A glimpse into the Iranian unique world of Customs …
* Iranian cuisine : a feast for the eyes
... , Mother of Turkish and Indians has more than 2200 kinds of food served at households since ages. But unfortunately throughout Iran's drive to get into the mainstream, industrialization and globalization, fast foods, fatty and sweet ones have permeated all area; so remained just 480 kinds. What is forgotten on the way is its 107 capacities of being fast foods or those dishes which can be provided as food cans…
…Diet varies throughout the country, but rice and wheat bread accompanied with yogurt and fresh vegetable are common in Iranian's cover. Dinner is served in the evening after 8 p.m…
* socializing
…When someone enters a room, others stand up as a sign of respect. They greet each other with handshakes followed by nodding and a kiss to show their affection. A common greeting is "salaam" (peace), while they ask for other's health too. The parting phrase is "khoda hafez" which means "may Allah protect you".
Hospitality is a cherished tradition here. It is said that guests are gifts from Allah. So respecting a guest is a way of respecting Allah. Due to this philosophy everything is done to make them feel comfortable and happy. Tea and other edibles are usually offered to them with lots of compliments. If you are their guests don't forget to remove your shoes while you enter their house…
* Marriage
…Children regardless of their age, live with their parents till they marry. Due to the families or girls` and boys` expectations, the age range of marriage is varying. Parents feel a lifelong commitment to the children and support them financially even after their marriage. If a woman is marring for the first time, she must have her parents` consent. Men have the right of marring up to four women, if he treats them equally, but most men choose to have only one . In some cases couples choose to have temporary marriage named "sigeh" dated from few days up to 99 years; of coarse it's not common among the nation and the practice is opposed by the most families. The wife and the children born in these families don't have the same rights and privileges as the conventional wives or children, but still considered as legitimates.
Fathers are the head of the families. The elders are respected and cared a lot by the younger members and there you can find an intense relationship between the relatives. As it is apparent in their recreational activity; they prefer to go for a stroll, visit teahouses or bazaar, going to the cinema¨ and a lot more with their friends and relatives…

TEAMWORK
There were 4 people named EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, & NOBODY. There was an important job to be done, & EVERYBODY was asked to do it. EVERYBODY was sure SOMEBODY would do it. ANYBODY could have done it, but NOBODY did it. SOMEBODY got angry about that because it was EVERYBODY’S job. EVERYBODY thought anybody could do it, but NOBODY realized that EVERYBODY wouldn’t do it. It ended up that EVERYBODY blamed SOMEBODY when NOBODY did what ANYBODY could have done.

being a village of antiquity, Abyaneh is a village of living traditions, architectural styles and a fascinating exponent of the adaption of man with nature. This historic village is located at the foot of Karkass mountain, 30 km south of Kashan, 2 km away from Natanz( a town in Isfahan province).

The village is compact, with narrow and steep alleys. "The surrounding mountains are all hued various shades of red and in the middle of the valley, where the stream flows, a lush green environment thrives." The colors are amazing red houses building from local clay are arranged in a stair_step shape, so that the roofs of some houses are used to serve as the courtyard for other higher up on the slope. "The materials used for building the roofs are timbers, straw and clay." The walls, built by red mud brick are impressive and amazing in color. "The mud bricks are of quality that become harder when they are exposed to the rain. To use the sun as much as possible, the houses face the east. An impressive aspect of Abyaneh architectures is that the houses are uniform in appearance. The doors, most of which have two knockers, are wooden and built in traditional styles. There are beautiful patterns, poems and the names of the owner and mason carved on some doors. These poems afford a good picture of the old Iranian culture." The language spoken by people of Abyaneh is Parthian Pahlavi. Their attempt to honor their tradition is adorable. No matter how well_educated a person from Abyaneh might be, he or she puts on the traditional Abyaneh clothes on coming back to the village from anywhere in Iran.
The women's traditional costume consisting of a scarf with floral motifs and pleated plants, is peculiar. The abyaneh woman is unseperably attached to her wedding gown inherited from her mother, and is expected to pass it on to her daughter. The gown has a great value for her that she wouldn't sell it at any price.There are three castles, a pilgrimage site, three mosque named Hajatgah, Porzaleh, and jam'e, all worth a careful visit.

All these particular characteristics made Abyaneh to be in the list of Global Heritage of the UNESCO. The customs and traditions of the people as well as the buildings in Abyaneh afford a good picture of old Iran. Abyaneh is called an entrance to the Iranian history. So don't forget visiting abyaneh in your travel to Iran.

The sources for our information are:
www.irantour.org/iran/city/abyaneh.htm
www.irantrip.com/iran/iran-abyaneh-travel.htm

Out with the old, In with the new

`tis spring, flowers full and happiness in the green grass vine
All the blossoms are blooming except mine
Lose not heart free spirit on New Year’s Day
I heard from the lips of a lily today
Do not sing the seven shams this New Year’s Eve I beg thee
Complaint, curse, corruption, cacophony, clumsiness, chaos, and cruelty
The seven symbols, serene greenery, scented hyacinth and sweet apple
Senged, samanu, salway and song spell.
Send the seven symbols to the table of a lover
Throw the seven shams to the door of an ill wisher
`tis new year’s eve, rid the heart of darkness
Eventually this black night will turn to light
Carry out the New Year tradition and God willing
Bring back the feeling to that of the excellent beginning
In harmony with the rebirth of nature, the Iranian New Year celebration, or Nowruz, always begin on the first day of spring. The year changes on the vernal equinox, which may occur on March 20, 21.or22. Nowruz ceremonies are symbolic representations of two ancient concepts- The end and the rebirth, and Good and Evil.
What we have today as Nowruz with its’ uniquely Iranian characteristics has been celebrated for at least 3000 years and is deeply rooted in the traditions of Zoroastrian belief system.
A few weeks before the New Year, we "the Iranians" clean and rearrange our homes, as the ancient belief that the livings were visited by the soul of their dead ancestor. The ceremonial clothes are set up on Persian carpet or on a table in each household with seven items which each symbolizes a wish or theme and the triumph of good over evil. All seven items in this ceremonial table starts with the Persian letter Seen or S in English. Number seven has been regarded as magical by Iranians since ancient times and is symbolic of heaven's highest angels. The seven items are Sabzeh (grown wheat or lentil) for rebirth, Samanu (flour and sugar) for sweetness of life, Sekeh (coin ) for prosperity and wealth, Senjed ( dried fruit of Lotus tree) for love, Seer (garlic) for health, Somaq ( sumac berries) for warmth and Serkeh ( vinegar) for patience. The other items are painted eggs, which represent fertility, a mirror that represents image and reflection of life, and a goldfish in a bowl that represents life. Along with the seven articles, Muslims place the Holy Quran and Zoroastrians put the Avesta in their New Year table to implore God's blessings. On the same table some special sweets are placed either, according to a 3000 old legend, king Jamshid discovered sugar on NOWRUZ (the word candy comes from the Persian word, sugar,qand). Troubadours(hadji firuz) while disguising themselves with make up and red colored outfits of satin, sing, dance and parade as a carnival through the streets with tambourines, kettle drums, and trumpets to spread good cheer and the news of coming the New Year. He is usually accompanied by one or two other persons. They inform people that spring had come and that winter has gone. In return, people give them gifts or money for the good news that they brought. We have another celebration held on the eve of the last Tuesday night of the year called chahar shanbe sury. Shortly after the sunset of the last Tuesday, bonfires are lit in public places and the families gathering, leaping over the flames, shouting "sorkhiye to az man, zardie man az to!" (Literally, "give me your beautiful red color and take back my sickly pallor.") With the help of fire and light, symbols of good, we hope to see our ways through this unlucky night-the end of the year- to the arrival of spring’s longer days. In the evening, children run through the streets, banging on pots and pans with spoons (qashogh zani), to beat out the last unlucky Wednesday of the year while they knock on doors to ask for treats just like Halloween. To this way, we buy new clothes, and bake pastries.
When the clock strikes New Year, all the members of the family in their clean and new clothes, gather around the Norouz table and Haftseen. The family begins the New Year with a prayer for health, happiness and prosperity, with lots of hugs and new unused money passed around the family by the elders and usually with recitation of some verses of Hafez & Quran:"O Reformer of hearts and minds, Director of day and night and Transformer of conditions, change ours to the best in accordance with Your will."
Modern Iranians celebrate New Year for 13 days only. The first few days are spent visiting older members of the family other relatives and friends. Gifts are exchanged; sweets and feasts will be consumed. At the last day, the 13th of the first month called sizdeh- bedar, literally outdoor thirteen, Persians to overcome the bad luck they spend the entire day out of the house with families and friends in the parks having a picnic. Far from home, they throw the sprouts into the water & complete the process of the end of 1 year & rebirth of another. Wishing to get married by the next year, unmarried girls tie blades of grass together. There is much singing, dancing, eating, drinking on this joyful day that marks the end of the Nowruz celebration.
source: Book named "New Food of Life"

Weblog Creation

“I’m really excited, I can’t express my feelings of having a blog of my own on the net”, said one of the students who have just recently created her blog in “Essay-Writing” class in our university.
After a longtime tradition of setting up classes in a dull, frozen room, in rows, at desks, one behind another; hand in hand with the help of our professor and the Education Department, we are having our classes set up in “Site”, a place where we can hear the voices of people around the world, despite our educator’s and other scholar’s.
Nowadays in the mechanized multi-cultured life where the rhythm of life is changing and using computers and speaking foreign languages are evident, in order to be global leaders joining to them and using new creative, innovative methods( in different fields of area ) are inevitable. So thanks God for this simmering movement and having the experience of identifying my country, its customs, landscapes and sightseeing to the whole world. As a philosopher says,” custom, then, is the great guide of human life.”
Of course, we considered creating weblog as a hard task something which only professionals can do but after making a lot of effort we did it & now are satisfied with our work. Writing a blog has a lot of fun. It is better than chatting or anything of this kind. In this bog which named Aria generation we will do our best to help interested foreigners to explore new vistas in new ways.

A modern city in the heart of ancient Iran
Whenever you plan a travel to the east, Iran is the first country coming to the mind to be suggested. As it is a country of beauty and majesty with impressive culture, besides being one of the world’s mountainous countries, and the second largest one in the Middle East…

...Persia, conventional European name of the country known now as Iran- center of the Persian Empire in the 6th century BC (the world's preeminent power) ...with the history rooted from 1500 BC when Iranian plateau was settled by Aryan tribes..For more than three thousand years Persia was a melting pot of civilizations and demographic movements between Asia and Europe. Under Cyrus the Great, it became the center of the world’s first empire. The country has always been known to its own people as Iran (land of the Aryans) or “noble people”, although for centuries it was referred to as Persia (Pars or Fars) by the Europeans, mainly due to the writings of Greek historians. First inhabited 4000 B.C., the region was overrun by Aryans, who later split into two groups, the Medes and the Persians. The Persian Empire was founded 550 B.C. by Cyrus the Great and dominated the surrounding area until the time of Alexander the Great. Cyrus the Great overthrew the Median rulers, conquered the kingdom of Lydia in 546 BC and established the Persian Empire. .with the art of its own tradition and distinctive style evident in its architectures, paintings, ceramics, carpets, and even its poems by Hafez, Ferdowsi, Sa`adi, Mowlavi, etc..., accompanied with the custom which represents the sole of the country and its people...Geographically, Iran is a Middle Eastern country, south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Tehran, as Iran's showcase and capital city, is a modern city in the heart of ancient Iran. Tehran was well known as a village in the 9th century, but was less well-known than the city of Rages (Shahr_e Rey) which was flourishing nearby in the pre-Mongol era. In the 13th century, following the destruction of Rages by Mongols, many of its inhabitants fled to Tehran. In some sources of the Mongol era the city is mentioned as "Rages's Tehran".

Nearly 12 Million people live in Tehran in contrast to two hundred thousand in 1920. The visitor who has been away for a while can no longer find the way around the city. New roads link the western part of the city to the northern quarters. Towering buildings have been erected right and left. Large stores, super-markets, self-service shops have been opened, public buildings, government departments and monuments have been built and arrays of giant cranes show the development fever.

It grew in population and size, and new administrative buildings, palaces, and mosques were constructed there. Tehran's museums include the Iran Bastan Museum, (Museum of Ancient Iran), which is one of the world’s best collections of ancient artifacts, dating to 4000 BC; the Golestan Palace Museum, which holds a collection of wonderful jewelry, such as the Peacock Throne, the Globe of Jewels with more than 51,000 stones, the Imperial State Crown, and the great uncut diamond Darya-e Noor; the National Arts Museum, a treasure house of works from Persian artists; the Persian Museum, including Persian rugs; the Abgineh va Sofalineh Museum (Glass and Ceramics Museum); and several museums established by Iran’s Islamic government .

Tehran is a city at the foot of Alborz mountain range. Mount Damavand, the country’s highest peak which lies in the central part of the range, attracted mountaineers, and legends to its snow-covered slopes for centuries. In winter, the mountain hotels and ski-clubs at Shemshak, Shahrestanak and Dizine are full several days a week. Some expert skiers consider the snow quality in northern Tehran to be one of the best in the world.
To Be Continued...