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By Laleh Khalili
May 11, 1999
The Iranian
This gorgeous cave with its simple candelabra and marble floors is sacrosanct
and entry into it requires bare feet and covered heads - for men and women.
Our green-eyed Zoroastrian guide, who wears a white skull-cap and a rugged
smile, throws more oud upon the fire in the center of the cave whose walls
are blackened with smoke and whose floor is wet with the spring water that
seems to seep through the rock and drips, drop by drop all over the cave
(hence the name of the village, Chek Chek, or drop by drop). Buckets are
placed here and there under the roof the cave to capture the precious clean
water that is so rare and hallowed. Three small fires burn permanently
on the ultimate wall of the cave, another consecrated space, that which
is the source of Chek Chek myth ... GO
TO FEATURE
Outlook
Iranian president's Arab tour seen as sign of thaw
in relations
 TEHRAN, May 11 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami leaves Thursday for Syria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar on a tour seen
as a sign of a thaw in the Islamic Republic's relations with the Arab world.
"President Khatami's visits to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are
expected to have positive results in relations between Iran and Arab nations,"
the official IRNA news agency said in a commentary.
The visits will be the first by Khatami to countries in the region,
and the first by an Iranian head of state to Saudi Arabia and Qatar since
the 1979 Islamic Revolution ... FULL
TEXT
The Oblivion
I am a 21 year old Student/Musician/Poet/Bodybuilder who enjoys all
aspects of life... Things I'm strongly for:
* Freedom to dress and believe whatever you want without the interference
from scum close-minded people...
* Freedom to express your faith whether it be Christianity or for Satanism...
* I don't believe in murder therefore I don't believe in abortion, unless
it is in the cases of rape...
* Pride in my country Iran, who has lasted for 10,000 years...
* Pride in America, for I am here...
* Playing my guitar, writing music. My original band Narcolepsy, which
when I was 15, had tapes being played all over the country on college radio...
* My faith in Zoroastrianism which has opened my mind. I'm not condemned
to believing only in myself and my faith. It's too hard to explain; it's
the energy that I get through Zoroastrianism. Philosophy is the essence
of my faith, and Ahura Mazda exists in everything I do...
* Bodybuilding which is my ultimate release. It's confidence, security
and release of anger ... GO
TO THE OBLIVION
More Letters
* Complete fraud
Payman Arabshahi writes:
A very interesting story, but a complete fraud ["The
energy man"]. The spoon bending experiment is old news - the famous
Uri Geller was among the first to claim such supernatural powers. He was
"debunked" repeatedly by people who actually showed how to do
the spoon bending. As for energy waves and healing, these are also old
news and have been debunked repeatedly in the scientific community ...
FULL
TEXT
* Photos speak for themselves
Soudabeh Mathews writes: The Qajar-era
pictures are very interesting ["Casual
moments"]and I think the people who own them can remember more.
There must be stories behind each one, but I know it is very difficult
to present the past and get people interested. Anyway, photographs speak
for themselves and the sky is the limit for immagination.
* No piece of cake
Pamela Blevins writes:
To go from your article ["Real
Iranian girls?"], you do not need a partner. You need a combination
of objects:
a) a mucous membrane (Try blowing your nose.)
b) a good bakery shop around the corner
c) an "Uebermutter"
d) a test tube and
e) a uterus ... FULL
TEXT
* Lecture: Democracy within dictatorship,
Virginia
Jebhe Melli IranWashington Presents: Democracy within Dictatorship
Society. Speaker: Dr. Mahmood Enayat, Senior Journalist. Location: 2300
Pimmit Drive Idylwood Building-West Falls Church, Virginia. Date and Time:
Sunday 23 May 1999, 4:00-7:00 PM. Information: Telephone / Fax: (703) 893-7765.
Email: info@jebhe.org ... DETAILS
HERE
Book of the Week
 The Greco-Persian Wars
By Peter Xerxes at Salamis Green
The long and bitter struggle between the great Persian empire and the
fledgling Greek states reached its high point with the extraordinary Greek
victory at Salamis in 480 B.C. The astonishing sea battle banished forever
the specter of Persian invasion and occupation. In this account, Green
brilliantly retells this historic moment, evoking the whole dramatic sweep
of events that the Persian offensive set into motion. 15 illustrations.
12 maps ... GO TO BOOK
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More
news
Khamenei declines to pardon jailed Tehran
mayor
TEHRAN, May 11 (Reuters) - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei has rejected calls to issue a pardon for Tehran's former moderate
mayor, who was jailed after being convicted for graft. In a letter read
in parliament on Tuesday, Khamenei said: ``The authority to resolve such
matters lies with the judiciary, and it is in the good of the country and
the people if legal rulings are not undermined with different motives.''
... FULL TEXT
Khatami calls for greater tolerance
TEHRAN, May 11 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami appealed
to the various political factions in the country on Tuesday to stop viewing
each other as "rivals" and to display greater tolerance. "The
various factions should refrain from making certain issues bigger than they
are in order to drive out their rivals from the scene," the official
IRNA news agency quoted Khatami as saying during a meeting with senior clerics
in Tehran ... FULL TEXT
Khatami tour seen finalising Saudi rapprochement
TEHRAN, May 11 (Reuters) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is
set to reap the fruits of his policy of detente during a coming regional
tour which will include a visit to Saudi Arabia, the Gulf oil power long
suspicious of Iran ... FULL TEXT
74 candidates seek post of mayor of Tehran
TEHRAN,
May 11 (AFP) - A total of 74 would-be candidates for mayor of Tehran have
put their names forward for consideration, the chairman of the municipal
council announced here Tuesday. They are all hoping to replace the reformer
Gholamhossein Karbaschi, who started a two-year jail sentence for corruption
last week ... FULL TEXT
Turkey protests against alleged Iranian
support for Islamists
ANKARA,
May 11 (AFP) - Iran's ambassador to Turkey was summoned to the foreign ministry
here Tuesday in a row over alleged Iranian support for a Turkish deputy
who caused a scandal by wearing a traditional Moslem headscarf in parliament
... FULL TEXT
Iran rejects Turkey's accusations of supporting
Islamism
TEHRAN,
May 11 (AFP) - Iran on Tuesday rejected accusations it was supporting Islamism
in Turkey, and called on Ankara to "avoid making statements that run
counter to the growing relations between the two countries."... FULL
TEXT
MKO says Iran attacks base in Iraq
BAGHDAD, May 11 (Reuters) - The armed Iranian opposition group
Mujahideen Khalq said on Tuesday Iranian government agents had attacked
one of its bases in Iraq, killing an Iraqi ... FULL TEXT
Hejazi "too rigid"
Tehran,
(Iran daily) -- Nasser Hejazi's self-centered and infelxible manner was
the main reason for his downfall at Esteqlal. ... FULL IMAGE TEXT IN PERSIAN
$ Rate
Updated May 10
The
dollar now offered at 800-813 tomans in the U.S. and 819 tomans in Iran
Source: Sehaty Exchange (U.S.) Tel: 602-595-0777
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news
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Iran
Avesta
"We provide the complete text of the extant Avesta,
the most ancient scriptures of Zoroastrianism, as well as many Pahlavi scriptures.
It also includes information about the Avestan language, and other useful
information for students of Zoroastrian religion."
Beyond Iran
BaliHighway.com
It's a multimedia mad hatter's tea party -- magical playground
of mystery roadmaps, wiseguy tarot readings, and musical guessing-games.
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Quote Unquote
Beautiful, and deadly
This is an unforgiving land, a desert on a high plateau interrupted by
mountains all through. And the earth is dry and glimmers with salt and silvery-green
thorn bushes and rocks and pebbles of a thousand colors. Small patches of
it are sand dunes, golden, beautiful, and deadly.
Laleh Khalili
"Desert
refuge"
The Iranian
May 11, 1999
Photo of the Day
U.S.
embassy in Tehran
Music
Musician of the Week
Ebi
* Rahm kon * Khaakestari * Borj * Gozashteh
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