January/February 2005

Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy places ZARATHUSHTRA number one (#1) in the chronology of philosophers.

Sent by: Dr. Doostkhah

Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy places ZARATHUSHTRA number one (#1) in the chronology of philosophers.
The Chronology of philosophers begins with Zarathshtra according to Oxford University.

Thus Zarathushtra is the first Philosopher and the person who originated this field of study. Zarathushtra is the founder and father of the Rational System-philosophy (Mazda-Yasna). This alone makes him father of humanity and ethics, because before him there was only the belief systems, it’s evil system he claimed
and he was right. The evidence for this is all over the place.

The ZARATHUSHTRIANS worship wisdom and they educated the Greeks in this area. So the Greeks later used a similar word to the Iranian one, the word philosophy in Greek means "Love of Wisdom" (Pilosophy) and the Iranian word is Mazda-Yasna (Worship of Wisdom), the Zoroastrians Worshiped Wisdom and the Greeks loved Wisdom.

Madrid to host first Iranology congress

The first congress on Iranology was held in the Spanish capital on December 13. The outstanding Spanish Iranologists will be gathered at the three-day congress to present their research works and viewpoints on Iran and Iranology, a report released by Iranian cultural Attache to Madrid announced on Friday.

Scholars from several Spanish universities are due to deliver speech and hold talks on the assigned subjects including Iranian literature, philosophy, history, politics, law and art.

Women in Iranian current society, Iran's economy, Iran-Spain cultural and political ties, Iran's foreign policy, prospect of the philosophy in Iranian literature, science in Islamic Republic, Ibn Sina's philosophy, history of ancient Iran, history of Iranian art in Safavid era are among the subjects to be discussed by the experts.

Asian House Director General Ion de La Riba, Iranian Ambassador to Spain Morteza Alviri and Ambassador to Vatican Javad Faridzadeh are among the participants of congress.

I thought you may enjoy a good laugh.

Sent by : Shahrokh

GCC Wants UAE, Iran to Settle Islands Row

I thought you may enjoy a good laugh. The so-called Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) wants Iran and UAE to settle the Persian Gulf Islands issue. Really? There is nothing to settle. The islands are Iranian. UAE was created by the British in 1971. The oldest country in the so-called GCC is Saudi Arabia, also created by the British in 1932. Kuwait was created by the British in 1961, Bahrain and Qatar were created in 1971 also by the British. Bahrain has never been recognized as a separate country by Iranian nationalists. As far as I am concerned, Bahrain is a renegade province of Iran. Compare that with Iran, many historians consider Iran the first true nation-state in the world.

Iran's self-styled rapping aristocrat

By Frances Harrison
BBC correspondent in Tehran

Shahkar's lyrics deride the new rich of Tehran
Iran has only one official rap musician, dubbed the Dapper Rapper for his smart suits and elegant lifestyle - a far cry from the radical music of the ghetto streets of the US where rap was born.

Shahkar Binesh-Pajouh uses rap music mixed with Persian classical poetry in order to criticise poverty, unemployment, and the chi-chi women of Tehran wearing too much make-up under their chiffon headscarves.

If the style is radical, the message is deeply conservative.

"I am criticising the nouveaux riches who have no taste," says Shahkar.

"If a guy is driving a BMW without having the culture that goes with driving a BMW, he is still a village man, but he just has more money than before."

Hair gel

"The problem is in Iranian society, social classes are all mixed up and not as clear cut as before the revolution," says Shahkar.

One of Shahkar's lyrics goes: "She spends all day in the hairdresser, out partying till midnight, puts on loads of make-up, eats pizza and more than anything else she cares about her lipstick and lip liner."

Anyone who can whistle thinks he's Beethoven these days

Lyric by Shahkar Binesh-Pajouh
Shahkar's songs make fun of Tehran's elite - and not just the women.

Men are criticised for spending hours in front of the mirror fixing their hair gel and then cruising around in sports cars. The satire seems to work well.

"The same young people listen to my music and they all laugh and think I am making fun of someone else - not them," says Shahkar.

Mokarrameh

Sent by: Talieh Shahrokhi

http://www.mokarrameh.com

Some of her paintings

A 77 year old illiterate Iranian woman who lives in a village in the
middle of Mazandaran forests, by the name of Mokarrameh Ghanbari is
becoming very famous because of her paintings. She started to paint at
age 70 and her paintings have won prizes in Europe and U.S. and her
paintings are now selling for thousands of dollars a piece.
Check out her web site:

SABERI, Pari

Tavoos

Pari Saberi wins the Badge of Knight of French Literature and Art

Pari Saberi, the well-known Iranian drama director is the first Iranian female artist who won the badge of knight of the French literature and art. She will receive her award on October, 13, 2004. Abbas Kiarostami, Mohammad Ali Sepanlu, Reza Seyed Husseini received the same prize before Saberi.
After the performance of two plays in France during the last years of 2003, Pari Saberi received Ibn Sina (Avicenna) award from UNESCO which is considered as one of the most important cultural awards of France.

Born in 1922 in Tehran, Paris Saberi spent her youth in France and graduated from Vaugirard Cinematography College which is one of the famous cinematographic higher education institutes of France. She returned to Iran in early fifties, founded the Apadana Drama Group with Hamid Samandarian, translated and directed a few important foreign plays.

After the Islamic Revolution, she turned her attention to adaptation, dramatization and performance of Iranian literary texts and figures. On one hand, she produced several theatrical adaptations of some old Persian mystical and literary writings and on the other hand, she produced several biographical performances on the life of Persian (Iranian) artists, poets and mystics.

In her work called "I (went) to the Garden of Mysticism," Saberi deals with the philosophy and life of Sohrab Sepehri, one of the most well-known contemporary Iranian poets and painters. Then with the performance of "Atar's Love Story," extracted from Atar's famous poetry book "Logic of Birds," she presented a theatrical reading of Atar's mystical school.

She then turned to Ferdosi and his great epical work Shahnameh. Two plays, "Bijan and Manijeh," and "Rostam and Sohrab" were the fruits of her experimentation with this greatest Persian Epic.
The peak of these adaptations was her "Hermit," a play about the life and work of the great Persian poet, Hafez, "Shams, the Bird," about the life of the other great Persian poet, Molana (Rumi), and "Yusef and Zoleikha," an adaptation of the corresponding story recounted in the Koran.
Now after twenty years of continuous efforts in discovering the dramatic potential of various Persian literary texts, Saberi is concentrating totally on Persian works and at present she is doing a research on the existing texts about the life of Imam Ali. Apparently she is also doing some research on the life of the Persian satirical figure, Mullah Nasr-al-din.

Tehran to Host Int'l Cultural Heritage Film Festival
CHN

The Fourth International Cultural Heritage and Tourism Documentary Film Festival titled "Yadegar" (Memorial) will be held in Tehran on May 18-25, 2005, a senior official said.

Following the establishment of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, it was decided to change the festival from a national event into an international one, said Mohammad Afarideh, managing director of the Center for Promotion of Documentary and Experimental Films.

Doc-makers from various countries are welcome to participate in the festival, which focuses on cultural heritage and tourism issues.

He noted that a selection of the films of the upcoming festival will be screened on the Tourism Day. Afarideh mentioned natural attractions and cultural heritage as the main factors to be taken into consideration in production of such short documentaries.

Fresh Bid to Register Sultanyeh as Heritage Site

CHN

Local officials in Zanjan province discussed ways to protect the area surrounding Sultanyeh Dome.The adobe dome is one of the most unique historical sites in Iran, dating back to the Ilkhanian dynasty. Its dossier has been compiled and sent by Iran to UNESCO to be reviewed for the 2005 session of the World Heritage Committee.

Achaemenid Settlement Discovered in Isfahan, Iran


One of the rarely-discovered settlements of Achaemenids, who used to inhabit Persia some 2,500 years ago, is uncovered in the central city of Naein, Isfahan province.
The Achaemenid era is one of the most archeologically eventful epochs of ancient Persia, though few telltale settlements have been so far discovered.

"While demarking the boundaries of the Dar Castle in Naein just a few weeks ago, archeologists stumbled upon an Achaemenid settlement," said Mohsen Javery, an archeologist in Isfahan.

Covering an area of 2.5 to 3 sq hectares, the dwelling is littered with Achaemenid potteries, making experts hopeful they would discover new points about the lifestyle of people living in that era.

The Achaemenid Dynasty was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire, including Cyrus II the Great, Darius I and Xerxes I. At the height of their power, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly encompassing some parts of Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Armenia, Central Asia, Caucasia and the Asian portion of Turkey.

At different times, the Achaemenids also ruled Egypt, although the Egyptians twice regained their independence from Persia. After the practice of Manetho, Egyptian historians refer to the period in Egypt when the Achaemenid dynasty ruled as the Twenty-seventh (525 - 404 BC) and Thirty-first Dynasties (343- 332 BC).

The last Achaemenid king was Darius III (336 BC - 330 BC), who was defeated by Alexander III of Macedon. After the Macedonian conquest, the Persian Empire was annexed by Alexander.

Behind Every Man Is A Smart Woman
Humor

Barbara Walters of "20/20" did a story on gender roles in Kabul several years before the Afghan conflict. She noted that women customarily walked about 5 paces behind their husbands.

She returned to Kabul recently and observed that women still walk behind their usbands, but now seem to walk even further back and are happy with the old custom.

Ms Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked,

"Why do you now seem happy with the old custom that you used to try to change?"

"Land mines," said the woman.

BEHIND EVERY MAN IS A SMART WOMAN!

Persepolis Recreated

Many of you on your visit to Iran's Historic site, Persepolis, have wondered how the ruins looked like when they were at their glory! Well, through the effort of a handful of dedicated individuals, you may now get a simulation of what Persepolis may have looked like.

Sunrise Film Productions Presents: "Persepolis Recreated". You can view a demo of it if you click on this link:

http://www.sunrisefilmco.com/p3book.htm

Green Card Lottery Web Site

Iranian archaeologists believe they have discovered part of throne of Darius

Iranian archaeologists believe they have found a part of one leg of the throne of Darius the Great during their excavations at Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid dynasty, the director of the team of archaeologists announced Sunday, Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency reported.

"Four archaeologists of the team found a piece of lapis lazuli during their excavations in water canals passing under the treasury in southeastern Persepolis last year," said Alireza Askari, adding, "The studies on the piece of stone over the past year led the archaeologists to surmise that the stone had probably been a part of a leg of the throne of Darius."

According to historical sources, the upper parts of the throne of Darius were been made of gold, silver, and ivory and its legs were made of lapis lazuli, Askari said.

The throne had been transferred to the treasury after Xerxes I, the son of Darius, was crowned king. In addition, the figures carved on the stone are similar to the relief works in different parts of Persepolis, he stated.

Archaeologists have speculated that the piece of stone fell into the canals after Persepolis was destroyed and looted by Alexander the Great.

Persepolis was established by Darius I in the late 6th century B.C. Its ruins lie 56 kilometers northeast of Shiraz. Darius transferred the capital of the Achaemenid dynasty to Persepolis from Pasargadae, where Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, had ruled.

Book Signing in Helsinki - Finland

Sent by: Susan Moeens

Her Majesty Empress Farah Pahlavi at press conference Helsinki December 9, 2004 for promotion
of her Memoirs recently translated and printed inFinland.

At the invitation of her publisher, Her Majesty Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi, paid a short visit to Helsinki (December 8-10) for the promotion of her recently published book in Finnish. The President of the publishing house of Werner Soderstrom Osakyhtio, Mr. Jorma Kaimio, welcomed Her Majesty at a reception given in her honor. The media and the academic world were well represented at this gathering. Among the many distinguished guests was professor Broms who had studied Persian literature at Tehran University and has translated Hafez and a number of other Persian literary works.
On the second day of her visit she attended a press conference and answered questions put to her by reporters representing various media. She was also interviewed in front of a live audience at the biggest bookstore in Helsinki. Many Iranians of all ages residing in Helsinki mingled with hundreds of enthusiasts who had come for the book signing.
Later that day, she had the opportunity to enjoy Finnish art and music at the Museum Villa Gyllenberg, where a private tour of the museum and a small concert was arranged for her. In the evening the Publisher gave a small and exclusive dinner party for her at Savoy, which was designed by the most famous Finnish architect, Alvar Aalto. The last day of her visit she had several interviews for television and magazines. The media has followed the visit closely and the book is doing very well. In fact the Publisher has already decided to go ahead with a second edition of the book.

I'M A PERSIAN. MY LAND IS IRAN.....

From: ??

No, I am not a terrorist nor a wife beater,
I don't live in a tent in a desert
I speak Farsi, not Arabic
Iran is pronounced "EERAUN" and not "I - ran" (it's not track & field)
News flash: Iran and Iraq are two different countries ,
Middle east is a region and NOT a continent,
And camels are not our way of transportation.
Belly dancers are NOT strippers,
belly dancing is an arabic dance, it never came from Iran.
Each time you play a game of chess to improve your intellect, keep in
mind that it was Persians who gave you this game.
Iranian women are just as outspoken (if not more) and liberal as the
European women,
And what the hell is "soccer"?? We also call it Football.
Iran is the first country on earth to have a lion (male) and a sun (female)
for it's symbol; and the colors red, white, and green for a flag,
A beautiful country ran by the wrong people
But still the best part of Middle East
Allow me to introduce myself:
I'M A PERSIAN. MY LAND IS IRAN!