Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Teachers Guide
Compiled by the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
http://ceres.georgetown.edu
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Facts at a Glance
3-6
History of Iran
7-9
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Culture of Iran
11-13
14-15
Additional Resources
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dancergena
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea,
between Iraq and Pakistan
Area: Total: 1,648,195 sq km
Country comparison to the world: 18
Land: 1,531,595 sq km
Water: 116,600 sq km
Area - Comparative: Slightly smaller than Alaska
Terrain: Rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small,
discontinuous plains along both coasts
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m
Natural Resources: Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese,
zinc, sulfur
Environment - Current Issues: Air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions,
refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil
pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination);
inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste;
urbanization
Population: 80,840,713 (July 2014 est.);
Country comparison to the world: 19
Urbanization: 69.1% of total population (2011)
Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population:
70.89 years
Country comparison to the world: 148
Male: 69.32 years
Female: 72.53 years (2014 est.)
in 2012 and 2013, for the first time in two decades. Iran continues to suffer from double-digit
unemployment and underemployment. Lack of job opportunities has convinced many educated
Iranian youth to seek jobs overseas, resulting in a significant "brain drain." However, the election
of President Hasan RUHANI in June 2013 brought about widespread expectations of economic
improvements and greater international engagement among the Iranian public, and early in
Ruhani's term the country saw a strengthened national currency and a historic boost to market
values at the Tehran Stock Exchange.
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $987.1 billion (2013 est.); country comparison to the world:
19
GDP - Real Growth Rate: -1.5% (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 208
GDP - Per Capita (PPP): $12,800 (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 103
GDP - Composition by Sector: agriculture: 10.6%, industry: 44.9%, services: 44.5% (2013 est.)
Labor Force: 27.72 million; Country comparison to the world: 23
Agriculture - Products: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugar cane, fruits, nuts, cotton;
dairy products, wool; caviar
Industries: Petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, food processing
(particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal
fabrication, armaments
Current Account Balance: -$8.659 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 174
Exports - Commodities: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts,
carpets
Exports - Partners: China 22.1%, India 11.9%, Turkey 10.6%, South Korea 7.6%, Japan 7.1%
(2012)
Imports Partners: UAE 33.2%, China 13.8%, Turkey 11.8%, South Korea 7.4% (2012)
Debt - External: $15.64 billion (2013 est.); Country comparison to the world: 87
Exchange Rates: Iranian Rials (IRR) per US dollar -18,517.2 (2013 est.)
Military Service Age and Obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years
of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij
Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); conscript military service obligation is 18 months; women
exempt from military service (2012)
Military expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2006); Country comparison to the world: 59
6
History of Iran
_______
Text taken directly from Library of Congress and PBS Website:
(http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/irtoc.html) and
(http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/middle_east-jan-june10-timeline/)
American operation, code-named Operation Ajax, to overthrow the Iranian government. The
CIA secretly coordinated plans with the Shah and the Iranian military. The Shah returned to the
country. In March 1959, Iran signed a bilateral defense agreement with the United States.
Secular and religious demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977 and
paralyzed the country. The Shah left Iran for exile in mid-January 1979 and the royal regime
collapsed shortly after on February 11. Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic
Republic on April 1, 1979 and to approve a new theocratic constitution whereby Khomeini
became Supreme Leader of the country, in December 1979.
November 4th, Islamic students storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking hostage 52
American employees and demand that the
shah return from receiving medical
treatment in the United States to face trial in
Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini applauds their
actions.
In September, 1980 Iraq invades
Iran after years of disagreements over
territory, most notably the Shatt al Arab
waterway. August, 1988 Iran accepts
United Nations Security Council Resolution
598, leading to a cease-fire.
In 2000 Pro-reform candidates win
189 of the 290 seats in parliament, setting
the stage for reformers to control the
legislature for the first time since the 1979
Islamic revolution. In his 2002 January
State of the Union speech, American
President George W. Bush refers to Iran as
part of an "axis of evil," saying the country
is actively pursuing weapons of mass
destruction. In 2004 Iranian Conservatives
Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini: As a 70-year-old
grandfather, Khomeini pulled off one of the most daring
reclaim control of Iran's parliament and
revolutions in history and served a crushing blow to
Iran's government says it will consider reAmerica. Under the guidance of his elder brother he learnt
starting its nuclear program. In 2005 Iran
Islamic science, literature, and philosophy, eventually
votes for hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
becoming a leading authority on theological law. In 1962 he
for president.
became politically active and openly protested against the
torturing and imprisonment of the people by the Shah of Iran.
In November 1964 he was arrested for a second time, and
sent into exile, first to Turkey and then to Iraq, where for
fifteen years Khomeini wrote and lectured against the regime
in his homeland. After the Iranian government had been
overthrown by an Islamic revolution in 1979, and the Shah
sent into exile, Khomeini returned to Iran, where millions of
people were waiting enthusiastically to greet him. He became
the Supreme Leader of the new regime.
(http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biographies/ayatolla
h-khomeini.html)
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2009 September - Iran admits that it is building a uranium enrichment plant near Qom, but
insists it is for peaceful purposes. The country test-fires a series of medium- and longer-range
missiles that put Israel and US bases in the Gulf within potential striking range.
2010 June - UN Security Council imposes fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear
programme, including tighter financial curbs and an expanded arms embargo.
2010 September - Stuxnet - a computer worm which affects industrial systems and which may
have been created by a nation-state - is reportedly detected in staff computers at the Bushehr
nuclear plant.
2011 November/December - Protesters attack the British embassy in Tehran after London
imposes tighter economic sanctions. Britain evacuates its diplomatic staff and expels all Iranian
diplomats, but ties are not severed.
2013 June - Reformist-backed cleric Hassan Rouhani wins presidential election, gaining just
over 50% of the vote.
2014 November - Russia agrees to build up to eight nuclear reactors in Iran, in move that might
ease Iranian demands to have own uranium enrichment.
are seemingly endless varieties of dishes that can be prepared with rice in Iran generally refered
to in English as Pilaf.1
Dolma (Stuffed Grape Leaves)Grape leaves are sold in jars at most large supermarkets. In many Middle Eastern and
Mediterranean countries, including Iran, cooks prepare a filling of rice and meat to be rolled up
inside the tender grape leaves. The rolls are then simmered in a savory broth, often with tomato
juice.
Kebab Iranians enjoy grilled meat and poultry. Typically the
Iranian Kebab Morgh (Grilled Skewered Chicken)
would include just chicken on the skewer, but here
mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, and peppers have been
added.
Music
Persian classical dastgah: Music of Persian-speaking
areas, used as the basis for composition and
improvisation. A dastgh incorporates a scale, a motif,
a group of short pieces, and a recognizable identity.
The Kamancheh
Conceptually and in their musical content, dastghs and
their constituent gshehs are related to the Arabic system of maqmt and the Turkish makams,
and they are almost identical to the mugams of the art music of Azerbaijan. Roughly before
1880, the Persian musical system may have been very close to those of Syria, Egypt, and Iraq;
however, in the course of the 20th century, in part because of political and cultural changes, it
developed a greater degree of independence.
Kamancheh: A stringed instrument of the fiddle family
prominent in Arab and Persian art music. It is a spike fiddle;
i.e., its small, round or cylindrical body appears skewered by
the neck, which forms a foot that the instrument rests on
when played. The musician, who plays while seated, rests
the foot of the instrument on his knee. The kamanj is
played by soloists as well as in ensembles. The Kamancheh
apparently originated in northern Persia and was mentioned
by the 10th-century philosopher and music theorist alFrb.2
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2
Kebab
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Iran.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/310453/kamanja
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http://www.kereshmeh.com/santur.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/293359/Iran/230069/Literature
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She was strolling down a broad path when a carriage stopped beside her. What a pretty
little girl! said a royal young lady. I am the daughter of the king. Would you like to be my
handmaiden? Yes, Your Highness, the girl said, blushing. So the woodcutters daughter
became a handmaiden of the princess. With the gifts the princess gave her, she and her father
became quite rich. He bought a nice house, and he didnt have to gather thorn bushes anymore.
But somehow he forgot what the dervish told him.
A month went by. One day, the princess went on a picnic to one of her fathers private
gardens, and she brought along the woodcutters daughter. There was a small lake there, so they
decided to go for a swim. The princess took off her necklace and hung it on a branch overlooking
the water. But when she came out, she forgot all about it. A few days later at the palace, the
princess looked for the necklace but couldnt find it. She turned angrily to the woodcutters
daughter. You stole my necklace! You must have taken it when we went for our swim! No,
Your Highness, I wouldnt do that! Youre a thief and a liar too! Ill show you what happens to
people of your kind! Get out of my sight!
The woodcutters daughter ran home in tears. But an hour later, soldiers came to the door.
They arrested the woodcutter and carried him off to a public square in front of the prison. Then
they locked his feet in the stocks and left him there. The woodcutter had to suffer the taunts and
jeers of the passersby. Some people were kinder, though, and even threw him scraps of food.
Now, that evening was Friday eve. As the sun set, the woodcutter cast his thoughts over all that
had happened to him in the past weeks. All at once, he cried out. Oh, what a foolish, ungrateful
wretch I am! Didnt the dervish say to share what I have each Friday eve and tell of Mushkil
Gusha? Yet I havent done it once!
Just then, a packet of chickpeas and raisins landed by the woodcutter. When he looked
up, he didnt see who had thrown it. But he did see a beggar boy coming by. Young friend!
called the woodcutter. Please share this with me while I tell you a story. The boy sat down and
gratefully took what was offered. As he ate, the woodcutter related everything that had
happened, from when his daughter asked for date cakes, to when he was put in the stocks.
Thank you, sir, said the boy. I needed the food, and the story was good too. I hope it has a
happy ending.
The beggar boy went on his way. But hed only gone a block when a rich merchant
stopped him. My one and only son! Ever since you were stolen at birth, Ive looked for that
birthmark on your left cheek. Now at last Ive found you! But they leave our story here.
The next day, the princess had another picnic in her fathers private garden, and again she
went down to the lake for a swim. She was about to step into the water when she saw the
reflection of her necklace. She looked up into the treeand there was the necklace itself, right
where she had left it. That woodcutters daughter didnt take it at all! By the end of the day,
the woodcutter was free from the stocks, and his daughter was back in the palace. And every
Friday eve after that, the woodcutter always remembered to find someone in need, share what he
had, and tell his tale of Mushkil Gusha.
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