,600 to 13,000 ft), and the highest point in the Middle East, 5,610 metres (18,410 ft) high Mount Damavand, is found here. Mount Damavand is also the tallest volcano in Asia and below its summit crater are found fumaroles and hot springs as well as glaciers.”
Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, Lorestan Province, Iran
Falak-ol-Aflak Castle (in Persian: Dez-e Shapur-Khwast and in ancient times known as Dezbar as well as Shapur-Khwast) is a castle situated on the top of a large hill with the same name within the city of Khorramabad, the regional capital of Lorestan Province, Iran. This gigantic structure was built during the Sassanid era (226–651).
Source: Wikipedia | Falak-ol-Aflak Castle
Babak Castle, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran
Papak Fort or Babak Castle (in Azerbaijani Baezz Qalasi), also known as the Immortal Castle or Republic Castle, is a large citadel and National Symbol of Iranians on the top of a mountain in the Arasbaran forests, which is located 6 km southwest of Kaleybar City, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran.
Source: Wikipedia | Babak Fort
Narin Ghaleh, Yazd Province, Iran
The Narin Qal’eh or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Yazd Province, Iran. Structures like these constituted the government stronghold in some of the older (pre-Islamic) towns of central Iran. Some of these castles incorporate mud bricks of the Medes period and of the Achaemenid and Sassanid dynasties.
Source: Wikipedia | Narin Qal’eh
Further links:
1. Payvand | Ardeshir Palace in Kerman
2. The other Iran | Roudkhan Castle
3. Payvand News of Iran | Behestan Rock
4. Wikipedia | List of castles in Iran
Mehr News Agency published beautiful photos of a snowmen festival in Tabriz, North-western Iran. Click here to see the pictures: Mehr News Agency
“Today, there are at least 600 churches for 250,000 Christians in Iran. A number of Christian denominations are represented in Iran. Many members of the larger, older churches belong to minority ethnic groups – the Assyrians and Armenians – having their own distinctive culture and language…In 1976, the Christian population numbered 168,593 people, mostly Armenians. Due to the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, almost half of the Armenians migrated to the newly independent Republic of Armenia. However, the opposite trend has occurred since 2000, and the number of Christians with Iranian citizenship increased to 109,415 in 2006. At the same time, significant immigration of Assyrians from Iraq has been recorded due to massacres and harassment in post-Saddam Iraq.”
See also: Wikipedia | Armenian-Iranians, Wikipedia | Assyrians in Iran, Wikipedia | Roman Catholicism in Iran
Source: Wikipedia | Christianity in Iran
A Separation (Persian: Jodái-e Náder az Simin, “The Separation of Nader from Simin”) is a 2011 Iranian drama film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi.
Farhadi focuses on a middle class family in Tehran to explore the tensions and challenges of modern Iran. By examining class, religious and gender conflict through the intimate lens of family life, he highlights the interconnection between the personal and political. The lecture identifies and analyses the multiple pressure points within the film narrative and the central idea that the very things that connect us as human beings also separate us.
A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win the award. It received the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.
The film was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, making it the first non-English film in five years to achieve this.
Nader and Simin: A Separation (trailer):
Asghar Farhadi, 123 mins, Iran, 2011
Source: Wikipedia | A Separation, Australian Centre for the Moving Image | A Separation
See Also
———–
Uramunat- Kurdistan- North western Iran
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armenian-church-Azerbaijan- North western Iran
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http://www.payvand.com/news/10/mar/1025.html
“Mount Tochal is a mountain in the Alborz range and adjacent to metropolitan Tehran, Iran. The mountain has a 12 km long ridgeline. The highest peak, also called Mount Tochal, is at an elevation of 3,964 m (13,005 feet) “
Marjan Kalhor (born July 21st, 1988 in Tehran) is an Iranian alpine skier who became the first Iranian woman to participate in the Winter Olympics, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She was her nation’s flag bearer in the Opening Ceremony. Kalhor competed in the slalom and giant slalom competitions. She finished 60th among 86 competitors in the Giant Slalom and 55th among 87 participants in the Slalom.
Kalhor started skiing at the age of four, in Dizin, a ski resort in the Alborz mountain range, north of Tehran. At the age of eleven, she won a national competition, and later competed and won medals in Turkey and Lebanon. She has not yet competed in a World Cup event.
Sources: Wikipedia | Marjan Kalhor, zimbio.com
Parand International Kart Racing Complex is situated approximately 35 km southwest of Tehran.
A woman on second place:
Celebrating the day with some music:
http://www.uskowioniran.com/2013/11/parand-international-kart-racing-complex.html
Ardabil is about 70 km (43 mi) from the Caspian Sea, and 210 km from the city of Tabriz. It has an average altitude of 1,263 metres (4,144 ft)
The name Ardabil comes from the Zoroastrian name of “Artawila”, which means a holy place. Ardabil is the center of Ardabil Province. At the 2011 census, its population was 564,365, in 156,324 families, where the dominant majority are ethnic Azeris.
See more cool and surprising photos at:
http://www.payvand.com/news/13/dec/1086.html
Iran’s East and West Azerbaijan Provinces are host to the oldest churches in Iran. Among the most significant are the Tatavous Vank ( St. Tatavous Cathedral), which is also called the Ghara Kelissa (the black monastery). This is located at the Siahcheshmeh (Ghara-Eini) border area south of Makou.
There is also the Saint Stepanous Monastery, which stands 24 kilometers south of East Azarbaijan’s Jolfa town. The general structure mostly resembles Armenian and Georgian architecture and the inside of the building is adorned with beautiful paintings by Honatanian, a renowned Armenian artist. Hayk Ajimian, an Armenian scholar and historian, recorded that the church was originally built in the ninth century AD, but repeated earthquakes completely eroded the previous structure. The church was rebuilt during the rule of Shah Abbas the Second.
Source: Payvand News of Iran
The Vank Cathedral was one of the first churches to be established in Isfahan by Armenian immigrants settled by Shah Abbas I after the Ottoman War of 1603-05.
Church construction is believed to have begun in 1606, and completed with major alterations to design between 1655 and 1664 under the supervision of Archbishop David.
Source: payvand.com
Shirin Ebadi (Persian: شيرين عبادى Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranianlawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women’s, children’s, and refugee rights. She was the first ever Iranian to receive the prize.
…
She was admitted to the law department of the University of Tehran in 1965 and in 1969, upon graduation, passed the qualification exams to become a judge. After a six-month internship period, she officially became a judge in March 1969. She continued her studies in University of Tehran in the meantime to pursue a doctorate’s degree in law in 1971. In 1975, she became the first woman president of the Tehran…
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A number of Christian denominations still live in Iran today and include Assyrians, Armenians, Catholics, Protestants and Evangelical Christians. Although a minority religious group in Iran, Christians of Iran are free to practice their religion and perform their religious rituals. (see article)
Source: Payvand News of Iran
Noora Naraghi was born in Teheran on May 30th 1988. She is the first women’s Iran motocross champion. In 2009, she won Iran’s first-ever Female Motocross Championship.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noora_Naraghi
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/6857478/Irans-female-motocross-champion-gets-uphill-ride.html
The first world grass skiing competitions for youth (boys and girls) was held in Dizin slopes north of Tehran, Iran. Below are some pictures from the opening ceremony and first competition day:
To see more photos, please follow these links:
– Payvand News of Iran | Photos: Opening Ceremonies of Grass Ski Competitions in Dizin, Iran
– Payvand News of Iran | Photos: 2012 Grass Skiing World Cup in Dizin, Iran
– Iran Ski Federation | Special images from World Cup skiing grass
Filmmakers from 40 countries have participated in the festival and 200 movies are scheduled to go on screen at Farshchian, Qods, Sahel, Sepahan, Honar and several other theaters in Isfahan during the event.
A jury composed of 60 children helped the main jury for the national competition section.
The photos can be viewed here:
http://www.payvand.com/news/12/oct/1090.html
While Iran is officially designated the “Islamic Republic,” among its more than 66 million people is a small but important Christian minority.
Check out the photos showing Tehran’s Christian residents doing their shopping for the holiday season: http://www.payvand.com/news/12/dec/1222.html
The other Iran 