TirganTirgan (تیرگان, Tirgān), is a mid summer ancient Iranian festival, celebrated annually on Tir 13 (July 2, 3, or 4). It is celebrated by splashing water, dancing, reciting poetry, and serving traditional foods such as spinach soup and sholezard. The custom of tying rainbow-colored bands on wrists, which are worn for ten days and then thrown into a stream, is also a way to rejoice for children. Tirgan is an ancient Iranian tradition which is still celebrated in various regions of Iran, including Mazenderan, Khorasan, and Arak.
MehreganMehregan () or Jashn-e Mehr ( Mithra Festival) is a Zoroastrian and Iranian festival celebrated to honor the yazata Mithra (Mehr), which is responsible for friendship, affection and love. "Mehregan" is derived from the Middle Persian name Mihrakān/Mihragān, itself derived from Old Persian Mithrakāna. Mehregan is an Iranian festival honoring the Zoroastrian yazata (angelic divinity) Mithra. Under the Achaemenid Empire (330–550 BC), the Armenian subjects of the Persian king gave him 20,000 horses every year during the celebration of Mehregan.
KermanKerman (Kermân kjeɾˈmɒːn; also romanized as Kermun and Karmana), known in ancient times as the satrapy of Carmania, is a city in the Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Iran, and serves as capital of the province, county, district. At the 2006 National Census, its population was 496,684 in 127,806 households. The following census in 2011 counted 534,441 people in 147,922 households. The latest census in 2016 showed a population of 537,718 people in 162,677 households.
YazdYazd (یزد jæzd), formerly also known as Yezd, is the capital of Yazd province, Iran. The city is southeast of Isfahan. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Because of generations of adaptations to its desert surroundings, Yazd has a unique Persian architecture. It is nicknamed the "City of Windcatchers" (شهر بادگیرها Shahr-e Badgirha) from its many examples.
Zoroastrian calendarAdherents of Zoroastrianism use three distinct versions of traditional calendars for liturgical purposes, all derived from medieval Iranian calendars and ultimately based on the Babylonian calendar as used in the Achaemenid empire. Qadimi ("ancient") is a traditional reckoning introduced in 1006. Shahanshahi ("imperial") is a calendar reconstructed from the 10th century text Denkard. Fasli is a term for a 1906 adaptation of the 11th century Jalali calendar following a proposal by Kharshedji Rustomji Cama made in the 1860s.
NowruzNowruz (نوروز noːˈɾuːz) is the Iranian or Persian New Year celebrated by various ethnicities worldwide. It is a festival based on the Iranian Solar Hijri calendar, on the spring equinoxon or around 21 March on the Gregorian calendar. The day of Nowruz has its origins in the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism and is thus rooted in the traditions of the Iranian peoples; however, it has been celebrated by diverse communities for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia.
Fire templeA fire temple, Agiary, Atashkadeh (آتشکده), Atashgah (آتشگاه) or Dar-e Mehr (در مهر) is the place of worship for the followers of Zoroastrianism, the ancient religion of Iran (Persia). In the Zoroastrian religion, fire (see atar), together with clean water (see aban), are agents of ritual purity. Clean, white "ash for the purification ceremonies [is] regarded as the basis of ritual life", which "are essentially the rites proper to the tending of a domestic fire, for the temple [fire] is that of the hearth fire raised to a new solemnity".
Culture of IranThe culture of Iran (فرهنگ ایران) or culture of Persia is among the most influential in the world. Iran (Persia) is widely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization. Due to its dominant geopolitical position in the world, it has heavily influenced peoples and cultures situated as far away as Southern Europe and Eastern Europe to the west; Central Asia to the north; the Arabian Peninsula to the south; and South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia to the east.
Buyid dynastyThe Buyid dynasty (Âl-i Būya), also spelled Buwayhid (Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Muslim Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Coupled with the rise of other Iranian dynasties in the region, the approximate century of Buyid rule represents the period in Iranian history sometimes called the 'Iranian Intermezzo' since, after the Muslim conquest of Persia, it was an interlude between the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate and the Seljuk Empire.
ShirazShiraz (ʃɪəˈrɑːz; Širâz ʃiːˈɾɒːz) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (پارس) and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 people, and its built-up area with Sadra was home to almost 1,800,000 inhabitants. A census in 2021 showed an increase in the city's population to 1,995,500 people. Shiraz is located in southwestern Iran on the rudkhaneye khoshk (dry river) seasonal river.
