Do you know that Iranians are the first nation which:
1- had made alphabets 7000 years ago in south of Iran for the first time
2- had discovered fire in the world
3- China wall had been built by enjoyment of the wall made by Cyrus in north of Iran 544 B.C to prevent invasion of northen troops
4- had offered horse to the world
5- had made ships by order of one of the queens of Iran
6- had discovered continent America and Christopher Columbus and his friend decided discovering America by reading Iranian's books in Vatican library
7- had got the sphericity of the earth
8- had made perfumes to have fragnant bodies
9- had discovered coal
10- had built the first technical school by Cyrus the Great in order to teach technique and art
11- had invented farming for implanting and withdrawing crops
12- had discovered glass and used it in their houses
13- had discovered copper
14- had discovered the scale of measurment of objects
15- had invented water disposal system in order to evacuate the city water to out of the city
16- had treated pet animals and used them to reap the benefits of them
17- had started melting metals in a city called Silic around Kashan
18- had invented cotton and been successful in spinning and weaving it
19- had started coining money for the first time
20- had invented the first cavalry military force with 115 soldiers by Saame-Irani

There is another article like this one in PERSIAN GIRLS blog..don't miss to read it ..

BEAUTIES OF THE NORTH

North of Iran including Mazandaran and Gilan are the greenest and the most beautiful parts of my country. Sitting in the beach, listening to the Sounds of Khazar Sea then have a walk in the green woods makes your trip wonderful. I try to show some of these beauties with the pictures I took in my trip.

It's said that a ROSE is the symbol of love, white color stands for peace, Venus is principally symbolize friendship, kindness and a lot more. But have you ever though what can be the symbol of a country? You may say it's flag , language, culture, customs, architechture, etc. They all could be considered as symbols for a country, but you may get excited as gentlewomen do knowing that each country has 3 main symbols. They're derived from 3 sources in nature; sky, plants, and animal.

Do you know what are these 3 symbols in your country? Just yesterday in linguistic class, we got to know ours. Since ancient times in zeorastrian era, sun has been sacred so we, the iranians, got it as our symbol in sky. Lion is our animal sign cause it symbolize wisdom. Hyacinth which we put it on our new year table ,as we said before, is our symbol in plants. So the 3 symbols for Iran are sun, lion, and hyancinth. These signs are national symbol of a country and it's not related to any special dynasty or period. You can see 2 out of these 3 signs in our flag.

We know these symbols of some other countries like China, France, USA. The chinese symbols are sun as a symbol in sky, dragon as an animal sign and cluster of wheat in plants. These signs in France are: moon, dragon and rose. In America, they have stars, eagle, and white Jasmin as their main symbols.

Think about these signs in different countries and see what can be the symbols of your country? We get happy if you share your valuable information with us.

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus (580-529 BC) was the first Achaemenian Emperor. He founded Persia by uniting the two original Iranian tribes, the Medes & the Persians. Although he was known to be a great conqueror, who at one point controlled one of the greatest Empires ever seen, he is best remembered for his unprecedented tolerance & magnanimous attitude towards those he defeated.
Upon his victory over Medes, he founded a government for his new kingdom, incorporating both Median & Persian nobles as civilian officials. The conquest of Asia Minor completed, he led his armies to the eastern frontiers. The victories to the east led him again to the west & sounded the hour for attack on Babylon & Egypt. When he conquered Babylon, he did so to cheers from the Jewish community, who welcomed him as a liberator- he allowed the Jews to return to the Promised Land. He showed great respect towards the religious beliefs & cultural traditions of other races. These qualities earned him the respect & homage of all the people over whom he ruled.
The victory over Babylonia expressed all the facets of the policy of conciliation which Cyrus had followed until then. He presented himself not as a conqueror, but a liberator & the legitimate successor to the crown. He took the title of “king of Babylon_ king of the land”
Cyrus had no thought of forcing conquered people into a single mould, & had the wisdom to leave unchanged the institution of each kingdom he attached to the Persian Crown.
In 537 BC he allowed more than 40,000 Jews to leave Babylon & return to Palestine. This step was in line with his policy to bring peace to mankind. A new wind was blowing from the east, carrying away the cries & humility of defeated & murdered victims, extinguishing the fires of sacked cities, & liberating nations from slavery.
Cyrus was upright, a great leader of men, generous & benevolent. The Hellenes, whom he conquered, regarded him as ‘law-giver’ & the Jews as ‘the anointed of the lord’.
Prior to his death, he founded a new capital city at Pasargade in Fars & had established a government for his Empire. He appointed a governor (Satrap) to represent him in each province, however the administration, legislation, & cultural activities of each province was the responsibility of the Satrap. His doctrines were adopted by the future emperors of the Achaemenian dynasty. Dariush 1 (521-486 BC) brought together skills & craftsmen from all over the empire in building the city of Persepolis.
The Achaemanide map showing the boundries of the empire that Cyrus 2 initiated & Dariush1 consolidated. Below is listed some of the great achievements of the Persians during the Achaemenide period, some world firsts.
Suez Canal workers, digging 20 miles north of Suez in 1866 came upon fragments of a red granite stele that, whole, had stood nearly 10 tall & measured about 7 across. Startled at finding the monument, the workmen would have been even more surprised had they been able to read the inscriptions on its sides, spelled out in Old Persia, Babylonian, Elamite, & Egyptian. These included an astonishing message- repeated in all four languages- from Darius the great king of Persia: “I ordered this canal to be dug from the Nile, which flows in Egypt, to the sea that goes to Persia”. “This canal was dug out as I recommended,” He boasts on his stele, “& ships went from Egypt through this canal into Persia as was my desire.” According to Herodotus, the canal was wide enough for two war galleys to pass each other under oar. Ships took four days to move from one end to the other.
The empire that Dariush acquired & extended united western Asia from the Mediterranean to the Indus valley under a single ruler covering an area almost two million square miles, with some 10 million inhabitants.
Other achievements of note of the Achaemenids are the road built between Susa in southern Iran to Sardis in Lydia (the royal road). Herodotus had calculated that it took Cyrus 3 months to move his army from Susa to Sardis, a journey of some 1700 miles. Cyrus is also reputed to have the first postal system. Xenophon reports that Cyrus first calculated the distance a horse could go in one day without being too exhausted, he then had a series of posting stations built distances of one horse-day apart, hence ensuring efficient flow of information between the king & provincial governors.

The charter of Cyrus the great, a baked-clay Aryan language (Old Persian) cuneiform cylinder, was discovered in 1878 in excavation of the site of Babylonia after its conquest by the Iranians. It has been hailed as the first charter of human rights.

“I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, mighty king, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer & Akkad, king of the four quarters, son of Cambyses, great king, king of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, great king, king of Anshan, descendant of Teispes, great king, king of Anshan , progeny of an unending royal line, whose rule Bel & Nabu cherish, whose kingship they desire for their heart’s pleasures.
When I well disposed, entered Babylon, I established the seat of government in the royal palace amidst jubilation & rejoicing. Marduk, the great God, caused the big hearted inhabitants of
Babylon obeys me. I sought daily to worship him. My numerous troops moved about undisturbed in the midst of Babylon.
I did not allow any to terrorize the land of Sumer & Akkad. I kept in view the needs of Babylon & all its sanctuaries to promote their well being. The citizens of Babylon, I lifted their unbecoming yoke. Their dilapidated dwellings I restored. I put an end to their misfortunes.
At my deeds Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced, & to me, Cyrus the king who worshipped, & to Cambyses, my son, the offspring of my loins, & to all my troops, he graciously gave his blessing, & in good spirit is before him we glorified exceedingly his high divinity.
All the kings who sat in the throne rooms, throughout the four quarters, from the upper to the lower sea, all the kings of the West Country who dwelt in tents, brought me their heavy tribute & kissed my feet in Babylon. I returned to the places & housed them in lasting abodes. I gathered together all their inhabitants & restored to them their dwellings. The Gods, brought into Babylon, I at the bidding of Marduk, the great lord made to dwell in peace in their inhabitations, delightful abodes.
May all the Gods whom I have placed within their sanctuaries address a daily prayer in my favor before Bel & Nabu, that my days may long, & may they say to Marduk my lord, may Cyrus the king who reveres you & Cambyses his son …”

Coeducation

In Iran unlike western countries, the educational system is single sex. Boys & girls study separately in elementary, guidance & high schools, but when they go to universities this system changes to coeducation. Some believe that this change should have been made sooner, for example from elementary school, but some are against this idea & are satisfied with current system. Which group is right?

Coeducation has some advantages & disadvantages. One may say that the mixing of the sexes in education is natural & there is no difference between man & women, the point is that we are all equal. Moreover two sexes can know each other better, therefore their characters develop more rapidly & shyness diminishes.
Another advantage is that competition is greater between two sexes than one sex. We can say that all of these advantages can lead to a good, stable marriage.

Now consider the disadvantages of coeducation: in mixed classes the teacher has to work harder than single sex classes. A number of subjects are necessary for one sex which is not suitable for the other. In fact some subjects can not be thought in front of both sexes without embarrassment. Another point is comfortability that is some students are more comfortable in single sex classes, in other hand girls with girls, boys with boys. Another important factor is morality. As the two sexes grow up together & become mature, their sexual tendencies to each other increase & having this kind of relationship is against our religion.

By all the points mentioned above we think starting coeducation in elementary schools can decrease problems such as shyness, debility in making relationship & so on, but on the condition that this mixing be under the control & observation of the parents. As the excessive limitation causes trouble, the excessive freedom is mutually trouble making.