''Khorshid Karevan'' () is an Iranian play written by Mahdi Motevasseli from Fadak Cultural Institute started in 1990, played on scene for 29 consecutive years in Iran. The play has also been on scene in countries other than Iran including UK, UAE and the Netherlands. The popular religious theater in 2015 attracted 23000 spectators attending the performance in Tehran in

Milad tower The Milad Tower ( fa, برج میلاد ) (lit. Birth Tower), also known as the Tehran Tower ( ), is a multi-purpose tower in Tehran, Iran. It is the sixth-tallest tower and the 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world. It is located b ...

. It has been estimated that more than a million spectators in total have seen the performance over the past 26 years. The theater goes on scene in

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after R ...

and

Safar Ṣafar ( ar, صَفَر) also spelt as Safer in Turkish, is the second month of the lunar Islamic calendar. The Arabic word ''ṣafar'' means "travel, migration", corresponding to the pre-Islamic Arabian time period when muslims flee the oppr ...

in memory of

Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...

and its aftermath every year in Tehran and other cities in Iran. Hossein Mosafer Astaneh and Mahmoud Farhang has been the first and the second directors of the play respectively.

Cast

Anoushirvan Arjmand Anoushirvan Arjmand (‎; 19 October 1941 – 14 December 2014) was an Iranian actor, best known for his roles in films such as ''Duel'' (2004), '' Tardid'' (2009), and '' He Who Said No'' (2014). He also appeared in the television series '' ...

has been playing the role of the Christian Monk for 22 years until he died in 2014.

Jalil Farjad Jalil Farjad ( fa, جلیل فرجاد, was born 1951 in Marand, East Azerbaijan) is an Iranian theater, cinema and TV actor. Selected filmography * ''Cheshm o Cheragh'', 2016 * ''Rah Dar Ro'', 2011 * ''Cheshm-e Khoda'', 2010 * ''Mahfel-e X'' ...

replaced him in 2015. Keramat Roodsaz, Asadollah Babaii, Farhad BEsharati and Mahdi Amini are among the players for the last performance.

Synopsis

A Christian Monk with his junior student (Petros) discuss the actual reference of the names "Ilia", "Shebr" and "Shobair" mentioned in the holy book in a remote, worn-out church outside Levant where the

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

of Captives of Karbala along with Kufa army commander and soldiers reached the church. The soldiers discovers an ancient slate in the church that mentions the name of

Hussein Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "h ...

and damned his murderers and think that the Christian Monk and his student are connected to

somehow and get ready to kill them. Hereafter the night at the church sees a lot of dramatic events and emotional episodes where the story of

are being gradually told by the characters.

History of the play

The current form of play is inspired from the play named "Haiha't" written by Abu Basem Hayadaar. The play was on stage for the first time in 1990 and kept being performed every year during Muharram ceremonies in Iran.

References

External links

Khorshid Karevan in performance in 2015 in Takistan, Qazvin- part one.Pictures of the 2015 performance in Tehran
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203182214/http://www.farsnews.com/imgrep.php?nn=13940910000035 , date=2015-12-03 1990 plays Plays about religion Plays based on real people Persian-language plays