Finding My Social Bookmarking Soulmate

            Social bookmarking websites such as del.icio.us and Stumbledupon are online services that allow users to add, annotate, edit, and share bookmarks through web links. After signing up on del.icio.us, it took awhile getting use to the different features because I had never used a social bookmarking website. One feature I liked about del.icio.us was the tag bundle that allowed the user to sort their preferred tags by combining several related tags into a logical grouping. So, for instance, you might combine the tags “Persian Food”, “Music”, and “Farsi Language” into a bundle and call it “Persian Culture”. It doesn't change anything about the existing tags, but does allow you to create another level of hierarchy. When looking at your bookmarks, del.icio.us will show the bundle and all the tags grouped under it as a separate section. Another discovery engine I used to find my social bookmarking soul mate is Stumbledupon, which is a form of web search engine that finds and recommends web content to its users. Its features allow users to discover and rate web pages, photos, and videos that are personalized to their interests. What’s cool about this website is that when you sign up it asks you to checkmark topics that are of interest to the user and it finds web feeds that are linked to those topics. The topics I selected were food, music, language, and history. It was difficult to narrow the search to “Persian or Iranian” because there was not that many search results coming up. Even if topics did appear, the users had no common interests that I was looking for. Although I didn’t find my social bookmarking soul mate, I would recommend del.icio.us rather than Stumbledupon because it was easier to use and I found similar tags related to my blog topic. The basic tags that I used to highlight the topics that are relevant to my blog are “Persian Culture”, “Farsi Language”, “Iranian Revolution”, “Persian Celebrations”, and “Persian Food”. I found a website that was of useful content called Iranchamber.com. Iran Chamber Society is a well-organized and comprehensive online source of information on Iranian/Persian history, art and culture without any membership requirement to access the data. The Iran Chamber society is a non-partisan and non-profit organization with the aim to promote Iranian culture and history. The website is divided into three sections. The Art & Culture of Iran section offers a variety of fields to look at. Some of the fields include Language and Literature, Culture & Ceremonies, and Architectural and National Monuments. Other sections include a History of Iran and Iran’s guide. The History of Iran section is unique because it is set up in a chronological time line and you can select the era and learn about the history during that specific time period. The Iran’s guide section provides updated news on media, sport, currency, weather, provinces, and politics. Overall, the website that I found through the social bookmarking tool has showed that social bookmarking tools are helpful in finding topics of interest by narrowing your search terms by using tags. Unfortunately, the website did not provide how many members or followers are signed up. 

Persian Goodies

I thought it would be interesting to share with the audience about a specific Persian candy called Gaz. It is the traditional name of Persian nougat from the city of Esfahan, the third largest city of Iran. Growing up, I would always look forward to eating these during dessert and coffee time. When I was younger I would pronounce Gaz as gas, but as awkwardly as that may sound it actually tastes really sweet. For those who are unfamiliar with nougat, it is a family of confectioneries usually made with sugar, roasted nuts, and whipped egg whites. The type of nut found in Gaz is pistachio. When chewing into the nougat it has a unique candy texture, similar to taffy texture but not that stretchable. Gaz has a distinctive flavor, making it unique compared to European nougats because of the rosewater ingredient. The reason I brought this topic of discussion in my blog is to talk about something that I didn’t know about Gaz all these years. Basically, what I’m about to address is another ingredient found in Gaz that was disturbing to hear. Apparently it is a combination of sap coming from an angebin plant shrub that is in mixture with secretions from a tiny species of insects. After hearing this from my uncle and him actually bringing a box of these candies, I could barely swallow the candy. At first I couldn’t believe my uncle because he always jokes around but he was serious about traditional ingredients used to make Gaz. But good news he told me that the ingredients don’t follow the traditional method of making Gaz now. So I probably didn’t eat any insect/plant secretion that’s for sure. For Americans this may seem like some type of insect taboo, but for Persians this is their national candy and is fairly common among Middle Eastern countries bordering Iran.

Personally, my favorite Persian candy of all time has to be Sowhan, or Iranian saffron brittle. Sowhan is a flat sweet brittle made of pistachios and saffron. It is usually packaged in intricately designed tin cylinders. Best quality Sowhan could be found, especially in the city of Qom, north-central Iran. Unlike Gaz, Sowhan crumbles and leaves a chewy chunk stuck between your teeth and at the same time an enjoyable mix of flavors and textures. The process of making Sohan is fairly simple, boiling a mixture of water, sugar, milk, and corn flour until it becomes solid. So if you haven’t tried Gaz or Sowhan and you have a sweet tooth for candy I would highly recommend it. These candies are sold at your local Armenian/persian markets. 

~Nowruz~ The Persian New Year

I found it interesting to share a blog post that discusses Persian New Year, also known as Nowruz. The word Nowruz in Farsi translates to "The New Day" in the Solar Hijri calendar. It is celebrated on the day of the astronomical Northward equinox, which usually occurs on March 21 or the previous/following day depending on where it is observed. This is a common traditional celebration practiced by many Persian households.  Nowruz is an official holiday lasting for 13 days during which most national functions including schools are off and festivities take place. It proclaims the end of the winter and cold and the coming of spring. Persians have a spring-cleaning in their home for new events in the New Year. Nowruz is seen as a relic of ancient times, memories of old tales and epics, "a celebration of rebirth and rejuvenation". The dark has passed and the light of hope shines in people’s hearts. The night before Iranians celebrate the last Wednesday of the year as Chahārshanbe Suri, Sur meaning feast, party or festival in Persian. The tradition includes people going into the streets and alleys to make bonfires, and jump over them while singing the traditional songs. The fire is believed to burn out all the fear (yellowness) in their subconscious or their spirit, in preparation for New Year.

 Historically, Nowruz dates back many centuries ago. Historians trace it to pre-Islamic Iran. Some historians believe that there is a connection to Jamshid Shah Jam, one of the epic kings of Persia (Iran). Engravings on ancient tablets and monuments picture Archamenid kings celebrating Nowruz some two thousand and five hundred years ago. It was, therefore, a highly auspicious occasion for the ancient Iranian peoples. It has been suggested that the famous Persepolis complex, or at least the palace of Apadana and the Hundred Columns Hall, were built for the specific purpose of celebrating Nowruz.  It is remarkable that for many centuries of history Iranians have kept their ancient way of celebrating the New Year in Iran in the midst of Arab invasions and the conversion of the nation to Islam. The practice of Nowruz is a collection of many centuries of cultural influence. Haft-Seen or the seven 'S's is a traditional table setting for Nowruz. It is made up of seven symbols of life and the interaction of human beings with nature. These are visiting elders, giving gifts, special foods, house cleaning, wearing of new clothes, forgetting old grudges and embracing new things all make up different aspects of Nowruz. This is a celebration that all Persians look forward and like to preserve their ancient roots. Even though I am of Armenian descent, my relatives that recently came to America still practice traditional Iranian celebrations because they have become so enriched by Iranian culture that it becomes second nature. I remember growing up we would celebrate Nowruz and even start a small bonfire in our backyard and hop over the fire as a way to cleanse or start off the New Year.

The Shahs Take Turkey

 So the other day, I was watching Shahs of Sunset, a reality TV show that portrays a Persian cast living an extravagant lifestyle in Los Angeles.  The show consists of a mixture of Persian Jew/Muslim cast members that are well off. However, many of my friends of Persian descent complain that the show falsely portrays what the real Persian community is all about. Some were outraged by the obnoxious behavior and use of foul language that is just unacceptable in their community. Of the cast members on the TV show, the only member that I would describe as having a lot of pride and belief of Persian history would be Asa, a Persian pop priestess, who fled the country post Islamic Revolution as a refugee with her family. Countless times on the show, she would mention that she would never be able to go back to her homeland (Iran) because they would not allow you to leave the country once you are identified as a refugee. Instead, she had the opportunity to relive her past years by visiting Turkey to reunite with her family in Istanbul.  She states that this would be the first time in many years that she would be close to her native land and is able to see her relatives that have all grown up. One of the traditional practices seen throughout the show is when Asa meets her relatives and exchanges gifts for each of the family members as a sign of respect and reciprocity. What I found interesting was the gift that her great aunt brought, a bag filled with soil from Iran. Asa was very happy because for a brief moment she thought she was back home living her dreams. The soil symbolized a lot of the Persian history/culture that was left behind. During their trip to Istanbul it was very amusing that till this day men and women are not treated equally in the Middle East. This is seen when Asa and Reza (Asa's friend) enter the blue mosque, and told that only men are able to pray in the middle of the shrine and women are told to pray by the corners. Obviously, Asa was hurt by this rule and was offended by the fact that men have more authority than women. Even in Turkey the Sharia law or moral code still is practiced. For the members of the cast to witness women covered in black veils it led them to believe that women were still treated unfairly and were unable to wear clothes that didn’t require covering the whole body. Much hasn’t changed since the enactment of Sharia laws that undermined women’s position in society as well as the separation of sexes in public settings. I believe that there is still a long way ahead for equality to be universal among all societies.

Culture & Identity Among The Persian Community

Hello everyone, I will be blogging about how life overall
has drastically changed pre and post Iranian Revolution for a typical Persian
living in the U.S. As a Persian Armenian, I would like to know how life changed
for the first and second generation immigrants from Iran and how the Iranian
Revolution impacted this transition. The revolution was a turning point in the
political regime from monarchial rule to a theocratic Islamic republic. Both my
parents were born in Tehran, Iran and left before the revolution. I plan on
interviewing both my parents to understand the differences between gender roles
back home. I also have my grandparents from my mother’s side who witnessed the
horrendous events that took place during the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Leaving
behind the memories of the past, my family moved to the states and lived their
life without any previous restrictions. However, many of the cultural practices
that they were accustomed to back home are still imminent till this day. One of
the most important cultural aspects that I notice from my parents is speaking
Farsi with one another. When my parents don’t want anyone to understand what
they’re talking about they always speak in Farsi. And when they choose to talk
Farsi the setting always consists of having a cup of fine Persian tea,
preferably early grey. Another common trend I notice from my family members is
the separation of the sexes during big events. Men will be on one side playing
backgammon while the women are in the kitchen. This is not always the case, but
back home this was usually how the setting took place. One of my favorite
aspects of Persian culture is Persian food. There are a variety of dishes that
we prepare during special occasions for family gatherings, grand celebrations,
weddings, and birthdays. A popular Persian dish that I like a lot and is common
in Iran and in the U.S. is called Ghormeh sabzi it is a Persian herb stew. But
my all time favorite is Tah-dig; it’s rice that has a crusty layer that we
sometimes season with spices. Among Persians, Persian literature is important
because it teaches many important disciplines and morals. Many popular poetries
and artworks, such as calligraphy are preserved because Persians value their
history. As a social aspect of Persian culture, many young adults will spend
their late afternoons at local hookah bars, but majority of the people allowed are
men. I myself smoke hookah and this popular trend is not only practiced back
home but in the states as well. As I have mentioned throughout this blog,
Persian culture is widespread in the United States. Encompassing all aspects such
as religion, art, music, and history. Thus, I would like to discover if Persian
identity is still present in U.S. I also want to know how life has changed for
Persian immigrants “refugees”. Hopefully, I will be able to show others that
being part Persian has a lot to offer and not seen as demeaning or in any sense
sponsoring terrorism.