June 22, 2021 Bathhouse renovation The project to renovate Khan Bathhouse located in Mahan, southeastern province of Kerman, was launched, said deputy head of the province’s Cultural Heritage 5 Organization, Mojtaba Shafiei, chtn.ir reported. Iranica Melody of legends speaks out in ney anban

ey anban in Persian, worldly known as bagpipe is an instrument which can ’s national heritage be played wherever one needs to express and share their joy or sorrow with N others like in weddings and special rituals. The international bagpipe day is celebrated on March 10 since 2012 after an The Iranian bagpipe is deeply rooted in culture and traditions of southern re- idea by the Bagpipe Society. In Iran, was registered as a national heritage in 2015 gions of Iran including Khuzestan, Hormuzgan and Bushehr provinces in southern by Mohsen Sharifian. He is one of the pioneer masters of ney anban that had a sig- Iran which is considered as the hometown of this instrument, while southeastern nificant role in introducing it to the world as a traditional Iranian musical instrument. province of Kerman has got great ney anban musicians often less discovered by He has published a book about ney anban as well as several music albums and held the public, tasteiran.net reported. many concerts all around the globe playing Ney Anban and performing pure Bush- ehri folk music. Origins of ney anban As discussed above, ney anban is an inseparable part of southern Iran’s culture where music plays a significant role in all aspects of life. The presence of this in- When it comes to bagpipes, many think it is originally an Irish musical instru- strument in traditional rituals is considered vital. ment and is native to Ireland. However, there are many doubts about the exact birthdate of this instrument. Almost all experts agree on the fact that bagpipe was Legacy of Afro-Iranians first found in the Middle East, and the upper Persian Gulf regions (south of Iran). According to Dr. Peter Frankopan (director of the Centre for Byzantine Research Between the west of Hormuzgan and Bushehr province, in a remote village at Oxford), the bagpipe is traditionally linked to Persia. It is distinguished consid- names Machahil, live the last ancestors of migrating African musicians of ney an- ering Persia’s long dateable legacy linked with music from the shepherding world. ban whose style is known as moqami or blacks. There are family groups that made And from Persia, ney anban spread through the world, reached Europe to the west the most intact folkloric music bands in the rural areas play the ney anban in a very and even China in the east. ancient and traditional style. Moreover, an illustration of a bagpiper was found in the carvings of Taq-e Moqami players play ney anban barefoot with special movements as a tradition Bostan archeological site (Kermanshah Province) which dates back to the Sassanid since they believe the playground of this instrument is sacred. Era from 224 to 651 CE. Other historical documents show ney anban’s antiquity MEHRAN MOBARAKI/TASTEIRAN Melodies of this Afro-Iranians have been transferred generation to generation as in Iranian musical history, including two pieces of exquisite illuminated manu- Organic materials if they have tasted grieves one to another, to tell the extract of their myths that once scripts displayed in Victor & Albert Museum in London, painted by Reza Abbasi, happened and forgotten in the corridors of history. The performance of Hormuzgan the great Persian miniature master in Safavid Era that depicts detailed images of There are nearly 130 types of bagpipes all around the world mostly made of and Bushehr provinces’ Afro groups preserved from any change or modernity; has bagpipers playing the instrument. organic materials with common and different features in terms of sound and shape. the trace of hundreds of years on it and bewitches spectators. The Iranian bagpipe that is a drone less, double chanter instrument made of two main parts, the bag and the pipe. The bag is responsible for keeping the air which is sometimes designed with distinctive traditional patterns among modern players. The second part of ney anban is the blowpipe which is traditionally made of wood; this instrument also has two chanters that are made of wood as well. The blowpipe is named qamish or pikak in the west of Hormuzgan Province.

An inseparable part of southern traditions

As formerly mentioned, ney anban is an instrument native to Bushehr, Khuzestan and Hormuzgan provinces, in southern Iran. This instrument holds a vital place in the cultural and traditional rituals of people of this region. It is played in weddings and celebrations since it can produce both joyful and sad tunes. Moreover, Bushehr is famous for its rich, unique mixture of Persian, Arab and Afri- can music. It has some specific characteristics like the singing of local couplets, mostly romantic poems in the form of avaz (poetic voice), called sharwa or another type called pro in which the melody is more important than the lyrics and is performed by a group of singers. Both sharwa and yazleh are accompanied by playing the ney anban. Furthermore, the sound of ney anban is considered as the music of work. Fishing is one of the major occupations in Bushehr and ney anban is the instrument accom- MEHRAN MOBARAKI/TASTEIRAN panies fishermen to cheer them up while sailing on the sea. AMIN KARIMI/TASTEIRAN

Iranian , one of the most famous and fastest predators in nature

Persian Cheetah or Iranian Cheetah is celeration is faster than many racing a mammal, belonging to the order of cars in the world. Carnivora and suborder of Feliformia. One of the behavioral characteristics There are two types of of the cheetah is that the female cheetah on Earth, one Asiatic and the other lives alone, but when she is caring for African. The Iranian Cheetah is an her cubs. The male cheetahs live with Asiatic species and once lived in the their male siblings or other males. Each geographical region of Syria, Saudi cub lives with its mother for 18 months Arabia, India, and Turkmenistan. But and separates from its mother after today, except in Iran, in other parts of learning how to hunt and protect itself. Asia, this species has become extinct. The gestation period of Iranian chee- Therefore, the is also tahs is 95 days, and the cubs are initially called Iranian Cheetah, saednews.com gray. reported. Thanks to their habitat, this color The Iranian Cheetah live in some keeps the cubs out of the reach of other regions in Iran which has desert and predators. The food of Iranian cheetahs semi-arid climates. Its most prominent is gazelle, mouflon, mouton, goat, cape habitat is in the Dasht-e Kavir and parts hare, and . Unlike other Fe- of several provinces such as Kerman, liformia that hunt in the daytime, they Khorasan, Semnan, Yazd, Tehran, and iranpress.com MEHR often start their hunting at sunrise or Isfahan. Specifically, Kavir National sunset. Park and in (no hunting zone) in Central Province and they have a small head and neck to his mouth, known as the tear line. the most famous and fastest predators The Asian cheetah is one of the high the northern province of Semnan, Nay- of Yazd are the main habitats of Iranian and a short, round. Iranian cheetah has This line has the function of absorbing in nature. They can run at a speed of risks of extinction Feliformia and is bandan Wildlife Sanctuary in north- Cheetah. pale yellow color to fawn-colored with sunlight and acts like sunglasses in the 110 kilometers per hour. The speed of on the World Red List. These days, for eastern province of South Khorasan, Iranian cheetah has long and slender white and round spots on it. A black deserts. the cheetah reaches 75 kilometers per more than three decades, Iran is his last Bafq Protected Area and Anjir Valley arms and legs. Their breasts are large, band extends from the corner of its eyes The cheetah’s body makes it one of hour two seconds after running. Its ac- refuge in the world.

Kerman’s beautiful and traditional embroidery art of pateh duzi

Pateh duzi is a type of embroi- sometimes even the whole back- the narrow marginal parallel dery art typical of the city of Ker- ground is embroidered so that it lines and is filled with a different man, southeastern province of seems that it no longer exists. seam. The leaf color is used in Kerman. The fabric is thick and On average to sew a meter of white, black, crimson, green and wool and is called ariz (which in pateh it takes about 4,000 grams light blue pateh. Farsi means wide). of thread. After seaming, the pateh is Those who dedicate them- The seam of the lines drawn in left in cold water where deter- selves to this art are mostly girls the shawl is complete and is the gent has been put in for a short or housewives who with the same as the sāghe duzi (a type of time, then it is rubbed a little and help of a needle create imagi- floral embroidery); for the red is washed several times until the nary drawings inspired by their fabrics the seam line is black, water is completely clear. thoughts and personal fantasies while for the white fabric the line After it has released all the through dots with colored threads is yellow. water, it is left to dry and is against the background of a thick After the seam of the outline is ironed. Usually with the em- woolen fabric, irancultura.it re- finished and the main lines of the broidered pateh objects are pre- ported. design have been embroidered, pared such as: The cover of holy Pateh duzi is one of the most akairan.com caravansary.biz the interior is filled with a partic- Qur’an, the prayer mat, types of beautiful and ancient traditional its deep roots in the ancient cul- ric used possesses a delicacy and with delicate embroideries. Only a very small space of the back- ular method of embroidery. This decorative paintings, and table- embroidery arts of Iran that has tural history of Kerman. The fab- a particular beauty and is covered next to the sewn designs remains ground without embroidery and seam is usually present between cloths.