http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-1377836-yazd8/

Yazd was probably a major religious center in antiquity: the Friday Mosque was erected on the site of a large fire-temple, and the very name of the city recalls that of the last Sassanian king, Yezdegird, who was driven from his throne by the Arab armies.

Yazd a fost, probabil, un important centru religios în antichitate: Moscheea de Vineri a fost ridicată pe amplasamentul unui mare templu al focului iar numele actual al oraşului aminteşte de ultimul rege Sassanid, Yezdegird, înlătutat de la tron de către armatele arabe.

Recognized by UNESCO as holding one of the oldest architecture all over the world

Zoroastrians occupy a quarter in the south of Yazd. Outwardly, this does not differ much from the rest of the city, but its alleys seem more animated. That is due to the presence of women, cheerfully attired in colored shawls and baggy trousers tied at the ankles, in place of the somber black of their Muslim sisters.

Adepţii Zoroastrismului ocupă un cartier în sudul Yazdului, care nu diferă mult de restul oraşului dar pare mai animat datorită prezenţei femeilor înfăşurate în chador vesele şi foarte colorate, purtând şalvari foarte largi, strânşi pe glezne, spre deosebire de suratele lor musulmane atât de negre.

Until quite recently Zoroastrians were regarded as idolaters and subjected to various indignities: like the Jews of medieval Europe they were obliged to wear distinctive clothing, forbidden any show of prosperity, and their touch was held to pollute Muslims.

Până destul de recent zoroastrienii au fost consideraţi idolatri şi supuşi unor discriminări şi nedreptăţi diverse: la fel ca evreii din Europa medievală au fost obligaţi să poarte haine distincte (şi numai vechi), le era interzisă orice aparenţă de prosperitate, iar atingerea unui musulman era considerată întinare.

They were often persecuted and denied legal redress. But Zoroastrians survived as a community and prospered in business, earning a reputation for honesty and hard work. Under the tolerant regime of the Pahlavi Shahs, their position became secure

Dar comunitatea lor a supravieţuit şi au prosperat în afaceri câştigând reputaţia de oameni foarte cinstiţi şi harnici. Sub regimul Pahlavi, mult mai tolerant, poziţia lor a devenit mai sigură

Tavernier, a French jeweler who wandered all over the Safavid realm in the middle of the seventeenth century, enjoyed the fruit of Yazd but reserved his highest praise for the ladies, whom he considered the most handsome in all of Persia (the beauty of Yazd’s women was proverbial). And Robert Byron, who passed through Yazd in 1934, was bowled over by the buildings, which no one seemed to have noticed before: “Do people travel blind?”

Tavernier, un bijutier francez care a cutreierat peste tot regatul Safavid în mijlocul secolului al XVII-lea, s-a bucurat de fructele din Yazd, dar şi-a păstrat superlativele pentru doamne, pe care le-a considerat cele mai frumoase din toată Persia (frumuseţea femeilor din Yazd era proverbială). Şi Robert Byron, care a trecut prin Yazd în 1934, a fost impresionat de clădiri, pe care nimeni nu părea să le fi observat înainte: „Oare oamenii călătoresc orbi?”

the alleys of trees in the streets, the water which runs down along deep and wide gutters...Umbrela copacilor pe marginea străzilor, şanţuri adânci cu apă de-a lungul lor...

Market Square's Clock

Among the symbols which the Iranians hold dear, none is as popular as the cypress tree. Innumerable qualities are attributed to this tree and its form. Whenever a painter has tried to depict paradise or an idyllic realm, he has populated it with tall cypress trees, and architects, stucco-makers and tile-makers have amply utilized its form in their creations, and women have woven colorful cypress trees in their textiles or carpets.

Printre simbolurile cele mai dragi iranienilor, nici unul nu este la fel de popular ca şi chiparosul. Nenumărate calităţi sunt atribuite acestui copac şi formei sale. Ori de câte ori un pictor a încercat să descrie paradisul sau un tărâm idilic, el l-a populat cu chiparoşi înalţi iar arhitecţii, sculptorii în stuc sau producătorii de plăci de ceramică au folosit pe larg forma chiparosului în creaţiile lor şi femeile au migălit chiparoşi coloraţi în ţesături sau covoare.

Market Square's Clock

Aware of the popularity of the cypress tree among the population, the Safavids took advantage of it to further strengthen the Shi’ite creed and introduced it in mourning ceremonies. A type of small metallic cypress tree, called ‘alam and incised with the names of God, Mohammad, Ali and their kin, was carried in from of mourning processions, and another type, which was made of wood, was called nakhl (palm tree). The cypress tree of Zoroaster acquired further importance, but, owing to religious and political considerations, the name of Zoroaster was discarded and only its form was retained. Nakhl, a wooden scaffold representing the coffin of Imam Husayn in the Ashura processions, (the huge wooden framework called a nakhl one may come across several of these, tucked away in courtyards and passageways). During Muharram the nakhl is draped with black banners and pennons, and carried through the streets on the shoulders of mourners; others chant and flay their own backs with chains in an ecstasy of grief.

Ţinând cont de popularitatea chiparosului lui Zoroastru şiiţii l-au introdus în ceremoniile religioase musulmane privind jelirea Imamului Hussain. Din motive religioase şi politice numele lui Zoroastru a dispărut dar forma chiparosului a fost păstrată. Nakhl, această structură din lemn reprezentând sicriul Imamului Hussain este purtată pe umeri de credincioşi în timpul serbărilor de comemorare din luna Muharram, împodobită cu ţesături scumpe de doliu, procesiunea fiind urmată de penitenţi care se autoflagelează cu lanţuri.

In Yazd one can see these nakhls in from of mosques and in public squares

As for the appellation of nakhl, and why such an obviously cypress-shaped structure has become known as “palm”, we must turn to the Safavids and their aims. But, before that, one point needs to be made clear, namely that the cypress tree is the national tree of the Iranians, and the palm tree that of the Arabs. Therefore, if a scene of Karbala and the holocaust of the ‘Ashura is to be depicted, then the palm tree must be represented, and not the cypress. And this is the dilemma which the Iranians of Safavid times astutely resolved by adopting the cypress tree, a long-time symbol familiar to Iranians, and calling it a palm tree

În ceea ce priveşte denumirea, de ce o structură cu formă de chiparos este numită palmier, trebuie să ne întoarcem în epoca safavidă. Dar mai întâi să lămurim un lucru şi anume: chiparosul este copacul naţional al iranienilor iar palmierul al arabilor. De aceea dacă se prezintă scene din Karbala sau Ashura trebuie reprezentat palmierul nu chiparosul. Această dilemă a fost rezolvată în timpul stăpânirii safavide adoptând forma chiparosului atât de drag şi familiar iranienilor şi denumindu-l nakhl, palmier....

Seyed Rokn-al Din mausoleumThis monument has been constructed in 1323 and is Seyed Roknaddin Mohammad Ghazi"s tomb

In order to preclude any further discussion, once every year (on the day of ‘Ashura), this tree is given the appearance of a tent or a coffin and, by setting two cypress trees facing each other and covering the whole with black and green cloth, reminds the viewers of the tent of Emam Hossein’s family. Although this tent does not resemble a palm tree, it adequately does its job of evoking the ‘Ashura of the year 61 AH. On other days of the year, they are still called nakhl, but, without any decoration of covering, they are nothing but tall cypress trees, and cannot be unrelated to the cypress tree of Kashar felled by order of the caliph Al-Mutavakka. Rather than for its wood Al-Mutavakkal had the Iranians’ dear cypress tree destroyed in an attempt to annihilate their beliefs and respect for nature and earth, little knowing that they would erect thousands more cypress trees in the squares of their own towns and villages. Beyond their names of Sarv (cypress tree) or nakhl, these wooden structures are the only sculptures of past eras in Iranian public squares

Sound: Alireza Eftekhari - Avaze Afshari

Text: Internet

Pictures: Sanda Foişoreanu

Nicoleta Leu

Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanu

www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Iran