#Mazandarani

[kieyul]

Mazandarani Style Nettle Soup

[sajirah]

Ampersand, Cora, Kaveh, and Nikola from Truth of the Divine.

I started this forever ago and have finally accepted that I’ll likely never finish it. So if you see any unfinished parts, no you didn’t.

[amnevitahwritesstuff]

Cora and Kaveh decide to go straight back to his house after their Cheesecake Factory date instead of returning to the cave.

Fandom: Noumena Series

Pairing: Cora/Kaveh

Rating: Explicit

Triggers: Older Man/Younger Woman

Chapters: One-Shot

[I posted this on AO3 years ago but am just now getting around to posting it here.]

AO3 Link

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A Moment of Peace

Cora couldn’t remember being this nervous about sex in…a while. 

Because that’s what was going to happen. Sex. With a man, not a boy. A man so wildly out of her league she had trouble wrapping her head around why on earth he was showing any interest in her at all. And yet he was. 

Interested. 

At least it certainly seemed that way with all the attention he’d been paying her throughout the day. And that kiss he’d given her at dinner. And that secret smile he was giving her as he pulled into his driveway.

Cora fumbled with her seatbelt buckle as he cut the engine and glanced sidelong at her in amusement. Oh god, was she blushing? She resisted the urge to touch her face like an overexcited Jane Austen character and exited the car as quickly as possible. Kaveh, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected and calmly unlocked the front door to usher her inside. 

“So I know I promised you Mario Kart but I might’ve lied a little.”

Cora swallowed. “Oh?”

“My parents forgot to include a Wii in their investment properties.”

“How negligent of them.”

“Very,” Kaveh agreed, inching closer to her. “I suppose we’ll have to find something else to occupy our time.”

Cora’s heart started galloping. Jesus, what was wrong with her? It wasn’t like she was a virgin. She’d had sex before! Multiple times! With girls! And boys!

But not a man, her brain supplied helpfully. 

“Ok,” she replied stupidly. 

Kaveh’s smile turned soft. “You know we can actually just play games or something. We don’t have to do anything else if you’re not comfortable.”

His words were kind and Cora appreciated them, but she also didn’t come here to quietly sit on the couch and make awkward small talk all night. She was tired of talking. She was tired of constantly feeling panicked and on edge and being forced to worry about existential threats and condescending bureaucrats and her shitty father. 

“I don’t want to play games. I just want something nice for once. Something normal. Can you give me that? Just for tonight?”

In the dim light Cora thought she saw a flicker of sadness on his face, but it was gone before she could really study it. “Yeah. I can do that.”

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Things moved quickly after that. Within what seemed like mere minutes Cora found herself sprawled out on the California king she’d spied earlier that day with fingers threaded through her hair and lips moving down her neck. 

He was…really good at this. God, he could probably charm a habit off a nun. Which only made it more apparent how out of her depth she felt in comparison. He was doing all the work here and meanwhile she’d barely done more than let him lay her back and awkwardly let her hands wander over his back. 

Feeling a burst of bravery (and annoyance with herself for just laying there like a dead fish), Cora urged him back just enough to grab the hem of her shirt and awkwardly wiggle out of it. 

“Sorry,” she said, her bravado flagging a bit. “Super sexy I know.”

Kaveh seemed charmed though, and grinned as he bent down again to kiss her bare shoulder. 

“How did you know I was turned on by aggressive wiggling?”

“Oh, you know,” Cora said, “You seemed the type.”

“Do I?” He was mouthing along her sternum and even though she knew exactly where he was headed it still caused her to gasp when he sucked at her nipple through her bra. 

It was little surprise when the rest of her clothes disappeared onto the floor somewhere though it was a surprise when she found him sinking down between her legs with a very determined look on his face. 

Oh fuck. She hadn’t shaved down there recently. He wasn’t going to do what she thought he was…was he? He kissed the inside of her thigh and Cora couldn’t help but shiver. 

Ok, apparently he was. 

It’s not that she had anything against him going down on her exactly, but she also didn’t really have a lot of experience with this particular act either. Teenaged boys weren’t exactly all that interested in giving oral sex as they were receiving it (at least in her experience) and Cora and her girlfriend had never quite gotten past the making out and fingering each other stage of their relationship before the messy breakup. 

Kaveh didn’t seem to mind though. In fact, he seemed…really into it. Then again, Kaveh was also thirty-five and had probably been eating women out since she was in grade school. Fortunately Cora wasn’t given any more time to ruminate on the man’s sex life as he finally shouldered her thighs apart and set to work on having sex with her instead. 

“Oh my god!” The first touch of his tongue on her clit was shocking. Apparently so was her reaction because he paused to glance up at her with those jade green eyes. 

“You okay?”

“Uh huh,” Cora said breathlessly. “Just…wasn’t expecting it.”

Kaveh was a smart man though, and seemed to hear what she wasn’t saying. “Has no one ever done this for you?” Cora rolled her head up to the ceiling to escape those probing eyes of his. 

“…No.”

Instead of being put off by that though, he gave her that mischievous smile from earlier and just said “Relax. I’ll take care of you.”

And it was those words, I’ll take care of you , that sent a shiver down her spine. Because frankly, embarrassingly, she was in desperate need of someone to take care of her. Someone who understood how out of control her life was right now and, instead of dismissing her or piling on endless impossible responsibilities, said ‘Here, let me take the reins for a while. You don’t have to worry about anything right now’. And god, if that didn’t make her want to let him inside her right now and never let him leave. 

But instead she just said, “Okay.”

As it turned out, Kaveh was just as good at cunnilingus as he was everything else. Which was to say: very. He knew just when to toy with her clit and when to let his tongue wander elsewhere when it became too much. But he was also good at paying attention to what she responded to best and following it with a single-minded focus she’d never really been subject to before. By the time he eased two fingers inside her she was a shaking, sweating mess clutching at his beautiful hair like a lifeline. He curled them searchingly and brushed against that spot, the one she’d always had trouble reaching on her own, and her hips jerked and her insides clamped down on his fingers like a vise. 

“Holy fuck!”

“Ah, there it is,” he teased, voice sweet but fingers mercilessly rubbing until her breathing grew labored and uneven. Once he returned his attention back to her clit it was almost no time at all before her body was seizing and shuddering out an orgasm. 

Jesus fucking Christ , she thought dreamily. All Cora got out though was a strangled “Oh.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” said Kaveh. Then he pulled his shirt off and used it to wipe off the excess… her …all over his beard. Cora watched him, mind blissfully blank, as he discarded the rest of his clothing. 

He was less intimidating with his clothes off. No six pack abs or rippling muscles here. It couldn’t be more obvious that he was a man who lived by his words, not his body, but if anything that only made him feel more real. More human. Her eyes roamed south and she saw that, yes, he very much had been into what he’d done to her. Cora reached her hand out to him, beckoning. 

“C’mere.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. 

In seconds he was back on the bed, licking into her mouth at the same time his cock was pressing its way inside her. He groaned against her lips. 

This was nothing like that drunken fuck with whatshisname from the bar a few months ago. For one thing she was wetter and more relaxed than she’d been during sex in…a very long time. She wasn’t worrying about Earth’s impending doom, nor was she wasn’t worrying about Ampersand or Nikola or Obelus. Instead all she could think about was the man inside her. His lips at her ear, the sweat on his back, and the way he felt rutting into her like her cunt held the secrets of the universe. It felt so good to finally be wanted for something other than her connection to aliens, even if it was only because she was warm and wet and willing. 

Cora was content for the rest of this to be just that, but Kaveh seemed to have other plans because before long she felt his hand worming its way between them to bring her off a second time. She was still shuddering her way through it when she heard that tell-tale groan every man made to signal the end of the line. 

As he rolled to the side, Cora felt nothing but mindless bliss but as she lay there the awkwardness she’d been avoiding began to slowly creep back in. Was she supposed to go now? Surely he didn’t want her here all night? Hadn’t they both gotten what they wanted? 

“I can practically hear you thinking over there,” Kaveh moaned.

“I just…don’t want to overstay my welcome.”

“Wait, what?” He seemed suddenly taken aback. “Do you think I want to kick you out or something? Why would you think that?”

Cora didn’t reply, not really sure how to answer that question without sounding pathetic. 

“Honey, you can stay the night. Hell, stay the week. I’m in no hurry to kick a pretty girl out of my bed.”

“Oh,” she said, overwhelmed but relieved.

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. It felt strangely chaste after everything they’d already done. 

She smiled. “Okay.”

[kemetic-dreams]

What is the difference between Mazandaranis and other Persians? Why are Mazandaranis called Persian in Turkey and Azerbaijan?

Mazandaranis are an ethnic group native to the Mazandaran province in northern Iran. They are considered Persians because they are part of the larger Persian-speaking population in Iran and share a common cultural and linguistic heritage. However, they have their own unique cultural and linguistic characteristics that distinguish them from other Persian-speaking groups.

In Turkey and Azerbaijan, the term "Persian" is sometimes used as an umbrella term to refer to all people of Iranian origin, regardless of their specific ethnic background. This is due to historical and cultural connections between Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, as well as a lack of detailed knowledge about the different ethnic groups within Iran.

It's important to note that the use of the term "Persian" in Turkey and Azerbaijan does not reflect the official classification used in Iran, where each ethnic group is recognized and protected as distinct.

[madsgoober]

I recently finished ToTD and I had to draw my favorite character

[dgiterart]

Persian Miku!?

In traditional Mazani clothing from persia!  

More info⬇️⬇️

Mazandaran province  is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari . Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range.Mazandaran is a major producer of farmed fish, and aquaculture provides an important economic addition to traditional dominance of agriculture. Another important contributor to the economy is the tourism industry, as people from all of Iran enjoy visiting the area.

Language: The population is overwhelmingly Mazandarani, with a minority of Gilaks, Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Georgians, Armenians, Circassians, Turkmen  and others, Mazandarani people have a background in Tabari ethnicity and speak Mazandarni.

Culture( literature) : In the Persian epic, Shahnameh, Mazandaran is mentioned in two different sections. The first mention is implicit, when Fereydun sets its capital in a city called Tamishe near Amol:

بیاراست گیتی بسان بهشت.................... به جای گیا سرو گلبن بکشت

از آمل گذر سوی تمیشه کرد .............. نشست اندر آن نامور بیشه کرد

And when Manuchehr is returning to Fereydun's capital, Tamisheh in Mazandaran (known as Tabarestan), after his victory over Salm and Tur.

Arash the Archer  is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own life in the arrow's launch. The arrow was traveling for days before finally landing on the other side of the Oxus on the bark of a walnut tree hundreds of miles away from the original launch site atop a mountain

Music and dance:

Music in this region relates to the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and the melodies revolve around issues such as the forests, cultivation or farming activities and herding. The most famous dance of this area is the Shomali dance, not forgetting the stick dance that the men perform. Popular music in the province, known as the Taleb and Zohre, Amiri Khani and Katuli.

Cuisine :

The cuisine of the province is very rich in seafood due to its location by the Caspian Sea, and rice is present in virtually every meal. Mazandarani cuisine is diverse between regions; the cuisine of coastal regions is different from mountainous regions, as people in the Alborz usually use the indigenous herbs and coastal people use the dishes of fish and Caspian Mazandaran rice with vegetables.

[neutrin0]

Persians are an Iranic group but Iran is not Persia!

:(((

Ok let me clear things here , Iran is not Persia , Persians are majority of iranic people but not all of it , kurds , lurs, gilaks, mazandarani and... Still! We should respect iranic people and cherish them individually but equally :3

Remember Iran is still suffering from Islamic republics dictatorship and occupation don't forget about us :) <3

[innerchorus]

I'm here to recommend music to you!! I've been lost in the sauce of Farya Faraji's music— he's an Iranian (Mazandarani to be exact!) musician who makes Iranian, Turkish, Roman, Byzantine, etc. music 👀👀👀 I was first introduced to his channel by a post @daryun reblogged/posted about his video essay on orientalism in music, though I've been unable to find it again on the blog. Anyways, he makes such good music! I think it's very relevant to our interest as ArSen fans!

Thanks for the rec! I'll definitely give his music a listen (@daryun mentioned that video essay to me before in a comment I think, but I haven't made time to watch it yet!). Do you have any particular favourite tracks?

[ghelgheli]

There's an article in National Review (right libertarian magazine) called "Why Are Academics Ignoring Iran's Colonialism?" in it is a quote reading "Even without its violations of other countries’ sovereignty, Iran itself is an empire, with ethnic Persians dominating the Arabs, Kurds, Balochis, Azeris, Turkmen, Lur, Gilakis, and Mazandaranis." this should give you pause regarding what it means (especially rhetorically) to describe Iran's internal ethnic oppression as colonialism.

this is mysterious to me. my use of colonialism comes from a kurdish communist I knew who was from iranian kurdistan, so by the same reasoning "this should give you pause". but I'm not interested in playing rhetorical tennis—the example I gave was of the forced displacement of many thousands of kurds under shah ismail for the purposes of establishing buffer populations. this separation of a people from their land and culture just is a colonial action that khorasani kurds still experience. that is the legacy any subsequent state has inherited. I wouldn't describe iranian policy toward minorities as colonialist writ large (and didn't intend to, if that's what it sounded like), but there is an intelligible situation of indigeneity relative to the state among kurds because of a history of subjecting the population to colonialist resettlements, displacements, and cultural dispossession. come for me for my rhetorical sins when I've called iran blanket colonialist in a publication people actually pay attention to but until such an impossible thing comes to pass, well...

[crino-line]

Doodle: team EDEN

An all-girl team based on paradise/utopia.

Oh, by the way, I decided to make a tag for my original r/w/b/y route. It will be called "Hunters of Ruin".

long info under cut if you are interested in reading about these characters

Team name: E.D.E.N - eden from the bible. Reminds of green. Team members are based on mythical figures or fictional characters related to paradise/utopia. Leader Eve shares the same name as the first woman who lived in the Garden of Eden along with Adam, the first man, until they were expelled for disobeying god (but she isn't based on Eve)

Members:

Eve S. Laurence: An elegant deer faunus (probably reindeer because her trait is horns). Her battle class is a mage, who supports her teammates by binding enemies with gravity dust. Other than the "first woman" meaning, her name comes from "evening" (her hair color is a gradient of pinkish orange~blue like the sunset). Based on Eurydice.

Deepa Nautilus: A cheerful and friendly frontline warrior class who wields a flail/grenade launcher. “Deepa” is an Indian name meaning light/lamp, but it is also a pun with “deeper”, suggesting Atlantis deep down the sea. Based on Captain Nemo.

Edge Hydrich: The team's fun-loving, self-proclaimed "fabulous" evasive tank who lures enemies from her allies with quick and smooth movements. “Edge” is a sharpened side of a blade, it also comes from the color “edgewater”. Based on Mananan Mac Lir.

Nima Rila: A mature and realistic tibetan fox faunus. A stealthy archer/hunter class who grew up on the steep mountainside. “Nima” is a Persian/Iranian origin name that means “moon”, also “archer” in old Tabari or Mazandarani. Based on Dakini.

Deepa was secretly created prior to her teammates (like 2 years ago), so she doesn't have a fullbody image other than a chibi I posted to my previous account years ago (4th image)

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] Players caught in action. Source (PKL) Pune, December 4, 2024: In a stunning display of leadership, Sunil Kumar has emerged as the most successful captain in Pro Kabaddi League history after U Mumba’s resounding 43-29 victory over Puneri Paltan at the Badminton Hall in Balewadi Sports Complex on Tuesday. What made the victory even sweeter was that the side beat the home team by a margin of 14 points despite the massive support for the Puneri Paltan in the stadium. “I am very happy to have achieved this feat in PKL. I learned all about captaincy from Anup Kumar and Ajay Thakur and hence I dedicate this feat to them and I dedicate this win to them as well,” Sunil Kumar emotionally stated after the match. His achievement was also lauded by the team coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, who said, “Sunil has been a captain for 6-7 years now and he knows how good he is. When his mind is cool and he is calm like today, he plays very well, and I hope he can continue doing the same for the years to come.” The next match for the U Mumba will see them face the Jaipur Pink Panthers, with whom Sunil won the PKL trophy in season 9. Speaking about this challenge, he praised their opponents by saying, “Arjun (Deshwal) has been exceptional in this season, and I can confidently say he’s a predator. Ankush (Rathee) is also a phenomenal defender, and players like Neeraj (Narwal) and Reza (Mirbagheri) are performing brilliantly.” But despite this, the skipper concluded on a confident note, “We’ll continue to play with the same spirit and energy in the upcoming matches, just as we did today, and hopefully, we can keep winning.” For more sports content: RevSportz The post Owe my captaincy record to former legends Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur: Sunil Kumar after becoming PKL’s most successful skipper appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[news365times]

[ad_1] Players caught in action. Source (PKL) Pune, December 4, 2024: In a stunning display of leadership, Sunil Kumar has emerged as the most successful captain in Pro Kabaddi League history after U Mumba’s resounding 43-29 victory over Puneri Paltan at the Badminton Hall in Balewadi Sports Complex on Tuesday. What made the victory even sweeter was that the side beat the home team by a margin of 14 points despite the massive support for the Puneri Paltan in the stadium. “I am very happy to have achieved this feat in PKL. I learned all about captaincy from Anup Kumar and Ajay Thakur and hence I dedicate this feat to them and I dedicate this win to them as well,” Sunil Kumar emotionally stated after the match. His achievement was also lauded by the team coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, who said, “Sunil has been a captain for 6-7 years now and he knows how good he is. When his mind is cool and he is calm like today, he plays very well, and I hope he can continue doing the same for the years to come.” The next match for the U Mumba will see them face the Jaipur Pink Panthers, with whom Sunil won the PKL trophy in season 9. Speaking about this challenge, he praised their opponents by saying, “Arjun (Deshwal) has been exceptional in this season, and I can confidently say he’s a predator. Ankush (Rathee) is also a phenomenal defender, and players like Neeraj (Narwal) and Reza (Mirbagheri) are performing brilliantly.” But despite this, the skipper concluded on a confident note, “We’ll continue to play with the same spirit and energy in the upcoming matches, just as we did today, and hopefully, we can keep winning.” For more sports content: RevSportz The post Owe my captaincy record to former legends Anup Kumar, Ajay Thakur: Sunil Kumar after becoming PKL’s most successful skipper appeared first on Sports News Portal | Latest Sports Articles | Revsports. [ad_2] Source link

[ejesgistnews]

Two high-ranking members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in a gyroplane crash on Monday near Sirkan, a city in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province. The casualties include Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, commander of the Nineveh Brigade, and his pilot, as confirmed by the state-affiliated Fars News Agency. Read Also: US Election 2024 Update: Polls Tighten as Trump and Harris Make Final Push The report states that the gyroplane went down during a counterterrorism operation in an area known for clashes involving security forces, Sunni militants, and drug traffickers. Fars described the fatal incident as part of a combat exercise in the region, raising questions about Mazandarani’s presence in the southeast since he is stationed in a northern province. The crash comes in the wake of recent violence that claimed the lives of ten Iranian law enforcement officers following a terrorist attack in Taftan’s Gohar Kuh district. Details from Fars suggest that military exercises in Sistan-Baluchistan have intensified as Iran grapples with regional security challenges. This tragedy marks the second high-profile military aviation accident in Iran this year, following the May helicopter crash that killed former President Ebrahim Raisi. Aviation incidents involving top officials are rare, but they have heightened concern as Iran faces increased military tensions in the region. Separately, recent Israeli strikes on Iran’s IRGC facilities have escalated hostilities. Last month, an Israeli attack targeted the IRGC’s Shahroud base, linked to Iran's missile and space programs. Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Syed Abbas Araghchi, alleged U.S. involvement in the strikes, prompting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to issue warnings of retaliation against Israel and the U.S. The IRGC, directly overseen by Khamenei, continues its operations in collaboration with groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, a stance that contributes to Iran's involvement in the wider Middle East conflict.

[idagnyheter]

General död i krasch med gyrokopter

Olyckan ska ha skett med en så kallad gyrocopter, ett litet helikopterliknande flygplan, i samband med någon form av stridsåtgärd i en pågående “antiterroristoperation” i östra Iran. General Hamid Mazandarani rapporteras ha omkommit tillsammans med en pilot. Enligt den verifierade informationen som kommer ut inträffade kraschen nära staden Sirkan, belägen i den oroliga provinsen Sistan och…

[gwendolynlerman]

Discovering the world

Iran 🇮🇷

Basic facts

Official name: جمهوری اسلامی ایران (Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân) (Islamic Republic of Iran)

Capital city: Tehran

Population: 89.1 million (2023)

Demonym: Iranian

Type of government: unitary presidential theocratic republic

Head of state: Ali Khamenei (Supreme Leader)

Head of government: Masoud Pezeshkian (President)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $1.85 trillion (2024)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 40.9% (medium) (2019)

Human Development Index: 0.780 (high) (2022)

Currency: rial (IRR)

Fun fact: The thumbs-up sign is the equivalent of the middle finger.

Etymology

The country’s name comes from Middle Persian Ērān and means “the land of the Aryans”.

Geography

Iran is located in West Asia and borders Armenia, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea, and Turkmenistan to the north, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, the Indian Ocean to the south, Iraq to the west, and Türkiye to the northwest.

There are six main climates: cold steppe in the north, cold desert in the center, hot desert in the east and south, and hot steppe, hot-summer Mediterranean, and Mediterranean-influenced hot-summer humid continental in the west. Temperatures range from −10 °C (14 °F) in winter to 46 °C (114.8 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 17.9 °C (64.2 °F).

The country is divided into 31 provinces (ostân). The largest cities in Iran are Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj, and Shiraz.

History

6000-5000 BCE: Shulaveri-Shomu culture

3400-2000 BCE: Kura-Araxes culture

3200-539 BCE: Elam

2500-2200 BCE: Jiroft culture

2334-2154 BCE: Akkadian Empire

1595-1155 BCE: Middle Babylonian Empire

1363-912 BCE: Middle Assyrian Empire

911-609 BCE: Neo-Assyrian Empire

678-550 BCE: Median Kingdom

626-539 BCE: Neo-Babylonian Empire

550-330 BCE: Achaemenid Empire

499-449 BCE: Greco-Persian Wars

312-63 BCE: Seleucid Empire

247 BCE-224 CE: Parthian Empire

54 BCE-217 CE: Roman-Parthian Wars

224-651 CE: Sasanian Empire

632-661: Rashidun Caliphate

661-750: Umayyad Caliphate

750-1517: Abbasid Caliphate

819-999: Samanid Empire

1037-1194: Seljuk Empire

1219-1258: Mongol conquest

1256-1335: Land of Iran

1335-1432: Jalayirid Sultanate

1370-1507: Timurid Empire

1374-1468: Qara Qoyunlu

1378-1503: Aq Qoyunlu

1501-1736: Safavid Empire

1514-1918: Ottoman-Persian Wars

1709-1738: Hotak Empire

1736-1796: Afsharid Empire

1789-1925: Qajar Empire

1804-1813: Russo-Persian War

1826-1828: Russo-Persian War

1870-1872: famine

1905-1911: Constitutional Revolution

1921: coup d’état

1925-1979: Imperial State of Iran

1941: Anglo-Soviet invasion

1953: military coup

1979: Iranian Revolution

1979-1981: hostage crisis

1979-present: Islamic Republic of Iran

1980-1988: Iran-Iraq War

Economy

Iran mainly imports from China, the United Arab Emirates, and Brazil and exports to China, Türkiye, and Kuwait. Its top exports are crude oil, refined oil, and nuts.

It has vast natural gas and oil reserves. Services represent 55% of the GDP, followed by industry (35.3%) and agriculture (6.9%).

Iran is a member of the BRICS, the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Demographics

Persians account for 61% of the population, followed by Azeris (16%), Kurds (10%), Lurs (6%), Arabs (2%), and Balochs (2%). The state religion is Islam, practiced by 99.3% of the population, 95% of which is Shia.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.6 children per woman. 76.3% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 75.2 years and the median age is 31.7 years. The literacy rate is 85.5%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Persian, spoken by 53% of the population. Other commonly spoken languages include Azerbaijani (18%), Kurdish (10%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (7%), Luri (6%), Arabic (2%), and Balochi (2%).

Culture

Iran is known for its carpet weaving tradition and literature. Iranian men are allowed to be emotional and women can be detached.

Men traditionally wear a long tunic (aba), wide pants (sharwal), and a cloth belt. Women wear a long robe (kaftan) and a headscarf (hijab).

Architecture

Traditional houses in Iran have brick walls, tiled roofs, inner courtyards with a pond, and intricate façades.

Cuisine

The Iranian diet is based on meat, nuts, rice, and vegetables. Typical dishes include ash-e-reshteh (a thick soup with beans, noodles, and sour yogurt), halva (a thick confectionary made of butter, flour, milk, rosewater, and saffron with peanuts, sesame, or sunflower seeds), khoresh-e bademjan (eggplant and tomato stew), loobia polo (a dish of green beans, meat, and rice), and nargesi (a dish of fried eggs, onion, and spinach).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Muslim countries, Iran celebrates Tasu’a, Ashura, Arba’in, Israʾ and Miʿraj, Mawlid, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Mawlid, Eid al-Ghadir, the deaths of Muhammad, Hasan ibn Ali, Ali al-Rida, Hasan al-Askari, Fatima, Ali, and Ja’far al-Sadiq, and the births of Ja’far al-Sadiq, Ali, and Mahdi.

Specific Iranian holidays include Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on February 11; Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, between March 19 and 22; Nationalization of the Iranian oil industry on March 20, Islamic Republic Day on April 1; Nature’s Day on April 2; Death of Khomeini on June 4, and Revolt of June 5 on June 5.

Nowruz

Other celebrations include the Rose Water Festival, when roses are picked to prepare jams, sweets, and rose water; Sadeh Festival, which honors warmth and the defeat of darkness by lighting fires, and Shab-e Yalda, which celebrates the end of the longest night.

Sadeh Festival

Landmarks

There are 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, Bam and its Cultural Landscape, Bisotun, Cultural Landscape of Maymand, Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat, Gonbad-e Qābus, Golestan Palace, Historic City of Yazd, Hyrcanian Forests, Lut Desert, Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Persian Qanat, Sassanid Archeological Landscape in Fars Province, Shahr-e Sukhteh, Sheikh Safi al-din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil, Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, Soltaniyeh, Susa, Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex, Takht-e Soleyman, Tchogha Zanbil, The Persian Caravanserai, The Persian Garden, and Trans-Iranian Railway.

Lut Desert

Other landmarks include the Agha Bozorg Mosque, the Ali-Sadr Cave, Hamoun Lake, the Imam Reza Shrine, and the Qal’eh Dokhtar fortress.

Agha Bozorg Mosque

Famous people

Abbas Kiarostami - movie director

Ali Daei - soccer player

Alireza Firouzja - chess player

Arash - singer

Golshifteh Farahani - actress

Googoosh - singer

Marjane Satrapi - illustrator

Navid Negahban - actor

Neba Shahsavari - table tennis player

Shirin Neshat - artist

Shirin Neshat

You can find out more about life in Iran in this article and this video.

[avogadro-toast]

The double entendre here

My god I’m so sorry Kaveh, my dear clever creature.