Audrene Keshavarzi

January 30, 2011

Iran
Iran is one of the oldest countries in the whole world; it was discovered
over 5000 years ago. Iran is located in the Middle East of Asia. On the globe you
can notice that the countries figure is in a shape of a cat. The population there is
tremendously enormous. They have over 75 million people. Even though the land
over there isn’t gigantic, they still have one of the highest populations on Earth.
The country is the 18th biggest country in the world. In 1935 Iran was officially
called an international country. Before that no one was allowed to come or leave
Iran. The official language is obviously Farsi, but they have other languages such
as; Azeri, Kurdish, Luri, and Balochi. Before in Ancient Persia instead of Farsi there
language was Aryans. The weather of Iran is just like other country, it has a four
season’s weather, fall, spring, summer, and winter. Iran has many beautiful
mountains, but it has three main mountains. The most important one is Alborz; its
height is about 4200 ft. ASL. The second most important mountain is Damavand,
not only is it important but it’s the biggest mountain in Iran with a height of 5610
ft. ASL. Finally the last important mountain is Zagros. It is one of the nicest
mountains in Iran. Iran borders on the largest enclosed body of water, it is called
Caspian Sea. Caspian Sea is located north of Iran. Also the largest river is Persian
Gulf. So Persian Gulf is located in the South of Iran. Finally the currency of Iran is
the Rial.

Iran has a tremendous amount of history, since it is one of the oldest

countries in the world. Iran is famous for their oil. They are one of the richest
countries in the world because of all the oil in the country. Iran was a kingdom for
over 2500 years. The king was called shah in Iran. Like England it is a royal family
so after the father, the crown would go to the oldest son. A woman though, was
never allowed to rule Iran so the wife of the king would be a queen. In Iran the
queen wouldn’t do much, she didn’t have any power. The last Shah in Iran was
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; he had run away after the 1979 revolution. Before the
women were free to wear whatever they had pleased. When the revolution had
struck the women of Iran are forced to wear a hijab over themselves. The women
basically do not have that much power as they do in North America. In Iran, there
cannot be a women president. As we know here you’re allowed, we’ve just never
had one. In Iran, women are forced to wear hijab. In North America were not
forced to do anything.

The government had changed from kingdom to supreme leaders and

presidents. That is when Iran was named Islamic Republic of Iran. Recently Iran
had an election for the presidency. For the second term in a row, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad was selected. Right after 1979 the supreme leader was Ayatola
Khomaini, he was the one who came into Iran and lead the revolution. Currently,
the supreme leader of Iran is Ali Khamenei. He is 71 years of age.

Iran has an amazing military. They have the army, navy, and when the shah
was still in Iran they had a tremendous air force. They were all highly trained.
They put on shows so people could watch the air force team fly in the sky. The
military was very ifishont and sharp. They were always doing something, and
making sure they did it right. Over the years Iran has had wars between other
countries, but the most recent, and the longest war was with Iraq. That one war
between the two countries went on for 8 years. From September 22, 1980 –
August 20, 1988 was the years of the war; finally they have a peace fire after all
the killing, and bombs between the two countries. Some people would walk into
the streets could hear the sounds of bombs and guns.

Mashed is very respectful because it is a very religious city. Also it is the

second largest city after Tehran. They also follow the rules big time. They do
whatever they are told.

As you see the history will keep going on and on but that’s what makes
things great. Iran has a long history, and the history is just going to expand more
and more. No one can wait to see what lies next in Iran’s history.
 Once again since Iran is one of the oldest countries in the world, it has a
unique culture to it. They have famous sports, food, New Year, clothing, and
amazing art. Persians are one of the best people that can make art. They hand
make everything they do. They will have carpets and pictures handmade and
everyone enjoys the fascinating art. All of Iran’s amazing architectures come from
Isfahan. Everything there is handmade. It is a tourist attraction because of its
beautiful arts and architectures. They have amazing buildings, paintings,
mosques, and bridges. Some of the well-known handmade buildings and bridges
are: Shah Mosque, Chehel Sotoon, (40 Columns), Khajoo Bridge, and the famous
Si Yo Se Pol (33 Span Bridge.) Another unique kind of art which Iran has is there
handicrafts. Among them the most popular handicraft is called Khatam. There are
many things that you can make with Khatam such as: picture frames, boxes, trays,
pastries/tea trays, and little decorations.

Iran is also known for its gold and silver. As a gift Persians give each other
gold or silver, like for weddings, new born babies, anniversaries, or just as a
souvenir. They mostly use 18K gold to make jewelries. As most people know
Persian carpets are one of the famous carpets in the world. The reason for that is
because they are handmade and use a lot of silk in making them. They have
stunning patterns in these carpets. Sometimes these carpets can tell stories.
Persian carpets are so well made that some of the small ones can be hanged on
the wall. Those patterns are usually of a cinerary or of a human.

Iran has its own species of cats too; they call them the Persian Cat. It is one
of the most popular and pretty cat in the world. They have stunning green eyes,
with beautiful white fur. These cats are very obese and very sluggish too.

The biggest national holiday in Iran is the Iranian New Year called “Norooz.”
Norooz start on March 21 and the celebration go on for thirteen days. In North
America when we celebrate Christmas we put up a Christmas tree, so during
Norooz instead of putting a tree they put a hafsin. A hafsin is something that
all Persians put to celebrate Norooz; the hafsin contains the seven S’s in the
culture. The seven S’s that are placed on the hafsin are: 1. Sabzeh - wheat,
barley, mung bean growing in a dish - symbolising rebirth. 2. Samanu - sweet
pudding made from wheat - symbolising new life. 3. Senjed dried oleaster fruit
- symbolising love. 4. Sir - garlic - symbolising medicine. 5. Sib- apples -
symbolising beauty and health. 6. Somāq - sumac fruit - symbolising (the color
of) sunrise. 7. Serkeh or vinegar represents age and patience. In the hafsin
they also have goldfish, mirror, and Gorhan. During these thirteen days
Persians visit each other. They exchange gifts, and spend time with friends and
families celebrating Norooz. On the last day of Norooz all the families go out
and have a nice picnic to the park or outside of town, and that how they end
their celebration of the new year. Then the next day schools, and work starts,
everything goes back to normal.

Finally, last but not least is the Iranians food. In Iran they have all sorts of
variety of foods, most of them come with white rice and you can’t find this
type of food anywhere else in the world. The most popular food in Iran is
Chelo Kebab. Barg which is one of the kebabs it can be beef or lamb but
usually they eat the beef version. Then the second kebab is called Kobedeh.
Kobedeh is ground beef or ground lamb just like Barg. Chelo Kebab is eaten
with two cooked tomatoes and rice with Saffron. Saffron is something only Iran
has that everyone knows worldwide, Saffron is also very expensive. Iran is also
very famous for the delicious pistachios. Pistachios originally are from Iran,
and everyone in the world eats them and loves them.

In conclusion Iran has a long history, great geography, and a

tremendous amount of culture. Iran is the 18th largest country, has one of the
biggest populations in the world, one of the oldest countries in the world, and
is the richest country in the Middle East. I am proud that I am Persian.
 Bibliography

Websites
http://www.destinationiran.com/mountains-of-iran.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea

http://0-www.worldbookonline.com.catalogue.westvanlibrary.ca/pl/referencecenter/article?
id=ar280940&st=iran

http://0-www.worldbookonline.com.catalogue.westvanlibrary.ca/pl/referencecenter/article?
id=ar424165

http://www.art-arena.com/history.html

http://www.farsinet.com/noruz/haftsinn3.html

BOOKS

Ancient Iran by Massoume Price 2008 Anahita Productions LTD.

Iran by Charles Clark 1949 Nations in Transportation

Iran Enchanted Of the World

Pictures
Si Yo Se Pol by Hamed Saber http://famouswonders.com/isfahan/

Shahs Mosque by A. Davey http://www.flickr.com/photos/adavey/4948618668/

Hafsin by t3knomanser http://blog.rebellen.info/2008/03/20/nouruz-2008-frohes-neues-jahr/

People
Mother, Grandfather