Introduction

Publishing has taken an entirely new paradigm with the introduction of blogging. Now anyone and everyone can create a blog, publish it and can share it with friends, family and general public. The concept of blogging has taken the world of e-publishing by storm.

As a Iranian Student I would like to show the culture and history of my country to show Iranian culture and Indian culture is some how similar as we were neigbours.

Persian Poetry

Classical Persian poetry is always rhymed. The principal verse forms are the Qasideh, Masnavi, Qazal and Ruba'i. The qasida or ode is a long poem in monorhyme, usually of a panegyric, didactic or religious nature; the masnavi, written in rhyming couplets, is employed for heroic, romantic, or narrative verse; the ghazal (ode or lyric) is a comparatively short poem, usually amorous or mystical and varying from four to sixteen couplets, all on one rhyme. A convention of the ghazal is the introduction, in the last couplet, of the poet's pen name (takhallus). The ruba'i is a quatrain with a particular metre, and a collection of quatrains is called "Ruba'iyyat" (the plural of ruba'i). Finally, a collection of a poet's ghazals and other verse, arranged alphabetically according to the rhymes, is known as a divan.

A word may not be out of place here on the peculiar difficulties of interpreting Persian poetry to the western reader. To the pitfalls common to all translations from verse must be added, in the case of Persian poetry, such special difficulties as the very free use of Sufi imagery, the frequent literary, Koranic and other references and allusions, and the general employment of monorhyme, a form highly effective in Persian but unsuited to most other languages. But most important of all is the fact that the poetry of Persia depends to a greater degree than that of most other nations on beauty of language for its effects. This is why much of the great volume of "qasidas in praise of princes" can still be read with pleasure in the original, though It is largely unsuited to translation. In short, the greatest charm of Persian poetry lies, as Sir E. Denison Ross remarked, in its language and its music, and consequently the reader of a translation "has perforce to forego the essence of the matter".

In the following brief sketch of the vast field of Persian literature we cannot hope to do more than mention a few of the most eminent authors, and to devote a paragraph or two each to the most famous of all.

The Persian Language

The Persian Language
The Old Persian of the Achaemenian Empire, preserved in a number of cuneiform inscriptions, was an Indo-European tongue with close affinities with Sanskrit and Avestan (the language of the Zoroastrian sacred texts). After the fall of the Achaemenians the ancient tongue developed, in the province of Pars, into Middle Persian or Pahlavi (a name derived from Parthavi - that is, Parthian). Pahlavi was used throughout the Sassanian period, though little now remains of what must once have been a considerable literature. About a hundred Pahlavi texts survive, mostly on religion and all in prose. Pahlavi collections of romances, however, provided much of the material for Ferdowsi's Shahnameh.

After the Arab conquest a knowledge of Arabic became necessary, for it was not only the language of the new rulers and their state, but of the religion they brought with them and -later- of the new learning. Though Pahlavi continued to be spoken in private life, Arabic was dominant in official circles for a century and a half. With the weakening of the central power, a modified form of Pahlavi emerged, with its Indo-European grammatical structure intact but simplified, and with a large infusion of Arabic words. This was the Modem Persian in use today.

Arabic continued to be employed in Iran, though on a decreasing scale, as Latin was used in Europe -that is, as a language of the learned. As such it was employed by Abu Ali Sina (Avicenna), al-Biruni, Rhazes, Al Ghazali and others; indeed, many of the most famous names in Arabic literature are those of men of Persian birth. But in general the use of Arabic declined; Persian developed rapidly to become the vehicle of a great literature, and before, long spread its influence to neighboring lands. In India, Persian language and poetry became the vogue with the ruling classes, and at the court of the Moghul emperor Akbar Persian was adopted as the official language; spreading thence and fusing later with Hindi, it gave rise to the Urdu tongue.

To the west of Iran, Persian heavily influenced the language and literature of Turkey; Turkish verse was based on Persian models as regards form and style, and borrowed an extensive vocabulary.

A notable feature of Persian is the small extent to which it has changed over the thousand years or more of its existence as a literary language. Thus the poems of Roudaki, the first Persian poet of note, who died in the year 941 CE, are perfectly intelligible to the modem reader. Persian literature too has a number of noteworthy characteristics, the most striking of which is the exceptional prominence of poetry. Until quite recently there was practically no drama, and no novels were written; prose works were mostly confined to history, geography, philosophy, religion, ethics and politics, and it was poetry that formed the chief outlet for artistic expression. Classical Persian literature was produced almost entirely under royal patronage whence the frequency of panegyric verse. An influence of at least equal strength was religion, and in particular Sufism, which inspired the remarkably high proportion of mystical poetry.

Iranian music

Instruments used in Persian classical music include the bowed spike-fiddle kamancheh, the goblet drum tombak, the end-blown flute ney, the frame drum daf, the long-necked lutes tar, setar, tanbur, dotar, and the dulcimer santur. The European violin is also used, with an alternative tuning preferred by Persian musicians. Harps, "chang[s]," were a very important part of music up until the middle of the Safavid Empire. They were probably replaced because of tuning problems or replaced by the Qanun (zither)and later the piano which was introduced by the West during the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. Many, if not most, of these instruments originated in Iran. Perhaps the most loved string instrument is the tar. Tar players are regurlarly chosen to function as the primary string instrument in a performance. The setar is also loved for its delicacy and is the favorite among Mystic musicians. Some instruments like the sorna, neyanban, dohol, naghareh, and others, are not used in the classical repertoire but are used in Iranian Folk music. The ghazhak (ghaychak), a type of fiddle, is being re-introduced to the Classical field after many years of exclusion. The instruments used in the Classical field are also used in Iranian Folk Music.
The reference is Ghonyat-al-Monyah an aged old manuscript translated and published by the Late Prof. Shahab Sarmadi of AMU Aligarh India. This book describes in detail the history of Persian musical instruments.

Iranian food

This is the sample how the food in Iran looks.

Places you shouldn't miss in Iran

There is a wide range of places to visit in Iran, a country that has something for everyone, from the lovers of art and culture to the more adventurous at heart. For visitors who want to discover the culture and traditions of Iran, there are several magnificent ruins of ancient cities, glorious mosques and mausoleums. The adventure seekers can enjoy budget-priced skiing, trekking, or some rock climbing.

• Tehran
Visiting Iran without having a trip to Tehran is to miss out…
• Esfahan
Who can claim to have seen the most beautiful city of the world without having seen Esfahan?
• Shiraz
Shiraz is known as the city of poets, wine and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens, due to the many gardens and fruit trees that can be seen in the city. The locals are friendly, liberal and literate, the climate is moderate with regular seasons; and the nearby attractions of the spectacular ruins of Persepolis and the royal burials of Naqshe Rostam are the equal of anything in Athens or Rome. If you like bazaars then welcome to the best one in Iran, selling everything from carpets to cake under a vaulted ceiling dating back 250 years. Shiraz also excels in architecture – indeed many of its finest buildings were built to rival Esfahan.
• Yazd
The centre of Iran is dominated by the Zagros mountains and the Dasht-e Kavir desert. Squeezed between the two is Yazd, one of the most ancient and historic cities in Iran, a centre of Zoroastrian culture and an excellent place to walk through and explore. The architecture here is unique in Iran, particularly the traditional wind towers which provide an ancient form of air-conditioning to the adobe houses below. Yazd is also home to some excellent accommodation options, staying in old merchant’s houses tucked away in the corners of the bazaar.
• Popular Beaches of Iran
Iran enjoys many different beaches with different mood and a wide range of holiday experiences. Shores of the Caspian Sea have mild and relatively cold weather and southern parts enjoy moderate and pleasant weather. The coastline of the Persian Gulf in the south is rocky and mountainous in some areas and sandy and swampy in others; it is not as even as the northern shores of the country.
• Kish Island
Located on the north east of the Persian Gulf around 17 km from the southern offshore of the mainland Iran, Kish Island is one of the most beautiful places to visit in the Persian Gulf. With its gorgeous white silvery sand beaches, Kish Island is great for calming walks and other activities like swimming, jogging, boat riding, scuba diving and snorkeling. On the Kish Summer Cinema, often concerts and plays are also held. Kish Island has beautiful villas, hotels, and guesthouses, but the accommodations and restaurants on the island are comparatively expensive than the mainland. Attractions on Kish Island include Kish Aquarium, the Pearl Culturing and Developing Center. There is also a Helicopter shuttle service accessible for flying over the waters of the Persian Gulf.
• Northern Iran
Northern Iran (Shomal) is one of the favorite places for many people of Iran. In the North there are three provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan and Gorgan having forests, mountains, and a coastal plain amidst the Alborz Mountain and the southernmost shores of Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest lake which is 170m (561 feet) deep, almost twice as deep as the Persian Gulf. In Northern Iran visitors can enjoy the beaches of Caspian Sea, view of beautiful forests, skiing, go hiking, and make the most of cold and hot mineral springs. A few of tourist attractions in north are Anzali Lagoon, Rasht, historical and traditional village of Masouleh, tea farms of Lahijan, and Ramsar City.
• Persepolis
Anyone with even a passing interest in Antiquity should make a visit here their first priority

Iran history

The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km² (636,372 sq mi), Iran has a population of around 78 million. It is a country of particular geopolitical significance owing to its location in the Middle East and central Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by Iraq and on the northwest by Turkey. Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.
Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations.The first dynasty in Iran formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC. They were succeeded by the Iranian Achaemenid Empire, the Hellenic Seleucid Empire and two subsequent Iranian empires, the Parthians and the Sassanids, before the Muslim conquest in 651 AD. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids.
The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization. Iranian identity continued despite foreign rule in the ensuing centuries and Persian culture was adopted also by the Ghaznavids, Seljuk, Ilkhanid and Timurid rulers. The emergence in 1501 of the Safavid dynasty, which promoted Twelver Shia Islam as the official religion of their empire, marked one of the most important turning points in Iranian and Muslim history. The Persian Constitutional Revolution established the nation's first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. In 1953 Iran became an authoritarian regime, following a coup d'état instigated by the UK and US. Growing dissent with foreign influence culminated during the Iranian Revolution which led to establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979.