Vank Church

The new year celebration (2008) inside the historical Vank Church in Isfahan.
مراسم آغاز سال ‌٢٠٠٨ميلادي – كليساي وانك

                         

Christmas in Tehran, Iran کریسمس

Merry Christmas everyone Here are some pictures of Christmas 2008 in Tehran, Iran. I have heard nowadays some Muslim Persians celebrate this holiday along with Iranian Christians…don’t get excited. It’s just a showoff!

A Church in Tehran

I think this church is called Sourp Sarkis Mother Church. It is an Armenian Apostolic Church located in Karim khan Ave. in upper central Tehran. Looking at these pictures simply reminds me of numerous memories as a kid.

         

Christmas in Tehran

Pictures were taken in winter of 2005 in Tehran. Christianity has a long tradition in Iran. During Saffavid dynasty they became an important part of Iranian struggle against Ottoman Turks. Sadly, majority of them have left the country for the West. More pictures will be added later. enjoy!

Nazri Cooking

Nazri in Persian means the food cooked in honor of Shi‘ite Imams or God and is given to the poor, family and friends.This is an Iranian Muslim tradition of Nazr. Nazr occurs when you ask something of God, and promise to make and distribute some kind of food to hundreds of people, in return. Doing so does not have a particular date, it can happen anytime, but it’s customary to do so in some Islamic holidays. Some people, especially mothers, vow to cook and give away food on the day of Imam’s alleged martyrdom if “God gives them what they have wished for.” A huge number of people usually line up to get a piece of that food, not necessarily because they can’t afford to buy food, but because it is believed by some that “Imam’s food,” as they call it, has healing powers; or at least that’s the excuse for demeaning themselves for getting a lousy piece of that food.

Click on each picture to make it larger. the first is yellow rice pudding.

for more information click on these:

http://www.payvand.com/news/07/mar/1137.html

http://shivathespy.blogspot.com/2006/02/nazri.html

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0708/nurture-sacred-food-blessed-food.html

Iranian Armenian woman

An Iranian Armenian woman prays at a church in Tehran October 2, 2007