6

Sept. 6,
May 24,2015
2014 Internet handicraft shop
The first Internet shop of Iranian handicrafts has been launched at www.
dastinekala.com in cooperation with the private sector.

Iranica
A sailor of dried river
By Mohammad Ali Sepanlou
Footprints of poetry in Iranian lives

You too don’t know

How many people we were tmd.cfu.ac.ir
Tomb of Omar Khayyám in Neishabour
In this winter chamber.

Still I hear the sea by mistake

Which listens to my tale
And silently prints its answer
On the veranda.

And since it spoke by mistake

The rain poured down azure blue
Instead of pouring red.

Two butterflies circle behind my black

spectacles,
I look by mistake
And behind the opaque windowpane in the
backyard
I ride a strange ship.
Tomb of Hafez in Shiraz Tavaana.org
And we don’t know how many we were wikipedia.org Tomb of Sa’di in Shiraz
In this cabin which

Now prepares itself to sail.
The answers have evaporated on the
windowpanes
And we have become forgotten...
Hello!
O Bozorg Ramhormozi
O captain
Again we hear the sound of waves at the
shore
And we are seeking you,
O flying sailor!
Although autumn has filled islands with its
auburn hair,
Swimming, in its disturbing seclusion,
I comb the pedestrians’ hair.
O burnt breeze, I am a sailor of dried river
Who mount the lion like his ancestors
And cross through the abandoned hour.
I note down my poems
At the margin of cancelled tickets
Or old papers bearing hotel letterheads,
And mark down
My temporary travels.
I try to make fair copies of verses
In this short interval
To serve as my motto for future.
“What hopes urge you to rain in this season
of drought?”
“My duty is to rain,
It is not my duty to instill hope.”
Rubayiat
By Molana
When Thou madest me to tread
On the path of faith,
Thy trust on my back was laid
To be true till death.
I
f you travel to Iran, you will certainly be amazed by the
number of Iranians who visit the tombs of their poets. You see
how they respect and show love for the ones buried in these
places.
You find out the passion and affection in their manners and
treatment of the tombs.
Based on what I’ve heard from international travelers for years,
this is rare in the other parts of the world.
Schooling system
As children, Iranian students begin to learn poems and even
memorize them in the early years of primary schools. They get
familiar with the rhyme and different styles of poetry. They learn
about the famous Iranian poets. Persian literature is full of distin-
guished styles.
Many of the textbooks they study are written in Middle Per-
sian, the language used in Iran some 1,400 years ago. Although
the language has gone through lots of changes, it’s still under-
standable.
During high school, students study more complicated Persian
literature and particularly poetry. This continues in the universi-
ties, regardless of what you study, destinationiran.com reported.
Life and times
A lot of Persian expressions are in the form of poetry.
Persian poems are rich in subjects like love, modesty, wisdom,
appreciation of creation and Nature. Therefore, there are several
occasions coming our ways in which one remembers some Per-
sian sayings.
For centuries, those who knew such expressions and used them
in certain situations were considered the educated ones. In some
other cases, one may even recite some lines of poem.
There’s no Iranian home without Persian poetry books. People
continue reading poems outside schooling system, too.
Before the time of equinox and the advent of the Iranian New
Year (Norouz), during Yalda Night (the ceremonies for the long-
est night of the year – Dec. 20), and many other occasions, Irani-
ans read poems.
Iranian traditional music is full of classical Iranian poems.
Some Iranian poets are well known for their musical poems.
Some of them have powerful soothing effect.
Some make you very happy and some are deeply sad and full
of emotions. In various states of heart, Iranians can listen to vari-
ous types of music.
The eloquent Persian language is also used in journalism.
Sometimes the headlines as well as the news articles you read are
embellished with poetic expressions and references to particular
poems.
Some of these poetic expressions refer to another story or
group of people with particular mindset and belief. Therefore,
understanding Iranian poems, music, stories, news articles, etc.
could be quite complicated, but not very much for a nation who is
brought up with it.
World-class poets
Iran has offered some of the most famous poets to the world
literature. They represent a nation with profound culture and
thoughtful ideas.
Ferdowsi is the Iranian poet of 1,000 years ago. He composed
the most famous Iranian poetry book called Shahnameh (Grand
Book). This was an unparalleled effort to save the Persian lan-
guage at a time when Arab invaders forced Iranians not to speak,
write or compose anything in Persian. His epic works set nation-
alistic feelings ablaze in Iranians hearts.
Omar Khayyam was a well-known mathematician and poet
who lived some 900 years ago. His short poems are full of max-
ims about life and joy.
Sa’di was a man of traveling who lived some 800 years ago.
He had studied in Nizamia University, Baghdad. He returned to
his homeland toward the end of his life and soon gained large
popularity due to his lovable poems, which are highly appreci-
ated worldwide.
The following famous poem by Sa’di decorates the UN build-
ing:
Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul.
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.
If you have no sympathy for human pain,
The name of human you cannot retain.
Rumi was the unique Iranian poet of 700 years ago. His rhyth-
mic poems describe Iranian traditional systems of music. His
words of wisdom, spiritual and love poems are still quoted by
Persian-speaking people.
His book became the bestselling book of late 20th century in
the US and his poems’ recordings made their way to the bill-
board’s top 20 list.
Hafez was the master of Persian ghazals and still is after 700
years. The figurative language, description of love and beautiful
language of spiritual values are uniquely adorable.
In addition to such famous poets, there are a large number of
other poets who are quite well liked by Iranians, although non-
Iranians may not have heard of them.
Visiting ritual of Persian poets
When Iranian go to the tombs of poets, they treat them like
a lost loved family member. They place flowers on their tomb-
stones. Sometimes, they wash the tomb with rosewater. They sit
down and pray for the dead poet. They talk to them and ask them
to talk back with them.
They bring the poet’s book with them to read or recite some of
their poems to stay connected with them. Such tombs are inside
beautiful gardens, not among other graves in a cemetery.
The decoration of the settings around it and the monument built
for them are part of the whole honor dedicated to them.
Int’l reputation
Every year, several commemorative ceremonies and confer-
ences are held for the above poets and others in Iran. Many
people specialized in studying these poets’ works come to-
gether to discuss various dimensions of their characters and
works.
Days have been named after such poets and non-Iranians un-
derstand the importance of such men of wisdom in the develop-
ment of human knowledge.
Therefore, when you visit Iran, make sure you have a deeper
look at the settings in which Iranians go to such tombs and grasp
the feelings and appreciation of these gems of Persian literature.

“Ah, I am faint,” I cried, PICTURE OF THE DAY

“And the burden great,
By Thee I was fortified
Mortazaviha House renovated
And steeled to the weight.” The renovation of Mortaza-
viha House in Shahr-e Kord,
Once more, O King, Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari
Accept the service that I bring, province, has been complet-
And mercy show ed, said the head of Chaha-
On my impotence and woe. rmahal-Bakhtiari Cultural
Heritage, Handicrafts and
If ever, Lord, Tourism Department.
Hereafter I oppose Thy word, Bahman Asgari added that
Lend not again the renovation, which lasted
Thy succour, when I call in pain. for six months, included the
installation of a dehumidifier
canal, removal of inappropri-
ate connections, implementa-
tion of brick facade and rein-
forcement of the building’s foundation.
He said over 500 million rials of provincial credits were spent on the renovation
project.
Asgari said the monument dates back to the Qajar era.
Mortazaviha House is located near Jame’ Mosque of Shahr-e Kord. It was registered
at No. 29591on the National Heritage List.
The monument has a central yard, a basement, a large room with five doors, Houz-
ISNA khaneh (an underground hall with a beautiful pool) and beautiful decorations.
Full-blossomed trees have filled the air of Semnan province with fragrance.