Ālī Qāpū
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Ālī Qāpū
Ali Qapu (, ''‘Ālī Qāpū'')(lit: "Grand Gate") is an imperial palace in Isfahan, Iran. It is located on the western side of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, opposite to the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, and had been originally designed as a vast portal entrance to the grand palace which stretched from Naqsh-e Jahan Square to Chaharbagh, Isfahan, Chaharbagh Boulevard. UNESCO inscribed the Palace and the Square as a World Heritage Site due to their cultural and historical importance. The palace is forty-eight meters high and there are six floors, each accessible by a difficult spiral staircase. In the sixth floor, Music Hall, deep circular niches are found in the walls, having not only aesthetic value, but also acoustic. Ali Qapu is regarded as the best example of Safavid art, Safavid architecture and a symbol of Iran's Islamic heritage. The name Ali Qapu, from Persian language, Persian ''‘Ālī'' (meaning "imperial" or "great"), and Azerbaijani language, Azerbaijani ''Qāpū'' (mean ...
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Golden Hour (photography)
In photography, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and hard and soft light, softer than when the sun is higher in the sky. The golden hour is also sometimes called the magic hour, especially by cinematographers and photographers. During these times, the brightness of the sky matches the brightness of streetlights, signs, car headlights and lit windows. The period of time shortly before the magic hour at sunrise, or after it at sunset, is called the "blue hour". This is when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon, when residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade, and there are no sharp shadows because the sun either has not risen, or has already set. Details When the sun is low above the horizon, sunlight rays must penetrate the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere for a air mass (astronomy), greater distance, Extinction (astronomy)#Atmospheric extinction, reducing the in ...
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Azerbaijani Language
Azerbaijani ( ; , , ) or Azeri ( ), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (, , ), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language from the Oghuz languages, Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan, where the North Azerbaijani Variety (linguistics), variety is spoken, while Iranian Azerbaijanis in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of Iran, speak the South Azerbaijani Variety (linguistics), variety. Azerbaijani is the only official language in the Republic of Azerbaijan and one of the 14 official languages of Dagestan (a Federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia), but it does not have official status in Iran, where the majority of Iranian Azerbaijanis, Iranian Azerbaijani people live. Azerbaijani is also spoken to lesser varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia (country), Georgia and Turkey and by Azerbaijani diaspora, diaspora communi ...
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Arabic Language
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language, third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the Sacred language, liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the wo ...
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Iranian Rial
The rial (; symbol: ; abbreviation: Rl (singular) and Rls (plural) or IR in Latin; ISO code: IRR) is the official currency of Iran. It is subdivided into 100 dinars, but due to the rial's low purchasing power the dinar is not practically used. While POS terminals are in use in Iran, the country does not participate in any of the major international card networks due to sanctions between it and the United States. Travelers are instead advised to load money onto a local prepaid card account. There is no official symbol for the currency but the Iranian standard ISIRI 820 defined a symbol for use on typewriters (mentioning that it is an invention of the standards committee itself) and the two Iranian standards ISIRI 2900 and ISIRI 3342 define a character code to be used for it. The Unicode Standard has a compatibility character defined . History The rial was first introduced in 1798 as a coin worth 1,250 dinars or one-eighth of a '' toman''. In 1825, the rial ceased to be issue ...
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Obverse And Reverse
The obverse and reverse are the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''obverse'' means the front face of the object and ''reverse'' means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called ''heads'', because it often depicts the head of a prominent person, and the reverse ''tails''. In numismatics, the abbreviation ''obv.'' is used for ''obverse'',David Sear. ''Greek Imperial Coins and Their Values.'' Spink Books, 1982. p. xxxv. while , )(Jonathan Edwards. ''Catalogue of the Greek and Roman Coins in the Numismatic Collection of Yale College, Volume 2.'' Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1880. p. 228. and ''rev.''Allen G. Berman. ''Warman's Coins And Paper Money: Identification and Price Guide.'' Penguin, 2008. are used for ''reverse''. Vexillologists use the symbols "normal" for the obverse and "reverse" for the reverse ...
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Polo
Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient Iran, dating back over 2,000 years. Initially played by Persian nobility as a training exercise for cavalry units, polo eventually spread to other parts of the world. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ball through the opposing team's goal. Each team has four mounted riders, and the game usually lasts one to two hours, divided into periods called ''chukkas'' or ''chukkers.'' Polo has been called "The Sport of Kings" and has become a spectator sport for equestrians and high society, often supported by sponsorship. The progenitor of polo and its variants existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century AD, as an equestrian game played by the Ira ...
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Chovgan
Chovgan, Chowgan or Chogan () is a team sport with horses that originated in ancient History of Iran, Iran (Name of Iran, Persia). It was considered an aristocratic game and held in a separate field, on specially trained horses. The game was widespread among the Asian peoples. It is played in Iran, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It was later adopted in the Western World, known today as polo. History Chovgan originated in ancient Iran and was a Persian national sport played extensively by the nobility. Women played Chovgan as well as men. Chovgan originated in the middle of the first millennium Anno Domini, A.D., as a team game. It was popular during the centuries in the Middle East. Fragments of the game were periodically portrayed in ancient miniatures, and detailed descriptions and rules of the game were also given in the ancient manuscripts. Chogān is an Iranian traditional horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling. It has a history of over 2,000 year ...
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Abbas II Of Persia
Abbas II (; born Soltan Mohammad Mirza; 30 August 1632 – 26 October 1666) was the seventh Shah of Safavid Iran, ruling from 1642 to 1666. As the eldest son of Safi and his Circassian wife, Anna Khanum, he inherited the throne when he was nine, and had to rely on a regency led by Saru Taqi, the erstwhile grand vizier of his father, to govern in his place. During the regency, Abbas received formal kingly education that, until then, he had been denied. In 1645, at age fifteen, he was able to remove Saru Taqi from power, and after purging the bureaucracy ranks, asserted his authority over his court and began his absolute rule. Abbas II's reign was marked by peace and progress. He intentionally avoided a war with the Ottoman Empire and his relations with the Uzbeks in the east were friendly. He enhanced his reputation as a military commander by leading his army during the war with the Mughal Empire and successfully recovering the city of Kandahar. At his behest, Rostom Khan, ...
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Naser Al-Din Shah Qajar
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (; ; 17 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. During his rule there was internal pressure from the people of Iran, as well as external pressure from the British empire and the Russian empire. He granted many concessions, most importantly the Reuter concession and the Tobacco concession. He allowed the establishment of newspapers in the country and made use of modern forms of technology such as telegraph, photography and also planned concessions for railways and irrigation works. Despite his modernizing reforms on education, his tax reforms were abused by people in power, and the government was viewed as corrupt and unable to protect commoners from abuse by the upper classes which led to increasing anti-governmental sentiments. He was assassinated when visiting a shrine in Rayy near Tehran. He was the first modern Iranian monarch who formally visited Europe and wrote of ...
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Soltan Hoseyn
Soltan Hoseyn (; 1668 – 9 September 1727) was the Safavid shah of Iran from 1694 to 1722. He was the son and successor of Shah Suleiman (). Born and raised in the royal harem, Soltan Hoseyn ascended the throne with limited life experience and more or less no expertise in the affairs of the country. He was installed on the throne through the efforts of his powerful great-aunt, Maryam Begum, as well as the court eunuchs, who wanted to increase their authority by taking advantage of a weak and impressionable ruler. Throughout his reign, Soltan Hoseyn became known for his extreme devotion, which had blended with his superstition, impressionable personality, excessive pursuit of pleasure, debauchery, and wastefulness, all of which have been considered by both contemporary and later writers as elements that played a part in the decline of the country. The last decade of Soltan Hoseyn's reign was marked by urban dissension, tribal uprisings, and encroachment by the country's neighb ...
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Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi (), also known as Aqa Reza ( – 1635), was the leading Persian miniature, Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period, spending most of his career working for Shah Abbas I. He is considered to be the last great master of the Persian miniature, best known for his single miniatures for ''muraqqa'' or albums, especially single figures of beautiful youths. Life and art Riza was possibly born in Kashan, as Āqā Riżā Kāshānī is one of the versions of his name; it has also been suggested that he was born in Mashad, where his father, the miniature artist Ali Asghar (painter), Ali Asghar, is recorded as having worked in the atelier of the governor, Prince Ibrahim Mirza. After Ibrahim's murder, Ali Asghar joined Shah Ismail II's workshop in the capital Qazvin, Qasvin. Riza probably received his training from his father and joined the workshop of Shah Abbas I at a young age. By this date, the number of royal commissions for illustrated books ...
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Nowruz
Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ethnicities worldwide. It is a festival based on the March equinox, Northern Hemisphere spring equinox, which marks the first day of a new year on the Iranian calendars and the currently used Solar Hijri calendar; it usually coincides with a date between 19 March and 22 March on the Gregorian calendar. The roots of Nowruz lie in Zoroastrianism, and it has been celebrated by many peoples across West Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Black Sea Basin, the Balkans, and South Asia for over 3,000 years. In the modern era, while it is observed as a Secularism, secular holiday by most celebrants, Nowruz remains a holy day for Zoroastrians, Baháʼís, and Isma'ilism, Ismaʿili Shia Muslims. For the Northern Hemisphere, Nowruz marks the beg ...
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