Purity means to be innocent,

By many people in the world;

And honesty is its sign

Pure from any unforgivable sins

But "to be or not to be"

Is not the big question of purity.

The fact is the existence

Of being sinful or innocent.

Some one told me the other night

Honesty is not the sign of purity,

Though the sinful is honest

To show the devil of the soul

But for me I dare say

The sinful is pure also.

To reflect the rotten heart

Means a great courage.

Man is the fact of existence

Good and Evil the facts of creation,

Whose presence is the existence

That highlights man's creation.

Drama is one of those inseparable factors of human life during his existence in this world. In fact it is the story of our lives in different ways; maybe the reason is the great connection of that with our lives and its ups and downs. Drama in other words can be considered as our souls and body, whether it is performed or read. In this field we can see different playwright tried to create masterpieces which are always fresh and precious. No difference where you are or what you think; the main point here is the creation of something permanent which is dealing with the human’s nature. “The Island” also follows the same rule. Actually it is the story of sorrows of thousands of blacks who were suffered from their skin color and Fugard; the outstanding African American dramatist illustrated these pains in the form of a play which is going to be discussed here

     In very simple words it is better to say that “The Island” is a play within a play, the universal tragedy of Antigone and the tragedy of John and Winston in this Island which is universal in its own place.  The tragedies in which the heroes suffered from the injustice of the illegal powers from the kingdom of Creon in ancient time and the authority of whites in modern society

     Now all the efforts of human is for making himself free which is focused on John and Winston by Fugard and on Antigone by Sophocles. As if they both want to reflect the social realism in different times with the same root.  What John and Winston do every day is to fill and empty the wholes of sand with water that clearly shows the nothingness of the Island. These two prisoners are individually symbol of thousands of South Africans who will get the chance to speak in their place in this Island which is illustrated from the very beginning by Fugard. The partner is the imaginary guard, Hodoshee, but actually he is only a name who does not have any physical existence in the play. He is never seen but his rules are the law themselves

      Like Antigone, who talked about freedom, John and Winston have to endure this Island because of seeking their rights. And now what should they do? To move or to be silent? And if there is not a chance to revolt you can talk and that is what they have chosen by performing Antigone who is the reflection of themselves

    Although the concept of the two plays are the same but the modern man is completely different from the ideal characters of the ancient drama. Actually they are both so simple and naïve, we see that when they talk about their lives and past during the play, and both just want to defend their most basic rights for living in their mother land

     We see the traces of humiliation every where and in the mind of the prisoners. Winston who rejects acting out the role of Antigone always shows this disapproval whether in words or actions but at the end he looks at it as a path to say what he has in heart to the imaginary audience. The Antigone costumes reveal the ingenuity of the men who made with the bare necessities. The scant props echo the bareness and simplicity of their existence, yet these are used in complex ways. Blankets become screens, or royal cloak and skirt, two mugs serve as drums, a few seagull feathers from the beach become a kingly crown, and nails are used for a necklace. These simple things are the juxtaposition of poverty and richness, freedom and enslavement

      They never want to be fossilized in The Island as Antigone did not wanted to be so. John never limited himself to these walls and wants to go further, that is why he even has plans for performing Antigone while every thing is the repetition of hardships. But he is open-minded even in this situation and sees some freckles to freedom. And Winston on the other hand as it was mentioned before sees it as a good chance to speak about his own pains as an individual and the others like himself as a nation. Of course they seam to be simple on the surface but they both follow a pure thought which was always defended during the history

    John thinks no more than performing Antigone and sometimes for reaching that he tried to force Winston. But deeply speaking all their efforts show the freedom of all humankind with any color, any language, or any culture. He sees the future children of Africa and that is why in the whole play he tries to motivate and sometimes forces Winston for the performance. He pays attention to the details of how to play and why should they play. The strong patriarchic sense, the love towards Africa, and every other pure feelings lead him to the end. His efforts to act out the play connect the four scenes. The first act is started by laboring, the anger towards the jailor, and the plans of performing Antigone. The first scene is full of inner tensions and the problems which makes the audience confused and raise so many questions in his mind. In the second scene the tensions are less but as much as John is cool about the role of Antigone, Winston shows his hatred to play that because he is afraid of being mocked; as if nothing is worse than appearing in the shape of a woman. And following that we have the news of John’s freedom therefore the stressful condition is inevitable for both. And Winston’s reaction to this event is filed with sorrows that he says in one part: “Your freedom stinks and it’s driving me mad,” after hearing that John is going to be released

   Harry Potter could be an outstanding hero among children and adults by the different viewpoint of the writer towards Archetypes and Mythology in modern life. Rowling does not show a great picture of the hero at the very beginning, even before his eleventh birthday Harry himself does not know that the unusual things he does are the result of his instinctual magical power. The only important point is that in the world of magic he is "the boy who lived".

   Harry's character is shaped during the story and his great success is the due to his sharpness and loyal friends. His great hope and perseverance are the positive traits that lead to the defeat of the evil by good. This simple and important theme is an outstanding point in literature, especially children's. J.K Rowling, by mirroring a character like Harry, tries to fulfill the child's hopes and desires in an unreal world in which they can gain them through imagination. On the other hand she emphasizes in all the books that by a good choice and real friendship one can overcome the obstacles

   The magic of Harry Potter, on the surface, is the dragons, owls, mythological creatures that are representative of the life's mysteries or archetypes created by our ancestors but deeply speaking love, loyalty, wisdom, courage and hope are some of the magical elements needed to form the foundation of a more healthy society. These mysteries can be revealed to our children through the symbolic language of poetry, tales, mythology, and in Rowling stories through Potter's heroism

   The magic of Potter not only created a new perspective in to literature but also could change the author's life from poverty. At the moment J.K. Rowling is one of the richest women of the world earning about "40 million dollars"  each year since the publication of the first book in 1997.On the other hand the books have a marvelous record of selling." The fourth book sold 372,775 copies in the United Kingdom the day it was released; the fifth one sold almost 1.8 million". The United States sales figures were even more impressive. All told, Order of the Phoenix sold about seven million copies the day it was released. On July 16, 2005, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released, destroying the previous book's sales records; on the first day of sales, it sold "6.9 million copies in the United States alone. That's about 80 copies per second"

   Two fundamental parts of the human condition, the importance of one's choices and the inevitability of one's mortality are mentioned in the tales of Potter. The Harry Potter series follow different characters as they struggle with growth and life choices. Rowling has highlighted the parallels between characters Harry and Voldemort as illustrating the relationship between good and evil. When one fails to be moral, even in little ways, the person causes harm to himself and those around him. While Harry chooses a path of good, Voldemort chooses to vent his frustration and anger onto others 

   The above reasons are enough to mention that Harry Potter is not only a story of good and evil, but also it goes further and presents itself in front of the readers' eyes as a modern fairytale. Rowling uses mythological figures and psychological aspects of human in order to show a new different story by using the old theme of every other fairytale

By White Rabbit

  The term Archetypes, first used by Jung was called primordial images. Late he gave what was probably the most vivid illustration of his theory of the archetypes as containing those images of instinct in human and animals. The archetypal images, a proper term to use for one of the pictures of an archetype, on the other hand are represented by human mind. The archetype's role in the psychic structure is described as representing or personifying certain instinctive data from the unconscious. The preoccupation of the primitive mentality with magic, cited as evidence for the importance of the connection to primitive psychic contents is seen as the basis of modern religion.    Jung's contribution is considered to be the demonstration that archetypes are spread widely not just through the realm of tradition, language, but act spontaneously without outside influence. It is important to emphasize to the point that the archetypes are not predetermined; rather there is a possibility of actual representation in many different ways. In this case, "the archetype is similar to the instincts; both are predetermined in form only, and both are only demonstrable through their manifestations" (Jung 75).   To Jung, myths emerged from the unconscious and contained archaic truth about existence: "Myths are first and foremost psychic phenomena that reveal the nature of the soul" (Jung 31). Although Jung emphasized the myths as stories, a series of related events from a beginning to an end, he showed no interest in the satisfaction of relief that Aristotle called "catharsis"(Hall 8), a mental or emotional cleansing appearing in the audience of a good drama. Jung also pointed out the emotional attraction of those stories, but explained it as a resonance from within the human mind, an inner recognition of the hidden truth those stories contained. In that way, the myths served as inspiration. The hidden truth was a number of keys of how to find self-realization, and the inspiration was one of getting people started on that path. "Myth is the primordial language natural to these psychic processes, and no intellectual formulation comes anywhere near the richness and the expressiveness of mythical imagery" (Jung 32).    In dream analysis, the existence of typical mythologies among individuals leads to the conclusion that myth forming structural elements must be present in the unconscious psyche. Due to the undeveloped nature of primitive man, the unconscious and its archetypes are seen to penetrate spontaneously in to his conscious mind. Thus primitive man did not invent myth but only experienced it.    The most obvious example is that of the hero myth, where the hero's struggle to overcome his fear and other obstacles to reach his goal, serves as an instigation for every person to do the same – get free of inhibition, and find the courage to pursue the path that leads to the realization of one's own potential. "The myth is a kind of self-therapeutic manual, and the final outcome for the successful user of it is an enlightened truly self-realization"(Stenudd 6).         This self-realization Jung calls the individuation process. It mainly consists of joining the unconscious with the conscious, by having the knowledge of the former rise to the latter. When man is completely aware of his subconscious and what is stored therein, he has reached self-realization himself. Any myth or other story entering to this personal framework of one's own mythology will transform to fit it. If such a fitting is impossible, the person will reject the myth, or maybe alter his framework slightly to adapt to it if rejection is not possible, whereas if it is an easy fit, the person will cherish it as a confirmation of his personal mythology. "The bottom line is that any myth, no matter how universal, becomes utterly personal to the one who hears it. In that way, myths as well as any stories can be instruments towards self-realization"(Wlaker 4). Probably, the myths that fascinates its audience the most are not the ones easily fit into their personal mythologies, but the ones that seem to make a lot of sense in that framework, and still have some anomalies, which demand for the personal mythology to adapt. Fascinating stories challenge the personal mythology slightly, so that the process of making them fit disturbs the mind somewhat and then reforms it.      Myths are stories, often very good ones, and as such they have a certain power to affect and stimulate their audience. In that sense, they are not different from other stories. Any story can stimulate self-realization, or support ritual and tradition. In fact, every story affects the minds of its audience – more or less. The human psyche is affected by all that it takes in, as well as all that it does itself produce. So, myths and their effects need primarily to be regarded and examined as stories with any themes they have.    Jung focused on myth and legend, "the storied told within religions"(Jung 45). To him these stories were the essence of any religion, and therefore he was more eager to explore their origin rather than religion as a whole. He saw myth and its meaning within the individual psyche. In spite of the fact that the myths are shared by all members of the society -and essentially by all mankind- their workings are strictly personal.    "Myths represent the unconscious archetypal, instinctual structures of the mind"(Walker 4). They do not represent these structures in an historical and cultural vacuum but rather they are expressed and elaborated in the cultural matters in different ages and societies, "just as the human instincts are the same universally, so the collective unconscious is the same for all human beings"(ibid4 .

by White Rabbit

                                                               References

Jung, C. G. Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (The Collected Works). Princeton University Press; 2 edition . January 1, 1969

---. Man and His Symbols . Prinston University Press, 1960

---. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. New York: Vintage Books.1989.

---. Psychology of the Unconscious. Dover Publications , January 27, 2003

---. The Structure and Dynamiccs of the Psyche( Collected Works, vol. VIII). Prinston University Press, 1960.

/* /*]]-->*/

Stenudd, Stefan. From:  http://www.stenudd.com/myth/freudjung/ Sepetmber 1o/2007. Accessed: 5 July 2008

Tacey, David. Jung and the New Age. Bruner-Rout Ledey , 2001. USA and Canada.

Walker, Steven, F. Jung and the Jungians on Myth (Theorists of Myth). Routledge; 1^st edition , January 2, 2002 

Zigmond Freud was one of the thinkers of the age, who had a great influence on the modern psychology. His emphasize on the unconscious aspect of human psyche is worthy of discussing here. Through to many of his studies he proves that “most of our actions are motivated by our psyche we have very limited control over them”. Human’s psyche is like an iceberg he says, that most of it is under the water, exactly like the unconscious part of our psyche which is hidden. According to his premises, first of all most of the person’s mental process is unconscious. The second one which caused a lot of disagreement among the psychologists is that all human’s behaviors are motivated by sexuality. And at last the third major is that most of our desires are repressed because of the social instincts

So unconscious is that part of our psyche in which our hidden desires, ambitions, passions, fears, and irrational thoughts are stored. He also defines two kinds of unconscious. One of them comes to conscious under some special and habitual condition, and the other one just can have a change by spending some energy or some times can not be transformed, which is called reconscious

Frued believed that what we know as dreams is completely unconscious, which is the affliction of the conflicts and tension in our everyday life, because these tensions and conflicts are so painful to be hold or tolerated while we are conscious. That is why in our dreams we have no restriction. The unconscious is hidden from conscious mind. Freud believed that this part plays an important role in how we act, think, and feel. And the best way to reach to some understanding about the content of unconscious is dreams. In this case he talks about three ways in order to access to ones unconscious, which are, dreams slips of tongue, and jokes

When Zigmond Freud introduced his theories, it helped lots of psychologists to cure a lot of people and to reach a great understanding of the secrets in ones psyche

Freud divided our psyche in to three zones. In the other words our personality has three structures. These three zones have direct attaches with the three main principles in human’s psyche. These are actually the forces that motivate most of our actions and define different kinds of our behaviors. In this paper the relationship between these three psychic zones and the main characters of the play The Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams in going to be discussed. Actually the main characters of this play reveal the main premises proposed by Freud

The name of the play can completely reveal what is inside it. From the very beginning of the play Blanche says: “They told me to take a streetcar named desire, transfer to one called Cemetery and get off at Elysian Fields!” The name symbolizes the fact that the mere following of desires leads the follower to the Cemetery, to death either physically or mentally. That is what we face at the end of the play, which is Blanch’s destruction. But is it actually her own fault and others. When she talks about her past during the

play we see that she was the tool for the others who had followed their desire ,like the man who had the garage or the misbehavior of Mitch,  which caused her downfall

Here the most emphasize is on the four main characters of the play. The main characters are symbol of each psychic zones introduced by Frued. Actually Tennessee Williams took a lot of hints from Freud and his psychology. That is why we can easily feel and touch his ideas in each part of this play

Blanche is the main character of the play, who is clearly representative of superego. She is a study of disintegration. This process first started by the death of her homosexual husband, whom committed suicide after she understood this reality about him. He was the only man she loved and this event evolves her promiscuity. She is alone and always tried to fight with this situation of her with sex. Belle Reve, her home is ruined. It was the symbol of life and tradition she knows in her heart. She is isolated and her great desire of escaping from this condition and being loved, threatens to break this isolation

She tries to behave in a good manner, cares about the standards, disciplines, and moral things. But we see that the ego can not create a balance in her, between her repressed desires and what she really wants, between her heart and mind, and finally she is mentally collapsed

Throughout the play Blanche hides herself in the dark. With this action in fact she wants to prevent the others from seeing the reality of her. Light in another word is the reality of her past and her lost beauty. But Mitch becomes aware of this reality when Stanley told him of her past in scene nine and then he asks her to stand on direct light. The lighted candle Blanche brings to table in living room symbolizes her consciousness. Her escaping from the reality of her age and reputation, and this light to darkness or dim light reveals her repression. In scene six she tells Mitch that she felt in love with her first husband in the daylight since in his suicide the light has been missing. So this bright light represents her youthful innocence

Both repression and regression are seen in Blanche. She has lost the person she loved and the memory of him is always with her. The desire which has not been satisfied and now it is repressed. All through the play she is seeking to find someone who can give her the love she wants” a clef in the rock of the world that I could hide in!” the polka tune, Vorsouviana music, which had been played when Allan, her young husband, committed suicide is now and then heard by Blanche. It also proves her repression and regression. This music is always played when she is talking about her past or she is remorse

Blanche has a great fear from death. When the Mexican woman who sells flowers comes and says” flores para los muertos”, flowers for the dead, she shouts,” no, no ,not now, not now,”, so her fear of death manifests itself in her fear of her age and lost beauty. Maybe that is why by having sex with young men she wants to avoid these things

In so many parts of the play Blanche is trying to save Stella from the world Stanley made for her, but she is not successful, because she doesn’t want to face with the reality. Actually here we are dealing with morality principle, Blanche, who wants to tell what good is and what bad is

As Blanche and Stanley start to quarrel in scene ten, we can hear various oddly cry. They are also heard when she begins to descend in to madness. All these effects dramatize her breakdown and departure from reality in the face of Stanley’s physical threat. When she loses her sanity the shadows begin to appear on the wall, the violent jungle noises are loudly heard, that altogether show her destruction

While facing with her character we can easily see her unusual behaviors or foolish way of talking. While trying to hide her real nature from the others, the superego (Blanche) seeks for purification of herself. That is why in different parts of the play she goes to bathroom in order to wash herself. But this kind of cleaning is not physical but greatly mental. In Blanche DuBois we are presented with the tragedy of a person wondering between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present- unwilling to remember or let go of the past and unable to adapt herself or accept the present. This is only because of her character and the final result is her destruction

Stanley shows his initial character at the very beginning while playing poker and bearing a package of meat. Immediately we face with a man who is cruel and animalistic and he himself knows it. He always cares about his own feelings and desires without considering anyone else, in fact, he stands for the id. He has no control over his actions or behavior and that is clearly obvious when he is playing, eating or when he throws the radio out or hits Stella. The joke, which is told by Steve, reveals the unconscious mind of Stanley. Actually the rooster in the joke is the symbol of id or people like Stanley

“This ole farmer is out in back of his house sitting down

          throwin’ corn to the chickens when all at once he hears a

          loud cackle and this young hen comes likety-split around 

            the side of the house with the rooster right behind her and

            gaining on her fast. But when the rooster catches sight of

            the farmer throwin’ the corn he puts on the brakes and lets

           the hen get away and starts pecking corn. And the old farmer

            says”, Lord God, I hope I never gits that hungry!”

For Stanley other’s feelings are not important. He does care about himself only. He shows his anger, happiness, and desires whenever he feels them and more than any thing he concerns about eating, drinking, sleeping,

and having sex. He is an extreme hedonist. He wants things as they are, with himself and the center of the little universe he has made with Stella. This is one important reason of his attack on Blanche; she is a threat to the balance of this universe. For him the rape of Blanche is the symbol of victory

Stanley is animalistic, a real brute and he knows it himself. He sees life like this and he is aware of that he can not be anything more than this. “So he wraps himself in sensuality and gratifies himself to the fullest extent of his powers” [The Plays of Tennessee Williams, 30]. He creates an outlook of his world, that if he is an animal so every one else is also; and by all means he wants to be the best and biggest animal. He wants to have every thing for himself. He considers himself the owner of Stella’s body and soul. He even is very curious to have Stella’s share from Belle Reve. It is quit clear when he talks about  Napoleonic code he mentions that: “ In the state of Louisiana we have a Napoleonic code according to which what belongs to the wife belongs to the husband and vice versa"

Stanley tries to downgrade Blanche by all means, reminding her past or buying her a bus ticket to go home. These are the ways that he wants to get rid of this intruder and at the end he proves that she is not superior as she has seemed. He destroys Blanche with sex, which is her Achilles’ heel. It has always been his sword and shield

Stella is a woman who can easily adapt herself to the environment she lives in. She could detach herself from her hometown and start a life in this vigorous world made by Stanley. She has closed her eyes long time ago, when she has started her life with him. She moves slowly, sips soft drinks prepares Stanley’s meal. She sleeps a great deal even when she is awake it seems she is partially sleep or narcotized

Some times Stella become aware of what is around her but her reactions are short and her anger always removed by Stanley’s unreal regressions. The example of this case is in scene three, while playing poker Stella and Staley have a quarrel, and she says: “Drunk-drunk- animal thing you!” .Sleeping for Stella is her consciousness, which is in a long deep sleep. Even after that quarrel with Stanley in scene three we see that in the morning Blanche goes and finds her in bed

                      “Her face is serene in the early morning sunlight.

                      One hand rests on her belly, rounding slightly with

                      new maternity. From the other dangles a book of 

                      colored comics. Her eyes and lips have that almost

                      narcotized tranquility that is in the face of Eastern

                      idols”.[ the Norton introduction to literature, vol. 3, 90]

and when she faces with Blanche’s complaining she tries to convince her sister and herself that “…, when men are drinking and playing poker any thing can happen. ……. He didn’t know what he was doing…..He was as good as a lamb when I came back and he’s really very, very ashamed of himself”.

This woman always tries to settle down between Blanche and Stanley. In fact she stands for the ego who wants to create a balance between desires and ideas, between body and soul, heart and mind to have a normal life. Blanche is the only one who wants to warn her of what she does. Loving Blanche, she also dislikes her and at the same time fears her. She hopes Blanche marry Mitch for her sister’s sake and for herself too. Actually she wants to get rid of Blanche.

Stella has rejected the things she belonged to. She rejected the tradition but didn’t forget it and Blanche is the symbol of those traditions. She reminds Stella of the needs for tenderness and gentility and other aspects of life which have no trace in her life with Stanley, but she always insists on not paying attention to them and hardly wants to convince them both, Stanley and Blanche, to be good together. As she mentions in different parts while talking to Stanley about Blanche, shows this balance making condition. “When she comes in be sure to say something nice about her appearance.”

At the end of the play she is completely aware of the brutal thing her husband did with Blanche, but she prefers her own sleep though deceiving herself. She wants to stay in this world “I don’t know if I did the right thing”. “I couldn’t believe her story and go on living with Stanley”.

Harold (Mitch) is a perfect example of Southern gentleman. And he is the one Blanche was looking for so long. He is bound to his mother and caring to women as he mentions so many times” Poker should not be played in a place women are”.

Mitch is a realistic man in contrary with Blanche who has magic mind. He also tries to live a balanced life. He completely resembles the ego. We see that he is such a kind man and sees lots of things in Blanche that Stanley is unable to see them, which are the true qualities of a lady.

His feeling toward his mother is a kind of love-hate one. He has a great deal of sublimation. He loves Blanche but he also doesn’t want to live his mother. But this is the rules which are the winner in his character. Because at the end of the play he tells Blanche that: “you are not clean enough to live in a house with my mother”.

Mitch made one of those great downfalls in Blanch if we do not consider Stanley’s. Like the ego he wants to make a balance but he is not successful to [put it in practice in his relation with her. Actually he is not strong enough to do so. Of course he is the representative of ego but the balance is not successfully made by him between Blanch and his mother.

The story finishes by Blanche’s downfall while Stella has to deceive herself because of her desperate need of Stanly, and Stanley will remain unchanged because he is so and he likes this way, this authority, and cruelty.

                                                     Bibliography

    Boxil, Rogers. Tennessee Williams. London: The Mac Millian Press LTD, 1994

    Bressler, Charles E.Liteary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. New Jercy: Prentice- Hall, inc, 1994

    Guerin, Wilfred L. et al. A Handbook of Critical Approaces to Literature. 2d ed. By Phillip W. Leininger. New York: Hagerstown, Philadelphia, San Fransisco, London. Harper and Row Publishers. p120-131.

    Giddens, Anthology. Sociology. 7^th reprinted. Polity Press, 1989.

    Hall, Vernon. A Short History of Literary Criticism. London: The Merlin Press. p 156-163

     Nelson, Benjamin, The Plays of Tennessee Williams. New York: Department of English Fairleigh Dikinson University, 1965

    Santroek, Thon W. Psychology” The Sciense of Mind and Behavior.  3^rd ed. WM. C. Brown Publishers. Dallas: University of Texas. P 437-438

    Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire: Play in Three Acts. England: Dramatists Play Service INC.

     En. Winkipedia. Org/ wiki/ Zigmond Freud- 40k- 18 dec. 2004

     www2. clorado. Edu/ English/ ENG 201 Klages/ Freud. Html- 10k-20 Dec. 2004

     www. Time. Com/ time/ tome/ 100/ Scientist/ Profile/ freud. Html- 33k- 18 Dec. 2004

     www. Sparknotes. Com/ psychology/ file://A:\FREUD- LEC. htm

HAPPY NEW YEAR to the world.

Feel the steps of spring and open the door to welcome it. This is Nowruz and the new life.

I would like to say some points about the traditional table of Haft-sin.

Part of the Nowruz celebrations include setting up the traditional table, called the "haft-sin," Farsi for seven (haft) things beginning with the letter "S" (sîn), among other symbolic things.

Here's what the couple has on their table and their significance:

SABZEH: Wheat or lentil sprouts, or sabzeh, germinated in pots represent rebirth/renewal.

SENJED: Dried fruit of the Lotus tree, symbolizes love.

EGGS AND SEEB: Painted by family members, eggs indicate fertility while apples, or seeb, mean good health, beauty.

MIRROR AND CANDLES: A mirror reflects the symbols of Nowruz while candles stand for enlightenment, happiness.

SONBOL: Hyacinth, the fresh spring flowers with the aromatic scent, represent peace, love.

CLOCK AND GOLDFISH: The timepiece stands for passage of time, while the goldfish represents life.

SERKEH AND COOKIES: Vinegar (serkeh, in goblet) represents age, patience; some believe it also symbolizes energy. The cookies are for sweetness.

SEER AND SUMAQ: Garlic (seer) symbolizes health/medicine while sumaq (red powder) stands for vibrancy/colour of the sun.

QUR'AN: This, or another holy book, is featured while some families will use books of poetry, instead

SEMANU: Sprouted wheat ground into a paste (in bowl, on platter) is a nutritious pudding treat and symbolizes wealth, sweetness.

Gachsar is a village in the famous beautiful Chalous Road about 50 kilometers after Karaj. The most interesting part of this place is the Tulip garden which welcomes the visitors about April 27 until 9 March.

Both the world and the time,

Are ever lasting and divine.

The "time present and the time past,"      

Will fly away at last.

But our memory will remain,

Which is the one history will gain.

These are all the matter of "WILL"

 Past and Future stay still.

I honor what you praise,

All your words, all your ways.

I keep your story, all its part,

In the deep down of my heart.

You have heard in your back,

All the times that you might lack,

In thy life or every thing,

You see time's chariot wing.

Dearest lover I approve them all

That every moment will fly,

I approve what you believe,

And deny the way you grieve;

For the ashes and the dust,

For the bodies time had lost

Rather than the physic is the soul,

Which is God's creation and goal.

More powerful and more precious,

Than the perception of the ashes.

Human is the Lord's seal

Curved in the history still,

And as long as history has grace

I will remain YOUR "COY MISTRESS".

 by White Rabbit                                                                                                                               

During the reign of the Safavid Shah Abbas I, a vast garden called Chahar-Bagh (Four Gardens), a governmental residence and a Chenaristan (a grove of plane trees), had been created on the present site of the Golestan Palace and its surroundings.Then, Karim Khan Zand (1163-1193 or 1749-1779 A.D.) ordered the construction of a citadel, a rampart and a number of towers in the same area.

In the Qajar period, some royal buildings were gradually erected within the citadel; for instance, in 1268 A.H. (1813 A.D.) which coincided with the fifth year of the Nasir al-Din Shah, the eastern part of the royal garden was extended and some other palaces were built around the garden, called palaces the Golestan Garden. The group of palaces located in the northern part of the Golestan Garden, consists of the Museum Hall (Talar-i-Brilian), the Ivory Hall, the Crystal Hall, and the Talar-i Narinjistan (orangery hall), which have all been built prior to the construction of the other parts of the palace.

The Museum Hall has been built in 1296 A.H. (1878 A.D.).

In the upper section of the Royal Reception Hall of the Golestan Palace, there is a large bejeweled golden throne, called Takht-i- Tavus (The Peacock Throne), which must be the same as the Solar Throne (Takht-i Khorshidi).

The Qajar`s royal residence, the oldest substantial building in the city, and one of a group of royal buildings then enclosed within mud walls known as the Arg, the Golestan Palace (Rose Garden), too, was completed by Fath Ali Shah Qajar. However, its construction is attributed to the Safavid Shah Abbas I.

Nasser ad-Din shah, influenced by what he had seen during his first European tour in 1873, added a Museum in the from of a large, first-floor hall decorated with mirror work, where some of the priceless Crown jewels were put on show side by side with many other things of much less value, mainly acquired by the King during his European tour.

The coronation ceremonies of the last two kings of the Pahlavi dynasty took place in the first-floor hall, however, after a re-arrangement, complete renovation and redecoration of the interior with the intention of reviving the palace`s ancient splendor.

The last King used to hold New Year and Birthday Salams in the Coronation Hall, where Ministers, foreign Ambassadors and other dignitaries in full dress offered their congratulations to the King of Kings. But generally, the Golestan Place is open to strollers and tourists.

The Palace garden offered an oasis of coolness and silence in the heart of the city, Shade is provided by what the inhabitants of Tehran call (the finest plane tree in town), rose bushes, blue fountain-bowls and ancient of water recall the charm of ancient Iranian gardens.

Altogether, here you will see little more of the palace than the visitor hoping for a tour around Buckingham Palace who is fobbed off with the Royal Gallery.

But while the state-rooms of the Palace may appeal to some others will turn to the Palace Library for the discovery of Iranian paintings, which owes its relative lack of popularity to the inaccessibility of originals scattered from Cleveland to Istanbul, from Washington`s Freer Gallery to ST Petersburg, and from the British Museum to Cairo`s National Library.

Source: http://www.persiancarpet.lv/english/ir_teh_golestan.htm

Photos by: White Rabbit

I do not know whether you will believe this or not, but I have to say that it is a real story I have heard it long ago from someone.

In those old good days a little scarecrow used to live in a vineyard. Although he was little, he was not alone because all little is not technically alone. Unlike other kinds of his own this scarecrow was the friend of the birds not the protector of the vineyard. He let the birds come and eat as much as they wanted and of course he was bitten every day for this generosity. But the only thing he had in mind that never talked about and the birds could understand from his eyes was the great shinning ball in the sky at night.

There were some years that he was awfully silent with his head up looking at the sky all night. He was really worn out and had wounds in his body but no one heard him complain. The only thing he wanted was learning how to fly. Unfortunately the day and night efforts had no result and that made his depression more and more.

But that person finished his story in this way that. One day in the morning the birds could not find him. Actually no body saw him and no body exactly knew what has happened the night before. Just a little bird saw him flew away to his moon and gradually became a little dot disappearing in the sky. A very little dot but not alone because all little is not alone.

By White Rabbit