Fal-E Hafez (Omens of Hafez) Persian Fortune Telling Cards Bagh-E Gol (Flower Garden)


Book Description

The bagh-e gol (flower garden) of Hafez is one of the most enduring and popular versions of the Fall-e-Hafez decks. Some of these cards have calligraphy on both sides, so you get even more of Hafez's wisdom to guide you on your spiritual path! The box that the cards come in resemble a small hardcover book. The covers come in several different colours, so the one received may be different from the one shown here. The believers say that when the reader turns over a randomly drawn card (or chooses a design that is most appealing at the moment), the first line that catches the reader's eye is the answer to the question of the moment. The rest of the poem can then be read for additional enlightenment or meditation on the matter.




A Thousand Splendid Suns


Book Description

A riveting and powerful story of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship and an indestructible love




The Fall of Heaven


Book Description

An immersive, gripping account of the rise and fall of Iran's glamorous Pahlavi dynasty, written with the cooperation of the late Shah's widow, Empress Farah, Iranian revolutionaries and US officials from the Carter administration In this remarkably human portrait of one of the twentieth century's most complicated personalities, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Andrew Scott Cooper traces the Shah's life from childhood through his ascension to the throne in 1941. He draws the turbulence of the post-war era during which the Shah survived assassination attempts and coup plots to build a modern, pro-Western state and launch Iran onto the world stage as one of the world's top five powers. Readers get the story of the Shah's political career alongside the story of his courtship and marriage to Farah Diba, who became a power in her own right, the beloved family they created, and an exclusive look at life inside the palace during the Iranian Revolution. Cooper's investigative account ultimately delivers the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty through the eyes of those who were there: leading Iranian revolutionaries; President Jimmy Carter and White House officials; US Ambassador William Sullivan and his staff in the American embassy in Tehran; American families caught up in the drama; even Empress Farah herself, and the rest of the Iranian Imperial family. Intimate and sweeping at once, The Fall of Heaven recreates in stunning detail the dramatic and final days of one of the world's most legendary ruling families, the unseating of which helped set the stage for the current state of the Middle East.




Xerxes


Book Description

Xerxes, Great King of the Persian Empire from 486–465 B.C., has gone down in history as an angry tyrant full of insane ambition. The stand of Leonidas and the 300 against his army at Thermopylae is a byword for courage, while the failure of Xerxes’ expedition has overshadowed all the other achievements of his twenty-two-year reign. In this lively and comprehensive new biography, Richard Stoneman shows how Xerxes, despite sympathetic treatment by the contemporary Greek writers Aeschylus and Herodotus, had his reputation destroyed by later Greek writers and by the propaganda of Alexander the Great. Stoneman draws on the latest research in Achaemenid studies and archaeology to present the ruler from the Persian perspective. This illuminating volume does not whitewash Xerxes’ failings but sets against them such triumphs as the architectural splendor of Persepolis and a consideration of Xerxes’ religious commitments. What emerges is a nuanced portrait of a man who ruled a vast and multicultural empire which the Greek communities of the West saw as the antithesis of their own values.




Women with Mustaches and Men Without Beards


Book Description

"This book is groundbreaking, at once highly original, courageous, and moving. It is sure to have a tremendous impact in Iranian studies, modern Middle East history, and the history of gender and sexuality."—Beth Baron, author of Egypt as a Woman "This is an extraordinary book. It rereads the story of Iranian modernity through the lens of gender and sexuality in ways that no other scholars have done."—Joan W. Scott, author of Gender and the Politics of History




Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions


Book Description

This Persian gardening book showcases classic gardens and pavilions and presents gardening advice for the aspiring amateur landscaper looking to add an Eastern flair to his or her yard. The garden has always had a special meaning for Persian (Iran). The Persian garden, with its flowing pools, fountains, waterways, rows of tall trees, rich arrays of fruit trees and flowers, and cool pavilions, has represented an image of paradise. Persian Gardens & Garden Pavilions is both a comprehensive survey and an appreciation of this Persian tradition of gardens and garden pavilions. The text traces the historical development of Persian gardens, describes their basic features, presents existing examples, and discusses the literature and tradition behind them. The 119 illustrations include detailed plans and photographs of surviving gardens and their pavilions made on the spot, as well as a comprehensive collection of paintings, lithographs, and drawings of the nineteenth century executed both by Persian artists and by European travelers and emissaries of the period. The author points out, the gardeners who read this book should come across many details and ideas that can be incorporated into their own kinds of gardens.




Places of Memory and Legacies in an Age of Insecurities and Globalization


Book Description

In this book, practitioners and students discover perspectives on landscape, place, heritage, memory, emotions and geopolitics intertwined in evolving citizenship and democratization debates. This volume shows how memorialization can contribute to wider inclusive interpretations of history, tourism and human rights promoted by the European Project. It's geographies of memories can foster cooperation as witnessed throughout Europe during the 2014-18 WWI commemorations. Due to new world orders, geopolitical reconfigurations and ideals that emerged after 1918, many countries ranging from the Baltic and Russia to the Balkans, Turkey and Greece, eastern and central Europe to Ireland are continuing with commemorations regarding their specific memories in the wider Europe. Shared memorial spaces can act in post conflict areas as sites of reconciliation; nonetheless `the peace' cannot be taken for granted with insecurities, globalization, and nationalisms in the USA and Russia; the UK's Brexit stress and populist movements in Western Europe, Visegrád and Balkan countries. Citizen-fatigue is reflected in socio-political malaise mirrored in France's Yellow Vest movement and elsewhere. Empathy with other peoples' places of memory can assist citizens learn from the past. Memory sites promoted by the EU, Council of Europe and UNESCO may tend to homogenize local memories; nevertheless, they act as vectors in memorialization, stimulating debate and re-evaluating narratives. This textbook combines geographical, inter-cultural and inter-disciplinary approaches and perspectives on spaces of memory by a range of authors from different countries and traditions offers the reader diverse and holistic perspectives on cultural geography, dynamic geopolitics, globalization and citizenship.




Paradise as a Garden


Book Description

A study of the Paradise Garden in Persia from the sixth through the seventeenth century explores its design, architectural development, and relation to the Paradise myth and ancient nature worship




The Garden and the Fire


Book Description

Islamic conceptions of heaven and hell began in the seventh century as an early doctrinal innovation, but by the twelfth century, these notions had evolved into a highly formalized ideal of perfection. In tracking this transformation, Nerina Rustomji reveals the distinct material culture and aesthetic vocabulary Muslims developed to understand heaven and hell and identifies the communities and strategies of defense that took shape around the promise of a future world. Ideas of the afterworld profoundly influenced daily behaviors in Islamic society and gave rise to a code of ethics that encouraged abstinence from sumptuous objects, such as silver vessels and silk, so they could be appreciated later in heaven. Rustomji conducts a meticulous study of texts and images and carefully connects the landscape and social dynamics of the afterworld with earthly models and expectations. Male servants and female companions become otherworldly objects in the afterlife, and stories of rewards and punishment helped preachers promote religious reform. By employing material culture as a method of historical inquiry, Rustomji points to the reflections, discussions, and constructions that actively influenced Muslims' picture of the afterworld, culminating in a distinct religious aesthetic.




Contemporary Zoroastrians


Book Description

The contemporary Zoroastrians are, arguably, the world's smallest religious-ethnic group. In this book, Writer examines the two major constituent groups, Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrians and analyzes the diversity as well as the unifying features specific among them. Writer enhances her theoretical framework with extensive interviews with the living community, conducted on three continentsóAsia, Europe, and North America. Contents: Historical Background. Zoroastrian Antecendents; Parsi Migration and Acclimation in India; The Zoroastrians of Iran. Disparate Cultures: Parsi and Iranian Zoroastrians; The Contemporary Political Mileux: Iran and India; Present Day Community Shibboleths and Legal Precedents. Intermarriage; Conversation; The Parsi Pancyayat Case Suite No. 689 of 1906 in the High Court of Bombay; Zoroastrians in the Old Countries The Parsis of India and Pakistan: An Introduction; The Parsis of India; The Parsis of Pakistan; Iranian Zoroastrian Refugees; Zoroastrians of the Diaspora. The Zoroastrians of North America: USA and Canada; The Zorastrians of Great Britain; Contemporary Zoroastrians: An Unstructured Nation? Maps throughout.