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Post by questa on Oct 1, 2013 11:18:01 GMT
I arrived in Tehran a week or so after the students' uprising against the corrupt election just held. 500,000 marchers had been fired on and beaten with at least 7 killed. To say things were tense is putting it mildly. I avoided taking pictures of people in the major centres, but the people were friendly to me. As "Persia" and under many other names, this country's history goes back to Biblical times. I hope you like archeology! City from hotel roof Toll collection gateway. Army buildings and square near hotel
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Post by questa on Oct 2, 2013 1:26:50 GMT
Tehran was a busy city with people all going somewhere, not standing around and chatting. Not a lot of modern big buildings. So I followed the crowd to the bazaar This was cute, but I didn't buy one! Next stop was the Museum of Ceramics...pics later.
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Post by anshjain97 on Oct 2, 2013 2:44:15 GMT
I love seeing photos of new cities so this is all very interesting. Thanks!
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Post by questa on Oct 2, 2013 5:00:06 GMT
Thanks ansh, some of the cities we will see are +/- 4000 years old. Enjoy...
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Post by questa on Oct 2, 2013 12:15:02 GMT
The Museum of Ceramics. Photographing objects that are in glass cabinets with spotlights on them is difficult. Please forgive the light bounce. I wish I had recorded the dates of the objects as well...sigh. The museum close up of brickwork Interior of museum Can anyone guess what these are used for? I won't tell you for this posting and give a couple of days for guesses.
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Post by mossie on Oct 2, 2013 14:15:50 GMT
Some wonderful glassware. Thanks for this insight into a very different country, but a very ancient civilisation.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 14:30:43 GMT
I'd say the bottles in the photo above are for peeing in!
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Post by fumobici on Oct 2, 2013 15:18:27 GMT
Wonderful photos. Want. To. Go. Not sure I'd ever be allowed to fly again though
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 15:36:20 GMT
What have you done now, fumobici? Why wouldn't you be allowed to fly? An good insight into a country that I'm sure many never think of visiting. questa, it seems like you were there at a very volatile time? How long did you stay in Iran?
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Post by questa on Oct 2, 2013 23:10:32 GMT
Mossie...more beauty to come
Lizzyfaire...even more bizarre...I should have given the size...about 20cm (8 inches) tall and delicate. They have been in use since Biblical times, (mentioned in the Bible) ancient Rome and right up to Victorian times. Keep guessing!
Fumobici...I was with a small group for 3 weeks and a few days on my own. It was holiday time in Iran with people having picnics and sleeping out in small tents in the parks. Once out of Tehran it was more relaxed.
Actually I have found that if a country is having internal strife, visitors tend to be ignored and not picked on. It is when the people see the visitors as the enemy that things get more threatening.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2013 23:22:29 GMT
Eyewash bottles.
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Post by questa on Oct 3, 2013 0:21:32 GMT
Ooooh, so close but not quite there!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2013 0:58:22 GMT
Mouthwash/gargle bottles?
I loved seeing these ceramics and glassworks. That red swirled Murano looking vase is exquisite.
Thanks for this Questa!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2013 5:23:56 GMT
For washing out ears.
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Post by questa on Oct 3, 2013 5:35:13 GMT
lizzy...go back to eyes...one more clue if you don't get it next time...anyone else want to try?
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Post by questa on Oct 3, 2013 5:59:59 GMT
The next visit was to the State Archeology Museum which was to prepare us for the various sites we would see later. The entrance I hope you can see the exquisite brickwork on the arch and dome. Again, I forgot to record the dates when shown...sorry. It was only given as so many millennium BC which is a bit vague anyway. All the exhibits were 1st to 4th mill. BC.
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Post by questa on Oct 3, 2013 6:03:58 GMT
Next stop will be the Shah's "Green and White Palace", then we leave Tehran and off to the country.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2013 8:31:52 GMT
I am just now getting my first chance to see this great thread.
Knowing how severe Iranian earthquakes often are, one of my first thoughts was that they are lucky to even still have a ceramics museum.
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Post by mossie on Oct 3, 2013 15:06:00 GMT
That brickwork is superb. The bricks look to be quite small which makes it harder to get such even courses.
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Post by questa on Oct 4, 2013 7:32:06 GMT
We left Tehran and travelled in a south-west direction towards Hamedan. City very quickly became country, mainly crop growing. These collection boxes are dotted all over the place, city and every few km along the roads. They are for people to donate money to help the poorer people. (One of the 5 commands of Islam) There were also mobile police stations along the road. They could be loaded onto a low-loader and taken to a trouble spot quite quickly. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that had this mural on the outside wall. A bit off-putting for lunch but we couldn't figure out what message it was trying to get across. We arrived at Ali Sadr cave...I will let Wikipedia do the talking. Ali Sadr is the world's biggest water cave, where you sit in a boat and watch the view…In the summer of 2001, a German/British expedition surveyed the cave, finding to be 11 kilometers long. The main chamber of the cave is 100 meters by 50 meters and 40 meters high…and it contains several large, deep lakes. The cave has a river flowing through it and most travel through the cave system is done by boat. More than 11 kilometers of the cave's water canals have been discovered so far. Excavations and archeological studies of the cave have led to the discovery of ancient artworks, jugs and pitchers dating back to 12,000 years ago. The cave was known during the reign of Darius I (521-485 BC) which can be verified by an old inscription at the entrance of the tunnel. A chain of boats take us though the cave. Each chain is propelled by 2 people pedalling up front. With a cheery wave from the locals we set out. It was pretty impressive. After the cave we travelled on to Hamedan.
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Post by questa on Oct 4, 2013 8:54:08 GMT
For Lizzy and Casimira Answer to mystery object Tear-catcher, also called a Tear Bottle or Lacrimosa, In ancient Persia, when a sultan returned from battle, he checked his wives’ tear catchers to see who among them had wept in his absence and missed him the most.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, in Psalm 56.8, as David prays to God, he is referenced to say “Thou tellest my wanderings, put thou my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy Book” Tear Catchers were commonly used during Ancient Roman times, with mourners filling glass bottles with their tears, and placing em in tombs as a symbol of their respect for the deceased. It was also used to show remorse, guilt, love and grief. The women cried during the procession, and the more tears collected in tear bottles meant the deceased was more important. The bottles used during the Roman era were lavishly decorated and measured up to four inches in height. Tear bottles were designed with special seals, which allowed the tears to evaporate. By the time that the tears were assumed to have evaporated, the mourning period was considered over. In the 19th century during the Victorian era in the British Empire tear bottles made a comeback among the wealthy. These were more elaborate than their Roman predecessors, and were often decorated with silver and pewter.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2013 15:59:37 GMT
Yes, I posted and deleted the answer yesterday.
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Post by questa on Oct 4, 2013 22:32:41 GMT
Oh, Lizzy, I missed it. Bit of a strange custom to be so widespread in time and place, isn't it?
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Post by questa on Oct 5, 2013 0:53:09 GMT
In the city of Hamedan are 3 noteworthy tombs. Close to our hotel was this one... This man played haunting (no pun intended)melodies on the local flute And some of the poet's works were engraved on the walls, romantic love and heroic tales. and the tomb itself. It was early morning and the vendors were just setting up The next tomb was that of Esther, the woman who is the subject of a book in the Old Testament of the Bible. She was married to the king and saved her Jewish people, with the advice of her uncle Mordecai, who is also entombed here. It was quite a weird feeling being in the presence of such age-old history. We were told that there were only 14 Jewish families in Hamedan now and they get some support from the Government to maintain the tombs. A little garden outside Entrance It is guarded by a stone door...how old? Where the local people's histories are kept Doorway leads to underground tombs The tomb of Mordecai The tomb of Esther This place is now almost enclosed by the main market so is not as quiet and peaceful as it seems. The third mausoleum is that of one of my heroes, Avicenna. He gets a separate entry!
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Post by questa on Oct 6, 2013 5:43:38 GMT
While we were still in Hamedan a visit to the Mausoleum of Avicenna was a must. This is taken from wikipedia...how could I manage without it? " Avicenna ( Ibn Sina ) Persian polymath,(980 – 1037) who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. In particular, 150 of his surviving treatises concentrate on philosophy and 40 of them concentrate on medicine. His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopaedia, and The Canon of Medicine which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. His corpus also includes writing on philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, geology, psychology, Islamic theology, logic, mathematics, physics, as well as poetry. He is regarded as the most famous and influential polymath of the Islamic Golden Age." People buy flowers to put in the mausoleum Does anyone know what tree this is? One of his many books...looks mathematical Many of his treatises are available to buy as bound copies. There are also walls of pigeon-holes each with small containers of his herbal mixes. The light on the glass made them impossible to photograph His tomb. Avicenna's treatments were still part of Western medicine until anti-biotics were developed. An anecdote I like...he had a house outside the city with a caravanserai for guests about half a mile away. During the frequent periods of plague, travellers arriving to the city from other places where there was plague were confined to his "guest house" for 2 weeks before being allowed to enter the city proper. His city never had outbreaks of plague. This was in the time before there was knowledge of bacteria spreading disease. Next stop...Ganjnameh, and a shiver up your spine!
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 7, 2013 3:49:25 GMT
Questa, somehow I got it into my little pinhead that this was an old thread, so I'm only now looking at it. So glad I didn't miss it & can't wait for more installments! The history -- including the fact that you were there at such a flashpoint time -- is mind boggling. The tomb of Esther, for instance, made me remember that she was a real person, not a myth. What a quaint and homey resting place is maintained for her. Avicenna is another who is almost mythical, but a real person and a towering intellect. The totally knock-out photos from the museum and the many monuments and historical sites made me almost ill thinking out it could all be wiped out with war and strife. But also, the exquisite perfection of the ceramic pieces made me think that maybe mankind is not so vile, after all. Thank you for including the detailed views of the brickwork, almost jewel-like in its perfection. Never in a kazillion years would I have figured out the use for the glass bottles. However, I'm pretty sure that your pretty puffy tree is a smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2013 5:25:57 GMT
One of the biggest hospitals in the Paris suburbs is named "Avicenne" and used to be the "Franco-Muslim Hospital" which was specialised in colonial diseases.
I knew that Iran was big on tombs, which goes to show how many contradictions there are in Islam (just like any other religion), when you think of how many tombs were destroyed in Timbuktu, Mali, during the invasion of the jihadists in 2012 because they felt that it was haram to venerate the dead.
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Post by questa on Oct 7, 2013 8:33:10 GMT
K2 I noticed in Muslim Lombok that there were graves of extra holy teachers which became places of pilgrimage. People would tie pieces of cloth to the fences or nearby trees and do their prayers there. My friends said it was actively discouraged by the imams at the mosques, but the practice still continued.
Many of the tombs in Iran are pre - Islam anyway and visiting them is more cultural than religious.
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Post by questa on Oct 7, 2013 9:00:12 GMT
Ganj Nameh 5 km southwest of Hamedan, on the side of Alvand Mountain is an ancient inscription, which has been carved in granite. The inscription is composed of two sections. One (on the left) ordered by Darius the Great (521-485 BC) and the other (on the right) ordered by Xerxes the Great (485-65 BC). Both sections, which have been carved in cuneiform and in the three ancient languages of Old Persian, Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Elamite, start with praise of God (Ahura Mazda) and describe the lineage and deeds of the mentioned kings. It has become a picnic place for the locals with a nice waterfall and pony rides Some come to wonder though. These inscriptions are the reason The modern language version And the English translation...THEY were HERE once upon a time... well, I got a shiver down my spine!
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Post by mossie on Oct 7, 2013 15:53:07 GMT
I was vaguely aware of Darius and Xerxes, but those old scripts and the translations are fascinating
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