My Sky

When Even Our Simplest Cuddles Are Being Interpreted

2012-01-28T15:44:00.000+03:30

You've read about Kiana Firouz on my blog, so you know her story. This is an interview with her done on Zamaaneh Radio. She describes her life and her problems in this interview. It really broke my heart when I read it, so I decided to translate it to raise more awareness:

When Even Our Simplest Cuddles Are Being Interpreted

An interview with Kiana Firouz, film-maker, writer, actress and gay rights activist

Interview by: Shokoofeh Montazeri

Kiana Firouz is a young 26-year old girl who lives in England. She's a gay rights activist and is also a writer, film-maker and an actress. Because of the film 'Cul-de-Sac' we went to talk her:

Kiana, you're now in a Western society who claims passing the modern era, could you please tell what the difference is between being a lesbian in Iran and in the Western part of the world?

Honestly, if you're an Iranian lesbian, it's not only difficult in Iran but also in the host countries. Especially Turkey which everyone knows about its difficulties. But our biggest problem is the Iranian society in which we live that has a very wrong view of homosexuality and treat it inhumanely. This shows the cultural weakness in Iranian society and we should try and work culturally on it.

Apart from the Iranian society treatment out of Iran that a LGTB expatriate experiences, the immigration pressures, homesickness, being away from the country and the problems which happen between children and their families are all hard and bitter. If not very pessimist, I can say sounds like we have a uneasy destiny. Sometimes our smallest happiness is being ruined by others' unkindness, even an unkind glance.

There is difference between being a gay and being a lesbian in the society's opinion. Being a lesbian is equivalent to pornographic videos in many minds. It's been happened many times that you say you're a lesbian and it occurs to the person two nude women having sex. Has it ever happened to you?

There's no doubt this happens. When I go somewhere despite the presuppositions I say I'm a lesbian, but even the Iranian girls around my age who've been born over here [England] and has been raised with the European culture behave very childishly. I have some experiences which might not very right to tell on here. For example I had a straight female friend and we were very close. I had a girlfriend but even my smallest contacts with that straight friend had other meanings in others eyes. You might say a simple sentence but others are always looking for interpretations in your speech, glances and even your simplest human cuddles.

That means they define your social contacts with your sex life, or in other words, they mix them up?

Exactly. When men realise you're a lesbian, they behave ultimately rudely and boldly. Seems like they get encouraged to propose indecent suggestions. Sometimes you get shocked by others' behaviours but despite all the things you experience and they seem very simple, I believe we shouldn't remain silent. We should defend our human rights and surely we should see and hear the homosexuality's problems. These are very simple things happen in our daily life but our problems are deeper than unkind glances.

What do you think that gays' issues are being discussed more than lesbians' issues? Do you think we can blame it on the male-dominant global culture?

Honestly, the truth is accepting the orientation and coming out is seen less in lesbians than in gays, and also because the Islamic punishment for gay men is harsher, they're being taken more seriously. This also happens in asylum cases. Though it seems very silly. The people in authority [in Western countries] say if the Islamic government realise someone is a lesbian, the punishment is just lashing, but the punishment for a gay is execution. But can you allow lesbians women to get back to Iran because of 100 lashing? But in addition to that, because lesbians have girlish souls, they remain silent for their families. Because they love their families and they don't want to hurt them.

So you think the gender or in other words the amount of being a man or a woman can define your attention to the family or other matters?

I talk about my own experience. My experience is that due to the families' raising in Iran, girls don't want to hurt their families or do something against their families' wills. Many times you see they are not able to talk due to family pressures. They give in to unwanted marriages or even have fierce personal fears to talk about it. I know a 18-year-old Iranian girl over here who is a lesbian. Based on her own experiences and seeing the coming-out process in her lesbian friends, she told her mother she's a lesbian. Her mother after hearing that had told her: "It would have been easier for me if I've heard you've got cancer".

You said the film is somehow your own life story. The Kiana who plays in Cul-de-Sac gets into asylum seeking problems. At that time you didn't have that problem, but now deporting threatens your life. Finally, was that you who chose the destiny of the film or was that the film which chose your destiny?

The bitter truth is the film is choosing my destiny. For the film ending we thought anybody in such situation has naturally no choice but seeking the asylum based on the things we saw. But why the British Ministry don't accept her asylum is exactly what has happened to me. My asylum was turned down unfortunately and unbelievably. But to be honest I came to this conclusion it's not important what will happen to me. What is important to me now is to make the Iranian LGTBs' voice be heard.

My condition and ability was to do this through a free media under independent cinema. Saye can sing with all her difficulties. We can't have demonstrations in Iran like Western women and shout for our rights. Because we we will get killed. We write on the Internet by pseudonyms, give meetings and have hidden and underground movements. If we make documentary films, we have to autofocus the faces. In the security system of Iran any different voice is being nipped in the bud. However with all this everyone's attempt is to make the voice of a under-pressure and abused minority be heard. The minority whose only decision is to have their own basic and human rights.

[Translated by: Mercedé . All rights reserved.]

Why? 'Cause the Sky Is High!

2012-01-27T16:25:00.000+03:30

I'm sure you've heard "Why did the chicken cross the road" joke series. For me the funniest of all is this:

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Ahmadinejad: The road and technology of crossing the road that our country has, is the result of Iranian youth's scientific development and is Iranian nation's right. We will continue crossing the road. The wave of spirituality and awareness in Islam's World will eliminate this chicken from the face of the Islamic World soon hopefully.

Aren't such comments familiar to you?!

Mahtab Keramati, Artistic Photos

2012-01-27T03:07:00.000+03:30

I found this poster in my usual browsing on the Net. It's the poster of a photo exhibition called Life with Mahtab Keramati in pictures. Unfortunately I found it too late. It was for the year 2005. But no need to regret. I found another photo collection of her by the Iranian photographer Afshin Pirhashemi on Artpic. They are very artistic and most audience said they can't make out the meanings of the photos. For example what's the meaning of the US flag, or BMW logo in the pictures. I've learned to enjoy a piece of art even if I can't understand it, so no worries. Here are the artistic pictures of this beautiful lady for you:

Table Manners in Iran

2012-01-24T14:56:00.000+03:30

The phrase table manners always reminds me of my English self-study books and the units about food and how we should behave while eating at a table. I must say Iranian table manners are very much like British table manners.

Like most cultures it's also bad in Iran if you talk with your mouth full, make noise, lick the plate and eat food with hands. If they're not bad in your country then I must say you're from a very different culture.

Anyway, here are some hints for you if you don't want to appear rude in front of Iranians at the table:

When the food is being brought to the table wait till your host offers you to take food.
It's very common over here for host to ask the guest to take food many times. This is for being polite, it doesn't literally mean you should sweep everything on the table and send down to your tummy!
Please, please, please don't make slurping noise when you eat soup or any other liquid food. I've heard many Iranians complain some friends from South East Asia do that to show they've enjoyed it. That's disgusting in Iranian culture.
Don't blow your nose when others are eating. In fact blowing your nose publicly is bad at any time over here.
Iranians usually put a box of tissues on the table instead of table napkins.
If you want to take food more than once, you can do it without asking. It's acceptable over here.
Iranians usually eat a lot at parties, so don't worry, no one will call you greedy if you've filled your plate with so much food.
It's not bad to chat during dinner. I think being silent and just eating is a bit bad.
In Iran people usually use spoons and forks for eating, not knives. If you want to cut meat simply put your fork in the meat and cut it with your spoon edge.
It's OK to eat your pizza with hands. I've never seen anyone using knives for eating pizza.
Never complain about the food, that's really rude. My cousin says she made Kookoo Sabzi for a friend from a European country and he said a big YUCK to her face when he ate it!!!!!
I've heard in some countries (I mean Muslims countries) it's bad to eat food with your left hand. Thank goodness it's not bad over here. I'm left-handed and no one ever said anything about that to me. I don't know what the heck should I do in those countries. Taking spoon with my right hand is so hard for me.
After you finished eating say thank you to the host for their dinner. Don't wait till tomorrow to call them, we do it right after dinner.

That was the basics of Iranian table manners. But don't think too much about that, enjoy the food. This is what we do, we gather, laugh, eat a lot and enjoy the taste of the Iranian foods.

The Best Love Poem Ever

2012-01-24T01:39:00.002+03:30

That bird which sings in my head,
And constantly says you love me,
And constantly says I love you,
I will kill that talkative boring bird tomorrow.

Jacques Prévert

[If you've got a Nihilist nature, this love poem is just for you!]

Iranian Celebrities I Met

2012-01-23T01:55:00.000+03:30

What do you do when you see someone famous on the street? Would you go to them and ask for a photo or an autograph? Or you just pass by trying to look you didn't notice them? I do the second thing. Firstly I think celebs are too much in the spotlight and they need a bit of time for themselves and we shouldn't disturb them all the time, secondly I'm a bit proud to go to somebody and ask for something. Here are some Iranian celebs I met, and wow it's such a long list! I never thought I saw so many famous people till I wrote this blog entry:

Atila Pesyani
Actor-director

I saw him in Molavi Theatre. I was standing in the hall waiting when I saw him. He was standing behind a counter and seemed he was very hungry 'cause he was devouring bread and cheese in a really hungry way. He was just as he's in his films: modest and down-to-earth. He's got a cool name doesn't he? I never saw anybody with the first name Atila before, reminds me of the Roman Empire and Roman myths.

Homa Roosta
Actor-director

As a theatre goer I had a chance to see her when I went to see her play "Antigone in New York" in Molavi Theatre. She was standing in a box watching the play. She looked beautiful despite her age, and smiling very sweetly. She was also active before the revolution 1979 and used to appear in films without a headscarf like all other actresses of those times.

Behzad Farahani
Actor- Father of Goshifteh Farahani

I saw him in the Artists Garden which I heard is a good hunt for the artists. He was alone in the park having a bag of food in his hand and was walking away from the Artists Garden Cafe. My friend and I were walking and my friend said "hey, look, isn't that Behzad Farahani?" He was but we didn't disturb him. He looked so naturally himslef while walking alone we didn't think we have seen one of the most famous Iranian actors!

Ahmad Najafi
Actor-Dubler

I just saw him in a small street in our neighbourhood when I was getting back from the dentist with my sister. He got out of the car and we saw him. Tall, goodlooking with green eyes. He just looked at my sister and we two noticed him, then he didn't look and we didn't look at him either. That was funny to see him in our neighbourhood as it's usually a busniss district not a place to see an actor. I really like his role in "Detective Alavi" series, he really made a good detective. He's got a very nice voice too, or else he wouldn't be a dubller.

Mehraneh Mahintorabi
Actress

This lovely lady is always playing in TV not in the cinema. I used to think she must be tall and buxom but when I saw her in Atlas Pood curtain shop I noticed she's not like that at all, just average-height and small. That's actually the false impression of the TV. She was buying a curtain and wore a chic headscarf and had a nice smile on his face which made me love and respect her more. She's still single which is another interesting fact of her for me. She played the role of a sngle middle-aged auntie who's very kind and concerned about youngsters around her in TV series called "All My Children". I think the role was just her real life and herself.

Alireza Khamseh
Actor

This was so long ago. I was a child walking with my family in a mall when we saw him with his wife and if I remember correctly with their two kids. Khamseh wasn't in the hight of his fame those days any more with the arrival of young good-looking green-eyed actors and actresses. He was very famous and popular in 1970's, 1980's and early 1990's. He's still considered an experienced important actor though.

Behnaz Jafari
Actress

She was playing in the same Antigone in New York play directed by Homa Roosta. I've seen her in some TV series but she's just perfect on the theatre stage. Nice strong voice for acting in the plays and quite especial face, I mean her nose made her very momrable for me in that play.

Majid Ghannad
Talk show host in children's programme

This time I really didn't act cool when I saw him! We were walking in street when I saw him in front of the supermarket and shouted "Oh, this is Majid Ghannad!!!". He noticed us and said hello to my father as he knew my father. Seeing him reminded me of all those children programmes I watched on channel 2. He's still active with his group in the famous children programme Fitileh on Fridays.

Ali Pahlevan
Singer

My sister and I were in the car in front of Kandoo restaurant when he passed and we saw him. That's all. We didn't run to him for autographs or pics. He's the lead singer of the famous band Aryan, and I'm sure if anybody else were instead of us they would have hopped out of the car and rushed to him, but me and my sister, we just sat and took our heads away from him because we didn't want him to think we're staring at him.

Farhad Ghaemyan
Actor

I saw him in my work place. I didn't recognise him till my colleague told me. I looked again and I remembered. He usually plays the negative criminal roles in films and it's due to her fierce look. Out of the film he looked serious and fierce too. Wow.

Farhad Aslani
Actor

Despite Mehraneh Mahintorabi, I always thought of him a small and short, but when I saw him in Molavi Theatre I understood I was wrong. He was tall, taller than me and had a big body. Not very big, and not that small as you see on TV. He was with a friend chatting and looked calm and relaxed. I like that.

There are some other people on this list who are less famous and I don't know their names but I've seen them on TV or in films, like that freckled face actress whom I saw 2 times in my workplace or that old man in comedies and some other more people. If I understood what their names are I'll update it on here.

Follow Me... on Twitter!

2012-01-20T00:29:00.000+03:30

I was thinking if anybody reads this blog they might regularly check here to see if the blog has been updated. I made a twitter account for this blog about a month ago but I think it's too much to have 2 Twitter accounts. I tweet about my blog updates on my own twitter too, so if anyone of you has got a twitter account you can follow me on there and see when I update this blog. I keep my tweets private so you should first send me a request then I'll accept your invite. It would be nice to see you on there. Here's me on Twitter.

Beautiful Golshifteh, This Time Nude

2012-01-18T22:38:00.000+03:30

What's the hottest news about Iran at the moment? Not Nuclear weapons, not closing Hormuz Strait, not harsher sanctions against Iran.

It's just all about a woman.

The popular Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani who left Iran last year and lives in Paris has posed nude for Madam Le Figaro magazine.

Some say she did something wrong but the majority appreciate her, say she's courageous. Some interprets she want to break the boundaries imposed by men on women. Others say she wanted to do something political.

I still don't know but I think she just wanted to pose for a photo in a magazine as she did in the past, this time nude. Is there any thing really wrong with it? No. Of course not.

Golshifteh is one of my favourite Iranian actresses. How she talks and plays in the film is so original, it's just special for her.

She starred in many memorable Iranian films including Santuri, and Boutique. Her sister and her father are also both actors and live in Iran.

Dear Golshifteh, your body is yours and no one has any right to tell an independent woman what to do and what not to do.

Full stop.

A Big Change

2012-01-15T15:15:00.001+03:30

Hello to you!

And yes, I'm still alive. I haven't been killed in a car crash, I haven't been politically imprisoned or executed either, which is more common than dying in a car crash over here.

I'm so sorry for not updating on here for more than 3 weeks. Well, firstly the Internet is just awful these days over here in Iran, and I can't find a polite word for describing the situation of it.

Secondly, my mind was on other things and I couldn't think of writing on here. To be honest I wasn't in the mood. My mind is still occupied by those things, but that doesn't mean I've stopped writing this blog.

I hope I haven't missed some readers because of my somehow long absence, have I? I hope not.

Well, a big change is happening in my life. No I haven't met someone and wanna settle down. PLEASE. I don't know why when I tell people about a change they think like that. This shows how marriage-minded Iranians are.

In a few days a change will happen to me, and a few changes will happen to some information in my facebook account and also my Twitter in accordance.

I'll continue writing about Iran on here for sure, but some other subjects might be added to this blog as well due to that change.

Keep reading!

Azadi Cinema

2011-12-25T10:32:00.000+03:30

Beside the central Book City, the other very good place near my flat is Azadi Cinema. It's just 20 minutes from my house to there by bus. Unfortunately, I went only one time there and it was for seeing the film Nader and Simin, a Seperation in May. Not because I'm lazy, this time because I've got no friends with free time to come with me to the cinema!

Azadi cinema complex is the biggest, the best, and newest cinema in Tehran and the whole Iran. It was first founded in 1969 by Rohani brothers. They first wanted to call it Broadway, but changed their mind about this Western name and preferred the name remind them of their childhood hobby, so they called it Shahr-e Farang. It means Peep Show in English and before the advent of films and cinemas in Iran was very popular.

Shahr-e Farang or peep show

The first film which was shown in this cinema was Marlic Hills by Ebrahim Golestan. Showing famous films of those times in this complex made it soon a hunt for film-lovers. Those days long queues in front of the cinema was a familiar scene for the people of Tehran passing Abbas Abad street.

Azadi cinema in the past

Later the name was changed to Azadi which means freedom, and it wasn't unusual since the Revolution 1979 names of many places and streets were changed to make the atmosphere more Islamic.

Written in Persian on the cinema wall: Azadi

The complex caught fire three times, once in 1976, and again in 1990 but it survived. It was in Friday 18th April 1997 at 1:50 pm when people watching the Iranian comedy film The Summer Vacation the air conditioners in the right salon caught fire and the fire was spread fast in the salon. People got badly scared and ran away. Glasses broke and thick smoke was everywhere. Though the fire-fighters tried their best, some salons were damaged badly. This made the cinema a to be closed for years.

Azadi Cinema after it was burnt

For 8 years there was a burnt broken building there till it was knocked down and a whole-new building was made in 2008. It has got 8 floors and 5 salons, including one 600-seated salon and four 200-seated salons., 2 restaurants, 3 cafes and 2 business floors. Every month around 120,000 people visit this complex, so it's number 1 highly-visited cinema in Iran.

No Mass for Christmas

2011-12-24T22:59:00.000+03:30

My Armenian colleague was privately complaining to me last year no one in the office wished her a merry Christmas. I reminded her I had sent her a text message. She said she knew, but beside me no one else did that and it made her upset.

She is right. Christmas is ignored in Iran. Not because Iranians don't know what Christmas is, they know, but the truth is Christmas has never been widely celebrated over here. The main reason I think is during history Christmas has been a time for Christians to celebrate the time Jesus Christ came to this world, and Iranians have not been Christians.

I know these days in the modern world Christmas has lost its religious meaning and it's mainly a holiday to relax, have fun and see your family. I also know the 25th of December is a holiday even in many non-Christian countries, and I should remind you the large number of Iranians are non-practising, but I think the main reason Iranians don't celebrate it goes back firstly to the religion, secondly to traditions, historically speaking.

The minority Christians in Iran are Armenians. They are the descendants of those Armenians who fled Armenia when the Ottomon Empire started the massacre of Armenians and some of them rushed to Iran. They dispersed in many Iranian cities and built churches, the most famous of them the Vank Church. They celebrate Christmas among themselves or by going to their churches.

However, when it's around Christmas you can see many shops put a Christmas tree in their displays, and it's kind of cheerful. Iranian youth like Christmas. I saw some of them talking about it on their blogs and facebook pages. I personally love its hustle and bustle, Santa, presents, cards and all those lovely Christmas decorations.

Yet it's a bit meaningless to wish an Iranian a merry Christmas, especially those who are in Iran and not abroad. I think Iranians overseas are accustomed to it, as other aspects of living abroad. But I've never seen any Iranian tell the other "Merry Christmas". When I see my International friends sending me Christmas ecards, I smile. It's just like a Jewish friend telling me "Happy Hannukah" or a Muslim friend telling you "Happy Fetr Eid"!

The Connotation of Animals in Persian Language

2011-12-23T23:17:00.000+03:30

In English language cow is an offensive word for a woman, and monkey is a child who's playful. But they've got different meanings in Persian language. Here is the connotation of animals in our language, and all of them are offensive:

Cow: an ignorant person or someone who eats too much
example: Look at that cow passing the street without looking at the traffic light.
Fox: a sly person
example: She came into the office pretending she doesn't know anything. What a fox
Donkey: an idiot
example: Hey donkey, it's in that cupboard not this one.
Monkey: a very ugly person
example: Have you seen his wife? She's ugly as a monkey.
Mouse: a coward
example: I shouted at him I don't wanna see him. Hewas quiet like a mouse.
Gorilla: a hairy person
example: If I don't wax my feet I'd soon turn into a gorilla.
Bear: a big person, usually when you want to remind sb they've grown up
example: You're a big bear now and you expect your mum collects you after school?
Buffalo: a very big person
example: His dad is just like a buffalo, about 120 kg.
Finch: a very young person, usually referring to teenagers
example: This finch asked me out. I'd show him who's the boss around here.
Giraffe: a very tall person
example: I'll be a giraffe in those high-heels.
Vulture: a cruel person
example: That vulture didn't listen to the convict and asked for the death sentence.
Hyena: a dishonest, cruel person
example: The robbers jumped on me, beat me and took all my money like hyenas.
Wolf: a clever person in a dishonest way
example: In this society full of wolves how can a simple man like him succeed?
Bat: sometimes referring to criminals
example: The night bats raped and murdered about 13 women in 2 years.

O Love, Your Azure Face Cannot Be Seen

2011-12-23T16:24:00.000+03:30

picture taken from: Artpics, photo by: Patryk Morzonek

Nothing much to say. On the days you think life and light have both deserted the world hand in hand, this song would be nice to listen to. This time I don't translate the lyrics for you, I want you just to listen to it and if you listen carefully you'll find some very familiar words in the lyrics. Can you guess what this song is about? Here's a tip: The title of the song is "Love and Death in the Time of Facebook". There's this sentence in the lyrics I specifically like: O love, O love, your azure face cannot be seen...

The Iranian Kiosk Band are just amazing.

Kolompeh

2011-12-23T01:20:00.000+03:30

Anybody been to the city of Kerman knows what I'm talking about. Kolompeh is a name of a kind of pastry which is special for Kerman, a city in south of Iran. It's so delicious. Inside, it is filled with mashed dates and usually there are pistachio pieces on it. It can come in other tastes too, like coconut. When I was in Kerman I bought 1.5 kg of this cookie and didn't know how lovely it is. Back at Tehran I regretted why I didn't buy more. I actually see sometimes Kolompeh in pastry shops and 2 times I bought them but they weren't as tasty as Kerman's Kolompehs. If you ever visited this city don't miss such wonderful cookies. They're fabulous for eating with your tea in pleasant evenings.

Lions and Vultures in Tehran!

2011-12-20T19:11:00.002+03:30

You really hear weird news sometimes. I used to think lions have been extinct in Iran and though I've seen vultures at the zoo I didn't think they can be found on pavements of Tehran! It was reported last week a big vulture was seen in one of Tehran's neighbourhood and people called 125. They took the bird with care and delivered it to Pardisan Park. I used to think vultures as ugly but in the picture the big bird looks young and nice:

Also, last week on Thursday a man was driving in a highway when he saw a big animal walking near the Lavizan Forest Park among the trees. He got very surprised and immediately called 125. Five minutes later the group was there but as it seemed catching the lion cub might be hard 2 other groups were also called. After 50 minutes they managed to catch the cub without hurting it. Two days before another lion cub was caught in this area as well. The head of the operation said "We assume somebody brought these two cubs illegally or bought it from an animal smuggler, and the cubs have run away or maybe when the person saw they cannot keep the cubs they left the two in the forest park".

Little baby! Look how cute it is, even when it wants to show it's scary by showing the teeth and growling:

Mahtab Keramati, the UNICEF Ambassador in Iran

2011-12-19T12:00:00.000+03:30

The post Their Angelina vs Our Angelina below reminded me of an Iranian woman who's not just a pretty face too. She's an Iranian actress working as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Iran.

Her name is Mahtab Keramati. She's also a designer, with an expensive fashion house in north west Tehran.

Mahtab was born in 1970. She studied microbiology at university and after graduation took part in an acting class and 6 months later she was chosen to play a role in television series. She took part in 2 films and soon became famous. Up to this day she has played in 19 films, including Alzhaimers, Octopus and The Rain Man. She won the Crystal Phoenix Award for her role in the film 20.

She was chosen as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2006. She took part in campaigns like AIDS, a debate on Iranian women's day, raising awareness for Gaza Strip children, supporting Iran's children day, and a global campaign about children and AIDS.

Read her message on Children's Day on the UNICEF webpage.

Their Angelina vs Our Angelina

2011-12-18T22:58:00.001+03:30

I found this picture some time ago on facebook. It's the picture of an unknown Iranian girl beside the picture of Angelina Jolie, the famous American actress. The caption under the photo says:

"You say, is our Angelina better or their Angelina?!!"

It's a rhetorical question which wants to tell the viewer Iranian girls are certainly more beautiful than many famous beautiful Western women.

While I agree the Iranian girl in the picture is strikingly gorgeous, I should add the photo below says why Jolie is still something more than just a pretty face:

I like Jolie.

Persian Language in Japan

2011-12-17T22:56:00.000+03:30

When I was a student at Tehran University, I saw many International students from different countries in campus. Some looked like Asians, with straight black hair and slanted eyes, some looked like Westerners, tall with brown hair and green-blue eyes, and a few of them were black which showed they've come from African countries.

I knew they've come over here to learn our language Persian, and it was always interesting to me some people travel to Iran to study Persian and they love learning it. As we have languages like English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Urdu, Japanese, Chinese and even Latin being taught in Tehran University and some other Iranian universities, I know we have Persian language being taught in some universities abroad.

Persian Language in Japan
Shahrzad Samarghandi
Radio Zamaneh

Kamyar Abedi is a Persian language teacher at Osaka University, one of the biggest cities in Japan. Mr Abedi is very much interested in expanding Persian Language and Literature and it's been 3 years he's teaching Persian to a group of Japanese students.

In an interview with this University teacher, he talks about his experiences and his contact with the Japanese and how much Persian language and literature is known among Japanese youth.

Kamyar Abedi: Each year about 20 students enter the University to study Persian language and these students finish the courses around 4-5 years or maybe 6 years. On average, each year about 60-70 students in different classes from the first year to the last year are studying Persian.

Q: After finishing the university and studying Persian language, which jobs usually these students do?

KA: After graduation because there are not many jobs in regard to Persian language, most of these students start working in jobs irrelevant to Persian language. A few of them, maybe about 3 or 4 ones might find a job which is connected to Persian.

Q: How's Persian literature in Osaka? For example do your students show interests in Persian literature?

KA: Not many people know enough about Persian literature. However it is known to some extent as well, because some stages of research is related to Iran or Central Asia and the Middle East and it's mixed with regions around Persian literature places. In the last 100 years, means the 20th Century, some parts of Persian literature have been translated into Japanese, whether directly from Persian or from English, German and other languages.

Q: We know the Japanese as tourist and travel-loving people and surely they like to travel to Iran very much and know the different parts and take photos. Tell us about your students, are they interested to have a trip to Iran?

KA: Yes, some of the Japanese students who have enough money come over to Iran every year. Some others travel shortly and some for a longer time for the purpose of improving their Persian language skills travel to Iran. To sum, Persian language students are very eager for Persian language and travelling to Iran. Also about travelling to Afghanistan. Though there's a war over there they go over there too. We have students who travelled to Tajikistan and even to Uzbekistan. These students go there and get enough knowledge of Persian language there.

Q: The Japanese are so much interested in travelling that it became a part of their culture. In your opinion was this habit among them from the past or is it a new behaviour in the Japanese' history?

KA: In my opinion this great interest in travelling has become more in the modern time. In the last 100 years the Japanese' interest for knowing other cultures became much more. Perhaps because they have tried to know the world better. I think in ancient times it was less, but I'm not very sure. At least about Iran it can be told in these 100 years the traveller memoirs the Japanese have written about Iran and the Persian language territory are not comparable to the old times.

Q: Although the Japanese are people who have seen the world and also they are economically developed, but they've kept their old traditions and they don't see them opposing each other. In your opinion what's the reason of that?

KA: I suppose Japan has an uninterrupted history. In the last millennium or maybe the last 1500 years Japan's history is very uninterrupted. Exactly despite other countries like Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan and in short the Persian speaking regions and other countries which become interrupted historically speaking. In Japan there's no such interruption. In fact the concept of nationality, the cultural concept of this country was very uninterrupted and maybe because of this they have strong ties with their traditions or some part of their traditions and these traditional behaviours haven't been vanished with today's world and still exists. While in many other countries they've been gone.

Q: The Japanese have much difficulty in learning Indo-European languages. Does your experience also show this? How's your students deal with the Persian language?

KA: In the first year it is very difficult. Especially in the first term you should work on phonetics very hard. Because some vowels and consonants don't exist in Japanese language and you should try much so the students learn them. Some are more interested and they learn fast, some learn slower and some learn really hard or they can never learn very well. Anyway they're far from Persian vowels and consonants but naturally those are more language-talented learn them well. The first year of teaching Persian to the Japanese is not easy at all, it is difficult but with the perseverance they Japanese have they learn most of it.

Q: When I was passing courses in Samarghand University, we had a Japanese teacher who had come over there voluntarily with his personal finance and taught Japanese to a group of students, but unlike our other Middle Eastern or American teachers didn't stay after classes to spend time with their students and know them better and have better relationship with them. I didn't see many Japanese in my life to have better judgement. How your experiences have been? Can you make friends with them quickly and fast?

KA: Making the acquaintance of the Japanese is not hard but making friends with them is. You are right, but I think despite we Middle Easterners, whether Iranian, Arab or from other countries, make friends slowly. We make friends quickly and might cut out ties quickly. But the Japanese get close to each other very tactfully, they think about making friends very much and after time these ties get stronger. Maybe they think longer than us. We think shortly. I'm not sure about this. Maybe I'm judging soon as well and making an emotional judgement. The Japanese think a bit farther.

The most important trait in the Japanese is their strange perseverance and that they're a united nation. They're modest and at the same time they're very polite and courteous. The don't show much willingness in friendships. In thinking and culturally they might be far away from the Middle East or Central Asia and other Persian language territories. However you feel the new generation show more interest to know the world and have contacts with other people, including Iranians and Persian speakers.

Q: Russian sociologists introduce Japan's society as male-dominant. What do you think?

KA: I think the new generations change these habits. Means you feel women's role in society is much greater than the past and maybe this analysis the Russian sociologists give is mainly related to the older generations. You don't have such feelings towards the young generations.

Translated by: Mercedé

Me, Oscar Wilde, and the Central Book City

2011-12-15T22:04:00.000+03:30

I'm one of the laziest people on Earth. Here's the proof: the best and biggest book shop in Iran is just 15 minutes away from my home, and I've been there just twice.

My second time there was last week. It was a sad Friday evening, I was sitting idly at my computer gazing at the flat monitor and feeling the whole world have died outside. I was sure if I stayed in my room for more than an hour I'd die from sadness and being bored. So I texted my sister and told her to get home and take me out with her to the central Book City. I knew going there has got therapeutic effects on me.

And it had. The moment I put my feet in there, I felt good. Seeing books, people, the lights and the soft music made me all well. I immediately went upstairs to find what I had in my mind and to buy it. I saw it some time ago but I felt at that time it wasn't a suitable time to buy it. But on that evening I knew only a book in English with beautiful watercolour painting of roses on its cover can evaporate my unhappiness.

It was a collection of John Keats poems. And I do love it. It's now sitting happily in my bookcase.

Now about the Central Book City:

Book City is a name for a chain of book shops in Iran. The first time I saw one of these shops was back in my teens, around 13 years ago. The book city shops have both books and stationary. The Central Book City was in a street called Zartosht street and it had just one floor and an amphitheatre for weekly meetings and debates. Later on the central Book City was moved to a bigger 3-floor place near our house. Yes!

As I said the place has got 3 floors. The first floor is for Persian books, music records and CDs. There's also a small lovely cafe in the corner with pleasant smell of coffee and tasty cheesecakes. Upstairs is for books in other languages, including English, French, and German. There you can many good books from other countries, like my John Keats book. Downstairs is special for stationary, toys and crafts and postcards. I found a lovely mug there and I'm planning to buy it ASAP.

Anyway, I had a really good time there, leafing through books, checking music CDs and picking up colourful pens and looking at crafts and postcards. As we were standing behind the cashier counter and waiting for our turn, I looked up, and saw a big banner up on the wall with various black and white pictures of writers and poets. Among all those pictures, Oscar Wilde caught my eye, leaning his head to his arm with that nice long coat. I looked and looked and looked at him, and as he was looking at me too, I felt I'm not sad anymore.

Who Knows about Persian Cats? No One.

2011-12-12T23:27:00.000+03:30

One of the Iranian films I really enjoyed watching this year was No One Knows about Persian Cats. That's actually a long title for a film and it wouldn't give you any idea what it would be about till you watch it yourself.

For me it is a cheerful film, if you just ignore the ending. Have you ever seen musical films full of fantastic songs? It is like them, though it's not a musical film. It's a film about music.

No One Knows about Persian Cats is the story of a boy called Ashkan and a girl called Shaghayegh, who both sing in Indie Rock genre. Whether they're a couple or not, it's not stated in the film, but you see they spend most of their time together.

The both try to form a band and get out of Iran to give a concert in London. They also need a visa to do so and illegally try to have it with the help of a man called Nader who's also a music lover and has got a crazy life. The tree explores Tehran in search of people who are willing to work with them to gather a band.

The whole film is their story of meeting the underground singers and musicians, and the difficulties these people have in producing their work and giving concerts. In one word, the pains Iranian musicians suffer.

You can hear many different genres of music in this film, which would be so enjoyable. I specifically love the soundtrack 'Drunk with Love' by Rana Farhan. Listen to this beautiful soundtrack on here:

I really, really, really love it!

The bands and singers who appeared in this film are: Take It Easy Hospital, Rana Farhan, Hichkas, The Yellow Dogs Band, Shervin Najafian, Ash Koosha, Mirza, The Free Keys, Mahdyar Aghajani, Darkoob, Hamed Seyyed Javadi, Nik Aein band.

Rana Farhan

The people who played in this film are: Negar Shaghaghi, Ashkan Kooshanejad, and Hamed Behdad. The director is Bahman Ghobadi.

From left to right: Ashkan Kooshanejad, Negar Shaghaghi, Bahman Ghobadi and Hamed Behdad

The awards this film won are:

Cannes Film Festival (Special Jury Prize)
Miami International Film Festival (Audience Award)
Sao Paulo International Film Festival (Best Foreign Language Film)
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (FICC Jury Award, Jury Prize for Cinematography, and NETPAC Jury Award)
Tokyo Feilmex (Special Jury Prize)

No One Knows about Persian Cats was released in countries like: the US, the UK, France, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands and Israel during 2009-2010.

I strongly recommend you to watch this film, especially since it can be found free online with English subtitles. Watch the trailer:

Gamishan Pond

2011-12-08T21:10:00.001+03:30

Ponds are one of the most serene places on Earth. If you have ever been beside a pond, you know what I mean. A cool breeze caresses your cheeks, birds flying peacefully high in the sky, and the sound of waves makes you feel calm. I have seen 2 ponds in the North of Iran. This pond, called Gamishan Pond is in the north as well. The photos look like a foggy dream, make me sleepy!

Photos by: Aboutaleb Nadari
I took these photos from Mehr News Agency website.

Cartoon: the British Embassy Events

2011-12-03T03:43:00.001+03:30

"Laughter is the best cure", as the saying goes. So let's take a look at this cartoon and smile a bit. It's by Mana Neyestani, the Iranian cartoonist; about the recent the British Embassy event. But to be honest I still feel so awful when I read the news related to it.

In this cartoon the young boy is holding the picture of him and a member of the militia chasing him with baton, and the old man is pointing to the Embassy, as they're both asking the militia member why he doesn't do anything forceful this time as usual. He says in a mellow tone: "Oh, they're young and they're students, we shouldn't be hard on them".

The only thing in the cartoon which made me laugh was that "Dan Vith Engelish" banner and that one climbing the flagpole like a real monkey!!!!

The Embarrassing News

2011-11-30T23:59:00.000+03:30

Anybody reading the news yesterday knows what I'm talking about. And if you don't know it yet, you better not know, to my relief. I got home from work yesterday and logged into facebook and saw all my friends were talking about it and I just understood what happened. I was mortified. When I was looking at the pictures I was dying with embarrassment. I'm just so ashamed I don't want to talk about it on here. All I can say is they're not us. We're not like them at all. They are those who're ruling us for 33 years. A true Iranian would never do that. I, as an Iranian and all my friends and the people of this country, really condemn this heinous act. Please consider this. That's all I can say.

I'm not Kidding Ellen. Seriously!

2011-11-29T23:30:00.000+03:30

Ellen. Dear Ellen.

If you're ever asked to write a letter to Ellen DeGeneres, what would you write?

Will you write to her she's funny, you love her talk show, she's wonderful, she's got amazing blue eyes, and you're happy about her and Portia?

I know, I know.

Who wouldn't love Ellen? In fact I think the person who doesn't like such a brilliant woman has got a miserable soul.

Beside all the things said above, if I ever want to write a letter to Ellen, or rather to send an email as these days a few people use letters as their correspondence way, I'd have something else to write as well.

Ellen has recently gave out a book called Seriously, I'm Kidding. The book is of course available in the US and some countries, but what about Iran? No, it is not.

And I want to read it voraciously. I read so many books in English, and I like them even more than books in my own language. So you can feel how disappointed I feel.

Who knows, maybe one day she accidentally read this and send me her book with her autograph on the first page. Oh seriously... I was kidding!

When Love and Jealousy Sit to Dine at "The Last Supper"

2011-11-28T19:34:00.001+03:30

It was a long time ago when I saw The Last Supper. No, no, I don't mean the painting by Da Vinci. The Last Supper is the name of an Iranian film (in Persian we call it Sham-e Akhar).

What would happen if a mother and daughter both fall in love with the same man?
What would happen if the young man is the mother's student at the university?
What would happen if the man only loves one of them?

The answer of all these questions is in the film The Last Supper. It was one of my main favourite films in the year 2001 and I still do like it.

I like the love triangle and the novel theme of the film in which a woman loves someone much younger than her but finally succumbs to her love and tries to find the happiness she never had with her ex-husband.

Katayoon Riahi in one of the scenes of the film The Last Supper

The cast includes:

Mohammad-Reza Golzar

Haniyeh Tavassoli

Katayoon Riahi

If you'd like to see some scenes of the film, watch this:

Beauty Salons in Iran

2011-11-27T23:54:00.000+03:30

Last Sunday as I was having my hair cut and my eyebrows plucked and feeling awesomely awesome, I was thinking to write about Iranian beauty salons.

There is something especial about Iranian beauty salons and barbers: men and women are separated. Men can't get into ladies beauty salons and it's odd if a woman enters a barber shop.

So it's only females who cut women's hair, pluck their eyebrows and do other services. I'm so used to have only women inside beauty salons it's odd for me to go to other countries seeing both men and women in one place!

Lonely like Snow, Lonely like Forough

2011-11-26T12:18:00.001+03:30

It's snowing again, like small white rice falling down from the sky. I had posted the pictures of Tehran on a snowy day before, so I don't intend to put such pictures again. Instead, as I was looking out of the window to look at the snow flakes, suddenly a poem by Forough Farrokhzad came to my mind. I thought of translating it for you, though I must say my English translation might have spoiled some of the beauty in its original Persian version. It's a very sad poem, I should warn you; I used to read it in my teens and feel very depressed. Let's read this poem together:

The sorrow of loneliness

It's snowing behind the window,

A hand is planting in my chest,

The seed of sorrow.

Your hair turned white, O snow

When you saw me like this at last.

It snowed in my heart but,

It didn't snow on my grave, alas.

It's shaking like a weak sapling,

My soul from the cold of loneliness.

It sneaks in the darkness of my heart,

The fear of the world of loneliness.

You wouldn't make me warm anymore,

You love, the frozen sun,

My chest is the desert of hopelessness,

I'm tired, I'm tired even of love.

The bud of your desire also withered,

O poem, you mischivious devil.

From this painful sleep finally,

My being woke up, woke up.

After him to whatever I turned,

I saw it was the spell of a mirage.

What I was looking for, O me,

it was a shadow from a dream.

O God, please open to me,

The doors of the Hell for a moment.

How long should I hide in my heart,

The longing for the Hell's warmth?

I saw many times the Sun,

Died in sunset time after time.

My sunsetless sun, oh,

It died also in the south.

After him what else I'm seeking?

After him what else I'm peeking?

A cold teardrop to shed.

A warm grave to rest.

It's snowing behind the window,

A hand is planting in my chest,

The seed of sorrow.

Forough Farrokhzad (1935-1967)

Funny in Farsi, English and Any Other Language

2011-11-26T11:54:00.000+03:30

It was back in 2006. I was getting back home and was sitting on the bus. The sun had went down and the street lights lit the bus. I had this book borrowed from the library in my bag, and I was very curious to read it as soon as possible. I had read about it in many magazines and on some websites and all recommended it, saying also the book is very funny as the name might suggest it to you: Funny in Farsi.

It was indeed funny. As I was reading it on the bus I couldn't help smiling. The writing style of the author was neat and tidy, and the humour was just perfect. You don't feel you're reading a book, but listening to a girl talking about her life and family after their immigration to the US from Iran. A good details of lives of immigrants in another country, in a cheerful bright way, not a sad tearful cliches you're used to.

The author's name is Firoozeh Jazayeri Dumas. Jazayeri is her maiden name and Dumas is her husband's last name. I wouldn't go on with her biography details on here, as you can read it all in her book, and of course she's a far better writer of her own life than me!

Though she's Iranian she wrote this book in English, I think mainly because she's forgotten most of her mother tongue, Persian or Farsi, and partly because she wanted Americans to read it first. However she mentions she has dedicated her book to people of her own country. This book has been translated into Persian language by the name of "The Scent of Hyacinth, the Scent of Pine", which refers to the cultural differences between Iran and the US in which you put a pot of hyacinth on the table around Iranian new year and in the US you decorate pine trees on Christmas.

I'm sure the book is great and funny, in Farsi, English or any other language.

If Kamran and Hooman Didn't Exist

2011-11-25T01:02:00.000+03:30

Another melancholic rainy night over here, but let's put our sorrows aside and listen to a nice song.

I wrote about Kamran and Hooman before. And it was one of the most viewed posts on this blog. Here's a pop quiz for you to see how much you remember about them:

1. Who's Kamran and who's Hooman?

2. Are they cousins or brothers?

3. Who's older?

Time's up! You lazy students. Kamran and Hooman are brothers and the one with long shiny hair is called Kamran and he's the elder brother.

Most people believe Hooman is more attractive than Kamran, but in my opinion his long hair make him quite speical.

I like Kamran with long shiny hair as I like Ellen DeGeneres with short hair and boyish clothes. So if one day Kamran appears with short hair and Ellen in skirt and high-heels, I'd stop liking them both!

I wanted to upload one of their newest videos for you on here, but after seeing one of their songs have had more than 1 million views, I changed my mind.

I don't keep you waiting, ladies and gentlemen, here's one of Kamran Hooman's songs called If I didn't exist (Man Ageh Nabasham):

Man nabasham ki too ro'ya moohato naz mikoneh?

[If I didn't exist, who would caress your hair in your dream?]

Ki ba balhay-e shekasteh ba tou parvaz mikoneh?

[Who will fly with you with broken wings?]

Ras begoo, man ke nabasham akhma-ye pishoonito,

[Tell the truth, if I didn't exist, who will...]

ki maid dooneh dooneh ba hoseleh baz mikoneh?

[Come and open your brow knots one after the other patiently?]

Man nabasham ki miad naz-e negato mikhareh,

[If I didn't exist, who would come and buy the seductiveness in your glances?]

Ki miad donbale tou, tou ro ta khorshid bebareh?

[Who will come to you, get you to the Sun?]

ki migi hagh ha hamishe ba toue?

[Who says you're always right?]

vasey-e khater-e tou joon mideh poshte panjareh?

[Just for you die behind the window?]

Chorus:

Man ageh nabasham,

[If I didn't exist,]

ki vaseh hamisheh,

[Who would forever,]

tou ro miparasteh?

[Worship you?]

Ki barat mimireh?

[Who will die for you?]

ki nemisheh khasteh?

[Who wouldn't get tired?]

ki tou ro mizareh,

[Who will put you,]

rooye do ta cheshmash?

[On his eyes?]

Ki ageh nabashi,

[Who will if you wouldn't exist,]

migireh nafas-hash?

[Be short of breath?]

(2)

Man ageh nabasham (4)

[If I didn't exist?]

man nabasham ki tahamol mikoneh hal-e tou ro?

[If I didn't exist, who will tolerate your moods?]

ba raghib, raftano aziato azare toro?

[Your going out with the rival, you being annoying?]

to khodet davar-e meydoon sho begoo,

[You can be the judge and tell,]

kieh ke javab nadeh talkhiey rafatar-e tou ro?

[Who wouldn't react to your bitterness?]

man nabasham ki barat gheseh mige ta bekhabi?

[If I didn't exist who will tell you stories till you go to sleep?]

ki miad soragh-e ro'yat too shabhay-e mahtabi?

[Who will come to your dream in moon-lit nights?]

ki bidareh ta tou khabet bebareh

[Who's awake till you go to sleep?]

ki ghayem mishe tooy-e abrha ke rahat betabi?

[Who will hide in clouds so you shine better?]

Chorus

Have a Nice Day in Tehran, with Tehraner

2011-11-24T22:00:00.000+03:30

Imagine you're a tourist, you're in Tehran, and after visiting all those famous places and historical sites you sit back in your hotel and don't know where else to go. Would you like to know about current artistic affairs going on in Tehran, like painting exhibitions, art galleries, films, plays and books? Don't worry! Tehraner is here to help you. It's both written in Persian and English, so no worries. You put the mouse cursor on each picture on the website and it goes up or moves aside and there you can see a small note about it. It's not only for tourists but as a Tehranian you can enjoy Tehraner too!

A Yellow Yummy Food called Sho'le Zard

2011-11-24T09:31:00.000+03:30

What do you think of the food with the name: "Yellow Flame"? Sounds lovely! Sho'le Zard means yellow flame in Persian language. The name refers to the nice yellow colour of the food.

Sho'le Zard is served on especial religious ceremonies. As Turkey is served on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas pudding on Christmas Eve, so our mothers wouldn't make Sho'le Zard on some days of the week and bring it to the table!

But no matter if you're an atheist or a strict follower of any religion, you can still make this food and enjoy it.

It's also very easy to make it. What you need includes:

Rice: 2 cups
Sugar: 4 cups
Cold water: 14-16 cups
Rose water: 1 cup
Butter: 5-6 table spoon
Almond pieces: 3/4 cup
Pistachio pieces: as much as you like
Saffron and cardamom: a pinch
Cinnamon: a pinch

Recipe:
Wash the rice with warm water 3-4 times and pour out the water. Then let it soak in warm water for 4-5 hours. After that pour out the water then put the rice in the saucepan with 14 cups of cold water, bring to the boil and then simmer. If the heat is too high the rice will stick to the end of the pot. In the meanwhile, add saffron and sugar to the rice. You should decide about the amount of saffron yourself. Just add it till you feel the colour is yellow enough. If you the saucepan is becoming dry, top up with more water. Constantly stir the rice, or else it would stick to the pot. At the end, when the rice is soft and smashed, add sugar, rosewater, cardamom, and butter and mix them. Add almond pieces now and let it cook for a while. It's ready now. Make sure Sho'le Zard is not too watery. When you put it in the bowl decorate it with cinnamon and pistachio pieces.

Stop Killing Animals in Ukraine

2011-11-23T12:01:00.001+03:30

I was writing a post about an Iranian food when something happens and I decided to put it aside and write this post first.

As a heavy user of the Internet and a news follower I come across lots of bad things daily, from news of hanging, raping, and murder. Among them is also news of animal abuse.

I'm subscribed to a petition site and it sometimes sends some emails to me, asking me to sign a petition. One day some time ago it sent me an email about Ukraine getting prepared for Eurofoot 2012. They're killing stray dogs and cats by horrible ways of throwing them into furnaces and letting them burn there alive, poisoning them and shooting them.

Today my Polish friend Gabi reminded me all about it again by writing to me and saying she's very upset because of seeing the graphic videos of those poor animals in Ukraine. I understand her, who likes to see those adorable creatures to suffer like that?

Here's the petition for you, please sign it and send it to all your friends and share it on facebook:

Tell Ukraine to Stop Burning Animals Alive

And for now you Gabi please don't be sad, smile and cheer up, 'cause I wrote this post just for you :)

On Appreciation of Nudity!

2011-11-22T14:03:00.001+03:30

You've heard about that Egyptian girl uploading her naked pictures on her blog, haven't you? The news went viral over here in Iran, and many people talked about it on their blogs and facebook pages. The majority of Iranians supported what she did, and called it a brave act to oppose the intense Islamic atmosphere clouding up Egypt's sky. The Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani drew a really meaningful cartoon about it. When a girl tears the crocodile's jaw she's clad in...

I found this quite interesting as well:

Israeli women strip in support of nude Egyptian blogger

The Gold Icecream

2011-11-22T11:54:00.001+03:30

Imagine you went to a restaurant, opened the menu, and on the list among food and dessert names you lay your eyes on this: ice cream with gold. You certainly feel it's a lovely new name for an ice-cream and the gold in the name refers to something yummy and yellow. You're wrong. There's a restaurant in Tehran called Milad Tower Restaurant, and there's an ice cream in there called Gold Icecream.

You still can't believe it? I know, it's really something odd. It was a controversial issue for a while over here, with press discussing it hotly, and even Washington Post writing an article about it. The cost of this interesting icecream is as interesting as its name: 4,000,000 Iranian Rials, which is about 370 US dollars and 235 English Pounds. I've read the icecream have been omitted from the menu after some clerics declared eating gold is not approved in the rules of the religion.

My piece of advice: if you're taking the person you love to a restaurant, check beforehand it doesn't serve any gold icecreams. You wouldn't want to get broke, will you?!

Kiana Firouz, a Girl in "Cul-de-Sac"

2011-11-18T07:51:00.001+03:30

As for today, we have two subjects combined in one: Kiana Firouz and the film Cul-de-Sac.

I was browsing through a news website when I first came across her name. The piece of the news was out-of-date at the time of my reading, however; it was saying her life was in danger.

But what had she done that her life was hanging by a thread?

The answer is easy: Kiana isn't interested in men, a deadly sin according to the religion, and she played in a film about lives of women like her in Iran based on her own real life.

Certainly an out and proud girl is a thorn in "some" short-sighted eyes. That's why Kiana could have been in danger. Thus she moved over to the UK and it was there she played in the film.

Cul-de-Sac is a French term, which is a loan word in English language and it means a dead-end, or in better words streets with closed ends. And it's a suitable title for this documentary-drama: people like Kiana are surrounded in a cul-de-sac.

Cul-de-Sac is about the life of an Iranian girl who's interested in women and has many problems inside the country. She has come over to England and though she lives in a free country, her life is full of ups and downs. In addition to immigration problems, she is under lots of pressures, including hearing about her friends who are still in Iran. In fact, it seems this girl would never find happiness and is always struggling with fear, stress and pressure.

The film was released in the UK, in May, 2010 and was well-received by critics. It was written, directed and produced by Ramin Goudarzi Nejad and Mahshad Torkan. The cast are Kiana Firouz, Mahshad Torkan, and Nicola Evans.

Kiana was born on 21 April 1983. She is a writer, film-maker, LGTB activist and an actress. She began writing at the age of 18 with the filmscript "A woman's sin is her being a woman". Then she wrote the stories "I was your spouse" and "Simin" and took part in making some films. But her main activity was writing articles, poems and stories in an on-line Iranian lesbian magazine called My Same-Sex.

Due to Kiana's talking openly about her orientation and her role in the film with the explicit scenes, she knew she couldn't get back to Iran. Therefore she sought asylum from the British government. Her asylum was initially turned down but later on it was granted in June 2010 because of the wide attention it gained from public and Amnesty International.

We are happy those beautiful black eyes haven't been closed for ever, and she's safe now. Good job Kiana, Iran certainly needs such brave women like you.

The film has been made with low budget, and no financial help from any NGOs, yet it depicts what is supposed to the audience very well. Watch the film trailer on here:

If you can read Persian, see Kiana's blog written in Persian language containing her stories and poems. You can also take a look at the photos she took on her Picasa Web Album.

Let's end this post by one of Kiana's poems:

I have come without suitcase, without food and without love,

Cooler than the wind and naked,

With my burnt face and body,

No fear.

Keeshmeesh Cafe

2011-11-17T10:16:00.001+03:30

Always tasty in Keeshmeesh,
Be styleesh, be your weesh!

I discovered a new cafe last night. My sister, her friend and I were going to a nice small doughnut shop which is famous for nice doughnuts and big mugs of tea. When we got there we found out the shop isn't there anymore! Instead we went into a cafe near there.

The name is KeeshMeesh. It means raisin in Persian language. As I entered the cafe, the beautiful decoration caught my eye. Everything was so brand-new and beautiful. There was only a couple in the cafe, as it was a rainy evening.

We sat a corner, and while the coffee-man brought us the menue and we were choosing our orders, I was looking curiously around: a neon board at the entrance, nice wooden chairs and tables, sketches drawing artistically on sewing papers, and lots of brochures on a small table near the door informing visitors about current artistic affairs in Tehran as galleries and shows.

It felt so good to sit inside a warm beautiful cafe in a rainy evening. The cafe is situated inside a residing complex, and the yards around was so beautiful with those nice flowers and trees planting artistically in the gardens. There was another cafe and restaurant near this cafe too, but my sister recommended this one.

If you ever visited Tehran, don't miss this cafe!

Related posts:

Samaneh Hallaj, Photos

2011-11-16T01:17:00.001+03:30

I found these really nice pictures some times ago and when I looked carefully, I found out they're by Samaneh Hallaj. She was born on 14 July 1990 in the city of Isfahan, Iran.

She's the student of painting at the moment and loves photography.

Here are some of her beautiful pictures. For more, visit her Picasa web album on here.

Mohsen Namjoo

2011-11-15T06:52:00.001+03:30

The most controversial Iranian singer since the Revolution 1979 is Mohsen Namjoo. He was born in 1976 in a small city in north east Iran called Torbat-e Jam.

He started his musical training in childhood when he was only 12 years old. After high school he was admitted to University of Tehran, for studying music but 3 years later dropped out college as he believed their teaching was not creative.

He started singing from 1993 till now. His album Toranj becomes highly popular in the year it was released. He was sentenced to 5 years prison because of mocking a chapter in Muslims' holy book in one of his songs called Ash-Shams, but he was out of Iran at that time. He's living in the US now and is researching at the University of Stanford.

Last year his concert in Malaysia was cancelled as some Islamist groups believed he has offended God and Islam and shouldn't sing in their country. In the year he released Toranj album some also believed that he had disrespected Iran's famous poets like Hafez and Rumi by the way he sang their poems in his songs.

No matter what, Namjoo is very popular among Iranians.

Namjoo is famous for combining traditional music with different other kinds, suchas jazz and rock.He uses some sounds of his own in his songs too, which makes him very different from all other singers. He believes the vocal cords are musical instruments of their own too.

Below I uploaded one of his songs called Neo-Kantianist Ideas with my English translation:

Neo-Kantianist ideas for me,

Normandi poppy for you

(2)

Sweetness and impatience for me,

The 15-centimetre love for you

Macaroni, Indian tamarind for us,

Shahid Qandi Street for us,

The grave you laugh at for us

Cleverness and slyness, for us,

Neo-Kantish ideas for me,

Normandi poppy for you

What do you seek from the table, my lord?

What do talk to yourself my generous?

Why do you seek my mourn?

You're so cheeky, my lord

Where do you string your horse my son?

What do you secretly laugh at my cowboy?

You're under a sword my master

What do you believe in my lady?

Neo-Kantianist ideas for me,

Normandi poppy for you

Stale kookoo for me,

Godfather's copy for us,

Unwanted creation for us,

Godfather's copy for us,

Embarrassed government for us,

Thickness of the file for us,

The looser national footballist for us,

Embarrassed government for us,

Good criticism for us,

Maybe the future for us.

Neo-Kantianist ideas for me,

Normandi poppy for you

Sweetness and impatience for me,

Whatever you read in your heart for you

You can visit his website at: http://www.mohsennamjoo.com/

Tas Kabab

2011-11-15T04:35:00.000+03:30

Photo taken from Hamshahri magazine

I admit I'm not interested in cooking, neither I can cook. But since this Iranian food was so easy to make and it's different from most food we serve with rice, I decided to write about it.

What you need (for 4 people):

2 average quinces
2 big potatoes
5 carrots
300 gr plum
0.5 kg Meat (if you're vegan you can omit it)
Water, 2-3 big glasses
Salt, pepper, turmeric
Oil, 2-3 soup spoons

How to make:

Cut meat in 2*3 cm cubes. Do the same with carrots. Cut quinces in moon shapes. Wash plumes and soak them in water for half and hour.

Pour oil in the pot, put meat in the pot, then plumes and carrots. Pour 2-3 big glasses of water in the pot and add salt, pepper and turmeric. Put the lead on. Let the ingredients cook with low heat.

Now peel potatoes and cut them in cubes as you did with carrots. When you see the meat has been cooked, add potatoes and some tomato condensed juice. Let potatoes be cooked too.

Enjoy!

Be careful. If you add potatoes at the beginning, they would be smashed.

Some people use onions in this food too. The choice is yours.

Queen Fawzia

2011-11-13T00:00:00.001+03:30

Today I'd like to write about someone who wasn't Iranian but for sure had a role in Iran's history: Queen Fawzia.

If you ask me to name the most beautiful women in the world, one of them is certainly Fawzia Fauad.

Daughter of Malek Fauad, the Egyptian king, she was born in 4 November 1921 in Cairo, Egypt. Malek Faud's family were originally from Albania, and you can see that in their blue eyes and light hair.

Reza Shah, Iran's King at that time decided to choose a wife for his son Muhammad-Reza among Eastern princesses. From all those girls, Muhammad-Reza chose Fawzia.

Soon a Royal group from Iran with Muhammad-Reza Pahlavi left Iran to Egypt, for the courting ceremony and planning the wedding. The young couple met there and a splendid feast was held.

After a few days Muhammad-Reza, Fawzia and a Egyptian royalty group including Fawzia's Mother and sisters arrived in Iran for the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was very magnificent according to the Life magazine.

Fawzia felt very loney in Tehran. Her best friend was a maid she brought from Cairo, and her little chimp. Tehran was colder than Cairo in winters and it annoyed her. The facilities she had in Cairo wasn't available for her in Tehran. She was also very shy, and didn't like taking part in Royal parties, but Reza Shah liked his daughter-in-law very much, and did his best for his son's bride.

Among all the Pahlavi's family, one person managed to get close to this timid gorgeous girl: Ashraf, Muhammad-Reza's sister. They got very close and intimate. There are some photos of Ashraf and Fawzia standing together.

A year after the wedding, Fawzia, now a beautiful elegant woman, felt she was going to have a baby. Everybody expected this, as Muhammad-Reza was supposed to have a son to inherit his throne in the future.

Nine months later, she gave birth to a healthy beautiful child, but despite the expectations, the baby was a girl. This made Reza Shah angry, and eyebrows in the Royal family were raised, but Muhammad-Reza went to see his wife with flowers and sweets and calmed her down. The baby was named Shahnaz.

The second World War broke out, but Iran remained neuter. However, England felt Reza Shah had a tendency towards Germany, and made him resign. He was ousted and left Iran to live in a small Island in South Africa and his son took power. Fawzia was then the First Lady in Iran.

When the situation became better, Muhammad-Reza crowned and became the king of Iran. At this time Muhammad-Reza was only 22 and Fawzia was 20. Things changed for her after her husband became the King. Reza Shah, her father-in-law wasn't in Iran anymore to protect her and the people in the Palace felt more free to do whatever they liked.

Also Muhammad-Reza's Mother and sisters felt more jealous towards her after she became the Queen of Iran. She was very beautiful after all and this arouse so much envy. Cecil Beaton, the Life magazine photographer came to Iran for taking photos of the King and the Queen. He resembled Fawzia to Venus, said she is more beautiful than Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner, the famous beautiful women of those times. Her picture went on the cover of the Life magazine on that year.

This marriage was political. England dictated it to improve Iran-Egypt ties, and when it was observed it was not beneficial anymore, they decided to ruin it. Muhammad-Reza had a clsoe friend called Ernest Prone, who was from Switzerland and was England's spy. It was him who told Fawzia that the King had got secret lovers and sometimes meet some girls. This made Fawzia burn in anger and she drifted apart from him day after day.

With these plans to make the Queen hate the King, Fawzia got more depressed and hopeless in Tehran. She spent most of her time with her daughter Shahnaz alone, until in 1945 she used illness as an excuse to leave Iran to Cairo, Egypt; and didn't return. Three years later she obtained an official divorce in Tehran and went back to her homeland and her daughter Shahnaz remained in Iran to be raised by her father's family. Fawzia reclaimed her distinction of Princess of Egypt after the divorce.

And this was the end of the story. Another chapter was finished in Pahlavi's Royal family. And another one was opened in Fawzia's life: on 28 March 1949, She married Colonel Ismael Shirin Bey, Egypt's Minister of War and the Navy. They had a daughter and the son.

According to reporters Fawzia is still with us. In 2005 her death was mistakenly reported but she was mistaken for her niece. She is living now in Cairo, Egypt at present. Long Live the Queen!

PS. I wanted to thank the owner of this page on facebook. There are some really beautiful photos of the Queen on there and I used them in this post.

It's Snowing!

2011-11-10T06:07:00.002+03:30

Tehran is snowy since yesterday. We usually don't have snow in autumn. These pictures are good for those friends who tell me they didn't know it snows in Iran too!
It's 0 C in Tehran right now. I checked weather forecasting websites and they say Tehran is colder than Gdansk in Poland and Aberdeen in Scotland. That's really weird!!!!

Sa'adat Abad, a Film about Our Hidden Lives

2011-11-09T05:40:00.004+03:30

If you haven't seen a good Iranian film lately, I recommend "Sa'adat Abad". Sorry if the name is too hard for you to pronounce or even read. Sa'adat Abad is a name of a neighbourhood in North West Tehran. The word literary means "The place of happiness" and it's such a great name for this film. Because the people in this film all gather in a house in Sa'adat Abad, but you see they've lost their happiness.

The film starts with the main actress moving around in the house. We see she's preparing a birthday party for her husband and wants to surprise him.

Her daughter's babysitter is standing beside her in the kitchen. Her phone rangs, but she is not happy about it. The mobile phones play an important role in this film!

Then we saw another couple, her friends. She has invited them to the party. A woman who tries to leave abroad, and a too-supportive, controlling man. This couple are one of the main suspension element in this film. The wife has got a secret, and wants to hide it from her husband, and the man wants tok now it, soon.

Then another woman appears in the film: an elegant fashionable lady, who behaves a bit coldly and proudly, as she's above others, but not in an unfriendly way. She's very rich after all. On that day she has got a bad hay fever, and if wasn't her sneezes she might have remembered what she wanted to tell that secretive wife.

Then the husband arrives at home, the person whose birthday is on that day. In a few seconds we see he's a businessman, ignorant, but has got a good sense of humour. In fact this is the person who makes laugh till the end of the film.

And the last guest rings the bell: the proud woman's husband. He's handsome, has dressed nicely, and is kind. You can't help liking him. There's a secret love under his chest but soon you'll see it in his eyes, talk, and smiles.

Soon all these people sat at the dinner table, and start eating the dinner she was preparing all day. You now know how these people are connected, and their pasts.

Sa'dat Abad keeps your breath and makes you sit still in your chair and listen and wait. You'll think what's her secret? What's his secret? What will he do to her? What will she do to him? What will happen next?

All in all, a great film, great actors and actresses, nice costume designs, perfect decorations, and above all, excellent story. No one will get out of the cinema unsatisfied, even my Mum and Dad who rarely like a film!!!!

I watched this film two times just in one night! Once with my sister, then we got home and took Mum and Dad with us.

The film is in Iran's cinemas now, and wouldn't be found on the Internet for watching. But you can wait till it gets available too. Don't forget watching it.

The cast are:

Leila Hatami

Mahnaz Afshar

Hengameh Ghaziani

Mina Sadati

Hamed Behdad

Hossein Yari

Amir Aghaei

And the director is:

Maziar Miri

Watch the film trailer:

Men Do Not Enter!

2011-11-08T02:14:00.000+03:30

Sorry for not blogging for a few days. I was ill. For today I'd like to show you some funny pictures. They all have Iranian women in metro in focus. Who's the creator? Elham Atari Azar. She is a physics graduate, but she left it and decided to do something she loved all her life:

Don't Cut down Our Trees, Please!

2011-11-03T06:42:00.000+03:30

Seems like lots of trees have been cut down in Kerman, a city in the south of Iran. An artist from Kerman tries to show his protest in a peaceful and creative way. Look at the photos and appreciate his concern about the environment:

All photos are by Hamid Sadeqi.

Tehran on Rainy Days

2011-11-01T00:12:00.000+03:30

Ah, the rain, the rain

The rain washed the windows,

But who will clean your pattern from my heart?

Hamid Mosaddeq (1940 - 1988)

Just a few drop of rains and most Iranian blogs and status updates would be about the rain, the romantic climate and some poems regarding the rain.

The usual rainy seasons in Iran are spring and autumn. Iranians love the rain. In ancient Iran and even nowadays it's been believed that the rain is a blessing from God. Abundant rain is equal to good agriculture without a very dry summer.

So, let's open our umbrellas and walk in rainy streets of Tehran. Enjoy it!

Pomegranate: The Ruby of Heaven

2011-10-30T23:54:00.000+03:30

The 5th festival of Pomegranate: The Ruby of Heaven was held in Eshraq Cultural Centre.

According to the manager In Iranian culture pomegranate is equal to life, birth and abundance. Iran produces 600,000 tons of the World's pomegranates and is one of the biggest producers of this fruit and has the largest fields of pomegranate.

This festival includes introducing of pomegranates of different provinces, selling pomegranates and its by-products, handicraft, etc.

This festival was held from 26th Mehr till 5th Aban.

Atish

2011-10-29T00:49:00.000+03:30

I admit when it comes to very new Iranian singers, I'm unfamiliar with most of them! I mostly know the famous Iranian singers who everyone knows about. Lately I discovered this female singer by the stage name of Atish which means fire in Persian language). Her real first name is Bahar. To be honest we had a song by her on our computer by I didn't know exactly who she was.

Despite most Iranian singer living abroad, Bahar lives in Iran, Tehran. She set her feet in the music world at the tender age of 15. After two years working with some Rap bands, she became famous. Her popular songs in 2005 were "Our Shout", "The Power Is in Our Hands", and "Playing with Fire". She got the title of the best Iranian Female Rapper in that year.

For some reasons she stopped singing until 2009, when she eventually came back to spotlight by the two songs "Tonight Is Our Night" and "I Love My Life". In 2011 due to the support her fans give her she continued her work with the well-known song "To Pass Slowly" but this time in Pop.

Iranian Girl in Paradox and Compromise

2011-10-28T01:56:00.002+03:30

Sometimes you can see good photo collections without any need to go to any art galleries! Well I found these pictures accidentally on facebook. They are Nazi Abbasi's photo collection called Iranian Girl in Paradox and Compromise. The two girls in each picture is she herself, one shows her in Iranian traditional style and the other, the modern Iranian girl. Some people say Iran is the country of paradoxes; by looking at these photos I can say it's true!

My Tehran for Sale

2011-10-26T12:32:00.000+03:30

Later last month I watched a filmed called "My Tehran for Sale". A film about a girl who was disowned by her religious family and lives on her own, and plays in a theatre. She meets a young Iranian man in a night party who've just come back from Australia. She decides to marry him and get out of Iran but something happens and ruins everything.

My Tehran for Sale is a bitter film. It moves you and makes you think, no matter if you're Iranian or not. At the end of the film you don't want to turn it off and go away. You would start wondering what happened to this girl? What would she do? And the suspended ending makes you to choose it yourself.

Iranian Nights

2011-10-23T23:47:00.005+03:30

An old Carvansara in Damqan

All photos are by Babak Amin Tafreshi and Amir Abolfathi. Both are amateur astrologist and take astrological photos of Iran's sky.

Persepolis in Shiraz

The remains of an old bridge near Pars

Zagros mountains near Isfahan

The peak of Alamut mountain

Nyasar (Near Kashan).

A view of Tehran

A desert near Damqan

Ivanov

2011-10-20T02:45:00.000+03:30

OK, again I want to write about something which I still haven't seen, but I'm so excited about it. Yes, it's the play Ivanov by Antoin Chekhov. Chekhov is very popular and wellknown over here in Iran. Many of his plays have been on stage and the audience have welcomed them with great eagerness. Just as an example 2000,000 visited his play Uncle Vania last winter! Let's look at some the photos from the first night of the play on here (all photos are by Abbas Kowsari):

The director is Amir-Reza Kuhestani, and the cast are: Negar Javaherian, Fariba Kamran, Mohammad-Reza Najafi, Mohammad-Hassan Majouni, Saeid Changizian, Ali Bagheri, Mahin Sadri, Vahid Aghapour, Reza Behboudi, and Fatemeh Fakhraei.

The play is in this October and November at 7 pm at Iranshahr Theatre.

I can't wait!!!

Prague Cafe

2011-10-19T02:43:00.000+03:30

What would a cafe called Prague remind you of? Kafka? Czech? Eastern Europe?

For me, it sounds like somewhere literary, artistic. Sometimes I find new cafes and restaurant on the Internet! In one of my surfing the Internet, I found this cafe on facebook. I saw many people have liked the page, including some of my friends, so I decided to go there at least once to see how it is.

And I went. The good thing about this cafe is it's spacious, so chairs aren't packed into each other. The cafe is at the end of a business mall in a bloulevard, so you wouldn't see it till you hear about it first by someone! The atmosphere was wooden and brown, and half dark.

There was a small bookcase in one of the walls where some plays, poetry books and novels have been set. I picked up a play by Margaret Doras but before I find time to read it my order was ready. A delicious bowl of crisps and melted cheese.

The cafe is famous for the photo and painting exhibitions, but it's a bit more expensive than other cafes. Before going there I advise you to consider your budget!

An Exhibition of Works of Photography

2011-10-18T02:42:00.000+03:30

Two weeks ago on Monday I was in the Museum of Contemporary Art. There's an exhibition in there, in which old photos by great photographers are being shown.

The exhibition shows the evolution of the photography from 1838 to 1970. Works of great photographers such as William Fox Talbot, William Henry Jackson, Nadar, Edward Styken, Henry Peach Robinson, Gertrud Casbier, Margaret Bork White, Michelle Stewart, etc are all gathered in one place.

Just in the first 4 days of the grand-opening more than 2000 people have visited the exhibition. This is the first time this collection is being fully shown, as once before the revolution 1979 and once after some of the photos were on display but not all of them. There are 154 photos, some collections, some portraits and some old camera for public show.

Afshin Shahroudi is responsible for this exhibition. The photos were all gathered in different years and were stored in the museums archives. The old cameras all belong to Mohammad Ali Jadid Ol Eslam's personal collection, and he sent them from Tabriz to Tehran when Shahroudi asked him to do. There are more than 200 cameras in there, the oldest one is from the year 1855 and the newest is from 5 years ago.

Taking pictures inside the museum was prohibited, so unfortunately I can't share any of those great pictures with you. I specifically like the portrait of a beautiful girl who was the photographer's daughter; a village in the moonlight and the photo of a Victorian man with cylinder hat, spectacles and a crane.

If you ever come over to Tehran, don't miss visiting this great museum.

See the statues in the Garden of Statues in this museum on here.

The Lights, I Will Turn off

2011-10-17T01:56:00.000+03:30

If you ask me what's the best book you ever read in Persian, I'd definitely say: "The Lights, I Will Turn of".

The book was first published in 2001, and soon became so popular it won many literary awards inside Iran.

The author Zoya Pirzad is an Iranian writer of Armenian origin. Her mother is Armenian and her father is of Russian origin. She was born in Abadan in 1959, a city in the south of Iran, married in Tehran. She's now living in Germany.

The Light's I Will Turn off in German translation

The Lights I Will Turn off is about an Armenian woman called Claris, living with her husband and three children in one of Oil Firm neighbourhoods. She had a peaceful life minding her ordinary life and daily chores until a new neighbour arrives opposite their house: a young attractive man, with his daughter and his mother.

Her books are:

Like All Evenings
One Day Before Easter
The Acrid Taste of Persimmon
I Turn Off the Lights
We will get used to It

I have always wanted to translate this book into English for people from other countries to read. Maybe I'd do it one day!

The Iranian Television Series "The English Bag"

2011-10-16T02:44:00.000+03:30

The television series "The English Bag" was produced in the year 2000. It was one of the most popular series of its time. The historic story, the great music and well-chosen cast all made it memorable.

The story dates back to 100 years ago, and is about a man called Dr Mansoor Adiban who went back from France to Iran after his studies finished, and runs a weekly called "Free Iran" (Iran-e Azad). He took part in senate's election but there was no chance for him. The second time, he enjoys the support of a girl from a rich and wellknown family, called Mastaneh who loves Iran and wants it to be free too. Mastaneh is in love with Mansoor, but he's too busy with politics to know that...

One of the main reasons this series became so beautiful is its main actress Leila Hatami. Being the daughter of the acclaimed Iranian director Ali Hatami who passed away in 1996, she is famous for her deep glances in her black soulful eyes. She's unique in Iran's cinema.

Leila Hatami

Here are some useful links for you:

See the intro of the series on here.
Listen to the nice music by Farhad Fakhredini on here
Watch the tearful last episode on here (Sorry there is no English subtitles)

"Life Goes on in Tehran" Photoblog

2011-10-15T00:00:00.001+03:30

My Polish friend Gabi got me the link of this fabulous photoblog. The writer is an Iranian living many years in the US. He really showed real aspects of life in Tehran so well with his photos. On here I put some of his pictures, but for more you should visit his blog. That's a shame he stopped updating it. Hope he gets back soon and share more photos with us! You can also join the facebook page for this photoblog.

How to Make "Kookoo Sabzi"

2011-10-14T23:37:00.000+03:30

"Kookoo Sabzi" or vegetable pancake is the name of an Iranian food. It's so easy to make it. What you need is vegetables, and egg! OK, here's the exact recipe for you:

Ingredients of Kookoo sabzi for 6 people

chopped parsley, spinach, leek, fenugreek, coriander (1 kg)
6 eggs
salt, red pepper, and a little turmeric
oil
some people use walnuts and kind of barberry in this food too

Put all the chopped vegetables in a bowl, break eggs, put salt red pepper and turmeric too. Mix them very well. Put a pan on the stove, pour oil in it, when the oil is hot enough put the ingredient in it and wait till it cook. Pay attention both sided should be cooked, so you turn turn them down in the pan when one side is cooked.

Here's also a very good video of of making kookoo sabzi. This video was good too!

Darvak Cafe

2011-10-14T15:06:00.000+03:30

The day I visited Maral Esfahani's painting exhibition with a friend; after getting out of the gallery, we decided to go to a cafe too and have something. We were in Mottahari Street and my friend suggested Darvak Cafe, though she said she had never been there, just saw it in the street she has the piano class. We walked a short distance then at the beginning of Larestan Street we saw the wooden door and windows of the Cafe.

Inside the cafe was small but cosy. The tables were round, wooden and small and gave a warm atmosphere to the place.

The chairs were also wooden, reminded me of the Polish chairs being used in Iran about 50 years ago.

There was a notice board there which visitor could write something on a piece of paper and stick it onto the board. People usually write a piece of poetry or whatever think is interesting.

There was also a small blackboard for writing with chalk on it, this one is specifically for nice poems.

At first we sat beside the window, the place I like the most in cafes and restaurants, but my friend suggested to go upstairs.

The stairs were narrow and steep, when I was going up I was afraid to fall down! There were four picture frames on the wall which I really liked. I forgot what the pictures were, but I'm sure they were something nice I remember it with good feeling today.

My friend ordered grilled potatoes and me egg sandwich. The staff there were nice and friendly. The menu was small and the interesting drink in it was Boosheher Cocktail. (Well not that cocktail you think, it was non-alcoholic!)

There were lots of youth there, boys and girls sitting around tables, laughing and smoking. Most of them looked like art students. I really didn't expect such a small place has so much customers. I think probably because smoking there wasn't banned.

We had a pleasant evening, chatted and spent an hour there. And for your information, darvak means frog in Persian language. There is a famous poem by Nima Youshij, the Iranian contemporary poet saying:

My farm got dry,
Next to the neighbour's farm.
Though they say: "They are crying in the nearby beach,
Mourners among mourners."
O darvag, the messenger of rainy day!
When does the rain come?

Maral Esfahani's Painting Exhibition

2011-10-13T00:00:00.002+03:30

Maral Esfahani

In June, I visited one of my University friends' painting exhibition, but I ignorantly forgot to write about it on here. Her name is Maral Esfahani, born on 15 March 1987. As an artist she studied at Tehran's Fine Art University. Her mother is also a painter. In these paintings she painted herself in different views and themes, like fear, maternity, peace, etc. The paintings were rather large, about 1.5 metre long and 2 metres wide. The exhibition was held at Hoor Art Gallery. I personally like her first painting, showing her in a green garden. I love the mixture of gold and dark green and the birds. It reminds of me Hafiz poetries.

Iranian Models

2011-10-12T02:25:00.000+03:30

I would like to show you the most famous Iranian models. Some work for famous fashion agencies, like Elle, etc. I have nothing more to add, just watch Iranian beauty and enjoy!

Mehlegha Jaberi

Claudia Lynx

Leila Milani

Bahareh Parastar

Tala Golzar

Sara Shahi

Shermineh Shahrivar

Yasmin Parvaneh

"Circumstance", a Film about Forbidden Love

2011-10-09T05:51:00.003+03:30

It's hard to write about the film you still haven't seen! But I like to see it soon. The plot is interesting: two teenage girls who are friends at school realise day after day they are becoming something more than friends to each other.

Is that the whole story? No! Wait please. The world seems not always that sweet to lovers. One of them has got a brother who used to be a drug addict, but gets back from the rehab and finds new obsessions: his sister's friend and religion.

The two explores Tehran and its underground life, wanting to be themselves, not complying to the rules others have set for them. They go to night parties, dance, drink, and use swear words and directly express their physical desires for eachother.

The film was set in Iran but actually was shot in Lebanon due to security reasons. The director, and the cast are all Iranians. The film is in Persian language, except a few sentences, with English subtitles.

The film was R rated due to sexual content, language and some drug use. Some Iranians say the film is a bit exaggerated. The situations are not that bad in Iran as it was described in the film.

I've read the film has a sad ending. An Iranian lesbian said this is not the film lesbians want to be in, while the other claims the same thing has happened to her in real life, bitter but true.

Photo taken from Wmagazine

The main two actresses, Nikohl Boosheri and Sarah Kazemy were both born in Iran but the former grew up in Canada, and the latter in Paris, France. Their families left Iran after the revolution 1979.

Maryam Keshavarz, the 35-year-old director of the film, is Iranian and was born in New York, the US. According to her, she wanted to make this film as she always saw herself as an interpretor between Iran and the US.

Slogan of the film is very beautiful: "Let love not fall victim to circumstance". The name of the film in Persian (Iran's official language) is Sharayet, which if you translate in English means "circumstances", not circumstance.

All in all, this is the film I want to see, soon!

Watch the trailer to make sure you want to see it too!

Taleqani Street

2011-10-06T10:01:00.000+03:30

Talieqani Street sign. All streets in Tehran are in English too. So don't worry!

My high school, the language institute I went to, and my first work place are all in Taleqani Street. So I can tell you I have so many memories from this street.

Taleqani Street is one of the oldest streets in Tehran. It used to be among one of the northern streets but now is situated in the centre of the city, as Tehran has enlarged rapidly in the last 30 years.

The former name of Telqani Avenue was Takht-e Jamshid, (Persepolis in English) but after the revolution 1979 the name was changed after Ayatollah Taleqani, an Iranian cleric and scholar who passed away in September 1979.

It is an important sreet, due to many ministries, banks, organisations and administrations in this street. It can be compared to 10 Downing Street in the UK or Wall Street in the US.

There are no shopping centres, cafes, or parks in this streets. It's all a grim and serious place. There are three cinemas and two small restaurants and some hotels.

One of the cinemas, Asr-e Jadid Cinema, formerly known as Takht-e Jamshid, is very old. It dates back to 1942! It was first rented by Russian from Ali Etehadieh to show especial films to Russian soldiers. Then in 1946 it was rented to the Embassy of France for showing Iran-France cultural films. It might be a very old cinema but it is still in good condition, and has modern facilities, like Dolbi sound.

I have writen about this street before, but I thought it was not very informative, so I decided to write about it again today.

Taleqani Street in the past and present

Murals on the wall of the former Embassy of the US in Tehran

The door of the embasy of the US

Asr-e Jadid Cinema

Enqelab Hotel in Taleqani Street

Hoveyzeh Hotel

Felestin Cinema (Felestin in Persian means Palestine)

The important places in this street:

Former embassy of the US (now called Espionage Den by the government)
The Ministery of Oil
The Ministery of Cooperation
The central branch of Tejarat Bank
Enqelab Hotel
Asr-e Jadid Cinema
The Red Cross society

These are some of the photos I took from this street two years ago. Sorry if they are not very good, I took them while I was in the car!

Nikki Karimi, Selling Tickets

2011-08-11T12:10:00.004+04:30

The Iranian acress Nikki Karimi

Nikki Karimi, the Iranian actress sold tickets to people some nights ago in front of the Azadi Cinema:

Photos by: Mohammad Reza Abbasi

Tehran Street in Seoul, Korea

2011-08-11T11:07:00.003+04:30

As we have a street named Seoul in Tehran, there's a street called Tehran is Seoul, south Korea:

Birds in Anzali Pond

2011-08-06T07:11:00.000+04:30

Anzali Pond is the most famous pond in Iran, if I'm not mistaken. There are lots of seagulls there, sitting on nearly everything! Near the pond there's a big fish market, with various kinds of fish. The fish market is a bit smelly to me, so I like the pond and its birds better!

Iran National Orchestra

2011-08-05T05:31:00.014+04:30

Iran national orchestra in Milad Tower

Famous Beauties of Iran

2011-08-04T00:01:00.003+04:30

Milad Tower

Si-o-se Pol

Eram Garden

Imam Reza's Shrine

Eram Garden

Ferdosi Mausoleum