Valiasr Avenue

Historical and Memorable

Valiasr Avenue is Tehran’s longest avenue that connects its southernmost point to the furthest northern end.
It is also considered one of the most historical parts of the city. Along the avenue are located historical houses and sites dating back to different eras.
Most of these historical monuments have been registered on the National Heritage List and are functioning as museums, Payvand reported.

Historicity
Valiasr Avenue was established upon the order of the deposed dictator Reza Shah Pahlavi with the initial aim of connecting the Pahlavi complexes, including different palaces and luxury houses to Tehran’s Railroad Station.
The large numbers of sycamores, planted on both sides of the avenue, give it a very pleasing appearance. In fact, sycamore and Tehran are ancient friends. The name of Tehran reminds visitors of sycamores.
A famous Italian tourist, Peter Delavale, who traveled to Iran 400 years ago, has described Tehran as the country of sycamores in his travelogue.
Iranian farmers knew sycamores as the king of trees and planted them in the vicinity of their farms.
Sycamores have high importance in the ancient culture of Iran, as they are considered sacred.

Tehran Railroad Station
Almost all historical sites situated along the avenue have been registered on the National Heritage List and Tehran Railroad Station is the first registered historical site.
The station was built under the supervision of Karim Taherzadeh Behzad, the brother of renowned Iranian miniaturist, Hussein Behzad, and a Ukrainian engineer named Veladislav Veladislavic Garaditski, who was buried in the Armenian graveyard of Tehran.
The design of Tehran Railroad Station was inspired by ancient Persian architecture.

City Theater
The modern building of City Theater, located at the junction of Enqelab and Valiasr avenues, is another eye-catching monument of Tehran.
City Theater is surrounded by a park named Daneshjou (students). It is Iran’s largest theater complex comprising five halls, namely the Main Hall, Chaharsou, Qashqaie, Sayeh and a rehearsal hall in the basement.
Amirali Afkhami supervised the construction of City Theater, which is among the first postmodern buildings of Tehran.
The house of Professor Adl, one of the first Iranian surgeons, is another historical site built alongside Valiasr Avenue. The old mansion was built by a Russian engineer named Markov.
Surrounded by tall pine trees, the mansion is spread over 2,700 meters and blends Russian and Persian architecture. The facade of the building has been decorated with attractive carvings.

Other Sites
The traditional Azari Teahouse is another historical site on Valiasr Avenue.
Teahouse paintings by eminent masters, including Ismaeilzadeh, Davoud Zanjani, Ahmad Khalili and Hussein Behjou, can be seen on the walls of the teahouse. The paintings have been installed there to remind attendees the concepts of heroism and religion in ancient Iran, apart from giving the teahouse a unique beauty.
Anis-od-Doleh Mansion is another relic located on one of the corners of the avenue. It has been registered on the National Heritage List. Anis-od-Doleh was the first wife of Nassereddin Shah who had a great influence on the king and played a political role.
The mansion is a two-story building that was once surrounded by a large beautiful garden, which has been destroyed during construction projects and only a small yard remains.
The building enjoys beautiful plasterworks and has been recognized as one of the most attractive monuments remaining from the Qajar era in Tehran.
Two other historical sites include the Qajar-era mansion named Ahmadshahi situated in the heart of “501 Hospital of Iran’s Army Forces” and Tehran University’s Institute of Archeology built during the Pahlavi era.
One of the most important attractions of the avenue is Bagh-e Ferdows (Ferdows Garden) which extends over 20,000 square meters. A two-story house named Ferdows Mansion sits in the middle of the garden. It was built by Husseinali Khan Moayyer-ol-Mamalek, a Qajarid political figure.
Imamzadeh Saleh is a historical shrine situated in Tajrish near the northernmost point of Valiasr Avenue. There is an inscription in the courtyard stating that Imamzadeh Saleh is the son of Imam Musa Kazem (AS).

UN: Tabriz Among Attractive Cities

Translated by Atefeh Rezvan-Nia
Edited by Mohammad Reza M. Karimi

Tabriz has been introduced as one of the most beautiful and developed cities in the world by a magazine published by the United Nations recently.
The magazine mentioned other cities of Iran, namely Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, Qom and Orumieh, as the other most attractive cities in the world followed by Tabriz, IRNA reported.
The presence of many modern buildings, natural attractions, beautiful mosques, delicious cuisines, air links and many historical sites was used by the UN as indicators to select the most attractive cities.
In addition, WHO again introduced Tabriz as the most hygienic and healthy cities of Iran. Tabriz had been announced as the most hygienic cities of Iran two years ago.
Tabriz has been announced as Iran’s most successful city in terms of implementation of Article 44 of the Constitution. The magazine notes that “private investors of Tabriz were pioneers in Iran in implementing the article and increasing private investments in the city”.
Meanwhile, a governmental German TV network will produce a 30-minutes program about the attractions of Iran’s northern Gilan province.
Announcing this, Ladan Jafari, an official with Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization for marketing and publicity, said a team of TV producers from ERD Network has been invited to Iran to make a documentary about the northern province of Gilan.
“This is done in line with the goal of Iran to annually attract 7.5 million tourists,” she said.
The group will make a documentary about the natural attractions, historical sites, foods and customs of people living in Gilan.
“ERD Network has a program titled ‘Around the world’, which is broadcasted every Wednesday to display the attractions of different countries,” Jafari said, adding that the documentary on Gilan province will be shown through this program.

Fin Garden Registration Celebrated

Iranica Desk

A ceremony was held on July 18 to celebrate the global registration of Fin Garden in Kashan, Isfahan province.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, senior officials and ambassadors attended the event.
Fin Garden, along with eight other Persian gardens, was registered on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites last year.
The garden, situated in an area of 2,000 square meters, is considered one of the most beautiful Persian gardens. The garden attracts many tourists every year.
There are different buildings in the garden, each of which dates back to a specific historical period, ranging from Safavid to Qajar eras.
Sardar Mansion, Safavid Koushk, Qajarid Koushk, Safavid and Qajarid baths, the National Museum and Karim-Khani Private Room are some of the buildings located in the garden.
Amir Kabir, one of the greatest political figures in the history of Iran, was murdered in Fin Garden upon the order of Nassereddin Shah of Qajar Dynasty.
Amir Kabir was Nassereddin’s chief minister and played a key role in building Iran. He prevented the meddling of foreigners in Iran’s domestic affairs, implemented reforms and cut the lavish salaries paid to princes and princesses.

Unwilling to Meet King

By Sa’di

A man had a friend, who held the office of administrator to the king, whom he had not seen for a long time. Asked for the reason, he replied, “I do not want to see him.” Another member of the office, who also happened to be present, asked, “What fault has he committed that thou art unwilling to meet him?” He replied, “There is no fault in the matter but a friend who is an administrator may be seen when he is removed from office.”

Whilst in greatness and in turmoil of business
They do not like to be troubled by neighbors,
But when they are depressed and removed from office
They will lay open their heart’s grief to friends.

Iranian Recipe

Ground Lamb Kebabs
Serves 3

Ingredients
Ground lamb, 450 grams
Onion, 1 large, grated
Egg, 1
Salt, 1 teaspoon to taste
Pepper, 1/2 teaspoon to taste
Cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon
Wooden skewers

Directions
Soak wooden skewers in warm water for 20-30 minutes prior to preparing food.
Place meat in a large bowl. Add the onion, egg, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Mix well until the meat turns lighter in color.
Take a handful of the mixture and form it around the skewer to approximately 15 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameters to make an elongated patty (it helps to oil hands, and lay out some wax paper to work on).
Set kebabs aside on wax paper on another plate until ready to grill.
Grill kebabs over hot coals or under broiler until cooked through, turning once.
Serve with lemon wedges and rice or bread with a sprinkling of sumac seasoning (optional).

Health Benefits of Lamb
Lamb is a popular red meat with tremendous health benefits added to its glory. Obtained from a young sheep not more than one year of age, it serves as a great source of necessary nutrients in the body.
Despite the fact that about one-third of the fat in lamb comes from saturated fat, lamb can be a significant source of omega-3 fat and also contains a large amount of monounsaturated fat (40 percent of its total fat).
Both omega-3 fat and monounsaturated fat have been associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.
While pasture-fed lamb can naturally contain small amounts of trans fat, one of the trans fats it contains is vaccenic acid, a precursor for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). CLA intake is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Lamb is a good source of vitamin B12 and also provides important amounts of B vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, folate, biotin, pantothenic acid and choline.
Vitamins B6, B12, folate and choline are important for the healthy metabolism of homocysteine and can help prevent unwanted accumulation of excess homocysteine in the body. High blood levels of homocysteine are a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Trimmed lean cuts from lamb provide a ratio of omega-6: omega-3 fat of approximately 5:1.
According to repeated research findings, this ratio falls into an ideal range for lowering the risk of heart disease.
Lamb provides antioxidant minerals that have been shown to help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing unwanted oxidative stress.
It provides a very good amount of the mineral selenium and good amount of the mineral zinc.
A second area where we would expect to see health benefits from lamb consumption would involve blood sugar regulation.
Lamb has long been a part of menus and recipes endorsed by the American Diabetic Association, where it is viewed as a lean meat high in protein, which can be beneficially incorporated into recipes in amounts of 100-120 grams per serving.
It is often unranked on lists of glycemic index values due to its virtually non-existent carb content.

Golestan Handicrafts

A ten-day exhibition of handicrafts and souvenirs of Golestan province is underway in Naharkhoran Tourism Zone of Gorgan. The exhibition will continue till July 20.