Full Moon watching, spiritual and fun

For a very long time, watching the full moon was a tradition, a time to celebrate and gathering for people of different nations. among the civilizations, Japanese and Indian are mostly known for cherishing the full moon. Japanese people have a tradition called Tsukimi or Otsokimi. Tsukimi refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon, a version of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese solar calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month. These days normally fall in September and October of the modern solar calendar.

Full Moon in Tehran, a partly cloudy night in Shemiran

The tradition dates to the Heian era, and is now so popular in Japan that some people repeat the activities for several evenings following the appearance of the full moon during the eighth lunisolar month.

Tsukimi traditions include displaying decorations made from Japanese pampas grass (susuki) and eating rice dumplings called Tsukimi dango in order to celebrate the beauty of the moon. Seasonal produce are also displayed as offerings to the moon. Sweet potatoes are offered to the full moon, while beans or chestnuts are offered to the waxing moon the following month. The alternate names of the celebrations, Imomeigetsu　(literally "potato harvest moon") and Mamemeigetsu ("bean harvest moon") or Kurimeigetsu ("chestnut harvest moon") are derived from these offerings.

In Iran there is a mixing culture from the ancient Persia with Hindu traditions and even western beliefs on Full Moon event.

I Cherish the moon every night, I believe finding the beauty in every moment of your life is the only way you can claim you had enjoyed your life! but the full moon is indeed inspiring in a very different way. specially if you have the chance to view it in a partly cloudy night, every time the moon shows off, you get surprised how beautiful she is.

Next Full Moon in Tehran: Wednesday * 4th February 2015

for a full moon calendar go to this address: http://www.moongiant.com/Full_Moon_New_Moon_Calendar.php 

Kashanak and Darband Mountains, North of Tehran - IRAN

Tehran is a city at 1400 meter altitude as an average. I live in a part of Tehran which has an altitude of 1750m above free sea levels. and I believe the most beautiful thing about Tehran (along with many ugly facts in my home-town!) is the presence of Alborz mountains which are covered by snow almost 8-9 months a year. this reminds many one thing: Skiing in Tehran would be great! I wrote before on Ski resorts in Tehran like Shemshak, Tochal and Dizin.

Tochal mount is about 4000 m altitude and it features a Hotel at 5th stop (I have heard it's the highest altitude for a hotel in the world but I am not sure) which I resided one night and it was a great experience. Tochal Ski resort may not be the most recommended ski resort (because of its small field) but is very popular among Tehrani young skiers with just minutes from their homes!

in the north of Tehran, you have old villages which are attached to modern Tehran as a part of city and not as suburbs. Darakeh, Darband, Niyavaran, Kashanak and Daar-abad are among them.

This is Tehran's view from Kashanak mountains, 2400m altitude

 going to mountains for people of Tehran is considered as sport, hobby, picnic and even dining! with many beautiful restaurants in Darband and Darakeh districts, you will enjoy a lunch or dinner (even breakfast) in high altitudes with mountain views.

a Panoramic view of Darband vally

Another beautiful fact about all these incredible mounts above Tehran, is you can climb up one and come down from another! for this you have to leave your car at ones footage ofcourse and also you may need to spend a full day climbing and walking (8-12 hours)

here are some possible routes:
climbing up Kolak Chaal and coming down from Darband
climbing up Kolak Chaal and coming down from Tochal
climbing up Kashanak and coming down from Tochal

how to get there:
Darband: from Tajrish square with one taxi route
Kolak Chaal: from Niavaran sreet, Feizieh (Jamshidieh) avenue
Kashanak and Dar Abad: from Niavaran square (Niavaran Palace) with one bus or Taxi route
Darakeh: from Parkway (Chamran) crossing with Vali Asr strees with Taxi

what to wear: in Spring and Fall the weather can be warm, chilling and raining. in Summer it can go extremely hot (40 degrees!) and in winter it can go below zero easily (minus 10 or -20)

Tehran Property prices are EXPENSIVE or not?!

Is Tehran an expensive city to live in? in this post, I check some indexes and share some facts, with a focus on Property prices and costs, since it's swallowing the majority of Iranian household income.

Why house prices rise globally? what was the case in Tehran?
land resources are obviously scarce!
is this the only reason prices rise? The most important reason for this crisis is that we have been drastically restricting the amount of land available in Tehran, for housing since it was chosen as Iran's capital. Furthermore, after the revolution back in 1979, new policies and strategies led to dramatic immigration of people from farms, countries and villages or small towns in to the bigger and larger cities for more opportunities on employment and seeking a better quality of Life.
These are problems of market failure and land markets fail more than most, so they need regulation, which is what planning should do. But regulation needs to be informed by an understanding of how markets work. The problem is that our planning system seems to proceed as if it can entirely suspend the laws of supply and demand.

cost of living in Tehran...?
a couple living in mid-level style in Tehran needs:
350 USD per month rent (it can go as high as 2000+ USD per month for a two bedroom apartment)
200 USD per month for markets
100 USD per month to dine out once in a week (4 times a month)
100 USD per month transportation
50 USD per month utilities

I quit trips, vacations, sports, entertainments, parties, clothing extras etc

so they both need to have roughly 800 USD per month.
now more statistics and facts to know:

minimum wage in Iran is 200 USD per month
a 5 years experienced engineer or BS holder works for 350 USD per month
a 15 year experienced engineer or BS holder works for 500 USD per month

so they have to work hard both to live in a very simple mid-level life style with no extras!

luxury properties in Tehran
the price of an apartment in Tehran can vary from 1000 USD per sqm to 12,000 USD per sqm!

North of Tehran - apartments: 5000 - 7000 USD per sqm
Villas from 5 - 25 Million USD

Kamraniyeh - apartments: 7000 - 10,000 USD per sqm

France, Royan - a 4 bedroom Villa for 400 USD per sqm
400,000 USD for 1000 sqm plot and 240sqm villa

what's next?! where the prices are going to?
Iran and specifically Tehran's real estate market shows up with a boom every 5 or 6 years. this has been always like that in last half decade.
it seems that the market will have a smooth rise fitting the inflation rate only in 2015, till 2016 summer. then the prices have the potential again to racket up again.

Shemshak Ski resort in Iran (Tehran)

Nature inspires everyone, but which scene is really your type of inspiration? Sea, Mountains, Jungle, Desert, River, panoramic landscpaes, rocks, water falls...? mine is definitely Mountains.

Iran has all the above attractions for tourists. Deserts in central areas, sea and Ocean in North and South, mountains and high altitudes in north and south west parts etc.

I've been written about Ski resorts in Tehran before, and this time more about one specific one, Shemshak Ski Resort:



Shemshak Ski Resort

 

Shemshak is a famous ski resort located in the north east of Tehran city in the Alborz mountains. It's the second largest ski area in Iran after Dizin and even according to professional ski fans in Iran, more exciting than Dizin regarding its field shape. It includes two ski lifts, three dish teleskis and two Hammer teleskis. The slopes lie at an altitude of 2550m to 3050m above sea level, high enough to be able to Ski for almost 6 months a year. The resort includes two main slopes each with a chair lift that apex at the top and several lifts. There are also lighting facilities for night skiing.

Accommodation is available in Villas and Hotel

Shemshak has classically catered to more advanced skiers while Dizin has drawn beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers. The slopes are quite steep and many of the runs are mogul runs. the resort is about 1 hour drive from Tehran, 10 km from middle-slope parking of Dizin and 5 km from Darband-Sar ski resort. in the way to the resort from Tehran, there are many restaurants with Persian and European meals which themselves attract many tourists from Tehran.

Shemshak area in Alborz range of Mountains

I'd like to take you to this page to see more photos of the Ski field itself and Skiers. Other Ski Resorts close to Shemshak include: Darbandsar (2 km), Dizin (13 km), Tochal (22 km), Aab Ali (51 km), Pooladkaf Ski Resort (628 km)

Also take a look at this page for weather forecast, map overlay etc. all the pictures in this blog post are taken by Hassan Abbasnejad.

Iran's unique attraction: The underground Music Bands

Among all the attraction you have heard about in Iran, this virgin island(!) has a significant issue to discover by and be delivered to tourists: The underground Music bands.
These bands are mostly illegal, or better to say they are on the dark side of law! but no difference to make them outlaw! among them you can find Rock and Rap bands.
actually Iranian singers are categorized as:

• legal and local singers and bands who have permit from the government to publish and distribute their artworks inside Iran
• illegal bands who can't get permission for their works, known as underground music which I think have a larger body than the legal sector!
• Iranian singers and Bands in US, known as Los Angelesi Music (From L.A.)
• Iranian singers and Bands in Europe or other countries

I strongly believe the second sector has got more talent and innovation in their music than the others, especially the third one which mostly reminds you of dinosaurs!

I'm not a music expert, but I love Rock music personally and in Iran there are many Rock bands which all of them are categorized in the underground part. the reason is simply "our government denies many diversifications in interests and beliefs to be exist!" they just think Rock, Rap, Metal etc are not existed, just like the homos3xuality! (refer to Mr.Ahmadinejad's speech in NY claimed "No gays in Iran" (watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_3RUwAJ_MI)

The Ways, is a rock band in Iran, probably located in Tehran, founded by Kaveh Afagh and Alireza Pour-reza.as they say on their official website (www.thewaysband.com) "The Ways supposes that has created or reached a special kind of pop-rock music. The Ways` members named their style, Oriental Rock, which is based on the creative artistic methods of the Old Persian artists."
Among their outstanding songs, I love "bonbast" and "Tehran"




Tehran Song:
talks about unemployed and under wage people (mostly men) who their inability to obtain minimum life needs causes prostitution of their wives and girls. a very strong lyric by Kaveh Afagh, implemented smoothly on the music theme. the vocal is somehow different of what ever I've heard from Iranian rock bands.

Bonbast Song:
life, war and the truth of universe! if these are things you can't combine them together in your life, this is your right music. "lieutenant, you're stuck and condemned, and your death is just a message from each War" it says in a part and also: "universe, both your hands are null, and all the alleys are dead-end"

Support this band, linking and downloading theirs songs: www.thewaysband.com

Damavand - Absard

many Tehran citizens travel, camp or go for a short piknik to Damavand region, north east of Tehran. better to say we scape Tehran, with its crazy traffic jam and insane driving style to these suburbs and nearby cities.

Among the most known destinations in Damavand region are Mosha and Absard. Mosha is in Haraz road to Chalous and north of Damavand city, while Absard is in Firouzkouh road to Amol roughly south of Damavand city (few kilometers passing Gilavand city)

Generally, Damavand, the city itself is a city in Tehran Province in Iran. Damavand is an ancient and historic city mostly known for its closeness to tallest Mount in Iran, Mount Damavand, which is reminded several times in Iranian poetry like Ferdowsi's Shahnameh or Malekol Shoara Bahar poems.
above images can't picture the beauty of the city and region in any way. the environment is pretty calm and the nature is pure. there's a river near this area, which I don't know the name! you may find more information on Damavand here.

Water, Earth, Wind and Fire

Many philosophies have used set of classical elements, as the elements the universe is built and made of: Water, Earth, Wind or Air and Fire
for all Iranian Fire is a holy element, while the other are so important for life as well. we have a ceremony called Charshanbeh Souri, which happens annually in the last Wednesday of our calender year (beginning of April)
Buddhism, Zoroastrian, Hinduism and Chinese have many quotes on these element.
below pictures are from a park in north of Tehran, called Water and Fire Park. it's a unique park in Iran, nice design and beautiful location. it can be named one of Tehran's potentials to be visited with tourists and travelers. take a look:

Water and Fire Park entrance, Tehran

Water. Children playing above water works

Fire torches in the night (Fire Dance, Musical)

Park Theater (open area)

Side view
view to south

How to get there?
well, the address... it's located in the crossing of Africa highway (Jordan street) and Hemmat highway. you should enter from Africa (Jordan street), just the second exit when you pass the Hemmat bridge from South to North. There are facilities like parking area, buffet, children playground, horse riding field etc.

Tehran again...!

yes I want to write about Tehran again!! why? because I haven't traveled to other cities of Iran for a long time. but it won't change the fact, Tehran is a travel destination if you plan to visit Iran also. well, I'm planning to go to north west of Iran during coming week, to Sarein (Sar'ein) city near Ardebil. maybe I come back with something different later, huh? :)
btw, Tehran again! I want to give you samples of diversity of climate in Tehran. yup! you can see snow, showers and hell hot sun in Tehran during the year. look below:
winter from my back window, the high rising you see, is Sa'di Tower in Shahrak-e-Gharb. that was the toughest winter I've ever seen in Tehran, 18 degrees below zero! so Tehran can be cold and tough! it would be from December till February, not lasting more:

Tehran can be foggy! look at the Milad Tower hiding in the fog:

Tehran can be green and live! look at these two pictures, Hormozan avenue:

and Tehran can be Hot as hell! up to 42 degrees (centigrades) in July and August. of course it's not humid like many other places, but it's hot! actually, I didn't have any picture with a feeling of 40 degree day!

Traveling to Tehran?

Tehran with its unique scenic and structure in Iran have been a popular tourist spot for foreigners. To be honest, as a person living in Tehran, I prefer to skip from the city for any period of time and relax outside!! but I've seen so many foreigners enjoying being in Tehran. Huge city, comparable with London or Mumbai and the different type of culture people have here may be among the attractions. Tehran Tourism is much interesting for historians, archaeologists but not for nature lovers, certainly!
The Tehran Tourism enfolds the secret chambers of Iran's culture, the main attractions that makes Tehran Tourism, an abode of treasure are:
* National Jewels treasury: A throne, 200 years old, encrusted with precious stones all over the world, is the pivot of all attraction. A gem studded globe, world's largest pink diamond and other unique pieces comprises the unusual collection of this historical museum.
* Golestan palace: The Rose Garden of the Qajar era is the oldest historical monument of Tehran. It belongs to a group of royal buildings that reflects the history of Iran.
* Tehran bazaar: This shopping mall since its foundation consists of shops that sells strangest of antique pieces collected from all around the country. The economical set up on Tehran has much of its credit attributed to this 'bazaar' popularly called the city within a city.
* National Museum of Tehran: The museum stands upright showcasing the rich heritage of Iran with a spectacular collection of ceramics, sculptures belonging to the 4rth and 5th century BC.
* more places like Sa'd Abad Palace, Contemporary Museum, Cinema House, Mellat Park, Pardisan jungle park, Chitgar park and complex, Water sport complex, Tochal sport complex and Ski resort and to many other places...

this is a picture of Milad Tower, which I've taken from my own apartment when it was still under construction:

Peaceful Iran

peaceful Iran, I don't know why I chose this title in these days! maybe because I could capture this image in our home's balcony in Tehran:

yes, believe or not, this is Tehran! few days ago. I have traveled to many places: inside Iran, Europe, Arab countries, South East Asia and Mediterranean. and I believe Iran, my country is one of the safe and peaceful places on the planet. Iranian are hospitable and gentle. I'm tired of thinking about politics and what it had done to our face in the world... I'm exhausted.

Parking Parvaneh - Tehran

there a parking in center of Tehran, in Ferdosi and Jomhouri streets junction, called Parvaneh Parking. this parking in Fridays turns in to a fabulous bazaar for antiques, textiles, wood crafts and anything you can imagine! when I say anything, I really mean it! but don't forget if you went to this bazaar, don't trust any claims against being old, antique and Italian made!! the prices also can be so prone. but it worths a look for sure. here are some pictures, but sorry for bad quality. I took them with my mobile camera and also it was so dark over there to take good pictures:

Iranian Metal antiques

chortkeh, traditional Iranian calculator

old guns! sundries at parking parvaneh old money

Tileh, Taw, Achate Old man selling textile old style type machine

I believe every city and every single place in a city has its own mysterious soul. when you are in Parking Parvaneh, you will enjoy a chaotic spirit!

pictures from Tehran

I call tehran BBC sometimes! but it stands for "Big Boring City" this is not because it's not beautiful, but just for two main reasons: traffic jam, week entertainment facilities specially nights. but, you can find it much more interesting than most of cities in the world, if you like to see strange and wiered things sometimes! keep on reading my blog you will find things:

first take a look at traffic. see how a beautiful rainy/snowy day can be ruined by such traffic:

Where can you see a five story building with only 2 meters width? only in Tehran! look at the black stone covered building:


Oh my god! this one was fantastic. it was awesome, I got 10 years younger with this scene. Argentina Square, near our office in the 2007's winter. the statue in the middle of square had freezed and the spout was making the scene more beautiful. the weather was as cold as hell, 15 degree centigrades below zero:

The parliment of Tehran, Baharestan avenue. we call it Majlis:

an old fashioned and stylish old designed building in modern Tehran:

size does matter! take a look:

They are selling their cars, in Abdulabad:

That's all for now, but I got tons of these pictures. some reminds me sweet memories, some make me laugh and some make me bored. that's simply life, isn't it?

Iran Water Dance - Tehran, Azadegan Aqua Park

I, by myself, never forget the water kind entertainments I experience in different tourism destinations. For example Wild Wadi water park and Dream land in Dubai, Afa Mousa in Kuala Lampour and the water dance in Singapore - Sentosa Island.
In Tehran we definitely see the lack of such entertainment facilities, but sometimes we have more problems in introducing and advertising these places. one of these places which has stuck unknown, even for most of Tehran citizens is Azadegan Water Park, in the south of Tehran, Afsarieh region, near Basij Expressway. Tehran Municipality owns the 12 acre Aqua Park of Azadegan and has established this park around a decade ago, but there are still many people who don't know about it. Azadegan Aqua park, hosts an average of 15,000 people per month, but it was estimated before that more than 1.5 million people from Tehran would use the park’s entertainment, cultural and sports facilities every year, which should caused more visits during the same time. The park admits women also in a separated schedule from men every week.
near the Aqua park there is a water dance show there are few pictures from the water dance which I've saved before, from Mehr News Agency website:

Taleghan

Taleghan is a beautiful village near Qazvin (Ghazvin) but located in Tehran province. It's around 80 Miles away from city of Tehran, the capital of Iran and among the Alborz Mountains.
Taleghan which is also pronounced in Persian as Talaghan, means mine of gold. Taleghani people are well educated comparing other country and villages in Iran. the most famous people of modern Taleghan are Ayotollah Taleghani, Jalal Al e Ahmad, Omidvar brothers and Colonel Fallahi.

Taleghan is nearly including 100 smaller villages and countries. I have travelled across some of them. there are people in these villages who haven't even travelled to a neighbour village at the ages of 50!! but as I said, most of them are civilized and even well educated.


here are some views from Koolaj village in the heart of Taleghan:

Tehran is extremely poluted these days. take a look:

it's Tehran's Mossalla's view from my office (PersianBlog)

the same view in a day which Tehran is less poluted!Believe or not, there is no photoshop edition! you can't see the mountains in many days! and there's something else: everyday 27 of Tehran citizens die regarding the polution (Etemad e Melli daily 9 Jan 2007)