Iran 2016 (Gallery #2)
St. Stapanos Monastery, Jolfa, Iran, 2016
The story of this photo and this place—St. Stepanos Monastery, an Armenian Monastery in the Julfa Valley of NW Iran—has a fairly long arc that goes back to when I first became interested in studying Christianity. In my first year at Norther Arizona University, I had actually wanted to take a class on Islam but nothing was offered that semester. So, I decided to take the class on Christianity instead, assuming that I probably didn’t know much about it despite living in a predominately Christian society. I was right. And I was blessed in this class with a fantastic teacher, Dr. Arne Hassing, who taught with as much passion as knowledge about the subject. Eventually through my relationship with Dr. Hassing I became interested in Fundamentalism (including Islamic Fundamentalism, eventually, which is also one reason I became interested in Iran) and Pentecostalism, which became my main interest in graduate school.
One particular lesson that stood out from that class was regarding the 1st century of Christianity after Jesus died, and the excitement of early Christians regarding the imminent return of Christ at literally any moment. The first church at this site was from that time, founded in 62 CE, just 40 years after Christ was crucified. It was founded by Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, who many biblical scholars believe is the same person as Nathanael . (yes, like my name!). The building here was built much later, in the 14th century, by Armenian Christians. When I was trying to choose a tour for Iran, this site was very high on my list, and it didn’t disappoint. However, we arrived in later afternoon so the sun was no longer hitting the monastery directly. So getting a good photo was tricky. I hiked up the hill and captured this shot with Armenia in the background.
Koloocheh Baker, Fuman, Iran 2016
Fuman is mid-size town near the Caspian Sea. As far as I can tell it has the exact same climate as my hometown, Seattle, Washington. But where Seattle is known for it’s beer and salmon, Fuman is known for it’s fantastic cookies, called Koloocheh . I had at least 4 of them in my couple hours in this charming town. I made sure to get a shot of the master baker here.
Man on the Way to Almut Castle
We stopped a lot for tea and snacks. The road through the Almut Valley, on the way to the fabled “Castles of the Assassins” is long and twisty. So we stopped for a break and talked to a few locals in a town along the way. This man was kind enough to let me take his picture.
Kurdish Men in Divandarreh
I loved this picture the moment I took it. Almost everything is wrong with it: it’s too bright, it’s out of focus, and blurry (which seem like they are the same thing, but this picture manages both somehow). And yet, the expression is perfect. But when I got home, I stated editing photos, and looking at other travel phots, and feeling kind of insecure about my own. I wanted my photos to be sharper than they were. I wanted to learn how to use my equipment better, or get better things. Travel photography has somehow become this genre (which is weird, if you think about it), and it begins to feel at times like everyone is doing it and the only thing separating one travel photographer from another is the amount of money they can spend on gear and the amount of time they have to do it. And yet. I really love this phot deep in my heart. Then, just this weekend, while reading up on street photography, I discovered Saul Leiter , who passed away just a couple years ago. There was this kind of validation of what I’ve always known about photos in looking through his work. One in particular is that at times the imperfections of a photo are exactly what can draw attention to some unique perspective, or to the fact that the photo is a photo, a certain perspective, and embedded in a life experience.
So this photo is taken in the town of Divandarreh (Persian: ديواندره, Kurdish: Dîwandere – دیواندهره), south of Takht-e Soleymān in the Kurdistan Province. Most people who live here are Kurds, as are these men. We were taking a bathroom break right next to a traffic circle and statue of a Kurdish fighter and the man on the left was selling melons on the side of the road. The man on the right was being picked up by his friend on the motorcycle. I was talking to them and decided to fire off few shots a close range when the driver gave me this quick, cool look.
Men in Kandovar, Iran, 2016
Iranians and others often compare Kandovan to the more famous Cappadocia, Turkey . It’s much smaller, I think, but the architecture is very similar. And it’s actually in the Aziri Turkish-speaking part of Iran. While walking around, I came across so work being done on one of the structures that seemed to be part of a government project. These men were sitting and watch the project. Some of the other men said they were Afghan. Though that seemed to be a joke. Afghan refugees are often treated poorly in Iran, taking the jobs that other will not do. My guide pointed out, however that many people hire Afghans because they are known as hard workers.
Man and a Nān-e lavash Machine
There’s this kind of bread I found at the breakfast buffets our hotels in Iran. Bread is “Nān” in Farsi, and this particular bread was called Nān-e lavash. It’s covered in these very symmetrical indentations, which I assumed came from a machine. So on my second morning in Qazvin wandering around very early, and came across this fellow making it. To his right is the machine that makes the bread and the indentations.
Men in a Teahouse, Masouleh, Iran, 2016
This is another scene from the tea house in Masouleh. It was the afternoon and, aside from women in our group, it was only men gathered in the tea house. One thing I found very interesting in Iran is the social acceptability of men touching other men while gathering and talking. The man did not put his arm around another man for this picture; he was already doing this before I took the shot. It is very common, at least in settings where it is all men gathering, form them to touch each as they talk.
Former American Embassy, Tehra, Iran, 2016
As I may have mentioned, my main reason for taking a tour in Iran, as opposed to doing it myself, was legal: under Iranian law, Americans have to take a tour with an agency registered with the government. I went with the one that seemed like the best deal, the most bang for my buck … and if you would like to know what company I went with, contact me. The reason I am not posting that information here is that they were so great, and afforded me a lot of freedom that I suspect other agencies did not. Among other things, they let me wander around a lot in whatever city we were in, which I am not sure is entirely allowed. The general rule seemed to be that I was supposed to be with a guide all the time. But I had a lof of freedom.
I was blessed to have a great guide, too (that’s why I had as much freedom as I did), who took us to places that I don’t think are on the standard itinerary. For example, he took us here: the former American embassy that was taken over by students during the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It’s closed now—the US and Iran don’t have diplomatic relations—but you can still visit the outside, covered in this iconic artwork. This was the first stop on our tour. I admit it was a bit surreal. Although the Iranian Revolution and the taking hostage of 52 American diplomats for 444 days occurred when I was very young, the event looms large in my perception—and that of many Americans—of Iran. Indeed, it’s probably still the primary reason that the US and Iran do have such frayed relations and is the reason many Iranian in the United States frequently refer to themselves as Persian. For all the historical sites I saw, this one was probably the most relevant to my own day to day life.
Tower of Silence, Yazd, Iran, 2016
I’m not going to explain everything there is to explain about Zoroastrianism, but it’s fascinating. Suffice it to say that much of the dualistic thinking that appears in Western religion got its start in this religion in the 7th century BCE. Eventually it became the state religion of Persia. But one thing that didn’t quite catch on was their burial practices, or lack thereof. Instead of burying their dead, Zoroastrians left them in the open air. In Yazd, the dead were left in the Towers or S ilence. They are breathtaking, and a bit eerie. You can’t see and remains, but the site is still quite powerful. I took this shot standing in one tower, looking to the other.
Students at the Shāh Chérāgh Shrine, Shiraz, Iran 2016
Some of my favorite photos are of the young students at the Shāh Chérāgh shrine (Persian: شاه چراغ). I have about a dozen of these and hope to post more soon.
Interior of the Castle of Sar Yazd, Iran, 2016
I wish i would have framed this differently by getting the left edge of the doorway in the frame. This is the interior of Sar Yazd, a real life sand castle an hour outside of Yazd, Iran. I wrote more about in the caption for a previous photo, but It was built during the Sasanian Empire (224 to 651CE) as a fortress. Much of the interior is ruined, but this room and stair way was well preserved and probably restored .
Takht-e Soleymān, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, 2016
Takht-e Soleymān (Throne of Solomon) is fascinating for many reasons. Initially it was a at Sassanid -built Zoroastrian fire and water temple built on the edge of an ancient volcano crater now fed by a natural spring. After the Mongolian invasions it was used as summer retreat. But my favorite story is of how it got its current name. Solomon had never been there. But when Arabs in the 7th century, newly united through Islam, swept across the Iranian plateau, the care takers of the site claimed Solomon stayed there at some point. Solomon was an important profit for Muslims, and thus they spared the site. This little lie stuck for 1500 years.
Morning in Yazd, Iran, 2016
I had been listening to Marc Maron's podcast where he interviewed the photographer Larry Clark on the tour bus. Clark talked about how in many photos he liked to shoot into the light. Light in Yazd is very hard, and it seemed like shooting into it really captured the feel of the city. Motorcycles are everywhere, zipping through the narrow streets of the old city center. So I wanted to capture one with the minarets in the background.
Cuneiform Writing on a Brick at Chogha Zanbil
What’s amazing about Chogha Zanbil is not just it’s size and it’s age, but the small details of the construction. Many of the bricks have Middle Elamite writing in cuneiform script. It takes a while to find it, but when you do it’s very rewarding.
Chogha Zanbil, Chogha Zanbil Khuzestan province of Iran, 2016
Herding Sheep in NW Iran, 2016
Jameh Mosque of Isfahan
Jameh Mosque is massive, and contains many different styles of architecture within it. I could have spent hours here photographing .
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque and Naqsh-i Jahan Square. Isfahan, Iran, 2016
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is widely considered to be the most beautiful mosque in Iran, as I wrote about another photo of it .
Persepolis
This is Persepolis, probably the most famous site in Iran. It was the heart of what came to be called the Persian Empire, though this is actually composed of a few different dynasties and changed a lot over time.
Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, 2016
This is a a rather iconic shot of the interior of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan.
Sheikh Safi al-Din Shrine , Ardabil, Iran, 2016
I as lucky to have stumbled upon Sheikh Safi al-Din Shrine initially on my own at night. I was wandering around Ardabil as I usually was at night. I could only initially see the edges of it, but it conjured in my imagination an ancient time of caravansaries, camels, kingdoms in the desert, and Rumi. It was also my exposure to a major Safavid site, which is perfect as Sheikh Safi al-Din is the eponym of the Safavid Dynasty.
Foot Print at Chogha Zanbil, Khuzestan Province of Iran, 2016
Somebody stepped here 3000 years ago. It completely blows my mind.
An Old Caravanserai in Qazvin, Iran, 2016
I love scenes like this. The structure is most likely a ruined caravanserai , which I was told was about 200 years old by a man there. Caravanserais are basically inns and courtyards made for caravans travelling through the regions from the 5th Century BCE onward, until the invention of trucks I think! But this is how close the past is in Iran: it literally makes up the visible background in everyday life. And this particular structure isn’t even that old. Our guide when sometimes scoff at my request to stop at a bridge or some old ruin out in the desert, exclaiming “it’s only Qajar era!” In other words, it’s no more than 200 years old, as it lasted until 1925. (Fun fact: the official name of the area ruled by the Qajar Dynasty was called the “Sublime State of Persia.”) That’s practically brand new in Iran.
The Ceiling in Sheikh Safi al-Din Shrine , Ardabil, Iran, 2016
I was playing around a bit with higher ISO setting since the light was rather dim inside the shrine. It give it the grainy quality here, making it look a bit like a painting.
Statue in Persepolis, Iran, 2016
Students' Day Protest, Yazd, Iran, 2016
We were in Yazd for a holiday for students, which coincides with the anniversary of the seizing of the US embassy by students during the Iranian revolution of 1979. The kids get the day off of school, but they are expected to part in a parade that emphasizes Iran's historical opposition to what the religious side of government sees as US hegemony. The signs here are provided by the government. But the scene was actually quite jovial! We talked to many students, who knew we were from the US, and were very excited to talk with us.
Tea Field, Gilan Province, Iran, 2016
The Gilan Province is famous for it's tea. I took this from our hotel room outside of Fuman
