Persian letters

“How can one be Persian?” asks Montesquieu. “How can one learn Persian?” they ask me sometimes.

The French of the East. For a thousand years, the language of culture from Istanbul through the Caucasus to India, and in many places still it is; without it you cannot penetrate beyond a certain point into this world. The language of the purest poetry: the Persian poems are structured so much by the musicality of the language that they are untranslatable, any attempt is just a prosaic extract of their content. The language of music: the two and a half thousand year old Persian music is just as sophisticated, powerful and engaging as the European classical music. The language of a unique visual culture, to which, apart from the miniatures, the Iranian films and photos also bear witness. Of a multinational, multicultural, beautiful and isolated country of the size of a quarter of Europe, where only this language opens up doors and people, but this really does.


Kayhan Kalhor (kamanche) and Erdal Erzincan (saz): Gulnîshan (7:01)
Iranian Kurdish folk song performed by the classical Persian kamanche-player Kalhor and his frequent companion, the Turkish Erzincan, to illustrate Iran’s many cultures. From the concert held in Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.

history • Müteferrika in Iran • Sir Gore Ouseley and the Treaty of Gulistan (1813) • Sándor Kégl’s Persian journey • Ármin Vámbéry’s Persian journeys • Persian travel sketches by Fedor Karacsay • Nasreddin Shah in Hungary, 1889 • Ahmad Mirza, the little prince (1909-1925) • Ahmad Mirza on the bridge of sirat • Paraphrase of the Shahnameh against Hitler, 1943 • Beard fashions in Iran • Elections and manifestations in Iran, 2009 • It’s winter sites • The chariot of time on Isfahan’s main square • Bicycles in Isfahan • The faces of Kashan • Qâjâr-era palaces in Kashan and Shiraz (fr) • Abyaneh, the Red Village • Ashura in Abyaneh • Village mosque in Abyaneh (fr) • Nomadic butter churn in Abyaneh • Masouleh, 1975 • The Persian desert • On the edge of the desert • A mineral world • Vaults of Yazd • Zoroastrian towers of silence • The tomb of Queen Esther in Hamadan • The Bakhtiari village of Sar Agha Seyyed • Bakhtiari tents • Khaled Nabi’s cemetery • Gorgan: Turkoman shepherds and the village of Ziyarat • Ruinous hammam in Kerman • Cave dwellings in Kandovan • Tehran, Behesht-e Zahra cemetery • Beggar’s fiddle from the Museum of Music • First day in the school in Mazandaran and Tehran • Tabriz, the city of treasures • Armenian monasteries in Iran • Armenian churches in Northern Iran (fr) • “Shepherd’s church” facing the Armenian cemetery of Julfa • The Armenian quarter in Isfahan (fr) • Damghan, birthplace of the demijohn? • Qajar influences in 19th-c. Tiflis nature • Spring poppies in the Zagros • Imperial crowns in the Zagros • Conquering the Savalan Mountain

translations of poetry • Mehdi Akhavan Sales: Comets and nights • Sohrab Sepehri: Direction • Omar Khayyam: The eternal secret • Mehdi Akhavan Sales: It’s winter • Hafez: From the blood of my heart • Malek o-Sho'arâ Bahâr: Dawn bird • Hushang Ebtehaj: As strangers • Shahram Nazeri: Spring lily • Fereidoun Moshiri: Trust in the spring • Sohrab Sepehri: Village music • The power of Persian music • Bakhtiari folk music: Cheshme-ye Kuhrang • Masoud Bakhtyari: Tey tum rah • Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat: Gol-e lâle • Mohsen Namjoo: Name • Hojjat Ashrafzadeh: Jam-e vasl • Hossein Alizadeh - Kayhan Kalhor - Mohammad Reza Shajarian - Homayoun Shajarian: Zemestân ast • Kayhan Kalhor: Desert night • Soheil Nafisi: Hame-ye faslân-e donyâ • Mohammad Reza Lotfi: Vatanam Iran • Sahrab Tolouie: Tango perso • Shahram Nazeri: Lâle-ye bahâr • Shajarian – Kalhor – Alizadeh: Morgh-e sahâr • Bijan Kamkar & Mastan Ensemble: Gharibâne • Soheil Nafisi: Shahâbhâ va shabhâ • Hossein Alizadeh: Horizon • Sepa va dopa. Dance from Lorestan • Asita Hamidi: Dokhtar-e Buir Ahmadi • Freidoun Poorreza – Hossein Hamidi: Naz Bedashteh • Davood Azad: Rumi + Bach

photo • Hamid Khurshidi: Shepherds in Gorgan • Alieh Sâdatpur: Bicycles in Isfahan • Shahram Sharif: Iranian fragments • Ehsan Amini and Hamed Masoumi • Ahmad Kavousian: Masouleh 1975 • Ahmad Kavousian: Desert people • Nasrollah Kasraian: The desert • Alieh Sâdatpur: Bakhtiari tents • Hamid Khurshidi: First day in the school in Mazandaran • Ali Rafiei: First day in the school in Tehran • Mohammad Javad Martabi: The village of Ziyarat • Abotaleb Nadri: Brick-making children • Ali Majdfar and Ardeshir Soltani: Khaled Nabi’s cemetery • Mansure Motamedi: Flower-sellers in Tehran • Omid H. Hassan: Tehran in Budapest miniature • Paraphrase of the Shahnameh • A cup of tea from Isfahan • Persian Jewish bride and bridegroom portrait motifs • Butterfly and candle • Bird • Imperial crown and tulip • Bear cub Iranian languages and cultures • Tat villages in the Caucasus • Lahij, the village of Persian border guards • Tat and Pamiri languages • Persian architecture in Tiflis • The market in Kabul • Poppy fields in Afghanistan other • A train to Persia • Come with us to Iran! • 30 (and more) reasons to visit Iran (fr) • Happy new year, Persia • Persian cuisine • Iran’s secret language, the Russian • The “five stones” game in Persia • Sufi • The origin of sin