What about Persian Culture?

Iran is located in the continent of Asia. Its former name was Persia. Iran has very old and wide culture, which we are going to explain about briefly.

1. Food: There are many Iranian delicious foods.
   1. One of the popular one is Ab-goosht, Ab means Water and Goosht means Meat. It is like a stew and made up of meat, potato and pea.
   2. The other popular food is Chelo-Kebab, Chelo means cooked rice and Kebab is a well-known food, which made from grind meat and onion.

Moreover, there is a traditional soft drink in Iran, which is called Doogh. It is a salty yoghurt drink.

1. Clothes:

There are many different Iranian costumes. Most of them are colorful and with colors like red, green, yellow and pink. In some tribes, women wear a long, colorful, several-layered skirt and long scarves for the head. In addition, the women would wear colorful shirts and vests. Long shirts and loose pants are the clothes for men. The men’s hat has a round shape, usually made of wool. They are light brown and very soft.

1. Famous festivals and celebrations:

The most important one is Nowroz. It is the Celebration of New Year. It starts on the first day of spring (21^st of March). All Iranian families gather around and visit each other. The traditional table setting of Nowroz includes seven specific items beginning with “Seen” (a letter in Farsi Alphabet), known as “Haft-Seen”, that signify life, health, wealth, abundance, love, patience and purity. The other one is Mehregan, which is a day of thanksgiving. In this day, everyone shows his or her love to each other. Sepandarmazgan is a day of love, friendship and earth in ancient Persian culture similar to Valentine’s Day. The other one is Chaharshanbe Suri. It is a festival of fire and hold on last Tuesday night in the Iranian calendar year. It shows the importance of the light over the darkness, arrival of spring and revival of nature. Yalda–Night is also very popular among Iranians. It is the longest night of the year. On that night, people were advised to stay awake most of the night. Therefore, people have parties and gatherings and eat the last remaining summer fruits.

1. Famous stories or epics:
   1. Simorgh is a Persian fairy tale. Simorgh is a bird whose nest is on a tree in middle of the Persian Gulf, which contains all the seeds of all vegetables. It may symbolize the perfected and wise human being.
   2. One of the greatest Persian heroes is Rostam. As a young child, he killed the crazy white elephant of the king. He then tames his legendary horse, Rakhsh. He passed through a hero’s journey, which is called “Rostam’s Seven Quests”.
   3. Game: An exciting game for five players is Gusheh-Gusheh (means corner to corner). First, players mark a 4 × 4 meters square by chalk on the ground and draw a circle in the center. Then they mark the corners of the square (by connecting two points from either side). One player is selected to stand in the center and the other four stands in the corners of the square. The corner players should exchange places quickly with each other before the player in the center gets one of their places on the corner. The player who loses his corner has to stand in the center and the game continues.

1. Verbal or nonverbal communication:
   1.  The most common greeting is “salaam” which means peace.  When Iranians meet each other they shake hands and sometimes kiss each other.
   2. To signal to someone, put your hand out with your palm down, and curl your fingers in a scratching motion.
   3. To signal yes, dip your head down with a slight turn.
   4. To signal no, move your head up and back sharply.
   5. Shaking hands with a child shows respect toward the parents.
   6. Values:
      1. In Iran, the family is the basis of the social structure. Families tend to be small, only one or two children. Iranians take their responsibilities to their family quite seriously.
      2. The main religion of Iranians is Islam but some of them are Zoroastrian, which is ancient religion of Iran. Muslims’ holiday is Friday.
      3. The workweek in Iran is Saturday through Thursday.
      4. Famous places:
         1. Persepolis was the capital of the ancient Persia.

Famous Persian Places to See and Interesting Facts

– The Tomb of Cyrus the Great is located in the former Persian capital of Pasargadae.

-The 33 Pol, or the 33 Bridges or the Bridge of 33 Arches is made of bricks and stones.

1. Interesting facts:
   1. Taarof: is a system of politeness. For example if you are ever offered something, like a tea or sweet, even if you want it, at first you should decline it until their insistence becomes greater.
   2. The other interesting thing is about listening to classic music. While listening to that you should close your eyes and sway your head to show that you are deeply into it.