Earthquake here in Tehran:

Oh my God! I just don’t know how I can explain what I feel now.... well, first of all, we are all kicking & alive & over here in Tehran there had not been a soul loss reported, although in some parts the electricity is cut off.
But it was a rather frightening experience; the earthquake was about 5.5 grades & it lasted for a good 2 minutes. Last great earthquake here was about 4 grades & it lasted only 30 seconds.... so I guess you can say that this time it seemed more intense....
It’s been told that a French source has announced a 6.2 degree for the earthquake. We don’t know yet if it is true or not.
We don’t know if there had been damages in other areas either, we know that only one person had passed away in GHAZVIN.
Why this earthquake was so frightening although the damage was not much? I guess the time of the occurrence was an important factor. For all other earthquakes, most people were asleep & didn’t feel anything. But for this one (5:10 pm) people got really frightened & they mostly ran out of their houses in the street. Another point in this matter is the fact that the Bam earthquake is still fresh in the memories of people. & the fact that earthquake has been one of the most frequent discussion topics, had its own effect. You see only few posts back, I wrote about earthquake training.....
Well, I should get going. If anything new happens, you will be informed.
Ps: last news: 5 killed; 20 injured.

A Year Had Passed

This is kind of strange.... it had been a year I started bloging! Wow! Look how much I have changed over the past year! I definitely grew up (which is not a good thing) & I made fabulous friends (which is why I keep posting still).
Well, when I started to blog I never knew what I wanted to write about. Mostly I had this intention to change the image of Iranians in some few people who would check my blog. I don’t know how much this goal is accomplished. It is really important for me to know how others think about my country. & I always hated it when I saw the injustice media forcing on this image.
Do you know that when BBC world shows the weather forecasts, on the map, all the countries around Iran are mentioned, but there is nothing about Iran or Tehran? & I’m sure you know that the Persian Gulf is plainly called gulf... like it doesn’t have any names! Have you heard of the world’s largest lake? The Caspian Sea? Do you know that Iranian had been the first nation who ever sail through this lake & we call it KHAZAR...?
I am Iranian & I am proud of the history behind me. I just want to find my place in this new world & this blog was all about that... finding more, learning more.... I hope if someone, who may have once read my blog, met an Iranian somewhere... understand that s/he is a human being. & I’m looking toward the day when this terrorist image of Iranians fades away & instead the image of a welcoming friendly nation would replace this one.
My second goal was to show you how we live in Tehran. Tehran... the city I love so much. I don’t even know why I love this city.... Most of the time it is crowded & polluted, yet the few nice days makes it the most beautiful place in the world for me. Right now I’m sitting by my window overlooking south & I can see the plain filled with buildings in front of me. You see, Tehran is surrounded by mountains from 3 sides.... The average height of my city is about 4000 m above the sea level & most of the streets have slight (or sometime sharp) slopes. There is no natural water source inside the city.... I mean, there is no huge river & of course no big lakes... only small springs there & then. So we have some vulnerable geographical position... we can easily be famished! & to make the situation worse there are more than 45 cracks in Tehran which makes it one the most expected area for earthquakes. (Tehran is located on the earthquake belt!)
But my city is so beautiful... not in artistic shape like other large cities or not in historical way like Isfehan or Shiraz; but in its own way. You know Tehran is like a person with casual but comfortable cloths. It spreads wherever it likes & the whole city has the mood of care-free-ness. You know she is always fashionably cheerful... like a kind lady. She is welcoming & forgiving. Anyone can find place to fit in her heart. It doesn’t mater for her who you are or where you are from, she can always take you in & give you what you want. Tehran is no goddess like Shiraz & she is not a b**** like some other cities. She is mother who takes care of you, the lover who nourish your emotions & for sure she is a playful friend. Then again Tehran is the boss behind her casualty, Iran’s life depend on her. It is ridiculous sometime... basically there is no oil in Tehran, no big industry, no mines, no water.... & still we get the best of everything! She is like the queen... she produce much but owns the best. & yes! This the city I was born & lived in. This is the city I adore.... This city!
Tehran is an example of tolerance. You can find people of any reign in Iran here. They all live together with their different idea & customs under one territory: Tehran.
Alright... don’t you feel sick of me talking about Tehran? I got to go now! But I’ll be back with more on my hometown!
BTW how did you find the pictures?

A...........year????????????

& You can find this People In Shahname... location: Ferdowsi's Tomb In Mashhad. 

Zayande Rood In Isfehan; well.... it is full of water now.... 

neyshaboor; a town in north-east of Iran 

another view of darband 

This is Darband in Tehran.... well? 

A...........year????????????

This is kind of strange.... it had been a year I started bloging! Wow! Look how much I have changed over the past year! I definitely grew up (which is not a good thing) & I made fabulous friends (which is why I keep posting still).
Well, when I started to blog I never knew what I wanted to write about. Mostly I had this intention to change the image of Iranians in some few people who would check my blog. I don’t know how much this goal is accomplished. It is really important for me to know how others think about my country. & I always hated it when I saw the injustice media forcing on this image.
Do you know that when BBC world shows the weather forecasts, on the map, all the countries around Iran are mentioned, but there is nothing about Iran or Tehran? & I’m sure you know that the Persian Gulf is plainly called gulf... like it doesn’t have any names! Have you heard of the world’s largest lake? The Caspian Sea? Do you know that Iranian had been the first nation who ever sail through this lake & we call it KHAZAR...?
I am Iranian & I am proud of the history behind me. I just want to find my place in this new world & this blog was all about that... finding more, learning more.... I hope if someone, who may have once read my blog, met an Iranian somewhere... understand that s/he is a human being. & I’m looking toward the day when this terrorist image of Iranians fades away & instead the image of a welcoming friendly nation would replace this one.
My second goal was to show you how we live in Tehran. Tehran... the city I love so much. I don’t even know why I love this city.... Most of the time it is crowded & polluted, yet the few nice days makes it the most beautiful place in the world for me. Right now I’m sitting by my window overlooking south & I can see the plain filled with buildings in front of me. You see, Tehran is surrounded by mountains from 3 sides.... The average height of my city is about 4000 m above the sea level & most of the streets have slight (or sometime sharp) slopes. There is no natural water source inside the city.... I mean, there is no huge river & of course no big lakes... only small springs there & then. So we have some vulnerable geographical position... we can easily be famished! & to make the situation worse there are more than 45 cracks in Tehran which makes it one the most expected area for earthquakes. (Tehran is located on the earthquake belt!)
But my city is so beautiful... not in artistic shape like other large cities or not in historical way like Isfehan or Shiraz; but in its own way. You know Tehran is like a person with casual but comfortable cloths. It spreads wherever it likes & the whole city has the mood of care-free-ness. You know she is always fashionably cheerful... like a kind lady. She is welcoming & forgiving. Anyone can find place to fit in her heart. It doesn’t mater for her who you are or where you are from, she can always take you in & give you what you want. Tehran is no goddess like Shiraz & she is not a b**** like some other cities. She is mother who takes care of you, the lover who nourish your emotions & for sure she is a playful friend. Then again Tehran is the boss behind her casualty, Iran’s life depend on her. It is ridiculous sometime... basically there is no oil in Tehran, no big industry, no mines, no water.... & still we get the best of everything! She is like the queen... she produce much but owns the best. & yes! This the city I was born & lived in. This is the city I adore.... This city!
Tehran is an example of tolerance. You can find people of any reign in Iran here. They all live together with their different idea & customs under one territory: Tehran.
Alright... don’t you feel sick of me talking about Tehran? I got to go now! But I’ll be back with more on my hometown!
BTW how did you find the pictures?

This IS part of Persepolise... if a person with avarage hight stand near it, s/he would reach the bottom of the lions foot! Shiraz; Takht Jamshid; Iran 

& this Again Nakhsh Rostam Tomb It is really amazing when You stand infront of them... you fel so small & lost... 

this Is Naskhsh Rostam how do You like it? 

Earthquake training…

Today in Tehran young children who attend kindergartens had a earthquake exercise! There is a Traffic Park in Tehran were this had taken place.
TV showed small kids who were standing in a corner of a shaking box & they were trained to avoid high buildings & each had been given a small bag which could be worn around the neck in which they had their name & address & photos of their parents.
This is what I call improvement. I didn’t get the earthquake training until I was like 8 years old & even then I just had learned oral lessons. It was not until I start being trained for first aid as red-cross volunteer that I actually practiced the rules. You know we were trained in school about first aid & I was like 14! But nowadays 4-year-olds know everything about earthquake.
It is really important in a city like Tehran where there is a high chance for earthquake that kids learn how to deal with it, even if it would seem like a game to them. My 4 year old cousin once told me that if the earth shakes I must run to the corner & don’t try to get downstairs by elevators…. Well, most grown-ups don’t know how to act….

I guess I did well In my Exam.......

Friday was a good day... I really did well in my exam & I dont know what will happene but I'm sure it wouls be satisfactory...
alright I've done a few changes how do you like it?

Hi....

Well I didn’t get through the Masc. exam…. My rank was 137 & only people who ranked below 133 could get through the first step. Then these people will choose the universities & at least 33 people would enroll in Masc. food engineering program.
Masc. exam is a competitive in which unfortunately our GAP & extracurricular activities are not considered. It is based on a four-choice test. The participants for food engineering were about 5000. So you see the chance of getting in is slim to none.
We have this opportunity to test ourselves in another non-governmental university (Azad). Actually I got my Bs in Research & science unit of this university & there is this chance for me to get through the masc. exam this time. Because I had been a straight a student & actually I got the fifth rank in our faculty so there would be some kind of facilities for me. Yet I really don’t know if I want to participate in it. It will cost a fortune!
Alright… let’s forget about it. Tonight I, my sister & Katherine went out to meet some other bloggers. It is sort of strange to meet the real person behind the virtual logger. You know when you read a blog you have this clear image in your head about the writer… then you meet them & bomb! The image is gone forever! I would never go to this kind of gatherings again. Well, I basically knew everybody there but we could not find the right subject to talk. Yet I really liked some girls there & there is this one guy we have really close virtual friendship & he was sort of ok.
Ok. Now I got to go & sleep….
Pray for me.
I need it.
btw why I can not open lynne's blog?

Well, isn’t that strange I had not written anything in a month! I had been busy studying. There is going to be an exam in tow weeks & I really got down studying a little more.
Spring time is always busy for me. Over here in Iran, the New Year begins with spring & so the first month is totally hectic. You know we have this custom of visiting relatives during the first tow weeks (holidays) of the New Year & most people arrange to go on a vacation during this fortnight so this DID-VA-BAZDID (which means visiting relatives) always draws out through the first month of spring. Being blessed by having a large family (!) there are still some people I have to visit! Sometimes it turns to a torture when you are obliged to visit some far-relatives, but most of the time it’s fun.
This spring the weather has been unusually unpredictable. It had been sunny one minute & then it would rain cats & dogs. You never know what to wear when you are going out. What’s more ridiculous is the fact that you may wear a sweatshirt & it would suit the weather when you head out but when you’re heading back you might find the sun burning up & ….
Still spring is the most probable time to go out & have a picnic. We tend to spend our weekends over the mountains at my aunts mansion & there is this little spring over there I usually hang around it. You know it is located between the rocks & there is a rock, with very flat surface which is called SHAHNESHIN (dais rock), almost hanging over the foundation of the spring & wow there is a tree with branches stretched out hovering on the rock… it is the perfect place to read books & dream dreams of fairies & elves.
However my favorite spot is located at the far end of the mansion. There is a large throne (ARIKEH) set in a Persian style under the cherry trees. You know the kind you may have seen in movies with a carpet & cushions all over it & there are 2 love seats placed on both sides. & the set is located on a higher level (kind of on a larger step…) so you can reach up & have a cherry if you want. & most of the time it is isolated due to the fact that it is far from the spring so if I would need solitude I will walk up there & I will lay down & relax. There I am Scheherazade the storyteller queen & I write poems & all. Well a good friend of mine always teases me about being romantic about this special place. It’s typical of him to tell everyone I will accept anybody’s proposal over there!
Those tow place are really cool to hang out during the day but when the night falls down I rather stay close to the main building so I’d go sit on this large swing overlooking the veranda where everybody else stays. It is really comforting to hear the music of them talking….
Now… I just wanted you to know how it is like for me to spend my weekends in Iran getting away from the city I love for a day. It is really soothing to escape the busy everyday life & take a short trip although the car drive takes nearly 3 hours yet it worth it.

I had spent a really merry holiday in Tehran!

It was the first time in 15 years that I spent the whole 2-weeks holiday in Tehran… usually we travel around the country in Eid Norooz holiday but this time we decided to stay in town & my dad went to South with my aunts.
Tehran is seldom quiet & rarely got clean weather but you should have seen it during the past fortnight. It was amazingly fresh & calm like the way it should be… no traffic; no sound pollution. Heaven should be like Tehran in holidays!
However the weather is somehow odd. It had been raining cats & dogs & it dropped to 0`C, then out of the blue the sun started shining & all. Well, we thought it had gone back to normal weather but it started to rain again! Don’t get me wrong I love rainy days yet weather changes are so fast, I can’t remember the last time it had been like this over here.
Alright must get back to study a bit. But I will write about 13-bedar soon.

New Year is here….

New Year or Norooz is here at last. Norooz means new day in Persian & it’s the first day of Farvardin. & Farvardin is the first month of spring over here. So one expects it to be sunny & warm but this year instead it was snowy & white. We believe that whatever the mood is in the beginning of the year it will last all through the year…. So I guess we’ll have a nice cool year!
I will write more on the subject of New Year customs & the fortnight of Norooz really soon. But right now you may go check the links below.
norooz & haftsin
good luck...

Chaharshanbe-Soori OR Festival of Fire:

Well Chaharshanbe-Soori means Wednesday party in Persian; but actually it is being held on last Tuesday-night of the year. This night, unlike Yalda, is not a family gathering... it’s more like an outdoor night with friends if you know what I mean.
Tonight is Chaharshanbe-Soori… & believe me it’s the coldest one I have seen over years. Actually the weather changes had been rather unexpected here. We had some really warm days & most people turned off the heat providers & put aside the winter clothes. Then suddenly it started to get cold again & the rain started on Saturday…. Well it was ok but Sunday it got colder & Monday morning I got up & the whole city was covered with snow! Hopefully it stopped snowing this very afternoon yet it is VERY cold outside for this time of the year (about -1`C; while the average for this time is around 12`C)
What we do on Chaharshanbe-Soori? Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you…. The festival begins almost after then sunset… teenagers & young boys & girls make large fires outdoors. We, as me & my sister along with our next-door pals, usually have small fire in the yard. Then everybody jumps over the fire & sings the Fire poem, wishing to for all the pain to burn with the fire & happiness warm us up like the fire. We usually perform dance moves while we are jumping…. It’s so much fun. Then we would have potatoes & sausages roast in the fire & all kind of snack foods….
This part is the main part of Chaharshanbe-Soori but over the years, another part had been developed that is not originally a custom of Chaharshanbe-Soori but it is so common that nowadays you can not avoid it. & that is the firework part as I may call it. There would be all kinds of firecrackers with loud sounds & also fireworks which are really beautiful. The sound of firecrackers however is not very pleasant yet most young people love to set them off! & if you are walking or riding in the street you must be prepared for some to set off right under your foot!
Chaharshanbe-Soori had been banded over the past 25 years & it is the first year that it is officially held by government. Still like pervious years the anti-riot police arrest some young men in the neighborhood…. I don’t know much but I guess this festival had become a mean to show our protest against limits & boundaries. You know we go hang out in the neighborhood with more freedom than usual & you can see people dancing by fires & the music blasting & all. Tehran turns to a club in this night. & that is not inside the frame we are supposed to live in.
I like the feeling of freedom in the air… (Although you have to watch for this police forces); still there is so much fun just cruising around. You see we get out & everybody is into a party mood. It almost never happens that you play dare-devil or truth or dare in the street. & more you never find this kind of unity in folks. It doesn’t matter where you are from, what you are wearing or what you do for living, the only thing that matters is you & the fact that you want to enjoy the night.
Personally I am not much into the whole going-out part… because first of all I hate loud noises & second some dare-devil games really bother me, you know the way some pathetic guys try to draw attention by taking really stupid dares…. But I have no chance of staying home, having an out-going sister along with my twin cousins. However this time I managed to stay in the doorway while they were playing tow doors away. :D
There was this large fire on the corner of the street & almost everybody in the block was there. & there was tow imaginary rival groups fighting with firecrackers & all…. I had been too tired (from Khoonetekooni) to join in but then this old friend of mine came over & almost dragged me in the battle-field! I stayed a few minutes & as soon as he let go of me I went back home. Then the police forces rushed in & folks went to the yard of the building. Beside that everything went fine.
I wanted to show you how we really celebrate the end of the winter. Sure there are more customs for Chaharshanbe-Soori like Ghashogh-zani (in which somebody mostly kids hidden under chador knock on every door & ask for sweets & Ajil & wishes happiness & fortune for the folks in the house) & Falgoosh (which means eavesdropping to find hints about your future or hear you future partner’s name), although they are not really practiced these days. Last time I’d seen ghashogh-zani was over 15 years ago. & as for Falgoosh I myself did it once when I was 14! Me & my cousin stood in a dark corner of our street & my cousin’s boyfriends passed by & shout his own name for my cousin! He said Aatish (my cousin’s nickname) you are going to be my spouse one day! How embarrassed we both were.
Alright! Gotta go catch some sleep now! It is like 3am over here!

Valley of Friends:

Tehran is a really noisy city. I mean it’s never quite even in the middle of the night you can still hear noises & it is much worst in the main streets…. Well, not that I don’t like it, I even find it appealing, but still there’s time that you need to go to a quite place…. I’m living up the main street of Tehran & my place is in the middle of tow highways & this very main street; so you say it, silence is a luxury to me.
Tehran is hilly & most streets have slight slopes… & I happen to live up on a hill. (You know a friend of mine who lives in Netherlands always says you live on a high mountain! But well, to me it is only a little hill.)
I’m sure you are wondering what these tow subjects have to do with each other. Well, in just 5 minutes walk from my house, down the Doostan (friends) valley is an old small park, where the only thing you can hear is the birds singing & the wind blowing. It is not like you are just 10 minutes away from a highway at all. & you know the whole area had maintained the style & texture over the years; the large houses & the way you can walk down the street & kids riding bicycles & happy couples who shares a nice afternoon tea together…. I just love the way it is here! Most of the neighborhood had basically lived over here for the past 20 or more years, so most faces are familiar & you always get a friendly nod passing someone. It’s like a really small town in this specific area…. Living here all my life, I had never paid attention to these little facts & subsequently I’m not surprised when I occasionally bump into ladies who are standing out doors talking to each other without scarves or Hijab of any kind (for a short time of course). Although to some of my friends it seems rather strange when I do the same thing.
So whenever I want to have a little time to myself, I just put on my favorite walking shoes & go down to this park. & I look at all these beautiful houses & I start making stories about them. Some of them had been wiped out & new multi-story buildings are growing fast. Well, I am not too happy about that. New-comers can change the overall mood of the area, but changes are inevitable….
Ah; I just wanted to tell you about this very nice place & I guess I babbled on once again. & hey it’s new year in a week!

just a minute...

I’m back just to drop a few lines…. First of the weather is amazing! I can’t stop myself from feeling like I live in heaven!
Second of all Tehran is a wild wild city & I’m in love with wild cities! & remind me to write about Friends Valley… in my neighborhood!
& last but the most important one go check this “new blog” …. I’m sure you will like it.