Daves Travel Corner - Kourosh Ziabari: There are currently nine world heritage sites registered to UNESCO from Iran: Persepolis is the first of them all. 

Persepolis is the main symbol of Persian culture and civilization for Iranians around the globe and is reckoned a source of honor for young people in modern day Iran. 

The architectural traits of this ceremonial palace make it a unique site in the country — and the world — and an attraction for thousands of tourists who travel to the country just to visit Persepolis.

The palace is known to modern Iranians as “Takht-e-Jamshid” or the throne of Jamshid. Jamshid is a mythological king of Persian Empire who has been described in great detail by Ferdowsi in “Shahnameh,” the most esteemed epic poem in Persian literature.

Many historians attribute this ceremonial capital to the Achaemenidan dynasty, which goes back to about 2,500 years.

According to Andre Godard, the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis during the early 1930s, this site was constructed under Darius the Great, but Cyrus the Great chose it as the capital of his kingdom.

The Persepolis complex consists of various parts and halls, the most predominant of which are the gate of all nations, Apadana palace and the throne hall.

The Persepolis was attacked by the army forces of Alexander the Macedonian in the year 330 BC which caused irrecoverable damage to the buildings and destroyed the major sections and halls of it. 

A fire at Xerex palace after the Alexander troops left Iran was yet another disaster for that former glorious site, which led to the destruction of more than 40 percent of Persepolis.

In any case, the invasion of Persia by Alexander and his awesome military was an unforgettable nightmare for the Sasanid dynasty.

Describing Persepolis in words is difficult. The remaining ruins mainly consist of a number of colossal buildings on the terrace made of dark-grey marble; there are 20 standing pillars and 40 escalated minarets.

These painful ruins — which remind us of 2,500 years of turbulent periods, monarchies and kings — are transfiguring by a sense of splendor and grief, something which you cannot really feel except by experiencing the site in person. 

Persepolis, which was named a heritage site by UNESCO in 1979 — right after the Islamic revolution of Iran — hosts more than 500,000 visitors annually, most of them from Western Europe and the US.

Iranian artists have created the world’s largest sand carpet from the colorful sand found on the country’s southern island of Hormuz.
Some 25 visual artists used 70 types of colorful sand to create the ‘Persian Gulf’ sand carpet, which will be displayed on the island from Dec. 9 to 17, 2008.
The 12000-square-meter carpet is unique in magnitude, pattern and color and its title which shares the name of the forever Persian Gulf.
The previous sand carpet record belonged to 900-square-meter one created on the Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Known for its beautiful red soil, Hormuz Island has witnessed numerous artistic events, including Iran’s 15th Environmental Art Festival.

More photos and details here

Kourosh Ziabari, Ahmadreza Tavassoli: The Cinema Verite International Documentary Film Festival, which was held in Iran on the third week of October 2008, was undoubtedly an occasional opportunity for documentary filmmakers from 75 countries worldwide to congregate for a landmark event and share their precious artistic experiences together and become acquainted with the obscured and disputatious culture of Iran.

The festival, which was inaugurated by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Islamic Republic of Iran, has hosted a stack of artists, journalists, filmmakers and analysts from US; which is not in an official friendly and impartial stance toward Iran these days, though is considered as a close cultural and scientific ally of Iran on behalf of its independent and non-governmental organizations and communities.

Shannon Kelley, who is the Director of Programming of the Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia (Mexico), was among the guests who attended the festival from the United States and attracted many reporters, audiences and festival curators, as well.

Kelley is an independent movie consultant and has worked for the Sundance Film Festival as Associate Short Film Programmer since 1997; where presently she is serving as the Festival Senior Consultant to the Documentary Program.

The following is the text from the exclusive Asian Times interview with Shannon Kelley where we discussed a variety of art-related topics and explored her perceptions of being in Iran to attend the 2008 Cinema Verite Film Festival for the very first time.

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Iran was different to what I’d thought

Media Left - Kourosh Ziabari: Nowadays, you hear the name of Iran for the most catastrophic reasons in the global media headlines. Nuclear weapons, terrorism, mass destruction, violation of human rights, abduction of freedom activists etc. Such hostile approach for the coverage of Iran news which has been taking by the corporation media since long times ago would easily sequence to an international pessimism toward the people of Iran, the culture of Iran and the history of Iran. That’s why, Iran is somehow interpreted as the most misrepresented, misunderstood country in the world that is being distorted by image despite of its richness of civilization.

Speaking to an American scholar of Persian Culture who has devoted almost 15 years of his lifetime to studying the furthest angels and brinks of Persian culture and Iranian lifestyle is worth reading at least once for it gives a clarified and impartial viewpoint of Iran, what the outgoing President of US calls the “Axis of Evil”.

James Russell is a world-distinguished figure, a well-known name for those interested in Persian culture, Persian civilization and Iranian studies. He is a Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the a former Associate Professor of Ancient Iranian studies at Columbia University while teaching at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem priorly.

At the time being, Professor James Russell of the Harvard University is writing a book on a medieval Armenian collection of tales whose source he believes to be the Buddhist Lotus Sutra, an important scripture written by and for the Silk Road peoples, most of whom spoke Iranian languages.

I conducted an interview with Prof. James Russell with the aim of learning more about the viewpoints of an American university professor about Iran, the misrepresented and misinterpreted country that you can not discover the truths about, unless you travel and sense it face-to-face.

In the brief debate, we talked about various topics such as the life of Persian poet Mowlana, the customs and rituals of Iranian people, the history of Persian Gulf and the richness of Persian literature.

I invite you to come with us to walk you through the corridors of 7500 years history of Greater Persia; certainly you would learn more things, knowing not before!

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TEHRAN (FNA)- The sole encyclopedia on Persian Gulf will go online in April 2009, providing a chance for researchers to use it in their research works.

Work on the electronic encyclopedia began by Abu Reyhan Birouni Research Center, affiliated to the Center for Islamic Encyclopedia, last year.

Commenting on the project, head of the center, Kianoush Kiani said that the electronic version of the encyclopedia will officially go online on Persian Gulf Day (April 29).

The encyclopedia has been designed in two sections of general information and entries. Four volumes have been scheduled to cover extensive articles on Persian Gulf while another four volumes are to feature entries, 1,500 of which have so far been identified, he said, the Islamic republic news agency reported.
The eight-volume encyclopedia will take four years to complete, Kiani said.

Fars News