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(upbeat music)
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As a reporter, I've traveled around
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the Middle East for many years.
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It's an 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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its crises, and its 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 to explore the great
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historical and cultural significance
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of this part of the world,
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its ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations
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that have contributed so much to our own.
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(upbeat music)
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There's always something rather cozy about trains.
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Inside, everyone settles into a new life.
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It's a great place to meet people
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and find out more about other cultures.
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On the outside, too, the train gliding smoothly
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through the scenery is at home wherever it goes.
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While our societies continue to be built up
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around streets and roads,
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trains move out into the environment,
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deep into the heartland.
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Here in the 250,000 square kilometers
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of the great salt desert of Dasht-e Kavir,
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only a few red camels watch the trains go by.
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In the oasis of Kashan lies the garden of Fin.
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It's a beautiful example of the love
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that the Iranians have for the art of the garden,
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and in particular for cultivating roses,
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which originated in Persia or China.
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Spring is over.
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While in Tehran it was still cold enough for people
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to go skiing in the mountains, here in Kashan
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in the middle of the desert, it's already 40 degrees Celsius
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which helps us understand why water gardens
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like this one here in Fin Garden
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are considered a symbol of paradise in Persian culture.
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(serene music)
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The Muslim conquerors who came out of
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the vast Arabian deserts were amazed
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by these gardens when they invaded Iran
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under the Caliph Umar in the seventh century.
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They soon learned the techniques for creating
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water displays from the Persians,
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and took them to the farthest reaches
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of the Arab Empire, to Andalusia,
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where in Granada, one can still admire the elegance
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of the famous gardens in the Alhambra.
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(serene music)
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(upbeat drumming)
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We continue to make our way southeast
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across the great desert in order to find out more
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about one of the most fascinating elements
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in Iranian culture, Zoroastrianism.
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I have to admit that it's a religion
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that greatly intrigues me.
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In its initial form, Mazdaism, it has existed
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for thousands of years.
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It's this incredible religion,
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a mixture of east and west,
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and it revolves around the struggle
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between the good spirit, Spenta,
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and the evil spirit, Angra.
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Zoroastrians worship the sun, the source of all light,
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which is embodied in Ata, the sacred fire
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whose flame is kept burning day and night in the temples.
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Even though Zoroastrianism has been
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a monotheistic religion for over 2,000 years,
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its followers were persecuted as pagans
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by the Muslims after the Arabs conquered Persia
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in the year 642.
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Zoroastrians found refuge by going far out
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to the desert, or sometimes, up onto a cliff face
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like this one in Chak Chak,
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where, as the legend goes, an Iranian princess,
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the daughter of the last king of the Assassinate Dynasty,
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hid herself in order to continue practicing her faith.
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The name Chak Chak comes from the sound
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of the drops of water that seep out
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and fall from the wall of the cave
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which is now a sanctuary.
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(chanting)
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Thank you.
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There's something quite moving
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about seeing this ancient religion
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still being practiced today.
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It goes back at least 3,000, maybe even four or 5,000 years
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so even before the invention of writing.
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It began as Mazdaism, from the god Mazda,
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and later on in the sixth century BC,
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with the prophet Zarathustra, or Zoroaster,
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it became one of the first monotheistic religions.
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There are 40,000 Zoroastrians still living in Iran today.
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They're a tolerated minority in the Islamic Republic.
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(chanting)
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(water dripping)
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Does the water that flows out of the cliff
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and drips down from the rock have any special meaning
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in Zoroastrian worship?
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Yes, that's right.
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It's associated with the Chak Chak.
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Look behind you, you'll see a basin.
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The chak chak sound is always there.
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Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's softer.
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If you come during the noruse period,
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you'll see water flowing from all of these mountains.
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As far as we know, this chak chak sound
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has been going on for 1,400 years.
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That's why the Muslims gave it that name.
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We Zoroastrians call this place Pir-e Sabz,
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and it allows us to provide water to the entire region,
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the best and the healthiest water.
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But we don't know where this water comes from.
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Many people look at this dry, dry desert
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and they ask, how can there be so much water there?
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Is it a miracle?
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Not only does it never stop flowing,
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but it also meets the water needs of 1,000 to 3,000 people
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every single day.
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(chanting)
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There were three Zoroastrian magi
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who gained international fame.
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Their names are Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior.
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According to Marco Polo,
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they reigned over a small territory near Sevi,
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not far from the present day Tehran.
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According to the Bible, they follow a star to Bethlehem
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to worship the newborn Christ.
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What they did in fact was follow the old caravan route
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to the Mediterranean.
(chanting)
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Zoroastrian culture is linked in many ways
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to the Silk Road.
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For example, the Zoroastrians used musk
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for their purification rituals,
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which are an integral part of their religious practice.
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Musk is obtained from the gland of the small musk deer,
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which belongs to the family Moschidae,
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and lives in the high altitudes up in the Himalayas.
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It was regarded as a luxury perfume in ancient times,
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and it made the fortunes of caravaneers
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who imported it from Tibet to Yazd,
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which is still a stronghold of Zoroastrianism today.
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98% of the population in Iran is Muslim.
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However, Zoroastrian ideas and language
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have permeated Persian culture to such a point
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that they continue to be tolerated,
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and even celebrated, for example here in Yazd.
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As a result of its strategic location on the Silk Road,
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standing at the crossroads between India and Central Asia,
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Yazd became a very prosperous city.
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In his writings, Marco Polo express his admiration
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for the local crafts, and in particular,
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for the silks embroidered with gold.
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The merchants continued to perpetuate
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this tradition in Yazd, another ancient Persian custom
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that is still very popular here is the Zurkhaneh,
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literally the house of strength.
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(foreign language speaking)
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Thank you.
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Over the centuries, the training exercisers used
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by traditional wrestlers have become a sport in themselves.
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A very ritualized sport.
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The athletes called pahlevani or heroes
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work out together in a group, practicing in rhythm
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along with ritual songs and to the sound of a drum.
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The songs are both sacred and profane,
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alternating between verses by the great Persian poet Hafez
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and passages from the famous Iranian epic the Shahnameh.
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Currently, pahlevan rarely meet for wrestling matches,
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but they do train to music almost every day.
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The owner of the Zurkhaneh,
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who is a former champion himself, is also the drummer.
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He's known as the morshed, or the spiritual guide.
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(singing)
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(drumming)
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What is your role as the morshed,
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as the ritual master who plays the drum
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and leads the players?
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In the Zurkhaneh, the morshed
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is like a pillar.
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The morshed guides the athletes with his drumming
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and his songs.
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The poetic lyrics he sings
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help encourage and energize the athletes.
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What's the connection
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between your sport and the wrestling
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that's so popular here in Iran?
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The wrestlers practice the Zurkhaneh
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exercise as a warmup before the match.
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The Zurkhaneh exercises are preliminary to the pahlevani,
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the wrestling.
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Now, in terms of the moral
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and mystical meaning of the sport,
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the athletes must strive to attain a certain character.
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They must have good moral qualities,
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must be ethical so as to be a model for others
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in terms of principles and piety.
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A model of purity and virtue.
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All of the training
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is done in this little arena or pit.
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Why, what does it mean?
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The pit is sacred.
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It represents the modesty and humility
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of the ancient athletes in relation to those around them.
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The athletes are lower than the spectators,
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which means, I am inferior to you.
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I am humbled, both in terms of my sports activity
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and in my behavior.
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The pit also symbolizes the grave,
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which is its spiritual meaning.
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Every one of us is buried when we die.
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When our lives come to an end and we leave this world,
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we are buried deep down in a grave.
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So when we're down in this pit,
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much lower than everyone else, we always have that in mind,
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death and the grave.
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When we practice in the Zurkhaneh,
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there's a hierarchy.
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From the youngest to the oldest,
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from the beginning to the veteran,
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and the professional.
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The younger ones show respect to their elders.
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Those who have more knowledge, skills, and experience
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receive more deference and respect.
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You have drums
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and you have these dance exercises
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in which you spin round like certain Sufi dervishes.
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Is there a mystical aspect to your sport?
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Practicing the spinning exercises
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would enable a warrior armed with a sword or a mace
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to defend himself on all sides in a battle.
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By whirling around, he's able to keep
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his enemies away from him.
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From a mystical point of view,
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if we look at the spinning in the Zurkhaneh,
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it does not come from sufi turning.
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In the mystical philosophy of the Zurkhaneh exercises,
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we spin in a circle.
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We go from the edge to the center
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and when we get to the center we stop spinning.
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From the outer edges in towards the oneness,
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the unity, the symbol of rectitude.
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We turn around the horizon,
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and then encounter the greatness of the creator.
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Perpetuating an ancestral tradition like this
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in such a natural straightforward way
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is ultimately very Iranian.
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Another age old tradition that one comes across
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in almost every corner in Yazd is the wind catcher.
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This is a chimney device that funnels the breeze
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in order to ventilate and cool the inside
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of a house or a building.
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You might think this is just a picturesque old relic
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of days gone by, but in fact, not at all.
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It works very well.
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In spite of the sweltering heat in Yazd,
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ventilation system in these adobe houses
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makes them surprisingly comfortable,
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even at midday when everyone takes refuge inside.
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(calming music)
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Yazd is now the main center of Zoroastrianism in Iran.
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There are more than 40,000 fire worshipers
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in the country today and 30,000 of them live in Yazd.
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And to be exact, they don't actually worship fire.
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The flame is a symbol, and keeping it alive
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is like a form of prayer.
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The sacred fire in the great Zoroastrian temple
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Atashkadeh in Yazd has been burning continuously
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for 1500 years.
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As the priest, Merah Ben Afirin tells me.
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Right now as we talk, he's tending the fire, and in general,
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how have you kept this fire burning for 1500 years?
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A Zoroastrian priest comes and feeds the fire
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feeding the fire basically entails
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putting a piece of wood on the hearth
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four or five times a day to keep it going.
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It has to do with remembering the past.
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In the past, when people couldn't light their own fire,
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they would use fire from the temple,
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bringing it back to their homes to cook food
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and for other purposes.
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And so today in remembrance of that time,
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we keep this fire lit and we respect it.
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(chanting)
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We pray five times a day before the light.
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This light can be the light of a fire,
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or the light of the sun.
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We stand there before the light,
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which symbolizes clarity and purity,
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sincerity and truth, and we pray to one and unique god.
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So, is Zoroastrianism considered
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to be the oldest monotheistic religion in the world?
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Yes.
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Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world.
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After that came Christianity, Judaism, and finally Islam,
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which is the most recent.
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We are recognized by the Islamic Public of Iran,
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by the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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We have our own representative in Parliament.
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We live and worship freely in Iran.
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They respect us, and consider our religion
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to be one of the official religions of the country.
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In other words, after Islam,
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Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism
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are all religions of the book,
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and should all be respected.
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On the outskirts of Yazd
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stand the towers of silence.
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In order to avoid polluting the sky and the earth,
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Zoroastrians would leave the bodies of their deceased
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on top of these towers to be exposed to the sun
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and to vultures.
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Ideas move about freely, and may sometimes turn up
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in unexpected places.
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For example, Zoroastrian thought has inspired
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what has now become one of the most famous books
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in western philosophy, thus spoke Zarathustra,
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00:17:33,910 --> 00:17:36,610
written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.
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(calm music)
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Not far from Yazd lies another prosperous oasis Meybod.
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Its wealth comes from its soil, its clay,
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which was also used to build this enormous castle,
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Narin Qal'eh.
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It dates back to the era of the Medes empire,
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which began in the year 1000 BC.
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(string music)
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The abundance of clay in this area
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made the fortune of the city, and led to the development
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of a thriving pottery industry.
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Ceramics, earthenware and porcelain from Iran
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and in particular from Meybod,
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are famous throughout all of Asia.
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(string music)
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The ceramic formula, which is a mixture of marble powder
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and clay, comes from China,
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but the pottery making technique itself
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is an old Persian tradition.
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Combining the two together is emblematic
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of the cultural interweaving
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that takes place on the Silk Road.
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What's interesting here in Meybod
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is that the tradition is still flourishing.
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It's even gone industrial.
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To make beautiful translucent porcelain,
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the kalein base ceramic must be fired
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at a temperature of over 1200 degrees Celsius.
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Here, the painted designs are a mixture of motifs
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that come from the Mediterranean and others
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that come from China.
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The method for making porcelain
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was in fact invented by the Chinese around the year 1000.
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Iranian ceramics were very popular in Europe
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during the 19th century,
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but they could no longer be exported
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after trade sanctions were imposed on Iran
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due to its nuclear program.
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A peace agreement has recently been signed
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between Tehran, Washington, Moscow, and the other powers.
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The potters of Meybod, the modern day heirs
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to a timeless art are hoping that orders
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will start taking off again.
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Such is the impact of globalization
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even in the middle of the desert.
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We're now on our way to visit
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one of Iran's national treasures.
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In fact, we could even say its one of the jewels
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of Persian or even Arab Islamic culture as a whole.
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Isfahan, on the banks of the Zayandeh Rud,
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the life-giving river.
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The mythical city of Isfahan,
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already legendary at the time of the Silk Road,
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and on the hippy trail a few centuries later.
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This caravan city in the middle of the desert
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was in fact inhabited in Alexander the Great's time,
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but it didn't become the capital of the Persian empire
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until the 16th century, under Shah Abbas the Great.
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He decided to transform Isfahan
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into an architectural wonder, which gave rise to the saying
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Isfahan is half the world.
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(chanting)
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One could wander through the maze of bazaars,
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palaces and mosques in Isfahan for days,
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but its the central square, known as Naqsh-e Jahan,
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that made the reputation of this former capitol
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of the Saf Avid empire.
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The city's most beautiful monuments
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are erected around the perimeter of this massive square,
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which is an architectural theatricalization of royal power.
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Sheik Lotfollah Mosque was built in the 17th century
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with a very original design.
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There's no forecourt and the prayer hall
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00:21:34,630 --> 00:21:36,880
lies directly between the dome of the mosque.
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Sheik Lotfollah Mosque is especially known
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for its decoration for the lavish beauty of,
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among other things, its yellow onyx panels and glazed tiles.
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At the far end of the same monumental square,
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where polo matches were once played,
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stands the Great Shah Mosque.
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It was built in 1612 by Abbas the First,
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the great Sefhavid Emperor,
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who turned Isfahan into a symbol
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of the grandeur of Shia Islam.
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Practiced by a large majority of Iranians,
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this branch of Islam is called duodecimen Shiism,
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because it only recognizes the first 12 Imams as successors
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of the prophet Muhammad.
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Aesthetically, it's mind-blowing.
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00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,723
This mosque is an architectural miracle.
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I'm literally in awe.
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People talk about the Taj Mahal,
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but in terms of Islamic architecture,
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00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:52,230
I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful.
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00:22:52,230 --> 00:22:54,573
Maybe the Alhambra in Granada, I don't know.
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(chanting)
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00:23:01,660 --> 00:23:03,240
Now watch and listen.
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00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,590
Our friend Marsud is going to do an experiment.
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Alright, the sound.
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00:23:16,777 --> 00:23:20,793
Just now, I was talking about an architectural miracle.
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Listen.
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00:23:23,867 --> 00:23:25,717
The acoustics in here are astounding.
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This is where the muezzin would stand
424
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to perform the call to prayer.
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00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:33,589
Listen.
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(clapping)
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00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:36,960
It's unbelievable.
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(piano music)
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00:23:41,060 --> 00:23:43,300
Every Friday, the great mosque fills up with people,
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00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:44,790
and the large awning is restored
431
00:23:44,790 --> 00:23:46,130
to protect the crowds from the sun
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00:23:46,130 --> 00:23:47,380
during the weekly prayer.
433
00:23:49,090 --> 00:23:51,850
Today, the Shah Mosque is called the Ayatollah Homini mosque
434
00:23:51,850 --> 00:23:55,223
after that Imam who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979.
435
00:23:56,410 --> 00:23:58,760
Making Iran the largest theocracy in the world.
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00:23:59,995 --> 00:24:02,745
(soothing music)
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00:24:07,810 --> 00:24:10,610
The Iranians see the ancient imperial city of Isfahan
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00:24:10,610 --> 00:24:12,380
not so much as the city of mosques,
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00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:14,560
but rather, as the city of bridges.
440
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,500
There are two dozen bridges, with the most famous
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00:24:16,500 --> 00:24:19,770
being perhaps the Si-o-se-pol, with its 33 arches.
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00:24:19,770 --> 00:24:22,180
Historically, it separated the Iranian town
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00:24:22,180 --> 00:24:23,253
from the Jewish town.
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00:24:25,530 --> 00:24:27,940
In Isfahan, as in Tehran, it is to the bridges
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00:24:27,940 --> 00:24:29,604
that the city's inhabitants come to enjoy life
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00:24:29,604 --> 00:24:31,890
and its moments of leisure.
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00:24:31,890 --> 00:24:34,620
To play music, or eat pastries with family and friends,
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00:24:34,620 --> 00:24:38,563
to flirt or recite poems, to the soft melody of an ud.
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00:24:39,830 --> 00:24:42,770
Iran, so gentle, so subtle, so refined.
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What a discovery, what a surprise,
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00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,990
and what a delight this country was.
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00:24:46,990 --> 00:24:49,330
I can see why the merchants went off so willingly
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to join the caravans on the Silk Road
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00:24:51,530 --> 00:24:54,293
in order to travel through lands such as these.
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(string music)
35304
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