if you like hybrids, you'll love Our new separator film. ExxonMobil’s scientists are continuously searching for ways to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. One recent innovation is a new separator film that enables powerful lithium-ion batteries to be used in hybrid and electric vehicles. By making the batteries safer, more powerful and more reliable, it could well put many more hybrid and electric vehicles on the road faster, boosting fuel economy and dramatically reducing emissions. ‘And what's not to love about that? The story continues at exxonmobil.com 9 ut it Pa 0 c - Mobil ExonMobil Srands ofExxonMobil_ Taking on the world's toughest energy challenges”Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes er eens | such as AGF, Alianz Glob Se ee asd Cec meenaNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AUGUST 2008 + VOL. 214+ NO. 2 Ancient Soul of Iran 34 The glories of Persia inspire the modern nation. By Marguerite Del Giudice Photos by Newsha Tavakollian Photographic portfolio by Simon Norfolk Monkey Paradise 68 The bush-meat trade stalks an African island ark By Virginia Morell Photographs by Tim Laman, lan Nichols, Joe! Sartore, and Christian Ziegler Between Volcanoes 92 Fire and water collide in Japan's largest national park By Gretel Ehrlich Photographs by Michael Yamashita Moscow Never Sleeps 108 When the sun sets, the Russian capital heats up. By Martin Cruz Smith Photographs by Gerd Ludwig Target Earth 134 A «killer asteroid may be headed our way. By Richard Stone Photographs by Stephen Alvarez ‘Special Supplement: iran/Persian Empire Visitors to Moscow pay top ruble for a hotel room with this Red Square View. Suites go for as much as $9,000 a night. Story on page 106, OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETYNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC AuGuST 2008 Editor's Note Letters Your Shot Photo Journal Visions of Earth HISTORY Birth of a Sign ——— The peace symbol is 50 years old. Foop a Pedigreed Pizza ‘The EU wants you to know your pie. CONSERVATION The Vicufia’s Golden Fleece This story is all fuft LANDSCAPES Dead-End Road In Bolivia, consider an alternate route. WILDLIFE Why Bees Can Fly -- ‘They shouldn't be able to. Yet they do. ENVIRONMENT Sea Glass The ocean turns trash to treasure. Follow Up Inside Geographic Flashback On the Cover Persia in profile: A stone relief of a royal guard stares across the ages in Persepolis, Iran. Photo by Simon Norfolk SUBSCRIPTIONS, GFT MEMBERSINPS OR CHANGES OF ADDRESS, a ngm.com % Off and Shooting The 2008 International Photo Contest starts, accepting entries August 1 Last year’s winners are on display, and a selection of new entries will be posted in daily galleries.THAI Anniver 1960-2 Pi nN THAI HAS LOVED HE CHANGING SEASONS HERE SINCE 1960 ws The Kyoto Protocol, signed in Japan in 1997, i ROU ac i ROR ac Cal] Poa as Drees Set aa reo Ck cnc Dra ens MMe Reet een eos Toren a noes ce and only nature can balance its timely rhythms Cet arcane Cun ee TC aoa uece amt eeu Parte ny[EDITOR’S NOTE The hand singed by the blowtorch looks human. Close inspection reveals that it belongs to a drill, a baboon- like primate, for sale in the bush-meat market in Malabo, the Bioko Island capital of Equatorial Guinea. Scorching flesh brings a higher price for monkey meat, a delicacy in this part of the world. Photographer Joel Sartore captured this alarming scene, hoping to provoke change. He was part of an International League of Conservation Photographers project called a RAVE (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition) Bioko's bush-meat trade threatens animals like this young dri, to document wildlife on Bioko. There, primates are hunted and sold through a growing trade fueled by money earned in nearby oil fields, The commitment to make a difference motivated three other National Geographic photographers— Tim Laman, lan Nichols, and Christian Ziegler—to accompany Joel, National Geographic and Conservation International sponsored the expedition. Along with writer Virginia Morell, Joel, Tim, lan, and Christian have produced a startling story for this issue. We hope their work will raise awareness of the need for conservation on the island, to help ensure Bioko remains what one biologist calls a “monkey paradise.” ee PEOPLE BEHIND THE STORIES lm Richard Stone While reporting “Target Earth,” science journalist Stone saw plenty of heavenly sights—and missed a few too. Trying to glimpse the 800-foot- wide asteroid ‘Apophis that could one day hit Earth, he and astronomer David Tholen ran afoul of Hawaii's rainy season. “Dave stuck it ‘out in the control room, hoping for a break in the weather; says Stone of one soggy November night, “and | stayed Up, on call at the hotel, The skies didn't clear, and Dave had to call it a night at 3 am. | was crushed: | had lost not just a great opportunity to observe an infamous asteroid, ut also to observe a master of the art of asteroid detection.” 1 Martin Cruz Smith ‘A Russia observer and the author of many novels, Smith says the former Soviet Union Is changing all the time— though not to every- one’s benefit, “Those who are the most traditionally Pussian, he says, “the ‘most soulful, have fared the worst" in the new economy. Yet during his latest visit— made while writing this issue's ‘Moscow Never Sleeps"—Smith saw that the more things change, the more they stay the same. From Potemkin villages to Putin's rule, “its a system ‘of muscle and sham. It always has been.” What's next for Russia? Smith won't speculate. “ita bit like Hollywood,” he says. “No one knows anything.”0 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Inspiring people to care about the planet ‘The National Geographic Society is chartered in Weshinglon, DC. as a nonprotscientic and educational ‘organization “or the increase and difusion of geographic knowledge” Since 1888 the Society has supported more than 8,000 explorations and research projects, adding to knowledge of earth, sea, and sky. ‘Sora ome sogan keen te ereoas ee donee Maree Laon Kathy Maher Mary NcPook Hei Sut. Cheat Otic, dw Wena Sota CW ‘are flo igh 5 Err Ce Mabe Dorey Ca Damo (cera) de Kos france) Catene - Bae Sana bare Penson Eras Ene raoo dauguoln Rowe Sorcha Spr commcaon YX me mennee 0 80 doh ML Fay Terence 8 Adasen i 4 a 711 i reve, New Yr, 0022; Phone 212-810-500; ex 212-610-808 Hl Neng Naren Ureratensh Dai is fen se) Sloe estonia avaen ate ice enzo won onoe ree ay. recone Chitin ‘gi er ace Aine Bat Pero Rich on low Ses) ‘Sinioehan Frac! owing sn fe Ss ht Sey mea etn eso Men Aone so Shy ig Serene Sea ereues ere Sept rns Comes ey sapere arsenic tw, Soom eee rman, Sieieo fear wee This agate seta Un ecySearconen ape.AFRICA'S Liles ai) EDGE ‘April 2008 Lost in the Sahel It took courage for author Paul Salopek to return to a place that caused him pain. Though this article describes horrific scenes and great injustices, | was comforted by the com- passion shown by Fatim, who fed a struggling stranger even though she had so little herself. EMILY McMAHON, Bellingham, Washington Your story profoundly moved me, This is a story of the human condition: day-to-day survival ina land without guarantees, health care plans, minimum. wages, unemployment insur- ance—without any insurance, actually. A land with a high mortality rate, rampant poverty for most, and a high birthrate. PETER VANWERDEN Westlock, Alberta I was puzzled by the author's puzzlement over Mr. Abakar's Arab ways. In other African countries with Arab influences, like Mauritania, where I've lived, it can be mandatory to practice Arab customs and speak Arabic. You did as your rulers did or faced severe consequences. LISA ENGLERT Bueliton, California, I don't know whether to laugh or cry looking at the photo- graph in which the U.S. Special Forces sergeant is teaching Nigeriens the art of maintaining their machine guns, Because of the circumstances in areas like the Sahel, changes of government are unpredictable. Sooner or later, those well-oiled and well-prepped machine guns will have the power. MIGUEL ANGEL MENDEZ Panajachel, Guatemala My only sense of the borders of the Sahara has come from childhood readings of The Little Prince and Tintin, Your journal- ism shows reality yet appeals to a sense of wonder, as those fictions do. COLIN SHELTON Winnipeg, Manitoba ‘Almost Human Ilearned a great deal about chimps—but just as much about the sociology of primatologists. Kudos to Jill Pruetz for her graceful handling of the fact that colleagues dismissed or downplayed her observations about a chimp “sharpening a branch with her teeth and wielding it like a spear” to stab prey. Pruetz is what science needs—a researcher enamored of her subject and not aca- demic recognition, especially from chest-thumping males who believe publishing papers is what makes the world of science turn, PHYLLIS D, THOMAS Ridgeland, Mississipp! It was interesting that Pruetz wasn't always credited for her reported observations about the use of tools by chimpan- zees. While it is unfortunate that her work was at times overlooked, when | read these articles with their constant references and credits to nature, it makes me wonder: How does God feel? GARY KEES Wyomissing, Pennsylvania It was edifying to read how intelligent chimpanzees and other primates are. Conversely, it's mortifying to know that chimps, gorillas, bonobos, and other apes are being massa- cred to the verge of extinction in many of their homelands. Maybe we should spend more time and money rescuing them rather than studying them, ‘BRIEN COMERFORD Glenview, Ilinois Your article on chimps sharpen- ing and using sticks to stab bush babies for a meal is interesting, but to say we are “watching time-lapse footage of human evolution” is absurd. How is this any different from an otter opening a clam for a meal by hitting it with a rock or a beaver cutting sticks to make a dam? GEOFFREY LINDSAY Ridgecrest, California Author Mary Roach makes the comment: “Humans share. maybe 40 percent [of their gene sequence] with lettuce.” I don't know about you, but that explains so much to me, BRUCE HOFFMAN ‘Albuquerque, New Mexico Email ngsforum@ngm.com Write National Geographic Magazine, PO Box 98199, ‘Washington, DC 20090-8198, Include name, address, and daytime telephone. Letters may be edited for clarity and tenth.Peninsular Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis ‘cremnobates) Size: Head and body length, 1.5 - 1.9m; 81.3-91.4cm Weight: 48-115 kg Habitat: Eastern slopes of peninsular ‘mountain ranges in g) Southern, California in the US and Baja California in Mexico Surviving number: Estimated at fewer than 3,200 2 is 2 ie e iS 2 WILDLIFE AS CANON SEES IT Head for the hills! That's exactly what the peninsular bighorn sheep does when a predator threatens, fleeing to higher ground where its uncanny ability to navigate rocky terrain gives it an advantage. It even gives birth to single offspring ‘from the relative safety of steep slopes, as vantage points let the sheep spy out danger before it gets too near, The new generation is entering an increasingly uncertain world, however, facing not only age-old nemeses such as mountain lions, bobcats and coyotes, but also threats brought on by human encroachment, From automobile strikes to entanglement in fences, perils are mounting As an active, committed global corporation, we join worldwide efforts to promote awareness of endangered species. Just one way we are working to make the word a better place—today and tomorrow, Visit ngm.com/canonwildlife to find out more. CanonSharing a mission to make the world a better place. Over the course of its 120-year history, the National Geographic Society has taken us around the globe and introduced us to a vast variety of life. Through unforgettable images and inspired articles, it has shown Us both the wonder of and the danger to the natural worl. This is a mission we at Canon feel called to share. One prominent vehicle of our commitment has been our "Wildlife As Canon Sees It” advertising series, which has raised the profile of endangered species for more than 27 years. We have brought over 300 species to the attention of National Geographic readers to date — and there are still many more awaiting their turn In a world where there is always more to show and more to do, it's comforting to know the National Geographic Society is here. We salute you on the occasion of your 120th anniversary Geren ncWILDLIFE AS CANON SEES IT A truly supportive partner. National Geographic magazine is fortunate to have many partners who wish to Participate in our mission to inspire people to care about the planet Since April 1981, Canon Ine. has supported National Geographic magazine with advertising highlighting different endangered species. Researched and created in conjunction with a National Geographic photographer, the information is verified by leading wildlife experts. Unique in the history of advertising, we feel this campaign has contributed to the publics understanding of threats to wildlife. (On the occasion of National Geographic Societys 120th anniversary, we wish to thank Canon for thet support and look forward to prolonging our partnership, Alle Ahacoord NATIONAL Ghat bor of Tees GEOGRAPHIC TnsoralGeoyapic Sey MAGAZINEMetters Biomimetics: ecko that cs Iatover watson jut about fry surface, ora bow that ‘ute iteraly na fash? apo shat | egan the ate with faacination ont reeched the photograph ofthe severed ‘whale tipper. My hore was ‘ot lessened by the caption Sandie atl ct a lst. doesnot matter where to show the bloody fpr, suspends by rope ‘shook was inappropi Na Pati Coast Tam shocked you woud ‘cuss the nar thet naman hve done to the Kala Trl and Valoy but not present fcouruiste in such a {ul place. you showed the homble decay, perhaps we colderpectrone St Last summer vitod Kaus fad hiked on the Kala Tra to Henakapr'a Beach AS rounded 2 sharp bend, he hole NA Pal Coat etretchos fut before me, and efeitaly Hewaien pi ‘bumps. twas nating short of erelgious experience Inthe People Behind the Stories ection you wit about former marine who'd bean repairing the al and helping Injured Where” Tas ex-marine fd vtaran of Desert Storm, «| ‘tonemason by Wade hes been ‘og the most cangerous paris a ‘among the seston te tral anon Ket When you have the time to travel will you have the money?Last Day ofthe Rickshaw peteon who grew up in at and wi erst ‘on the rickshaw ples. The Fekshaw i legacy a nda’s Shametu colonial pat. Into ‘duced in Japan inthe 1860s, tokahews were Broo to Inia in 1860. In tho Beginning they were used mainly by CChineas traders in Kolkata to transport goods but were soon sod te transport people tis lninnuman and degrading form of ranport thet rightly nd justifiably shoul be banned. The ony remaining jptonn navigating tne narrow lanes of Kolkata may be the ‘ena: waking ‘wentyfour years ago Younes ys ona cycle rickshaw in Nalang, Indonesia. The aver ‘eae much odor than ana Gdn seem up to the task Inter couple of minutes, old hit stop. couldn stomach veatehing another human ing tol so hard to move me and Some canyon supplies. | pat him handsomely end waled sway on my ow logs, caring ‘my suppbes on my shoulder No hur Should undergo such 2 Parka ot hope te est Strength break the coe ot human axpotaton Winy should it be the last tie or ekshaws? The ‘overnment of Kolkata should ook ino subsizing lt weight high-gesting pedal ‘kahaws That way the Fekanaw walahs gel 1 keep and improve thor etnoed, land the aeady congested frets of Kokat wl not be burdened with yet more polation on 2008: Ut eye the lkahaw The woru mah on page 0, ‘The pholoon page 75iot Hore today. Where tomorrow? FORTIS - eting you teVOUR SHOT | nem.comsyoursnot Just a Minute Ae you ready for your close-up? Every week the Your Shot ‘ators compile new selection of reader submited images ina themed vdeo wth tmuscal accompaniment called the My Shot Mnut. Look under the Video tab on Iigmzom to see your photograph made the fal cut. Get guidelines, submission frm, tnd more Information st ngm comiyourshet yas oar, storm chaser Thad Bowing ceugh this huge Ts col id not spawe «toned ho says. "What you se sn aha” The photo was voted an ngm.com audience favorite Poor people rom nearby vilages Wanid Anan 28, ewyer turned photographer who sow those women way on the route eee kinds fers fre common, though aay pole try toh thom outAtte Beart of the nage Stunning photography is just a step away.BHoTO JOURNAL | micuaer nucnes [As postars beauty ons fr Lore, tical oa main who re Bote otha eth wit er 3008 Langon bom ptoroyaser Fitting Memento Picture a col November aay at chat fags hase the Latte ctf on the Rhine near Koblenz, Germany. was on InGarmany see 1882 fclgnment for & Finish newspaper, butte ight was tribe flat and grey. A postcard Fd bougt for my eaughter looked mach than the era scenery balote re. pull It ut of my pocket od Iwas standing In exact the spot whore its mage had boon made (above). eld the posta In my let hand, and my im right Amilmetar up or down, lt or righ oF ut tnade #atference in how pertecty realty and memento aligned Tred an entire cl of fim gating th one seen just ght The Gorman say wie das Meken einer Maus-tko miking a mou ‘of course souvenie can be staggering avi Tacky. Mundane ‘And they lowe mucho hele charm once they're collecting dust Cha shelf But everyone collect souvent, whethor thy ea ther that or not. They" evidence that wove taken part inthe reat dance of ile~been places, seen things. Theyre connections tween us and someting grander and more eteral than we ae. fd they belong to us. Tourists shooting Blurry mable-phone- ‘Carers snapshots ofthe “Mons Liss" of Nagara Fall want 9 prov they ware there, nt to have art to hang on thelr wal ‘Te camer eof becomes aknd of sourene machine iy photography has come to havea sort of sporting aspect. Cen in jst te right souvene? Can Inthe precise location to frame #1 hope to ae to Eaypt soon. That shouldbe fabulousngm com our: Scag NATIONAL feet pureWisions OF EARTHHisTORY Sign Language 0» s :siny Easter weekend 50: ters et ofFoop Pedigreed Pizza 222 Napootna. The wo, connolseurs ay, have 28 mich in Common as a premier ev Bordeaux wth he pon na seew-topug Soon podareed Neapottn piza win the pantheon of European Uion-cerfles edocs he Spensh Serrano am and Elan tue Stiton chee. Waring Wakes tnge to red the EU space {or Neapotan pez nan to bake one oboe the imprimatur of Gusantod Tivol Spelay, pas mt nt stay over 98 cantare name nor he ct eae o contimetersin thickness, Ingrcents must incude type 0 flu and upto 100 grams of tomatoes (preteraby Marzans) applied ina spatng roton Te word "Daze Net Sepeoredn an 2987 manuserpt rom Gaeta 8 southern Ran own Aso tr, in 967 separatist tants northern Hay ted to Boyeatpera-e eon oth ‘Southam nemesis Neapoitans responded othe sect Lat th et penta vetoing to te commest-based mush dea tothe wear, but slogedy culinary impor tea orth Wonly Rapes ha pater pr, ood wir Burton Anderson abacres “Awoud be smong als weaver cls stead of one ois pores Cay NewmanoNSERVATION Fc aumetr mien) eee perce (cue) Veta Golden Fleece Faeuiousy expensive and butory sot swectors may help save tha vita Milions ofthe lama Kin once pore in the Andes, warmed by fly coat idee! or gh atu. “a inca cipped the woo! for royal garments but after the Spanish Conquest cues wore ile for to pas By the 1960s ony afew ‘ousand evrived As countries protected their ers and ine atonal laws banned va products the anal Dogan o rebound In The est sa boon for Per vioutas-thoy now number about 150000 up trom 62000 in 1881~and or vilagers who sel wool fer animals hey/ve Quarced and sheared Gut ome wid vous are bing fenced, Feeding and inbreeding ae concen: poaching Is on the rise Putting veusa on the runway hast costs, WomBANDSCAPES Dead-End Road rings 0 the Andes: a winding dt path about ton feet wide and 2 mies ong, descenaing Fow guerra. ots of landsies. We come 19 whet some ell the words Bolivas Nor Yunaas Road wat once the oni way fom La Paz to Corea, Drivers fodess Pachamams, chewed cace leaves to stay alert. But payors wont unanswered. ‘rors dot edges whore hundreds have perished. The worst aceisert: the 1983, rach ofa prosuce Wuck caring scores ‘ot peopl. Most ce. “My Lora says La Paz native Diego Balan." egret even taking ‘pee, ati ave nightmares” ‘Since 20062 new roag hes otere sate biker anc tourette til nt eae, vith elt ding this yor Saye biking ‘company ouner Alta Math: “PeopleWicovire 3m conehded n 1994, s0 one story goes her spy hac no way to gauge th ‘movernents, Catch Bslogist Michael Dickinson and coleague' bees dont have lt e43)-thoir small wingto-bodysz ratio means they must work herder to ‘iy than other nseets- tne Unortadox flapping method lets ther howe, ht wind, evade ‘rodators and get It even when loaded up with nectar or pollen. Jenni Holand ‘GENERATION Upto 200 bat (ano asove) ‘wein wines To ost ray you Gg : g, OR 1.21 Wing ish 20me Wirgs tp rotting arate backed cresting Ui he provous process. Te cycle ok wae fren epee CemENVIRONMENT The Shard Way bisms ion paste Ses glass bits ofl botos scoured by sand and st waler—e geting nce ingly sfc to in. “We'e atthe and ofthe sea gas window” nates Mary Bath Bouke, president ofthe North Arorcan Sea Olsss| Associaton “Tere ies las packaping now and more reeycing “is tumbled eo tiny if most not worth pecking up ‘Of course t started out as someting not worth Koning. Tash tossed of ships or washed ftom dumps must spond yearn the water to Become good sea glass. Weve chur, shore terrain, water {cay and composition of he gle to a playa part in eeating| ‘he smoothed sherds characterise mate texture. Bete, who nds sa gas al over the word ofors those tips for tolow beacheomber: Search a ow ae and ater a storm Rocky shores ae btter than sandy. And lave clear. Jagged pices where they la, she say. "Theyre not ished yet” -Mararet@ Zachomte ho bright voss- most common Sona ntDIA SOUL OF IRANCoe ee ee eee ee ee te es Se eee ee eee eee ee ee een ee eee ee ee Oe eee eae Cd ee ase oe eed nobles ascending stars hand in hand to the Tripylon hall (ight) may signal eaterity among the empire elites.BY MARGUERITE DEL GIUDICE PHOTOGRAPHS BY NEWSHA TAVAKOLIAN Hart's $0 StRIKING about the ruins of Persepolisin southern fran, an ancient capital ofthe Persian Empire that wasburned down after being conquered by Alexander the Great, the absence of violent imagery ‘on whats left of ts stone walls. Among the carvings there are sors, bat they're not ting; there are weapons, but they're not drawn. Mainly you see emblems suggesting, 8 rapor that something humane went on here instead — people of different nations gathering peace fully, bearing gifts, draping their hands amiably ‘on one anothers shoulders. In an era noted for itsbarbarity, Persepolis itscems, was relatively ‘cosmopolitan place—and for many Iranians today is ruins are a breathtaking reminder fof who their Persian ancestors were and what they di ‘The recorded history of the country itself spans some 2,50 yeas, culminating in today’s Islamic Republic of Tan, formed in 1979 afer 4 revolution inspired in part by conservative Clerics cast out the Western-backed shab. Is “nguably the works ist modern constitutional theocracy and a grand experiment: Cana coun- try be run effectively by holy men imposing an extreme version of slam on a people soaked in such arich Persian past? Persia was a conquering empire but also regarded in some ways as one ofthe more glor- ‘ous and benevolent civilizations of antiquity, land I wondered how strongly people might stil, “Marguerite Del Gude wrote about ean inthe ‘March sue. News Tayalan, an Iranian photographer, dcumont wren nthe Md Bas. 42 NATIONAL orocnarmie - Avausr 2008 ‘enti withthe par oftheir history tha’ is- trated in those surviving friezes. So set out to explore what “Pes meansto Iranians, who atthe time of my two vss ast yeae were being shunned by the international community, their culture demonized in Western cinema and theirleaders ‘as, in an escalating war of words with Wash: ington, DC. as menacing would-be terrorists ‘out o build the bomb. ‘You cant really separate out Iranian identity asone thing or another broadly speaking, its part Persian, part Islamic, and part Wester, and the paradoxes all exist together, But there isa Persian identity that has noting to do with Islam, ‘which atthe same time has blended with the culture of Islam (as evidenced by the Muslim call to prayer that booms from loudspeakers situated around Persepolis, 2 ue to visitors that they ate not only ina Persian kingdom but also {nan Islamic republic). This would be a story about those Iranians who sil, atleast in par ‘identify with their Persian roots. Perhaps some millennial spillover runs through the makeup ‘of what is now one of the world’ ticking hot spots, Are vestiges ofthe lfe-loving Persian ‘ature (wine love, poetry, song) woven int the fabric of abstinence, prayer, and fatalism oftenSchoolgirls inthe city of Desful col ther fet on a sweltering summer d Physical reminders of ran’ long history abound, such as the founcations ofthe bridge in the distance, built 10 span the Dez River inthe third century s.0. associated with Islam —Iik rear a secret computer n runing quietly in the background? Iran’ capital city of Tehran is an exciting, pollution-choked metropolis atthe foot of the Elbure Mountains, Many of the buildings are made of tiny beige bricks and girded with ‘etal rlngs, giving the impression of small compounds coming one after the other, pune tuated by halted construction projects and parks. There ae still some beautifal gardens here, a Persian inheritance, nd private ones, with fruit tees and fountains, shponds and {viaries, lurishing inside the brick walls While washer, two Iranian-born American academics, hon had been locked up, accused of fomenting a velvet revolution against the government, Eventually they were released. But back in the United States, people would atk, wast I afraid tobe in Iran?—the ‘assumption being that [ must have been in danger of geting locked up myselt But | was a guest in Iran, and in Iran a guest Is accorded the highest stats, the sweetest piece fruit, the most comfortable place to sit. Its part ofa complex system of ritual politeness ‘aarof—that gaverns the subtext of life here. Hospitality, courting, family afars, politcal negotiations; tarof isthe unwritten code for how people should treat eachother. The word has an Arabic rot, draft, meaning to know or acquire knowledge of. Bu the idea oftaarot to base oneself while exalting the other person— is Persian in origi, said William O. Beeman, ‘linguistic anthropologist atthe University of Minnesota, He described it as fighting forthe lower hand!” but in an exquisitely elegant way, making it posible, in a hierarchical society like Trans, "for people to paradoxically del with cach other as equals Wherever I went, people fussed over me and made sure that ll my needs were met. Butnd {sland of Kish,they can get so caught up trying to pleas seeming to, nd declining offers, or see to, that true intentions are hidden. There's a Jot of mind reading and lighthearted, mean- imgless dialogue while the two partes go back And forth with entreaties and refusals until the truth reveals itself. Being smooth and seeming sincere while hiding your tru feclings—artul pretending—is considered the height of tarof and an enormous Socal asset, "You never show your intention or your real identity sida former Iranian politcal prisoner now living in France "You're making Sure you're not exposing yourself to danger, hecause throughout our history there has been ‘ot of danger there” Indeed the lng course of Iranian history is satu- rated with wars invasions, and martyrs, nclud- ing the tenage boys during the Iran-Iraq war ‘ofthe 1980s who carried plastic keys to heaven ‘while clearing minefields by walking bravely cross them, The underlying reason forall the ‘rama is location, Ifyou drae lines from the Mediterranean to Bling oF Beijing to Cairo or Paris to Dell they all pass through Ian, which straddles a region where East meets West. Over 26 centuries, a lending of the hemispheres has ‘been going on here—trade, cultural interchange, frietion-—with Ian smack in the middle ‘Meanwhile because ofits wealth and strategic location, the country was also overrun by one invader after another, and the Persian Empire was established lst ad restablished a number of times—by the Achaemenids, the Parthians, fand the Sasanids before finaly going under. Invaders have included the Turks, Genghis ‘Khan and the Mongol, and, most significantly, [Arabian tribesmen. Fired with the zal ofa new religion, Islam, they humbled the ancient Per 12 Empire for good in the seventh century and ushered in a period of Muslim greatness that was distintly Persian, The Arab expansion is tegarded as one ofthe most dr ‘ments of any peoplein history. Pe 446 NATIONAL cEocRAPHte « Aucusr 2008 inexorable path, and, ever since, Iranians have ‘been finding ways to keep safe their identity 28 distinct fom the rest of the Muslim and Arab world. “Iran is very big and very ancient” said Youssef Madjidzadch,a lading Iranian archae- logist, “and isnot easy to change the heats 1 identity ofthe people because ofthis They ik to sy, for istance, that when invad ‘erscame to Iran, the Iranians didnot become the invaders the invaders became Iranians. Theit conquerors were said to have “gone Persian?” like Alexander, who, aftr laying waste to the vanquished Persia, adopted its cultural and ‘administrative practices, took a Persian wile ‘(Roxana), and ordered thousands of his troops to-do the same in a mass wedding. Iranians scem paticulaly proud of ther capacity to get along with others by assimilating compatible ‘aspects ofthe invaders ways without surren- ering their own—a cultural elasticity that is at the heart oftheir Persian identity. The eathist reports ofhumansetlementin ran go bck east 10000 years, andthe countrys name N\NN Peas Siberian Blast Oe ee ee en the cataclysmic power of an asteroid strike. eee irs roeerenieneten eitsaw the glowing streak, dazaling on a sunny afternoon, a it traversed the sky from Utah Alberta before whizzing back On March 22,1989, rock as och asa thou few hundred rosion and vegetation have erased most of the sears left by impacts in the geologic past, Perhaps the best preserved lies about half an hour east of Flagstaf, Arizona, Ona lat autunnn oeing Carolyn Shoemaker and pl of Inter ‘and wind though scrubby descr toward he cate. Fit o this was a forested pla rise marking the rim inhabited by mammeths, gant ground doth, and ther Ie Age animals. Shoemaker, expert with the Lowell Observatory in Fags agines the day the sky fell a terrific brilliant light” caring ho ron nickel mas ‘weighing 300,00 tons, tears into the Coconino “angst, ging boulders and molten ron for miles blast athly tornado scour the landscape All that et of the cat three-fourths ofa mile wide and 370 feet deep Mormon tea bushes Atthetumofthe ed Daniel Morea was convinced that a wind mare powerful than aay ay beneath the crater and obtainedMODELING MAYHEM a sand at 12.00 miles an hour helps geologist Pater Sonus Lnderstane impact zone. “Standing owavange yous bo boted bythe ho says. “Think ofa hot anaes, of shafts revealed nothing, many prominent geologists concluded that a volcanic eruption, iota meteorite, had formed the crater. Carolyris husband, Gene, made Meteor Crate ‘one of America’ most recognizable landmarks In thelate 19505 he mapped the overturned rock around the crater and pointed out similarities to the Teapot Ess crate in Nevada, formed by a nuear test, His data showed that Barringer was right: A meteorite had gouged the crate, although most of the ion had melted into tiny Aroplets Several of Barringer shat can till be seen from the rim, along with a ull size cutout ‘ofa waving astronaut—a nod to NASA, which ‘once used the crater as training ground, Some visitors whisper and point at Carolyn, and one man plucks up the courage to come over and request her autograph. Carolyn i famous in ber ‘own right She discovered a comet that in 1994, vividly demonstrated the cosmic threat we face. In 1980, their children grown and out the oor, Gene sugested that Carolyn tata eaeer asan asteroid hunter. “Tm a morning person’ she says. "Thad never stayed awake all night in my lif. didet know iff could do that” But she decided to give asteroid hunting a shot. Gene hha access to the Palomar Observatory near San Diego. “After a couple years, I learned how to discover things, she says, modestly. She has 32 comets and 367 asteroids to her credit. “Some are more interesting than others ‘On March 5, 1993, Carolyn, Gene and David Levy; an amatei astronomer, were at Palomar for thelr scheduled observation time. Snow was falling, and the night promised tobe long and boring. Carolyn killed time by studying a batch of overexposed film from the previous night. Many frames were worthless. On one ofthe last images. however, she came acros a smudge. "I said Ttlooks ike a squashed comet The team asked astronomers at Kitt Peak t take look. Iethen occurred to Carolyn that her squashed ‘comet might bea broken comet. Confirmation «came that same night when Kitt Peak spotted a string of comet shards traveling together Other astronomers soon counted some two dozen pieces of comet Shoemaker Levy 9 and ‘worked out its strange history and fate. In July 1982 itseemed, the comet had swung so close 10 Jupiter that the giant's massive gravity had torn Itapart. Now the remnants, some of them hun, dreds of feet wide, were destined to collide with Jupiter in fly 19. When the time came, most ‘ofthe word’ astronomers were watching The impacts took place on fier’ fase, out of sight of Earth, but the blows sent superheated xsbilowing far above the atmosphere The lr unleashed shock waves that oiled an area at least thre mes the width of Earth. "Rt was pretty awesome? Carolyn says The Shoemaker asked in the glow of their discovery. Then tragedy struck In 1997 they werein a head-on car crash in the Australian outback, Gene died at the scene. An ounce ofhis ashes traveled tothe moon with NASA‘ Lunar Prospector spacecraft. Caron scattered the rest t Meteor Crater 1 THEE SHOEMAKERS’ NAMESAKE or the mon: ster that annihilated the dinosaurs were bean dove on us. there would belie we could do, Fr every planet killer, however, there are thousands of smaller asteroids and comets—up to mile‘oso across—that could conceivably be deflected First weld have to see them coming {In 1998 the US, Congress ordered NASA to Identify atleast 90 percent ofthe largest aster ids and comets in the inner sola system— objects sx-tenths ofa mile or more in diameter. o date, telescopes have pinpointed more than 700 out ofan estimated population of 1000 In 2005 Congress got more ambitious, dteting the space agency to track down the far more numer ‘ous asteroids 460 fet or more in diameters big enough to take outa city or state Anew telescope i about to begin scanning the sky for these dim, elusive objects. From a peak on Maui, the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System, or Pan-STARRS, will scrutinize the night sky with a 14-bilion pixel camera that produces images so detailed Single one, if printed, would cover half a bask bull court, Computers willscan the data, lagging statistical curiosities that astronomers can check the old-fashioned way, by taking a look. The Maui telescope is just a prototype; ultimately Pan-STARRS wil include an array of four car ‘eras. "Well have catalogs ofall the things that go bump inthe night” says Ken Chamber of the University of Hawai, including perhaps 10,000, potentially hazardous asteroids, ‘Within decades, the worlds leaders may be forced to grapple with a momentous decision: whether and how to deflect an incoming object. Few experts ae giving this much thought, says sstronomer David Morrison of NASA Ames Research Center “The number would roughly staffa couple shifts at a McDonald’ Ls the former astronaut, is one. Now an exe tive at Google, hes helping design a massive database fora successor to Pan-STARRS, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, which will scrutinize the sky in even more detal starting i 2014, Luis als the coauthor of scheme for using spacecraft to coax an earthbound aster: ‘oid ofits dangerous path, "We were originally thinking about how you would and onan aster ‘id and push it” he says, "But that doeait work well” Ifthe surface is crumbly, the lander might Skid off: Moreover, asteroids twil through space. "If youre pushing andthe thing i oat {ng the pushing just cancel out” Lu sys hen he and Stanley Love, fellow astronaut realized pulling would be mach easier. A space craft could hover nearby and fie its thrusters, BATTERED GIANT A sting of rough 20 fragments of comet Shoemaker-Lewy 9 (compost view, lon) nt.uper tke machine {un ee ny 4998, The npacts let ruses on Jupiter's atmosphere (Cap, sme of them wider han Er and gave astronomers thle frst lok ata planetary colison gently tugging the asteroid along. No harpoon, ing or lasting would be required. "Rather than having physial line between you and the thing youre towing youre jst using the force of grav fay between them” Lu say. The "gravity trator ‘would tig the asteroid off course ta mere frac tion ofa mile an hos. But this subtle shi, mag hified over the vastness of space, could mean ‘missing Earth by tens of thousands of miles, Taibscheme would work ony for asteroids upto «few hundred yards across that ould be engaged far from Earth. Ia small ockenesks upon us, we ould try ramming it with a spacecraft But theres 8 drawback, says Morrison: "Ifyou hit an aster. ‘id with enough energy to break t apart, but not necessarily enough enengy to disperse it widely, you now have a flying collection of stuf. You have task how practical thats” When ll else fails, and for large asteroids and comets, only ‘one strategy has chance of working: Well have ta bomb them back tothe Stone Agerary Seared suns teliel Every year as the Earth loops through a solar system crowded with other bodies, there’s a chance it could run into trouble. Sec eed Ce ee ents pee eer ns ee eee ‘hat measure more than 460 fet across and ee eee eee eed Se Le Cae eee neta! eo ane ere ee ere Cee eel eer ene tearSTANDS OF FROSTED FIRS and white birch cluster long the highway leading southwest from Yekaterinburg the city in the Ural Moun tains where Russias tsar, Nicholas T, and his family were murdered 9 years ago, Under a dll sun, fishermen huddle over holes on a frozen lake, oppy-eared fur hats iding heir faces. A oad with a misspelled signpost fr tiny vllage ‘marks the turnoff forthe formerly secret city ‘of Snezhinsk, code-named Chelyabinsk-70 dur ing the Cold War, Snezhinsk is home to one of Resi two main nclear weapons laboratories. After the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, it elon hard times een yeas ago, with Russia economy in shambles, staf salaries went unpaid, and the director committed suicide "Noveaday, with Russa prospering the bora tory ishumming with top secret work. Obtaining permission to ener proved impossible But Vadim Simonenko, the deputy scientific director, and experimentalist Nikolay Voloshin agreed to ‘net at sanatorium in nearby Dalnjaya Dacha Ina cook, dim, and empty dining hall, Voloshin ‘opens abot f cognac, and ove salmon cana és, cold cuts, and sliced cucumbers, the two tweapons scientists discuss how theie Bombs could save the world If Edward Teleris the father ofthe hydrogen bomb, Simonenko isthe father ofthe aster cid bomb, Inthe mid-1960s the superpowers dreamed of using their nuclear arsenals for peaceful purposes, such as leveling mountains And digging canals. Simonenko, a new recruit to the lab, was asked to study the eects of a torpedo-shaped charge that would explode lat cally ideal for earthmoving Tt occured to him that such a device could also he used to deflect an ‘object in space. He tld his bos, who laughed and ordered the eager young physicist to get Iback to work. "Though nuclear excavation never became a realty, Simonenko went on studying nuclear isteroid deflection, He and Voloshin concluded thatthe best way to deflect an asteroid up to ile lor so wide would be to detonate a nuclear charge hearby. The intense radiation would fy the sur face, driving off sacri layer’ of rock. The expanding vapor would act asa rocket motor, nudging the asteroid onto anew trajectory. For ‘smaller, Tunguska-sze rock, Simonenko says, it would be simpler: We vaporize it” Simonenko hasa brothe-in-arms in nuclear DISASTER PLANNING 1 2005 a NASA spacecraft probed ‘comet by smashing ino (bet) ‘tn the fore of etn of arte Yet barely sted ts path Scientist James Szabo (at) develops pes tractor to tug threatening comet (or ateroid 0 aaron. physicist David Dearborn of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in northern California Dearborn dy job is determining whether the ‘aging weapons in the US, nuclear stockpile are reliable. In his spare time, he ponders asteroid defense, He, too favorsa standoff nuclear bas. ‘Not to close—then the blast stoo intense, an things shatter too much. And not to ft oF you dont get enough energy” ‘Although it may be technically steaightfor ward to dust offafew warheads and sing them stan asteroid, deciding whether to press the red button and which nation gets o presi could be excruciating. Fist, the nation with its finger on the trigger would have to withdraw from the Outer Space Tieay, which bans the use ‘of nuclear weapons in space. But if catastrophe Toms, says Dearborn, “people would really have to say Can we be brighter than the dinosaurs?” Apophis may pos the frst eal test of our col lective intelligence, For nov, scientists can giveFor large objects. only one strategy has a chance of succeeding We'll have to bomb them back to the Stone Ag only a range of probabilities forts future tree 3 As it swings past Earth in 2029, ducking under dozens of high-fying communications and spy satellites and appearing as a lumbering across the night skies over Europe, there’ a slim chance that Apophis wil pass through a “keyhole” In this narrow corridor of space, maybe few hundred yards wide, Earths sravity would deflect i just enough put it ona certain collision course with our Jn the next pas, in 2036, The odds that Apophis wll pass through this ftal corridor a currently estimated at I in 45,000. Continued tracking will almost certainly delve an all lar few years from now. Ifnot, we might have to ait until weeks afer its close approach in 2029 toleam whether Apophishassqucered through keyhole, leaving us precious litle time to avert calamity in 2036 the prophesies ofthe Hop ofthe American Southwest, the arial ofa spirit called Yellow Star Kachina will herald the end ofthe world When Hopi clders heard about Apophis in 2004 they worred that Yellow Star Kachina was on its ‘way Carolyn Shoemaker tried to reas that i was not. Lets hope she was ight. ethemFoLLow up Bioko Island Journal Jovi sero. wih three other Navona! Geographic photographers anda crew of students and lenis, spent two weeks on hs speck of and documenting the region ich ray of wif. These are some of Sertore's notes from timo spont in Malabo. queria Guiness capital ety-and the center of tengbush-meat trade Todey | oot punched in tne mouth by a monkey. was ri ctu the largest ox ‘hunting oan. els boon welded into 8 rar cage behind ‘imal cal Ileaned in too ‘ove to get a photo shi he fore up my mouth with ono ja eared me right. The tes ‘omer had recetiy cid. There fits, ora because thoy ae an endangered spaces, they ent be exported without mor Paperwork eve a fooing thie This moening went tthe bushmest market Im fm Nebraska, and Ive seen butch ‘wera baskets ot hori {abies covered wih pangatns prone, bush tales pores fet verywnor inthe forest ths wat tele harvest small ue der ay Bound and ave. The woman eeling tyes when | brought the camera up tomy ace, 201 took tree shots from the hip using a tigger ‘onthe bottom ofthe camera, me shoots fourdoliar phene the market. one o he foreh Coughing each time to hide the card bought me haan hour. men motioned to a big male ound of he she. laugh ‘Alew passed 2007 mace il about the 8320 of my fur Yyoa-o on. The dead sims and was eld nthe flame. ioaked ust he in, {ered animals would every be cared aver to mal ab05 Tide or fathers Te whole populace and a single monkey —_ piace smeled of burning nar. seing fr $200 oF more, Now You can support fost seIt’s not just what you say that counts with business leaders. It’s where you Say it.INSIDE GEOGRAPHIC-At-contury incense bun dopets ‘tea goa noing a haman head, Maya Wonders 7a Geographic published ist story about the Maye inits Maren 1013 sue, report ‘on the excavation of mystor inthe jungles of Cuture Far rom the peaceful Stargazors once imagine. the aya had “a magniicont Classic etetion that went down in ‘themnew speci sve, Myster Jes of to Meya covers 2000, yours of Maya nto, tracing {he culation’ rise snd fal, Inclacing ts eary agrarian dys the Yueetén Peninsula publication ison news ‘uguet 1261096).Mnsive GEOGRAPHIC no eooxs Live Long and Happily 1 the now book The Blue Zones ven four places whe yang les: ina mountainous por of Sardis al Okinawa, onthe Ncoye Peninsua of Costa Fe, and in the Seventh-day Adventist community around Loma Lipa. Calon. Author Dan Buetine nde common tres ‘mong them and fers adrioe(oeiow) or longevty ($28) ‘on Japan subi 1 Have Purpose Nicovans all i plon de vise Zones fona nbn fon anc LoWGE ye Active Kt doesnt rao me ores | ave to be marathons. Many Sarcinian men here make movement routine DAN BUETTNER They're 4REAL National Geographic's new Emerging Expiorers Sol Guy ‘and Josh Thome make saving ‘he worl look c00t On each ‘REAL, Guy takes celebrities ke Cameron Ola and Joaquin Posie sruna th gabe to roel community oganzers who are making aaference ‘One program reduces 2 ‘Queena medicine man in Pera preserving his cute nother fostres an sets for caren in postwar Liberia. ‘SREAL aie ternational on National Geographic Channel ‘and Nat Geo Adventure neck local tistings fortes, {ott Adverts advocate ‘vegetarian det, 1 Fomiy Fst Okinanans honar ther ancestors oly ‘a ve with matin ‘generations ‘Shopping For Maton Goo Maing List Wo occasionFLASHBACK wrter Maksim Gory draped balconios at Moscow's inthe May 1880 Geographic artis "Some 1 Hoar Tet The former President long ions Seeing beaut elven "the Russian Revlon, But unrest wae ity of being blown