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In this blog, I will be introducing the Persian culture. Many people might have heard of the Persian Empire during history classes and through school historybooks. However, most of the times, people do not have a clue about the region, culture, language etc. In this blogpost, I will be explaining Persia and Persian culture in a nutshell. I might add that this blogpost is just scratching the surface area about Persia and Persian culture.
In the upcoming weeks however, I will be posting more regarding this topic. So stay tuned for more blogs.
History
When talking about Persia, it often refers to the Persian Empire. The ancient Persian Empire (559 B.C. to 331 B.C.) included countries such as Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Tajikistan and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. As known, the previously mentioned countries that belonged to the Persian Empire are all autonomous countries now. However, people from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan still feel closely associated with the Persian Empire and this is due to the fact that people in these areas share more or less the same culture and language. A significant majority of the people in these countries speak Persian or Farsi or they are able to understand it. Residents in these countries do have their own dialects. However, this does not form a barrier to understanding each other.
Persian Culture
As mentioned earlier, the language spoken by the vast majority of the people in these countries are Persian, or Farsi. The main religion in these countries is Islam. However, there is also a small percentage of people who believe in Christianity, Buddhism and Judaism. In all cultures, Language, literature and art play a central role in transmitting norms, values, traditions etc. which also applies to Persian culture. Besides paintings and literature books, poetry and calligraphy are seen as key elements that define the Persian culture. For example, poets like Saadi, Ferdowsi, Rumi, Hafez, Parwin Etesami, Khayyam etc. are well-known poets among people from Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Many of these poets are also philosophers who share their views with the world through their poems. Some of these philosophers like Rumi, Hafez, Ferdowsi and Saadi are also quite popular in western countries among poem-lovers and western philosophers.
Here are some quotes of these beloved poets.
"Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself"
Rumi
"Be kind to your sleeping heart. Take it out into the vast fields of light and let it breathe"
Hafez
"To wisely live your life, you don't need to know much. Just remember two main rules for the beginning: You better starve, than eat whatever and better be alone, than with whoever."
Khayyam
In addition, Persian carpets, classical music and cats are very famous in the West. When it comes to Persian values and norms, respect for others and especially older people, politeness and modesty are crucial. Generally, Persian people are family-oriented and in contrast to Western culture, where only one's parents, siblings and children are their first-degree relatives, in Persian culture one's grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins and nieces are also considered first-degree family. Friends come second by default, but Persian people who are close to their friends often call their male best friend "dadash" which means brother and their female best friend "Abji" or "Khahar" which means sister. So from that moment on, you are considered family to that person. To keep the bond between family members close, family gatherings are held quite regularly. At these large family gatherings, good food plays a crucial role. Often, the men are at the barbecue stand, grilling different types of kababs while the women prepare saffron rice, salads and other dishes. At these gatherings, tea is being served nonstop. Finally, after dinner, water pipes are smoked (especially by men) while listening to music, dancing and talking.
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