SHOMAL

Why I was in love

Why I was in love

Photo essay: Visiting the northern town of Namakabroud

by ayekrangi
10-Sep-2009 (8 comments)

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TRAVELER

The City of Wind

The City of Wind

Photo essay: Journey form Tehran to Baku

by Maziar Behrooz
10-Sep-2009 (7 comments)

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IDEAS

Truth

No matter where I went, no matter who I saw, I found no glimpse of Truth

10-Sep-2009 (12 comments)
I am sitting in a high school class. It’s the end of grade eleven and I can barely take it anymore. I feel I am suffocating. I want my freedom. Outside the walls of this school is where I thought my freedom would be. On this particular day, in a stuffy, windowless classroom, our religion teacher is discussing about Truth. The students around me seem to be listening partially, as if waiting for it all to come to an end. I am tired too, but something in the teacher’s sentences catches my attention, the word “Truth”>>>

TREASURE

Scented candle

Homayoun Sanati: Fresh Perspectives

10-Sep-2009 (3 comments)
It had been many years since I had seen my Uncle Homayoun, with the difference that this time Auntie Shahin was gone. Tragically, his wife of 50+ years had died in a car crash. So when I opened the door to greet him, he simply fell into my arms and wept. This was a different man – someone who was far quicker to show his vulnerabilities, but even stronger than before because he didn’t waste time controlling impressions. Spending time with Dai Homayoun was nothing short of a pilgrimage for me. So many stories to share, so many new ways to look at everything>>>

THE MIND

Conspiracy for Greatness

From new book, "Conspiracy for Greatness: Mastery of Love Within!"

10-Sep-2009
For many years, I was fascinated by our ability as a human race to shift our thinking. One of the main elements that define us from other species is this ability to “think,” and to decide and redirect our minds to what we always knew we could do! Look at our collective recorded human history, and you will find all those wonderful, brilliant and fascinating human beings who directed their thinking to an area or topic, producing unprecedented results, incredible inventions and so many amazing creations that we can barely keep count. Now, you and I are taking advantage of the outcome of those brilliant thinkers!>>>

TRAVELER

I had to go

I had to go

Photo essay: Visiting Iran against the advice of friends and family

by ayekrangi
08-Sep-2009 (7 comments)

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OPEN LETTER

به دوستان زندانی

آنها که پس از مقاومت "اعتراف" کرده اند و آنها که هنوز مقاومت می کنند

08-Sep-2009 (one comment)
بسیاری از شما را از نزدیک می شناسم و برخی را نیز دورادور. بگذارید در ابتدای کلام باور قلبی خود را بیان کنم که آنچه بر شما در دوران اسارت گذشته و می گذرد، چه در بند 209 زندان اوین و چه در سایر بازداشتگاهای بی نام و نشان در سرتاسر کشور، به یک اعتبار از همۀ جنایاتی که این نظام پس از انتخابات اخیر مرتکب شده، حتی از آزار های جسمی و جنسی و قتل خود سرانۀ انسانهای بیگناه نیز سنگین تر و ننگین تراست، چرا که عالماً و عامداً، در بلند مدت و با برنامه ریزی گسترده و مرکزی صورت پذیرفته است و جای حاشا هم ندارد>>>

ZOROASTRIAN

Towers of Silence

Towers of Silence

Photo essay: Cham village and Yazd

by Nersi Ramazan-nia
06-Sep-2009 (6 comments)

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LATE

Persian Delay Factor (PDF)

What makes us be late? Is it a cultural thing?

06-Sep-2009 (3 comments)
Majid and his wife Goli are planning an Iranian Dinner party (Mehmooni). As is the case, they have to deal with the date, time, guest list, and all the details that go along with such a party. The guest list starts with eight but somehow they end up with a list of over thirty people. Having such a large number of people at the house requires lots of cooking and cleaning; neither Majid nor his wife Goli are up to the task, so they agree the food will be catered.The date is set for Saturday night and the time is set to be at 7 p.m. Dinner will be served at 8 p.m., and if all goes as planned, the party should end at midnight. So they hope>>>

TANZ

عشق پوسیده

حزب توده با خیانت، جمهوری اسلامی با جنایت - قسمت اول

06-Sep-2009 (48 comments)
فیلم "دزدان دریایی کارائیب" را به خاطر آورید و کشتی "مروارید سیاه" را ایران فرض کنید، و همه مان را نفرین زده‌های ابدی! به گناه حرکتی که در ابتدا عشق و گرمی‌ به وجودمان داد، و به لعنتی تاریخی‌ یا جبری جغرافیایی، که از آغاز جنبش مان را محکوم به شکست نمود. حالا، چه مثل نود و پنج در صدی که در ایران هستند و بر آن‌ "کشتی‌ سیاه" زجر میکشند و برای اربابانش فعلگی میکنند، و چه مانند پنج در صدی که اینور آب به زور و زحمت لقمه نانی در می‌‌آورند؛ مذاق جملگی تلخ است و طعم شیرینی‌ و عشق نمی‌‌بیند. پس، از عشق نمی‌‌نویسم؛ چون در دل‌ نسل ما سالهاست که مرده و پوسیده است. >>>

CANDIDATE

It's Easy, Vote Azizi

Iranian-American has eye on Atlanta’s City Council seat

06-Sep-2009 (5 comments)
If asked, Bahareh Azizi would be quick to tell you that “tolerance” and “acceptance” are two of her personality traits that she values the most. Having received her Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology, this successful Iranian American scientist has now turned her sights on politics. In July of this year, Azizi announced that she will be running for the District 6 seat in Atlanta’s City Council. According to Azizi, “I believe in Atlanta, and I know that we can work towards moving her one step closer to reaching her true potential.”>>>

STORY

S & M Iranian style

If I had not come to the US at a young age I would not have had distorted ideas about sex

06-Sep-2009 (13 comments)
Nazy joon is 40-years old going on 13 and often says she’s in her early 30s. She considers herself a virgin [I mean virgin-like] after 5 years of marriage to a man in his early 60s who brought her to LA from Iran. After arriving in LA, she told her newly wed husband that she's a virgin and so afraid of having sex that he has to wait til she’s comfortable. So he said fine and he waited and waited till she disappointedly gave up (after 2 weeks) her virginity that had won a bid of 1349-gold-coins worth>>>

TRAVELER

Italy Re-discovered

Italy Re-discovered

Photo essay: From Venice & Florence

by Aria Fani
05-Sep-2009 (one comment)

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PRISON

A Place Called Evin

Over four decades Iran’s most notorious prison has been home to hundreds of political prisoners

04-Sep-2009 (14 comments)
Evin, which derives its name from a village in the northern Alborz Mountains of Tehran, was built in 1971 during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Previously, it had been the home of Seyyed Zia’eddin Tabatabee, a pro-British politician who was a PM under Ahmad Shah, the last Qajar Shah. After his death, the ownership of his property was transferred over to SAVAK and was then converted into what is today known as Evin Prison. It is a large compound of a few acres and has a wall built all around it. If you go to northern Tehran from the center of the city there is a good chance you will pass by Evin Prison. There are always guards outside, and families waiting to see their loved ones>>>

GENIUS

Beyond the Old and the New

The Wondrous World of Sadeq Hedayat

04-Sep-2009 (4 comments)
Sadeq Hedayat was born on 17 February 1903 and died on 9 April 1951. He was descended from Rezaqoli Khan Hedayat, a notable 19th century poet, historian, and historian of Persian literature, and author of Majm‘ al-Fosaha, Riyaz al-‘Arefin and Rawza al-Safa-e Naseri. Many members of his extended family were important state officials, political leaders and army generals, both in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Mokhber al-Dawleh, Nayyer al-Molk I (Hedayat’s grand-father), Sani‘ al-Dawleh, and Mokhber al-Saltaneh, who was prime minister between 1928 and 1933>>>

TRAVELER

Moving on

Moving on

Photo essay: Vietnamn, the land of China plus one

by Keyvan Tabari
02-Sep-2009 (6 comments)

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GHOST

Jen

Jen

We were told that her house was the primary residence of Jens and their immediate families

02-Sep-2009 (2 comments)
My ominous association with ghosts goes back to my early childhood years. Aunt Sedighe my father’s youngest sister lived in Shoushtar, one of the oldest cities in the world, dating back to Achaemenian dynasty (400 BC). Shoushtar used to be the winter capital of Sassanian dynasty and it was built by the Karoun River. The river was channeled to form a trench around the city. A subterranean system called ghanats connected the river to the private reservoirs of houses and buildings, supplied water during times of war when the main gates were closed. The ruins of these ghanats still exist and one was connected to Aunt Sedighe’s house where my cousins and I explored if we dared to>>>

TRAVELER

The land of China plus one

“Nothing is more important than liberty and freedom”

01-Sep-2009
“The runway that you just landed on was the world’s busiest in the late 1960s because many of the American soldiers and much of the war materiel came through here,” our guide reminded us while we were waiting for our luggage in the Saigon airport. Soon we were taken to our hotel, the Caravelle. This was where, the guide pointed out, “the American mission everyday at 5 P.M. gave a progress report on the war.” For visitors of a certain generation from the United States this type of introductory comments about Vietnam is common. The Vietnam War is the part of your memory that demands immediate attention if this is your first visit>>>

HOLY

Chak Chak

Chak Chak

Photo essay: Pilgrimage site of Zoroastrians

by msabaye
30-Aug-2009 (8 comments)

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MOTHER

Empty nest

Where's my humor when I need it the most?

30-Aug-2009 (2 comments)
Humor and practicality have been my safety net through life’s ups and downs, especially the downs. Years ago, I used my imaginative mind to change those wasted summers of youth at my father’s farms into an education. While my older sister nagged incessantly about the unfairness of missing the city fun, I took the three months of life in Abbas Abad as a learning experience and tried my hands on a few native skills: field work, tending to livestock and weaving baskets. During school, whenever I came across a subject too difficult to memorize, I made lyrics out of such subjects as the table of elements, names of fossils, or human nerve passages>>>