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(dramatic music)
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As a reporter, I've traveled the Middle East
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for many years.
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It's area that has always fascinated me,
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but in my work, I've mainly covered its war zones,
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it's crises, and it's tragedies.
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This journey, which takes me down the Silk Road
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in the footsteps of Marco Polo,
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gives me the opportunity of exploring
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the great historical and cultural significance
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of this part of the world
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it's ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations
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that have contributed so much to our own.
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(Persian music)
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One of the oldest empires in history, the Persian Empire
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has become the present day country of Iran.
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It's borders have often changed,
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but Iran's 18 million inhabitants now live in a country
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that is two and half times the size of France.
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It's a land of great contrasts,
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from its mountain ranges in the north
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to the deserts in the south
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that stretch all the way down the Persian Gulf.
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(truck engines revving)
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Tabriz, our enchanting gateway into Iran,
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situated at over 1,300 meters above sea level
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in the foothills of the Eynali Mountains.
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It's a city that teems with life
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and the intense activity
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of its more than two million inhabitants.
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The riches of this former caravan city
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rival those of Chian and Constantinople,
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so much so that for many centuries
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Tabriz was known as the Capital of the East.
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The key to Tabriz is business and trade.
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It's extraordinary covered bazaar
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is the driving force of the entire city.
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I've seen many souks and bazaars in my life,
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but quite frankly, I could never have imagined
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a place as colossal as this one.
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It's like a gigantic maze in which one could lose oneself
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for an entire day.
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But why do they have such an enormous bazaar?
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First of all because Tabriz
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was the Silk Road's nerve center in Iran,
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so for centuries this is where all of the goods converged.
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But there's another reason,
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which has to more with the weather.
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Most covered bazaars in the Middle East
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are designed to provide protection from the sun,
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but here the winters are so bitter,
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minus 10 or 20 for weeks on end,
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that it also has to provide protection from the cold.
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This huge bazaar covers 36 kilometers
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of narrow crowded alleyways, fabulous vaults,
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and caravanserais.
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In some areas it dates back to the 10th Century.
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Its surface is equal to 27 hectares.
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Exploring it is like visiting an open air museum
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that exhibits a little bit of everything,
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from the down right kitsch to the most exquisite items
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in a dazzling array of colors, sounds, smells,
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and above all good cheer.
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This sure is the Silk Road, everything's made in China.
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For a country in which women
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are not allowed to show their hair.
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(speaking foreign language)
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Yes this is definitely ginger.
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(speaking foreign language)
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This here is cinnamon
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and the Persian term (speaking foreign language)
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means Chinese bark.
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And in fact historically it did come from China,
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both cinnamon and ginger.
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Everyone has heard of the Silk Road.
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The popular expression was coined in the 19th Century
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by the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen.
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But another term, the Spice Route,
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has always given it a good run for its money
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and for a good reason.
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Spices from southern Asian certainly became over time
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one of the biggest items to be traded by the merchants
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and carried by the caravans along these roads.
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This is something that has always intrigued me
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at bazaars all over the world.
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In Europe you would never set up shop
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next to your competitor.
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While in Eastern bazaars in the same alleyway,
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there'll be eight Samovar sellers all next to each other.
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(Persian music)
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Now we're coming to the porcelain,
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porcelain, porcelain, porcelain.
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It may sound like a bit of a cliche,
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but except for one or two light bulbs
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it really feels like nothing has changed
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since Marco Polo's time.
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And even more so, because there are hardly any tourists.
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I think I've come across maybe five Westerners here all day.
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(many people talking in the background)
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Each section of the bazaar specializes in a specific item.
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Here we're in the caravanserai dedicated
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to the silk carpets of Tabriz,
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which are known all over the world
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for their fine craftsmanship and their elegance.
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The market that houses the carpet shops
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is thus one of the most beautiful sections
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in all of the bazaar.
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And Iran's historical monuments architect,
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Dr. Fehribuz Esmile is especially proud of it.
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Dr. Esmile, you're in charge of the restoration work
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on this bazaar.
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Can you tell us about its history?
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Why is it so big?
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Many travelers have mentioned this bazaar
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in their writings at different times in history.
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One of the most famous travelers who wrote about this bazaar
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was Marco Polo.
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He talks about the Tabriz Bazaar,
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the abundance of its goods
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and all of the wonderful spaces that one can find in it.
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Since Tabriz was at the time the capital of the empire,
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it was also the central point of the Silk Road in Iran.
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Not present day Iran, but ancient Iran,
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which was a huge empire and which included countries
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such as Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan,
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Afghanistan, Iraq, and part of Turkey.
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In other words we can say that Tabriz was the commercial hub
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between those countries.
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(Persian music)
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Many travelers who visited this bazaar
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told people to be careful not to lose their way
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in this labyrinth, because if you don't pay attention
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you could get lost, it's so big.
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You mention the word labyrinth,
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yet for example in the department stores in Paris,
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the marketing people create artificial labyrinths
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on purpose so that people get lost
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and then buy things they weren't planning to buy.
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Do you think that here in Tabriz, people in the middle ages
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had already thought of something like that,
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or is it just coincidence?
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Knowing how smart the people of Tabriz are,
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they probably did.
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Well there's something that's always intrigued me
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about these bazaars, as compared to Western style stores,
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here you have all of the competitors grouped together
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selling the same thing side by side.
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I was in aisle over there
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with 10 guys selling Samovar side by side.
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In this section, they're all selling carpets.
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Why does everyone set up shop next to their competitors?
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I completely agree with you.
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On feature of Iranian bazaars
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and it's been this way for a thousand years
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is that the Iranians understood
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that it was necessary to sell the same goods
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in the same place and to create trade guilds.
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The guilds certainly have something to do with it,
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but the Iranian concept of ta'arof
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or etiquette must also play a role.
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According to this legendary art of politeness,
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a vendor will never solicit a customer
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who stops in front of a neighbor stand.
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Moreover, the trade guilds fix their own
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selling prices beforehand, so as to keep the market stable.
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A rather opaque system which however,
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has been used for centuries.
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Most of the merchants here in the bazaar
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have owned their shops for many years.
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They were passed down to them
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by their fathers and grandfathers.
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That's one of the reasons why these shop owners
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care so much about this bazaar
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and they've been helping us with the restoration work
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for many years now.
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(calming Persian music)
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What renovations are you especially proud
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of in this bazaar?
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What do you consider to be some
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of your major accomplishments here?
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I'm very touched by your question.
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I think that just living and working here is a great honor
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and this place always makes me proud.
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But what we've been able to accomplish in this bazaar
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myself, my friends and the people who work with me,
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is in fact nothing compared to the bazaar itself.
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Three years ago, we received one of the biggest awards
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given in our profession, for restoring the Tabriz Bazaar.
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What it shows is that the people who are involved
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in the restoration work here, are highly professional
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and worthy of this place.
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I noticed that you drink your tea in a special way
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with a sugar cube, can you show me how you do it?
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Yes of course.
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I take one of the sugar cubes, dunk it
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and I stick it here.
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So instead of sweetening the tea you sweeten the mouth
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and then put the tea inside.
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Right.
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(speaking foreign language)
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(Persian music)
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Marco Polo calls the city Tauriz,
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he writes that the men here make their living
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from trade and handy crafts,
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which are mainly related to the production of textiles.
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They weave many kinds of beautiful
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and valuable stuffs of silk and gold.
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(dramatic music)
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Over the centuries, because of it's wealth,
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Tabriz was often the target of plunderers.
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The Mongol hoards practically destroyed the city
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before they took it over.
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Their reign began in 1229.
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This imposing citadel is one of the monumental remains
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that date back to the Ilkhanate Dynasty
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founded by the descendants of Genghis Khan.
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Built to be a mausoleum it was later turned
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into a defensive structure.
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These walls are 10 meters thick.
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That gives you an idea of the size of the mosque
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which became a citadel built by the Ilkhanates
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the kings descended from Genghis Khan,
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who ruled over Persia.
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Their massive citadel however,
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did not stop Tabriz from being captured and recaptured
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over the centuries, until the Russians invaded the city
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in the early 19th century and made Persia sign a treaty
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which forced it to cede several
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of its northern provinces including Georgia and Armenia.
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We can in fact, still see the marks
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left by the cannonballs when the Russians attacked
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the city in 1826 and 1911.
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But it would've taken much more to bring down
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this stronghold which is nearly 50 meters high.
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(dramatic music)
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Tabriz is the epitome of multiethnic city.
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Marco Polo wrote about it in his account,
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there are Armenians, Nestorians, Georgians and Persians.
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There are also worshipers of Mahomet,
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these latter are the inhabitants of the city
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and are called Taurisians.
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Today the majority of the city's population is Azeri.
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They speak a variant of the Turkish language.
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But as we stroll among its streets,
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we come upon a thousand little signs that points
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to the rich diversity of cultures
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that contributed so significantly
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to the splenda of imperial Persia.
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For example, Armenian culture is still
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very much alive in Tabriz.
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I wanted to find out what remained of this community
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36 years after the founding of the Islamic Republic.
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So I went to the house of the Armenian Quarter,
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located around Saint Mary's Church.
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(speaking foreign language)
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How are you?
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(speaking foreign language)
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Historically, the Armenian's were some
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of the biggest organizers of caravans.
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They were very active on the Silk Road,
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where they were often in charge of security.
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The famous Armenian churches around Tabriz
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are described in the travels of Marco Polo,
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including the illustrious Saint John's,
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which was later destroyed by earthquakes.
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A handful of churches are still standing today,
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including Saint Mary's, which dates from the 18th century.
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00:13:31,910 --> 00:13:33,150
There are still several thousand
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00:13:33,150 --> 00:13:35,480
Armenian families living in Tabriz.
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Almost all are involved in the retail trade.
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The city still has six churches with active congregations.
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In fact, the eastern most Christian community
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along the old caravan route is now found in Tabriz.
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(dramatic music)
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I wanted to ask the Armenians in Tabriz
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what it was like for a religious minorities
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living in Iran today.
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Two representatives of the community, Karen Sarkissian,
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an archeologist, who's also a children's toy shop manager
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00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:10,740
and Narine Sayadian, a school teacher,
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very graciously welcomed me.
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But why does Marco Polo talk so much about the Armenians
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00:14:15,820 --> 00:14:18,240
and on the Silk Road, what role did the Armenians
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play historically?
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00:14:21,100 --> 00:14:23,609
At the time, the Armenians were generally involved
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in trade, most of them were merchants
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00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,230
and they traveled frequently to Europe,
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00:14:28,230 --> 00:14:31,073
especially in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries.
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00:14:32,670 --> 00:14:36,980
After the 16th century, the Safavid ruler Shah Abbas
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00:14:36,980 --> 00:14:40,030
made more than 300,000 Armenians migrate from
291
00:14:40,030 --> 00:14:42,860
Armenia to Isfahan, so that they number
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00:14:42,860 --> 00:14:45,050
of Armenians in Iran suddenly increased
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00:14:45,050 --> 00:14:46,640
in the early 17th century.
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00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,130
Some of those Armenians stayed in Julfar
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00:14:49,130 --> 00:14:52,883
others went to live in Shiraz, Hamadan, Tehran and Tabriz.
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00:14:54,090 --> 00:14:55,340
Over the next four centuries,
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they continued to migrate in increasing numbers to Iran
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00:14:58,650 --> 00:15:01,720
and that's why the Armenian population continued to grow.
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00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:03,690
And this, of course, influenced trade, industry,
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00:15:03,690 --> 00:15:06,500
and art in the area because many Armenians were
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00:15:06,500 --> 00:15:08,560
craftsman or artists.
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00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,590
And so we can say that the Armenians of Iran
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00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:14,970
were pioneers in many industrial and artistic fields,
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00:15:14,970 --> 00:15:16,920
for example, in theater, in painting,
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00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:18,123
in the film industry.
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00:15:20,494 --> 00:15:22,110
And nowadays, anywhere in the country,
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00:15:22,110 --> 00:15:23,998
whenever there is a reference to our Armenians,
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00:15:23,998 --> 00:15:26,550
it often has to do with recognizing their arts
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00:15:26,550 --> 00:15:29,350
and their skills, which are highly regarded by everyone.
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00:15:30,370 --> 00:15:32,550
There's now, once again, an Armenian homeland
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00:15:32,550 --> 00:15:33,977
in the country of Armenia.
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00:15:33,977 --> 00:15:36,220
Are you tempted to go and live there
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00:15:36,220 --> 00:15:38,610
or are there good reasons to remain in the diaspora
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00:15:38,610 --> 00:15:39,873
here in Iran for example?
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00:15:41,260 --> 00:15:42,344
I'd like to ask Narine
316
00:15:42,344 --> 00:15:44,544
since she represents the younger generation.
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00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,880
I was born in Iran, my families roots are in Iran.
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00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:54,300
In other words, my father and my grandparents
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00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,860
were born here, just like me.
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00:15:56,860 --> 00:15:58,053
And our roots are here.
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00:16:00,830 --> 00:16:03,360
It's true that Armenia is the land of our ancestors
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00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,763
and I do sincerely love it with all my heart.
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00:16:08,490 --> 00:16:10,110
But since we can freely practice
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00:16:10,110 --> 00:16:13,710
all of our religious activities here without any problem,
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00:16:13,710 --> 00:16:16,303
in other words, in Iran we're allowed to enjoy
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00:16:16,303 --> 00:16:18,440
all of those benefits.
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00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,863
We have our own establishments, our own gyms,
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00:16:22,700 --> 00:16:24,573
so we don't feel like outsiders.
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00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:32,320
We feel at home in Iran, in Tabriz.
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00:16:32,430 --> 00:16:33,500
You say that tolerance
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00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:35,590
and religious freedom exists here in Iran.
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00:16:35,590 --> 00:16:38,010
But how, as a teacher, do you explain to the girls
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00:16:38,010 --> 00:16:40,170
in your classes, who are Armenians,
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00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:43,390
in an Armenian school, that they have to wear a veil?
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00:16:43,390 --> 00:16:45,870
If they were in Armenia, but not only, in Iraq
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00:16:45,870 --> 00:16:48,230
or Syria as well, they wouldn't have to wear a veil
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00:16:48,230 --> 00:16:49,913
nowadays, how do you explain it?
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00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,730
In terms of how we dress, as an Iranian woman,
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00:16:58,730 --> 00:17:00,903
one of the laws of the Islamic Republic is
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00:17:00,903 --> 00:17:04,580
that girls from the age of 10 must wear the hijab,
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00:17:04,580 --> 00:17:07,033
the veil, they must cover themselves.
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00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:09,475
Since we have always lived here,
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00:17:09,475 --> 00:17:12,420
and have thus grown up with these customs,
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00:17:12,420 --> 00:17:14,903
wearing the veil seems very normal to us.
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00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:20,150
We're used to wearing the veil outside of the house,
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00:17:20,150 --> 00:17:22,863
whether at school or at the university.
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00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,010
But when we're in our own establishments,
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00:17:27,010 --> 00:17:29,433
in our own circles, we're free
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00:17:29,433 --> 00:17:31,500
and there's no obligation to cover our hair
350
00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:32,793
or to wear a coat.
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00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,863
Amongst ourselves, we're completely free.
352
00:17:39,020 --> 00:17:42,913
We can walk around freely, let down our hair, wear makeup.
353
00:17:44,420 --> 00:17:47,510
Girls and boys are allowed to mingle, to play together,
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00:17:47,510 --> 00:17:49,463
to play basketball or ping pong.
355
00:17:50,850 --> 00:17:53,860
We can sit together in cafes, talk about anything,
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00:17:53,860 --> 00:17:55,160
there are no restrictions.
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00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:59,830
But outside of our own establishments,
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we have to respect the Islamic law.
359
00:18:06,170 --> 00:18:07,700
The writer Nicolas Bouvier lived for
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00:18:07,700 --> 00:18:10,530
several long winter months in this Armenistan area
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00:18:10,530 --> 00:18:12,423
of Tabriz in the early 1950s.
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00:18:13,836 --> 00:18:15,480
He describes his travels along the Silk Road,
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00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,607
in what has since become a cult book entitled,
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00:18:17,607 --> 00:18:18,767
"The Way of the World."
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00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,960
Over the centuries, Tabriz was chosen several times
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00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:26,840
to be the capital of the Persian empire,
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00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:28,840
or at least the capital for the local dynasties,
368
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:31,748
for example, during the reign of the Qara Qoyunlu,
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00:18:31,748 --> 00:18:34,598
the Timurid Turkman who are the descendants of Tamerlane.
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00:18:37,196 --> 00:18:39,090
The famous blue mosque of Tabriz was built
371
00:18:39,090 --> 00:18:42,387
under their dynasty in the middle of the 15th century.
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00:18:42,387 --> 00:18:45,054
(calming music)
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00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:53,820
Perhaps they wanted to build this
374
00:18:53,820 --> 00:18:55,900
masterpiece of architectural elegance,
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00:18:55,900 --> 00:18:58,260
in order to make up for the terrible destruction
376
00:18:58,260 --> 00:19:01,630
brought by Timur and his Tamerlane, the fearsome conqueror,
377
00:19:01,630 --> 00:19:04,770
who raised and slaughtered his way across Asia.
378
00:19:04,770 --> 00:19:06,920
This Blue Mosque, which is famous throughout the East
379
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:07,970
for it's mosaics
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00:19:07,970 --> 00:19:11,470
prefigures the architectural splendors of the Persian style.
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00:19:11,470 --> 00:19:13,013
The style of Shia-Islam.
382
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,770
The Shiite minority represents approximately 10 percent
383
00:19:16,770 --> 00:19:19,283
of the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world.
384
00:19:21,780 --> 00:19:22,890
Unlike the Sunnis,
385
00:19:22,890 --> 00:19:25,660
the Shiites have an institutionalized clergy
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00:19:25,660 --> 00:19:27,220
and are especially devoted to Ali,
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00:19:27,220 --> 00:19:29,170
the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad.
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00:19:42,139 --> 00:19:44,806
(calming music)
389
00:19:49,910 --> 00:19:51,690
Controlling a section of the Silk Road
390
00:19:51,690 --> 00:19:53,910
is a profitable business providing a guaranteed
391
00:19:53,910 --> 00:19:56,130
income from duties and taxes.
392
00:19:56,130 --> 00:19:58,560
However in return, the safety of the merchants
393
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,290
passing through had to be ensured,
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00:20:00,290 --> 00:20:02,700
which lead to the creation of caravansarais,
395
00:20:02,700 --> 00:20:05,908
literally caravan palaces in the Persian language.
396
00:20:05,908 --> 00:20:08,575
(calming music)
397
00:20:20,759 --> 00:20:23,040
(hands clapping)
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I'm clapping my hands just in case,
399
00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:26,940
because it's very green here and there's water,
400
00:20:26,940 --> 00:20:28,220
so it's exactly the kind of place
401
00:20:28,220 --> 00:20:30,520
where snakes might be hiding out.
402
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,598
Other than that, it's gorgeous.
403
00:20:32,598 --> 00:20:35,265
(calming music)
404
00:20:41,660 --> 00:20:43,000
What's astonishing about Iran
405
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,530
is that you're always coming upon something
406
00:20:44,530 --> 00:20:45,800
totally unexpected.
407
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,300
We're in the middle of a completely arid landscape
408
00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:49,863
and then we come to a little valley
409
00:20:49,863 --> 00:20:53,460
and there you find its typical qanat system of irrigation
410
00:20:53,460 --> 00:20:56,490
that creates a little green oasis full of fields.
411
00:20:56,490 --> 00:20:57,670
And on the edge of the fields,
412
00:20:57,670 --> 00:20:59,343
there are huge wild rose bushes.
413
00:21:00,690 --> 00:21:02,040
They may not look like the kind of roses
414
00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:02,930
we're used to seeing,
415
00:21:02,930 --> 00:21:05,093
but the scent of roses is just amazing.
416
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:11,070
The qanats or irrigation canals invented by the Persians
417
00:21:11,070 --> 00:21:14,070
3,000 years ago, are still maintained with great care,
418
00:21:14,070 --> 00:21:16,920
because the most precious resource in this area is water.
419
00:21:18,830 --> 00:21:21,030
In these tiny villages out in the middle of nowhere,
420
00:21:21,030 --> 00:21:22,083
life is tough.
421
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,360
There's only one old Turkman farmer
422
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:27,140
who lives here all year long.
423
00:21:27,140 --> 00:21:29,370
He is with his sickle, the guardian of tradition,
424
00:21:29,370 --> 00:21:30,420
the last of his kind.
425
00:21:31,645 --> 00:21:34,395
(cheerful music)
426
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,503
Jamal Abad is a typical example of the old caravansarais.
427
00:21:47,740 --> 00:21:49,170
The history of this passive trade
428
00:21:49,170 --> 00:21:51,170
goes back to the Achaemenid Dynasty
429
00:21:51,170 --> 00:21:54,750
which rules this entire part of Asia 23 Centuries ago
430
00:21:54,750 --> 00:21:57,400
until Alexander the Great vanquished Darius,
431
00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,400
the King of Kings of the Persian Empire.
432
00:22:00,780 --> 00:22:02,580
The Greek historian Herodotus
433
00:22:02,580 --> 00:22:04,440
tells us that the Achaemenid emperors
434
00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:09,090
built 111 caravansarais along a 2,500 kilometer stretch
435
00:22:09,090 --> 00:22:11,030
of the ancient caravan route
436
00:22:11,030 --> 00:22:13,080
that would go on to become the Silk Road.
437
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,950
(dramatic music)
438
00:22:23,515 --> 00:22:26,260
You can see the traditional caravansarai layout here.
439
00:22:26,260 --> 00:22:29,083
A large courtyard enclosed on three sides by blind walls,
440
00:22:29,083 --> 00:22:32,050
with a big entrance on one of the sides.
441
00:22:32,050 --> 00:22:33,950
In the middle was the water system.
442
00:22:33,950 --> 00:22:36,135
And well here we have the old system on the left
443
00:22:36,135 --> 00:22:38,197
and then the modern system on the right.
444
00:22:38,197 --> 00:22:41,420
And all around were the alcoves, the merchant's lodgings
445
00:22:41,420 --> 00:22:42,750
and then behind you had the stables
446
00:22:42,750 --> 00:22:44,000
for the horses or camels.
447
00:22:47,460 --> 00:22:50,010
What is quite striking is the simple symmetry of the lines
448
00:22:50,010 --> 00:22:51,610
in such a functional building,
449
00:22:51,610 --> 00:22:54,020
as well as how cool it is inside.
450
00:22:54,020 --> 00:22:56,830
It's almost as if Plato's Theory of Ideal Forms
451
00:22:56,830 --> 00:22:58,470
were embodied in this structure,
452
00:22:58,470 --> 00:23:00,640
which harmoniously combines the beautiful,
453
00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:01,790
the good, and the true.
454
00:23:02,671 --> 00:23:05,338
(calming music)
455
00:23:15,940 --> 00:23:17,330
Far out in the middle of the steppe
456
00:23:17,330 --> 00:23:19,620
lies the little town of Soltanieh
457
00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:21,070
and the reason the Mongol Conquerors
458
00:23:21,070 --> 00:23:24,010
chose it to be their capital, might seem rather surprising.
459
00:23:24,010 --> 00:23:25,373
It was for its grass.
460
00:23:26,790 --> 00:23:29,140
But we must remember that these nomadic warriors
461
00:23:29,140 --> 00:23:30,950
relied heavily on their cavalry,
462
00:23:30,950 --> 00:23:32,770
and so they needed good pastureland
463
00:23:32,770 --> 00:23:34,683
to feed their thousands of horses.
464
00:23:35,950 --> 00:23:37,960
It was the Mongol Il-khan Oljeitu
465
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:41,200
who started building this mausoleum here in 1302.
466
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,460
He wanted it to be a shrine for the remains of Ali,
467
00:23:43,460 --> 00:23:45,570
the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammad
468
00:23:45,570 --> 00:23:48,130
and the holiest figure in Shia Islam.
469
00:23:48,130 --> 00:23:50,230
Its size and ornamentation, would make it
470
00:23:50,230 --> 00:23:52,270
the most exceptional monument of its time.
471
00:23:52,270 --> 00:23:55,040
But Ali's ashes never came to Soltanieh.
472
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,340
They remained in Iraq, in Najaf,
473
00:23:57,340 --> 00:23:59,660
where they can still be found today.
474
00:23:59,660 --> 00:24:02,673
So Oljeitu decided to make this edifice his own tomb.
475
00:24:04,950 --> 00:24:07,800
It's one of the oldest double shell domes in the world,
476
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:09,340
along with the Duomo in France
477
00:24:09,340 --> 00:24:10,940
and the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
478
00:24:11,810 --> 00:24:14,722
This mausoleum with its incredibly audacious architecture
479
00:24:14,722 --> 00:24:16,823
is said to have inspired the Taj Mahal.
480
00:24:17,776 --> 00:24:21,000
(Persian music)
481
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,740
The craftsman who worked on the mosaics
482
00:24:22,740 --> 00:24:25,320
in this mausoleum used two different techniques.
483
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:26,610
The first, which we can see here,
484
00:24:26,610 --> 00:24:29,210
is a little like stained technique,
485
00:24:29,210 --> 00:24:31,340
cutting out shapes that were then pasted together
486
00:24:31,340 --> 00:24:32,340
to create a pattern.
487
00:24:33,690 --> 00:24:35,910
The second technique up here, which is faster,
488
00:24:35,910 --> 00:24:38,360
consisted of painting directly on to the ceramic.
489
00:24:39,257 --> 00:24:41,924
(Persian music)
490
00:24:50,330 --> 00:24:52,080
If Ali's ashes had been moved here,
491
00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,260
a huge city would have undoubtedly sprung up
492
00:24:54,260 --> 00:24:57,730
and taken over these meadows and fields around Soltanieh.
493
00:24:57,730 --> 00:25:01,460
Instead it ended up being all but forgotten by the world.
494
00:25:01,460 --> 00:25:05,010
But in 2005, the sleepy little town on the old Silk Road
495
00:25:05,010 --> 00:25:07,030
finally had the immense satisfaction
496
00:25:07,030 --> 00:25:08,820
of seeing its mausoleum designated
497
00:25:08,820 --> 00:25:10,323
as a World Heritage Site.
498
00:25:13,186 --> 00:25:15,853
(Persian music)
39288
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