Iran Culture

Neolithic urban cultures on the soil of today’s Iran (Iranian art) formed the basis for the ancient oriental Elamite culture and Median art , which developed in close contact with neighboring Mesopotamia and Babylonia. The main testimonies are the step temples (zikcurrat) and palace complexes made of adobe bricks, for example in Susa. The Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids created court-oriented art and palaces with monumental stone walls: in Susa, Pasargadai and Persepolis. The great Persian kings were glorified there in large-format reliefs (Achaemenid art). Influences from the Greek culture (Hellenistic art) brought the Seleucids to the Middle East and Central Asia in the wake of Alexander the Great . The Persian Sassanids (3rd – 7th centuries) revived Persian court art (Sassanid art) in their city complexes such as Firusabad. They created rock reliefs, also built palaces and left behind rich handicrafts, including silver dishes. Under the Sassanids, the religion of Zoroastrianism (Parsism) with its center Yazd and Persian music were able to develop particularly well.

According to naturegnosis, the Islamic art after the Arab conquest in the 7th century received from Iran important impulses: with mosques, mausoleums and madrassas , but also in the book painting and textile art. The Friday Mosque in Isfahan , the capital of the Safavids(1501–1722), is one of the first four Iwan complexes – Iwane , one-sided open halls with barrel vaults, were already elements of Parthian art. There are also sacred buildings in the Shiite pilgrimage sites of Meshhed , Kum and Shiraz.

Shiraz, the capital of the province of Fars, also stands for the more than 3000 year old Persian horticultural art as well as with other cities such as Nain and Tabriz for the Persian carpet weaving. Shiraz is also home to two important representatives of Persian literature : Saadi and Hafiz . You are among a number of great poets who set standards in oriental poetry with verse epic ( Firdausi ), Kasside , mystical didactic poem ( Sanai , Rumi ) and Ghazel. Her works also reflect the importance of the Persian language as court and literary language from Anatolia to northern India. Prose literature, mostly short forms, only gained popularity in Iran through European influence at the beginning of the 20th century, especially through Djamalsade . M. Doulatabadi wrote realistic-critical novels and plays. A representative of modern Persian poetry is Mohammad Reza Shafii Kadkani (* 1939).

Contemporary visual arts, including the bronze sculptures by the sculptor Parviz Tanavoli (* 1937), are committed to the diversity and wealth of symbols of Iranian culture. Modern Iranian architecture reinterprets traditional forms in residential, office and commercial buildings with dynamic lines and the use of color elements (glass painting).

The sound film gained a foothold in 1933 and spawned a diverse film scene that is tightly limited by censorship today. The cultural industry, which was Islamized after 1979, is contrasted by artists, authors and filmmakers who live abroad and who cover a wide range of topics and are therefore also internationally successful. These include the film directors A. Kiarostami , M. Makhmalbaf and A. Farhadi as the first Iranian Oscar winner, as well as the Kurdish-Iranian film pioneer Bahman Ghobadi (* 1969). Two comic films also received prizes: In »Persepolis« (2007), Marjane Satrapi (* 1969) describes her childhood and youth after the Islamic Revolution. “The Green Wave” (2010) by Ali Samadi Ahadi (* 1972) documents the crackdown on the protest movement in 2009.

A rich underground scene with Iranian pop and rock music has established itself in the major cities of Iran, especially Tehran. Popular meeting places, where live music is played, are teahouses. The most popular sport is soccer. The Iranian weight training goes back to pre-Islamic times, among other things with wooden clubs (zuchaneh). In the Elburz Mountains ski ramp. The game of chess was spread worldwide from medieval Persia.

World Heritage Sites in Iran

World Heritage Sites (K) and World Natural Heritage (N)