The Tomb of Shah Nur-eddin Nematollah Vali in Mahan

I could also visited the small town of Mahan (ماهان), which had a population of 16,787 in 2006 according to Wikipedia, but I guess that the number has increased by now. One of the attractions of the city is the tomb of Shah Nur-eddin Nematollah Vali, who was a poet and sage, a Sufi and founder of an order of dervishes. Shah Nur-eddin Nematollah Vali lived in the 14^th and 15^th century. He died in 1431 and is said to have passed his 104^th year. You can look at his poetry (in Farsi) in a book (Divan).

The earliest construction has been dated back to 1436.

The twin minarets are covered with turquoise tiles. Interesting are the interior of the mosque, of course, but also the reflecting pool.

 

Outside look at the minaretts and the reflecting pool

 

 

A closer look into the reflecting pool

 

 

Folk piety - people put money into the cover of the stone  above the grave

Seen all over the world, especially in Tibet

 

Calligraphy on the ceiling

 

 

Clay slabs from Karbala, which are used 

to put the forehead upon while praying

 

Though the local women dressed in chador, 

it wasn't mandatory for the tourists, 

for whom head scarf and covering dress was sufficient 

 

A very good view from the back side

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahan,_Iran

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_Nimatullah_Wali

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_Nematollah_Vali_Shrine

https://archive.org/details/DivanShahNematollahSangi1813/page/n175

.

Pilgrims Both on Tour and on TV during Muharram

I‘ve seen pilgrims on tour during the month of Muharram. Muharram (محرم) is the first month of the Islamic calendar and one of the holy months, second only to Ramadan. I am pretty sure that the men are pilgrims on tour, maybe to Karbala (كربلاء). With the women on bus I’m not that sure.

And I think that the still pictures from TV also show pilgrims near Karbala (كربلاء) or Qom (قم) or Mashad (مشهد).

Links:

https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2018/11/a-procession-at-masjid-e-jameh-isfahan.html

https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2018/11/paraphernalia-for-muharram.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mourning_of_Muharram

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashura

.

The Young Generation in Iran

 

The young generation meets in public, 

but then? Where to go?

Roozbeh Mirebrahimi, an Iranian-American journalist living in New York City, has written: “Meanwhile, most of the population is suffering from unemployment, inflation and rising living costs. Young people, especially, are suffering.”

Navtej Dhillon and Daniel Egel pointed out: “The lack of decent jobs have forced young adults to delay marriage. Unmarried men and women between the ages of 25 and 29 have more than doubled over the last two decades. The cultural and religious restrictions on intimate relationships outside of marriage increasingly exacerbate a sense of exclusion and frustration.”

At least the young men were hanging out at the tea houses, which were closed during the Ahmadinejad administration. There had been a ban on water pipes.

Where does the young generation meet? They hardly have meeting places. If you’re in public, you can’t have mixed groups as easily as in the Western world.

I’ve seen only one place, where only a few young males were hanging out. It has been in a city near a subway station. Sterile, stone, stagnant, stupid – the place, where these guys end up getting ideas to spray graffiti.

I’ve seen another place, quite open, but that’s another story concerning the Maidān-e Naqsh-e Jahān (میدان نقش جهان‎), also known as Meidan Emam or Khomeini Square in Isfahan.

 

 Hanging out at the subway station

 

Not really a cozy place - 

besides the seats are taken by the older generation 

 

I don't know where they're heading,

but I guess it's the best they can do.

Links:

https://nypost.com/2018/01/03/why-the-young-people-of-iran-are-rising-up-in-protest/

https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-many-crises-of-iranian-youth/

.

Parks Exclusively for Women in Iran

Some Iranian cities have parks exclusively for women. In these parks they are totally free to dress as they wish; they might jog or ride a bike – oh, the last isn’t possible in all parks, but I’ve seen women riding a bike despite a negative fatwa on women’s bike riding.

Criticism comes both from women’s activist, who argue: “These parks are an insult and I will never go there. I refuse to be secluded in a reservation,” and from conservative Iranian men, The Guardian: “ … that parks where headscarves can be removed will only “cause confusion” among women, because they might start doubting the necessity of covering themselves up in public at all times.” Women in the parks however are happy to walk around uncovered, do sports and sunbathe.

Taking photographs inside the park is forbidden, but you know how it is with smartphones nowadays.

Some of the men in my group were a bid annoyed be denied access, but the women came out to take our photographs of have photographs together with the foreigners.

Links:

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/aug/09/women-only-parks-tehran-iran-segregated-outside-spaces

https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/all-female-park-opens-in-tehran-1.521444

.