Spring

spring in ghalat

Turtle

beautiful baby turtle in ghalat

beauty of Ghalat nature

"Dame BID" place

Monday, July 7, 2014

Oldest and First Animation in the world at burnt city


Iran, Burnt City is one of the most important prehistoric sites of the country which was well developed during the third millennium BCE.
Spreading over a 300,000 hectare area, Burnt City is recognized as mainland-Iran’s largest prehistoric site. The city experienced four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times, which is why it was named ‘Burnt City.’ Discovery of hundreds of historical sites including 166 satellite villages together with large numbers of archaeological relics, skeletons, and ancient structures in the archaeological site of Burnt City makes it holder of an unparalleled record in the history of archaeological activities in Iran.
Judging by the artifacts recovered in the area, the inhabitants seem to have been a race of intelligent people who were both farmers & builders of various crafts. So far no military ware has been discovered, suggesting the peaceful nature of the residents. What is really strange about burnt city is the fact that it has no connection to any other old civilizations in the area, as if it completely came from elsewhere.
One of the prominent relics found in the Burned City is a skull that according to the anthropological studies is the first evidence of brain surgeries in prehistoric Iran. Recent archaeological studies, has led into new discoveries in the architectural style of this city’s buildings as well as finding the biggest pre- historic clothe collection in the Middle East

Even more recently, Burnt City has been identified as one of the rarest ancient cities in which women were in charge of their family’s financial affairs!
Before the Burnt City, some 137 historical hills had been identified by this Center in the vicinity of Burnt City historical site. Archeologists believed that most probably these hills were settled by the Burnt City inhabitants during the ancient times. The discovered historical sites are located 6-8 kilometers from the Burnt City and some cultural evidence such as broken clays similar to those discovered in Burnt City have been unearthed in these hills.
Archeologists have also found a well-preserved building in the residential area, covering around 80 square hectares of the total 151 square hectares of the ancient city.
Toward the end of the second millennium BC, Burnt City came to a cultural standstill; and archeological evidence shows that this ancient civilization of the Eastern plateau of Iran somehow vanished from the face of the earth at the beginning of the first millennium BC.






Last year there was the rather striking discovery out of Tehran of a 5000 year old "animation" of a goat found on an earthenware bowl. Like many, I found this fascinating and recently wanted to take a closer look at the actual sequence to see what its structure looked like. This ended up becoming a bit of an internet treasure hunt for me. First, I found the animated clip they had created from it:

However, upon closer inspection, this seemed really odd. First off, why are there two trees if this was going around a bowl? Shouldn't that be one tree, that just becomes ancillary to the next "panels" representation? Of course, that's not a big deal...

But, when I dissected the animation, things really got interesting. It's made of 9 images, yet it features several repeated goat images (watch for the white dot on the goat's behind which appears and disappears). The way this animation was made simply took the overall background (note that the trees never change), then cut and pasted the goat figures several times in different places!

Upon further searching, I found this great page showing the archiving of the bowl, which actually looks like this:

 
This eyeball belongs to a sturdy woman who was between 25 to 30 years of age at the time of death. Skeletal remains of the woman were found in grave number 6705 of Burnt City’s cemetery. The material this artificial eyeball is made of has not yet been determined.
However, at first glance it seems natural tar mixed with animal fat has been used in making it.” Initial studies on the eyeball also suggest formation of an abscess in the eyelid due to long-term contact with the eyeball. Moreover, remaining eyelid tissues are still evident on this artificial eyeball.
Even the most delicate eye capillaries were drawn on this eyeball using golden wires with a thickness measuring less than half a millimeter. There are also some parallel lines around the pupil forming a diamond shape. Two holes are also seen on the sides of this eyeball to hold it in the eye socket. A number of clay vessels, ornamental beads, a leather sack, and a bronze mirror have also been found in the grave of this woman

Friday, July 4, 2014

Sights of shiraz part6: Vakil mosque




The Vakil Mosque (Persian: مسجد وکیل ‎ - Masjed-e Vakil) is a mosque in Shiraz, southern Iran, situated to the west of the Vakil Bazaar next to its entrance. This mosque was built between 1751 and 1773, during the Zand period; however, it was restored in the 19th century during the Qajar period. Vakil means regent, which was the title used by Karim Khan, the founder of Zand Dynasty. Shiraz was the seat of Karim Khan’s government and he endowed many buildings, including this mosque.[1]
Vakil Mosque covers an area of 8,660 square meters. It has only two iwans instead of the usual four, on the northern and southern sides of a large open court. The iwans and court are decorated with typical Shirazi haft rangi tiles, a characteristic feature of the art and industry of Shiraz during the latter half of the 18th century. Its night prayer hall (Shabestan), with an area of approximately 2,700 square meters, contains 48 monolithic pillars carved in spirals, each with a capital of acanthus leaves. The minbar in this hall is cut from a solid piece of green marble with a flight of 14 steps and is considered to be one of the master pieces of the Zand period. The exuberant floral decorative tiles largely date from the Qajar period.

sights of shiraz part5: Hammam-e-Vakil

 



Vakil Bath is an old public bath in Shiraz, Iran. It was a part of the royal district constructed during Karim Khan Zand's reign, which includes Arg of Karim Khan, Vakil Bazaar, Vakil Mosque and many administrative buildings.

sights of shiraz part4: Arg e Karim Khan




The Arg is a rectangular Brick Fortress, built in the 18th Century. Inside the walls is a small museum.
The building served as both a fort, and residence for its builder. Some of the residential rooms have been restored (and in some cases populated by slightly tacky dioramas)
The interior courtyard is filled with shady citrus trees, providing relief form the heat. The smell of orange blossoms pervades the courtyard in springtime. The park benches provide some privacy for couples to meet.

sights of shiraz part3: Tomb of Hafez




The Tomb of Hafez and its associated memorial hall, the Hāfezieh, are two memorial structures erected in the northern edge of Shiraz, Iran, in memory of the celebrated Persian poet Hafez. The open pavilion structures are situated in the Musalla Gardens on the north bank of a seasonal river and house the marble tomb of Hafez. The present buildings, built in 1935 and designed by the French architect and archaeologist André Godard, are at the site of previous structures, the most well-known of which was built in 1773. The tomb, its gardens, and the surrounding memorials to other great figures are a focus of tourism in Shiraz.

Friday, June 27, 2014

A new ways for tourists to make payments in Iran


As I have mentioned before one of the most important problems that tourists have in Iran is carrying cach, Credit cards are useless here, Due to sanctions you can't pay by credit card, in my previous post I told you about gift cards. That's a good way to have your money in the gift card and you can pay with that.
Today Iran tourism organization announced that they are issuing a kind of gift cards at the airprts, So when a tourist comes to Iran, He can pay cash in Iran Rial, Dollar or any other currencies and get one of those cards for the amount they are worth, and makes payments during the time he stays in Iran, And when he leaves the country he can return the card and get the remained balance in cash.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

sights of shiraz part2: Vakil Bazaar







Vakil Bazaar (Persian: بازار وکیل‎) is the main bazaar of Shiraz, Iran, located in the historical center of the city.
It is thought that the market originally was established by the Buwayhids in the 11th century AD, and was completed mainly by the Atabaks of Fars, and only was renamed after Karim Khan Zand in the 18th century.
The Bazaar has beautiful courtyards, caravansarais, bath houses, and old shops which are deemed among the best places in Shiraz to buy all kinds of Persian rugs, spices, copper handicrafts and antiques.
Like other middle eastern Bazaars there are a few numbers of mosques and Imamzadehs constructed adjacent or behind the Bazaar.
The traditional shopping Mall of the old city, the tall brick vaulted domes shelter a plethora of shops, from fabric ('madam can have any colour, so long as it is black...') to spices and herbs, carpets and kitchenware. 

sights of shiraz part1: The Shah e Cheragh





The Shah e Cheragh contains the elaborate mirror glass mausoleum of the two brothers, who fled to Shiraz during one of many periods of persecution of Shia Muslims by followers of a different version of their imaginary friend.

The once simple toms of Mir Ahmed and Mir Mohammad have been transformed into elaborate structures, topped by beautiful onion shaped domes. This site is an important pilgrimage site, and security is enforced. No photographs are permitted, so we could enjoy the relaxed peace of the wide courtyard of the complex undistracted by the need to seek out the perfect photo. Women must don a chador, which the women in the booth help to affix, but my wife Minuk found that the damn thing kept trying to fall off.

We first entered the Shrine of Mir Mohammad, at the rear of the courtyard, separate entrances provided for ladies and gentlemen. We parted, and wandered inside around the mirrored maze of the interior, finding the tomb at it's centre. It is very relaxed inside, folk sit on the carpets either talking quietly or praying. Everyone wants to touch or be near the tomb itself, inside a metal screen.

Outside again, to the larger shrine of Mir Ahmed, with its twin minarets, where the experience was similar, though busier. The stricture on photos not extending to those taken on mobile phones!

introduction to shiraz sights


in my next posts i am going to write about the sights of shiraz and  i think it's important because all of them is actually close to Qalat and interesting to visit so lets do this

Monday, May 26, 2014

How to make payment in Iran?

As you need credit cards(Master, debit, Amex) are not accpeted in Iran, You can bring some cash with you and use local exchangers to exchange them to Iran Rial, Almost all currencies are accpeted ,But US dollar is the best shot.
carrying too much cash with you is not wise, The good news is you can buy Iranian gift cards which are like prepaid debit cards, it's called" Karte Hadieh" in Farsi. The best option is to use  these cards in Iran, The banks sell them for the amount they are worth and  you can buy them for any amount you like and of course you will pay the same price as the face value.
The gift cards are accepected in almost all the stores, restourants, hotels withing the country.
When you need cash, You can easily go to an ATM machine and cash them, Just keep in mind that you can only get 2000,000 Iran Rial ( almost $70 USD) Per day.
The best thing about these gift cards is that they have password, And only the card owner can use it, If they got lost or stolen, You can simply  contact the issuer bank and ask them to freeze the money , and get a new one

Sunday, May 25, 2014

video clip about Ab arbizak the spring on the roof of rock

Don't get it worng! It's a springhead on the top Qalat mountain, The source is on the roof of a rock, and the water falls from the roof, It's amazing, isn't it? It's one of the sources of the Qalat first waterfall. This video is recorded in Winter, As you see the treed don't have ant leaf, But you got to see this place now, Much beautiful!
I a summer hot day, you can lie down there and feel the wind and enjoy the breeze! It's also a very nice place to camp and stay for couple of days.There are many other beautiful place, and I will try to describe them later, But do not forget Abarbizak

 







there are many sumac planet on the way (Sumac is a tangy, lemony spice often used in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. Try using it in salads instead of lemon juice or to season grilled meat and fish. It’s also delicious sprinkled over hummus.)




Friday, May 23, 2014

Last Night A DJ Saved My Life


I just saw this video clip on youtube and i suggest you to see this.
it was happy clip for me .

Delicious ash Reshteye Kashki

 

This is  a traditional food that we call it (Reshteye kashki)  and it's very similar to (ashe reshte) that i mentioned before just using curd on it  and very Delicious we use this as main course but it can also be used as appetizer.this Cooked by my mom.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

a quote from a persian odyssey by rami yelda about Qalat


i had visited all the sights that i had intended to see in the shiraz , expect for a village called qalat
years ago, a shirazi friend of mine in chicago had told me about it , and i remembered some of the
details , according to him , his father had taken him to see this village in the sixties, when he was barely
tean years old.he had described the village as being far and difficult to reach;his father had to park their jeep
,and then they had to ride horses to get there.he was surprised by what he had seen.
there was a huge waterfall and many trees,but waht was most amazing was that the inhabitans were christians, had
a church,and spoke a 'strane' language that did not resemble Armenian.ever since hearing aout qalat, i had hoped
to visit the mysterious village someday.i had wondered if the village were descendants of the seventy thousand newly converted
Christian prisoners brought by Shapur after his defeat of Hadrian.Or were they Zoroastrians who had accepted
Christianity at the time.or perhaps Assurians from northern Mesopotamia or Azarbaijan who had settled there?
while returning from Persepolis, i had asked AMir if he Knew anything about Qalat.yes he had.in fact he had once been there .
These days, it was possible to get there in an hour on an asphalt road, and he agrred to drive me there.
so we were now on our way to Qalat which is situated to the Northwest of shiraz and next to Shiraz's famed vineyards
.these were acres of well-tended and trellised vines.The shiraz Wines,especially the robust reds, have been famous since
antiquity.in the seventeenth century Tavernier wrote about wine from shiraz and called it the best in Persia,
mentioning that is was saevd for the king and the courtiers( "...celui de schiraz, comme le meilleur, est gard3/4 pour
le roi et les grands de la cour") .at that time
Armenian traders even xported the wine to Southeast Asia.french winegrowers finally discovered
the high quality of the shiraz grapes and started cultivating them in france, but despite the correct French
pronunciation by tavernier , they named it syrah.American winegrowers in California adopted the same name,
but Australians remained loyal to the orginal and still call it shiraz.with the restrictions placed on alcoholic
drinks by the Islamic Regime.only those making moonshine wine in their basements can now savor a sordid version of the
famed elixir.
as we neared Qalat , we could see first the mountain and the waterfall with its white
foam and then the many oak and fruit trees on both banks of the roaring.amir parked the car near the village, and
we started walking toward it. The village had an abandoned look to it.The houses had thatched roofs and were
mad of mud and stones and there were shrubs growing around the dirt paths between the houses.Amir had already told me that young had
left the village and the remaining few inhabitants were known to be opium addicts.
The only person we had seen so far approached us. he was about thirty years old .he was shabbily dressed in old worn clothes.
his worn-out shoes were covered with dirt.and was wearing waht appeared to be old makeshift headgear.a walrus
moustache covered his mouth.His eyes,like those of many opium smokers were glazed. i Told him that we were looking
for a church and he volunteered to lead us there.he dis speak persian but with local accent.the small church
appeared to be new;there was nothing ancient about it.The floor of the small rooms was littered with garbage.a black
cross was dawn underneath an arch.the white walls were all covered with graffiti.the frame and inttel of door
were missing, and broken pieces of mud bricks were visible. i asked the guide what had happend to the lintel
"I removed it and took it home"
"What was written on it"?
"i dont know .it wasn't in persian.it was in a diffrent language"
" can we go to your house and look at it?"
"no i gave it to a friend"
"can we got to your friend house and look at it?
"no he is in shiraz"
he obviously thought that we were inspectors from the cultural heritage foundation of iran.there to arrest him for
vandalixing a historical site.
as we were talking to the car, we saw an ancient lady sitting in front of her doorway.she was not wearing hejab
but, like Zoroastrian women.had a faded old scarf wrapped around her face and pinned under her chin.her skirt
was worn and faded too.i approached her and, after greeting her and calling her madar(mother), tried to carry on a conversation with her. fortunately, she was amenable
to conversation and turned out to be a chatterbox; but unfortunately, as hard as I tried.i could not figure
waht she was saing.i was unable pick out any latin or aramatic sounding words.though i heard some words that resembled
persian.my historic guest was thus in vain.the so----called church was a chapel, probably built several decades ago
by british members of the Anglican church of shiraz, who had used it during their summer sojourns.the few remaining
inhabutants were probably descendents of Zoroastrians who had converted to Islam centuries earlier

Friday, May 2, 2014

Asheh Reshteh


Asheh Reshteh is a delicious hearty soup .  Reshteh in Farsi means noodles. This soup is made with Persian noodles which are flat, similar to fettuccine, but slightly less wide.  The noodles in this soup symbolize good fortune and success in the path ahead.
Just like any other Persian Ash, it is best when this soup is allowed to rest before it is consumed. It is perfectly OK to make it the day before or give it at least a couple of hours of rest before it is served so that the flavors better come together.
Some opt to use canned chickpeas and red beans for this soup. I have done this before to save time.  However, I have discovered that cooking the beans from scratch makes a huge difference taste wise.
Asheh Reshteh is always a winner for the vegetarians and vegans that attend our Norouz gathering. Of course, the latter group will have the soup without the whey!

beautiful butterfly

i took these photos in our yard today ,what a beautiful butterfly




Thursday, May 1, 2014

distance to persepolis


 Qalat is very close to Shiraz,Staying in the old village and enjoying the untouched nature will be an awesome experience in your life, You can visit Parseh(1.5 hours), Pasargad(2 hours) and many other historical places and come back to Qalat and relax here. What are you waiting for, Pack now and be here in few days! I'm always here to show you around and help you with anything.