Golestan – iTourismA

Great Wall of Gorgan

2020/10/11/0 Comments/in Other /by Iran Tourism

The ‘Red Snake’ in northern Iran, which owes its name to the red colour of its bricks, is at least 195km long.

A canal, 5m deep or more, conducted water along most of the Wall.

Its continuous gradient, designed to ensure regular water flow, bears witness to the skills of the land-surveyors responsible for marking out the Wall’s route.

Over 30 forts are lined up along this massive structure.

It is also known as the Great Wall of Gorgan, the Gorgan Defence Wall, Anushirvân Barrier, Firuz Barrier and Qazal Al’an, and sometimes Sadd-i-Iskandar, (Persian for dam or barrier of Alexander).

The wall is second only to the Great Wall of China as the longest defensive wall in existence, but it is perhaps even more solidly built than the early forms of the Great Wall.

Larger than Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonin Wall taken together, it has been called the greatest monument of its kind between Europe and China.

Great Wall of Gorgan

The system is remarkable not only in terms of its physical scale, but even more so in terms of its technical sophistication.

In order to enable construction works, canals had to be dug along the course of the defensive barrier, to provide the water needed for brick production.

These canals received their water from supplier canals, which bridged the Gorgan River via qanats.

The forts were filled with barracks of standardized design, suggesting that the Sassanian army was well organized.

Further evidence for a high level of organization of the Sassanian armed forces is provided by hinterland campaign bases, each of ca. 40 ha size.

In one of them, rectangular enclosures in neat double rows have been found, the remnants of a tent city, probably of a mobile field army.

The Gorgan Wall and its associated ancient military monuments provide a unique testimony to the engineering skills and military organization of the Sassanian Empire.

They help to explain its geographic extent, from Mesopotamia to the west of the Indian Subcontinent, and how effective border defence contributed to the Empire’s prosperity in the interior and to its longevity.

These monuments are, in terms of their scale, historical importance and sophistication, of global significance.

Great Wall of Gorgan

Sa’di Shirazi

2020/08/22/0 Comments/in Other /by Iran Tourism

Sa’di, Abu Mohammad Mosarref al-Din Mosleh, Persian poet and prose writer, widely recognized as one of the greatest masters of the classical literary tradition.

The thirteenth-century poet Sa’di is regarded as one of the greatest figures in Persian literature.

Sa’di Shirazi is best-known for his major works Bustan, or The Orchard and Golestan, or The Rose Garden.

Both of these works are filled with semi-autobiographical stories, philosophical meditations, pieces of practical wisdom, and humorous anecdotes and observations.

The books are valued not only for their elegant language and entertaining style, but also for their role as a rich source of information about the culture in which Sa’di lived and worked.

Abu Mohammad Mosarref al-Din Mosleh is considered as having an influence on the culture and language of Iran that equals in significance the role of playwright and poet William Shakespeare in the history of English language and literature.

What is known about the life of Sa’di is primarily drawn from folk legend and his own semi-autobiographical stories, which were likely embellished to suit his literary needs.

Therefore, the information that exists is somewhat suspect.

It is generally believed, however, that the writer was born around the year 1200 in the town of Shiraz, Persia.

Shiraz was located in the region of Fars Province, which was known in antiquity as Persis, a name the Greeks used for the entire country, bringing about the name Persia.

Saadi, Persian poet and prose writer

The pseudonym was drawn from the names of the leaders who ruled Fars Province during his lifetime: Sa’d ibn Zangi, his son Abu Bakr ibn Sa’d, and grandson Sa’d ibn Abu Bakr.

Sa’d ibn Zangi played an important role in Sa’di’s life, taking the boy into his care and providing him with an education after the death of Sa’di’s father, a court official for the ruler.

After completing his studies in Shiraz, Sa’di was sent to Baghdad to attend Nizamiya College, possibly the finest institution of learning in the world at that time.

But the young man was not much interested in academics; in his later writings he recalled his duties as a teaching assistant to be a tiring chore.

Sa’di Shirazi much preferred to spend his time in a more celebratory fashion and devoted a great deal of energy to socializing and enjoying himself.

The Iranian Famous Men (Part 1)

2019/08/13/1 Comment/in Other /by Iran Tourism

Thirty-three names of Iranian Famous Men have been registered by UNESCO so far. 5 of these glorious celebrities will introduced in this part.

1- Avicenna

Ibn Sina also known as Abu Ali Sina, Pur Sina, and often known in the west as Avicenna (980 – 1037), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, thinkers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age, and the father of modern medicine. Avicenna is also called the most influential philosopher of the pre-modern era.

His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine, a medical encyclopedia which became a standard medical text at many medieval universities and remained in use as late as 1650 in 1973, Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine was reprinted in New York.

2- Saadi Shirazi

Moshrefedin Muslih known Saadi Shirazi, the great Persian poet off all time, was born in Shiraz in the 13^th century. He is recognized for the quality of his writings and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts. Saadi is widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classical literary tradition, earning him the nickname “Master of Speech” or “The Master” among Persian scholars. He has been quoted in the Western traditions as well. Bustan is considered one of the 100 greatest books of all time according to The Guardian.

3- Al Ghazali

Al-Ghazali was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, and mystics of Sunni Islam. He was of Persian origin.

4- Khwaja Abdullah Ansari

Abu Ismaïl Abdullah al-Herawi al-Ansari or Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1088) also known as “Sage of Herat”, was a Persian Sufi saint of Arab origin who lived in the 11th century in Herat (then Khorasan, now Herat province, Afghanistan). He was commentator of the Qur’an, traditionist, polemicist, and spiritual master, and also known for his oratory and poetic talents in Arabic and Persian.

5- Hafez Shirazi

Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (born in 1326 AD) is one of the most famous poets in Iranian history. Hafez was born in Shiraz, Iran. Hafez learnt the Quran by heart at an early age. Hafez also preserved the poetry of great poets such as Saadi, Attar, Rumi and Nezami during his adolescence. The Hefez Divan contains 500 sonnets, 42 quatrains and several tales that have been completed over 50 years.