Archive Sections: letters | music | index | features | photos | arts/lit | satire Find Iranian singles today!
Travelers

Shopkeepers reclined on carpeted benches behind their merchandise
in small stores, arranged in rows of guilds selling the same products

Click on photo to see next

Click on photo to see next

Photos
(1) (10) (20) (30) (40) (48)

Luster of the earth
Journey to Samarkand and Bukhara

Keyvan Tabari
December 28, 2005
iranian.com

This is a report on a journey that began with a love poem. In a widely recited stanza, Hafez, the 14th century Persian bard, had immortalized Samarkand and Bukhara as the ultimate gift a lover could bestow on his beloved. I went in search of those fabled cities. I found their ruins evocative and what was restored dazzling. They made me conjure up the fantastic history of the people who established the greatest civilization of the middle ages in these desert oases. Brushing up against the veneer of modern life, I could feel the pulsating traditional culture of Central Asia . Years of Russian and Communist domination had left surprisingly limited impact. I perceived a satisfying affinity with the many who received me warmly. It was almost as if I had gone home. >>> Essay

Copyright Keyvan Tabari 2005. All Rights Reserved.

About
Keyvan Tabari is an international lawyer in San Francisco. He holds a PhD and a JD, and has taught at Colby College, the University of Colorado, and the University of Tehran.

 

COMMENT
For letters section
To Keyvan Tabari

RELATED
Keyvan Tabari
Features

RELATED
Diaspora

Travelers

Book of the day
mage.com

Iranian Nationality and the Persian Language
by Shahrokh Meskoob

 

 

 

© Copyright 1995-2013, Iranian LLC.   |    User Agreement and Privacy Policy   |    Rights and Permissions