May/June 2008

Mo'tarezeh

In Search Of Cyrus The Great

www.spentaproductions.com

A Sample of the movie

You will be even more proud of the best child of Iran

News

Political


Reza Pahlavi and the Question of Religion

By: Reza Bayegan


Reza Pahlavi has by and large been reticent on the issue of religion. He mainly mentions it in order to reiterate his belief in an Iran where the separation of Mosque and state are absolute. In a part of the Middle East where religion runs deep roots within the collective consciousness of the population, playing the religious card seems to be a powerful temptation for a leader who wishes to unite the masses under his flag. Nevertheless Mr Pahlavi during his long and arduous campaign has consistently refused to give in to any such temptation.

History

This is indeed a farse

by: Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

A colleague of mine noted the following posting on Google today:


The Arab contribution is fundamental to the history of science, mathematics and technology, but until now no single publication has offered an up-to-date synthesis of knowledge in this area. In three fully-illustrated volumes the "Encyclopedia of the History of Arab" "Science" documents the history and philosophy of Arab science from the earliest times to the present day. Thirty-one chapters, written by an international team of
specialists, cover astronomy, mathematics, music, engineering, nautical science, scientific institutions and many other areas. The "Encyclopedia" is divided into three volumes:

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Iran Shenassan

Dr. Doostkhah's site "Iranshenakht" is now 3 years old!

Congratulations Dr. Doostkhah-e nazanin, your web site is one of a kind, great job, ver well done.

Thank you for all your efforts, thank you.

Here is the link:

http://www.iranshenakht.blogspot.com/

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Here and There

Art

Ostad Katouzian, a video clip

Remembering a great artist

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Sisters and Book

Iman Maleki's excellent paintings

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Such Adorable Paintngs

Mo'tarezeh

 

Divers find Caesar bust that may date to 46 B.C.

PARIS - Divers trained in archaeology discovered a marble bust of an aging Caesar in the Rhone River that France's Culture Ministry said Tuesday could be the oldest known.

The life-sized bust showing the Roman ruler with wrinkles and hollows in his face is tentatively dated to 46 B.C. Divers uncovered the Caesar bust and a collection of other finds in the Rhone near the town of Arles — founded by Caesar.

Culture

Iran asks UNESCO to name 2009 as “Ferdowsi Year”


TEHRAN, May 14 (MNA) -- Secretary-General of the Ferdowsi Foundation Yaser Movahhedfar announced that the foundation will offer an official proposal to UNESCO for the naming of 2009 as “Ferdowsi Year”. Movahhedfar said that the foundation will probably be handing the official proposal to UNESCO within two days, MNA reported on Wednesday. The Ferdowsi Congress commenced its work in Mashhad on May 14. A number of Iranian and international scholars, writers, poets and some other cultural figures took part in the congress held to commemorate the birth anniversary of the author of Iran’s national epic.

Iranian people annually celebrated May 14 as the Ferdowsi Day. An expert session on Ferdowsi and his masterpiece, Shahnameh, was held at the Abi Hall of the Niavaran Palace Museum in Tehran on May 14. During the session, Fereidun Joneidi, the head of the Ferdowsi Foundation board of trustees, presented historical documents showing that by 2009 a millennium would be past the composing of Ferdowsi’s magnum opus Shahnameh. UNESCO celebrated the 800th birthday anniversary of the Persian mystic and poet Molana Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) in 2007.

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Ferdowsi statue to be set up at Britain’s Wadham College


The statue of Persian poet Ferdowsi is to be set up at the library of Wadham College of the University of Oxford in the near future. In a meeting with Sir Neil Chalmers, the warden of Wadham College on Friday, Iran’s cultural attaché in London Ali-Mohammad Helmi proposed the idea of setting up a statue of Ferdowsi at the Wadham College, the Persian service of IRNA reported on Friday. They also discussed bilateral cooperation, holding art and cultural workshops and poetry nights at the University of Oxford and the ways to enrich courses on the Persian language and literature. Sir Chalmers also expressed his pleasure over boosting art and cultural relationships with the universities of Iran and warmly received the idea of installing the statue of Ferdowsi at the college.
Helmi stated that changes in Iranian culture after the Islamic Revolution have impressed both the regional countries and the world and the Western experts should pay due attention to these cultural changes in Iran.

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Iran honors great poet Omar Khayyam



Iran has honored the 960th birthday anniversary of the eminent Persian poet, astronomer and mathematician, Khayyam of Neyshabur.

Born in Iran's northeastern city of Neyshabur, on May 18, 1048, Khayyam is recognized worldwide as one of the most revered Persian poets and astronomers.

Mo'tarezeh

Gorgeous Birds, Breathtaking Colors

Click on the picture

Culture

Discovery of an Achaemenid-Persian Castles East to Suez Canal
07 June 2008

http://www.cais-soas.com/news/2008/June2008/07-06.htm

LONDON, (CAIS) -- An Egyptian archaeological team has discovered two castles, the first at Tel Habwa on the ancient road of Horus War Road, which dates back to the Pharaohs era, Dynasties 18 and 19.

The second castle dated back to the Achaemenid-Persian era. Zahi Hawwas Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said the new discoveries are located 30 km east to the Suez Canal.

Suez Canal

It has been suggested that the first Canal was dug during the reign of Tuthmosis III, although more solid evidence credits the Pharaoh Necho (6th century BCE) for the attempt. The canal however, was completed by Darius the Great for purpose of creation of a shipping connection between the Nile and the Red Sea, between the African colony and the mainland empire and the Persian Gulf.

According to Herodotus, the completed canal was wide enough that two triremes could pass each other with oars extended, and required four days to traverse. Darius commemorated his achievement with a number of granite stelae that he set up on the Nile bank. The best preserved of these monuments was a stele of pink granite, which was discovered by Charles de Lesseps, Ferdinand de Lesseps's son, in 1866, 130 kilometers from Suez near Kabret.


The monument, also known as the Chalouf stele (alt. Shaluf Stele), records the construction of a forerunner of the modern Suez Canal by the Achaemenid dynasty of Iran, a canal through Wadi Tumilat, connecting the easternmost, Bubastite, branch of the Nile with Lake Timsah which was connected to the Red Sea by natural waterways.

The Darius the Great Inscriptions read:

“Saith King Darius: I am a Persian. Setting out from Persia, I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal dug from the river called the Nile that flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia. When the canal had been dug as I ordered, ships went from Egypt through this canal to Persia, even as I intended

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Childhood 'toy' revealed as ancient Persian relic

Wed May 28, 8:29 AM ET -Yahoo



An ancient gold cup mysteriously acquired by an English scrap metal dealer is expected to fetch close to a million dollars at auction after languishing for years in a shoe box under its current owner's bed.

Owner John Webber says his grandfather gave him the 5.5-inch (14-centimetre) high mug to play with when he was a child, back in 1945.

He assumed the golden cup, which is decorated with the heads of two women facing in opposite directions, their foreheads garlanded with two knotted snakes, was made from brass.

But he decided to get it valued when he was moving house last year and was told it was actually a rare piece of ancient Persian treasure, beaten out of a single sheet of gold hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Experts said the method of manufacture and the composition of the gold was "consistent with Achaemenid gold and gold smithing" dating back to the third or fourth century BC.

The Achaemenid empire, the first of the Persian empires to rule over significant portions of Greater Iran, was wiped out by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.

Auction house Duke's, in Dorchester, south-west England, will put the cup under the hammer on June 5, with an estimate of 500,000 pounds (630,000-euro, 988,000-dollars).

Webber, 70, told The Guardian newspaper that his grandfather had a "good eye" for antiques and picked up "all sorts" as he plied his trade in the town of Taunton in south-west England.

"Heaven knows where he got this, he never said," he added, revealing that as a child, he used the cup for target practice with his air gun.
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A 12,000 years old village of Maymand carved in living rocks located in Shahr-e Babak, Kerman-Iran; whose enjoy impressive architecture representing the peaceful coexistence of man and Nature.

THESE ARE PICTURES OF ONE THE VILLAGES IN THE SOUTHEAST OF IRAN IN THE STATE OF KERMAN . PLEASE LOOK CAREFULLY INSIDE THE ROOM, THE ENTRANCE TO THE HOUSE, HOW THE HOUSES ARE BUILT INSIDE THE MOUNTAINS OR UNDERGROUND. THIS IS TO AVOID THE EXTREME HEAT AND COLD OF THE DESERT.

Click on the picture

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Iran's 4500-year-old cypress tree nominated for addition to the World Heritage list

A 4500-year-old cypress tree in Iran 's southeastern province of Yazd is to be soon protected as one of the world's biggest living organisms.

Department of Environment of Yazd Province hopes to have this colossal tree protected from being damaged or destroyed.


Photo Source: Old Gardens, Yazd (www.aftab.ir)


The tree, gracefully standing in the city of Abarku , located in the southwest of the Yazd Province is one of the region's seven historical and natural sites and is nominated to be added to the World Heritage list.

Russian scientist Alexander Rouf has estimated the tree's age to be between 4000 and 4500 years, and with a height of 25 meters and a trunk 11.5 meters around, this massive tree definitely deserves preservation and a chance to shine on the list of world heritage.

Thousands of other historical sites attract tourists to Yazd , home to the largest population of Zoroastrians in Iran . Zoroaster was the ancient prophet of the Persians who preached the peaceful Zoroastrian religion based on humanity and goodwill, still widely practiced today in Iran .

Mo'tarezeh

Tehran ranks second in illiteracy


TEHRAN, May 18 (MNA) -- After the southeast province of Sistan Baluchestan, Tehran ranks second in illiteracy among 30 provinces of the country, the state Literacy Movement Organization announced here on Sunday.
Over 433,000 people between 10 to 49 years of age in Sistan Baluchestan are illiterate while in Tehran the number is 411,848.

About 56.5 percent of the total illiteracy rate belongs respectively to the eight provinces of Sistan Baluchestan, Tehran, Khozestan, West Azarbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, East Azarbaijan, Fars, and Kerman.

The total male literacy rate is about 94.5 percent and the rate for the female is about 88.8 percent. The rate of literacy in rural area is 84.8% and in urban areas is 94.7 percent.

Events

The Foundation for the Children of Iran Raises Over $1 Million for Iranian Children's Health Care in U.S.

Princess Yasmine Pahlavi

Make a donation :www.childrenofiran.org.

Princess Yasmeen's speech at the event


Photos by Raheleh Zomorodinia & Ahmad Nadalian

Report by Ahmad Nadalian

During last week (April 29 –May 4, 2008) a new environmental art festival was held on the coast of Caspian Sea, in the north of Iran. More than 140 artists from different part of Iran gathered on this beautiful region to create environmental installations and sand sculptures. The festival also included a number of art performances. I was responsible to act as an art director.


Iranian Youth For Human Rights Art Competition

A global artistic and educational effort has been formed to raise the awareness of Iranian Youth on their Human Rights in form of an Art Competition.