The Milad Telecommunications Tower (Borj-e Milad) opened this week in Tehran. At 435 meters, the tower is the 4th largest in the world.
Designed by architect, Dr. Mohammad Reza Hafezi, the tower is part of the new Tehran International Trade and Convention Center. The tower has restaurants at the top with amazing views of Tehran below.
The Milad Tower is designed to withstand earthquakes of 7.5 on the Richter scale.
South Khorasan Province is located in the extreme east of Iran bordering Afghanistan. The main towns of the province are the provincial capital Birjand, Ferdows, and Gonabad.
The British Museum in London has some of the finest pieces of ancient Persian art outside of the National Museum in Tehran.
When President Khatami visited Tokyo in 2000, he was the first Iranian leader to visit Japan since King Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1958. At the time, he and the Japanese premier, Mr Mori, made plans for friendly relations and greater economic cooperation.
According to official Iranian statistics, the volume of bilateral trade between Japan and Iran reached US$14.3 billion in 2007 and this is expected to increase to US$20 billion in 2008 as a result of rising oil prices.
At the people-to-people level, things look positive. There are 5,227 Iranians officially registered as living in Japan and around 300 Iranian students. According to Ambassador Araqchi, academic exchanges between the two countries 'play a vital role for further deepening of our relations.' Culturally, there has also been some interesting collaboration in areas such as cinema - for instance, the 2003 movie 'Kaze no Jutan' (The Wind Carpet).
Japan is also active in Iran holding events such as Noh theater performances and recently hosting a ceremony at its embassy in Tehran at which it presented equipment for a charitable project, for the benefit of children with intellectual disabilities.
Ambassador Araqchi is optimistic for the future, declaring: 'We would like to expand our regional and international cooperation with Japan. At the same time, we are looking forward to seeing further expansion of economic, technological and cultural cooperation with our Japanese partners.'
This is a shortened version of a longer article on J@panInc
Ardabil (also spelled Ardebil) Province is located in the northwest corner of Iran, bordering Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea. The city of Ardabil is the capital of the province.
Rally to mark the 29th anniversary of the 1979 revolution.
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| Taking Pictures in Tehran |
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| Tehran |
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| Tehran |
For the last few months I've been wondering what the green halogen lights leading up the mountainside were for. Alien landing site? Late night mining operations? There was nothing obvious from down below but one day I noticed a new street sign pointing up the hill. The white on brown colour scheme denoting something of cultural interest.
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| Cave of the Martyrs |
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| Cave of the Martyrs |
This poster is publicising Basij Week which I think has just ended. You may have heard something about the Basij in the news where you are. Human Rights Watch calls them a "parallel organisation" which pretty well sums up their relationship with the government - they're not under direct control but they provide a loyal pillar of support for it in times of need.
In the past this has involved getting heavy with student protests and enforcing codes of conduct and dress in public places. I remember last year seeing a run-in between a group of Basijis and some young men out for a walk in the mountains. The boys were wearing tight clothes and "fashionable" beards that the Basijis found objectionable and they tried to "arrest" them. I didn't stay to find out what happened.
(NB. The Basij are not responsible for the current minor crackdown on "un-Islamic" dress which is going on around Tehran. Those guys are from Ershad (The Council for Islamic Guidance) which is a full government body. Ershad patrols get real police cars and have much more convincing uniforms.)
One way in which the Basiji make themselves conspicuous is on big group outings. I occasionally see them on the way to or from the mountains near wear I live. Here's a clandestine shot of some women Basiji's taken from inside a bus.
They were part of a coachload of female members all-wearing white and blue checked scarves which signify their support for the Palestinians. At the head of the procession there will often be a standard-bearer carrying a green flag addressing Imam Hossein - the most important of the Shia martyrs. Male groups often chant military-style marching slogans. This all harks back to the time when Basij members provided much of the raw manpower required to kick the Iraqis out of cities like Khorramshahr - a name which still evokes bitter yet proud memories of a time when Iran really was united against a common enemy.
The Basij are still a major part of Iranian society, but I can't help but think they're becoming more and more anachronistic as the Iraq war recedes further into the past. Though scars are still fresh for veterans and especially the families of the shohada (martyrs), it's getting harder now to convince Iranians that they are still at war.
Iranian government PR is something of a one-trick pony. Replay footage of the Iran-Iraq war and try to make it feel current by blurring it into recent images of dying Gazans. All the patriotically-inspiring if broadcast at half time during international football matches. But the war footage is looking more and more dated now and superimposing Ayatollah Khamenei over pictures of volunteers who never came back just doesn't ring true. The Palestinian conflict is just too far away to evoke the same power of conviction.
With 50% of Iranians just too young to really remember the war, what the Iranian government needs now is a cause. A truly Iranian sacrifice to once again give the Basij a feeling that their world view - a country under threat and therefore in need of repressive conservatism - is correct. And just the possibility (let's not even consider the actuality) of an attack by the U.S. on Iranian soil is just the ticket.
On a quiet weekday evening, there isn't really much going on in the streets of Tehran. Not even on the main strip - Vali-e Asr Street.
Don't you just love neon on cold, crisp evenings? The shop below is photocopy and print shop and above it is the phone number of a travel agency consisting only of 7s and 8s.
