I stayed with Hossein’s family in Shiraz, thanks to my friend @liflorence. Li met Hossein and made friends with him and the whole family. The family is so friendly and welcoming. Hossein and friends told me a lot about Iranian culture, we had the amazing Iranian dish dizi. I was so fascinated to see how well his sister could dance Zumba and how his friends are atheists and anarchists in a country where “most of the fun things that younger generation like to do (such as dancing, party, etc) are illegal”.
iran
An example of Persian gardens in Shiraz – Affif Abad garden
They say Shiraz is a city of poetry and “the garden of Iran”. You can find many persian gardens in the city, the famous one being Eram garden, which literally means the garden of paradise. Eram garden is famous for its variety of trees (the largest collection of the whole Middle East). But today I’m going to show you another one called Afif-Abad Garden.
This oldest garden in Shiraz is built during Pahlavi period. The garden and house in the middle used to be owned by the Ghavami family and to be used as a palace and recreational place back in time. Affif-Abad garden is a typical example of Persian garden.
*Bling bling* overload – mirror mosaics in Ali Ibn Hamzeh shrine
In Iran you find mosaics basically everywhere. The ones that fascinate me the most were those glittering mirrored mosaics. When I visited Shah-e-Cheragh Shrine, they told me that I couldn’t enter the mirror pray room. Then they recommended me to the oldest shrine (for the relative of 8th Imam) in Shiraz.
Sculpture Talks – Meet Tony Cragg @ Tehran
On my last day in Tehran, I spent half of my afternoon in the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Not until I went there, did I realize there was a temporary Tony Cragg exhibition going on. Just in case you haven’t heard about him, Tony Cragg is born in Liverpool, one of the most important contemporary sculptors. You may find his works in many German cities (He’s not living in Wuppertal). Cragg doesn’t limit his sculpture works to any materials. You find all extensive materials out of his works: wood, glass, steel, bronze, plastic and ceramics. Cragg has always been searching for the ideal combination of material and form. For him, sculpture is a study of how material can affect and form human emotions and ideas.