Yusef Abad Synagogue in Tehran

8 May 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Orijentolog

© Orijentolog

The Yusef Abad Synagogue (Persian: Kanise-ye Yusef Ābād), officially Sukkat Shalom Synagogue (lit. ‘Tent of Peace’), is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at the junction of 15th Street and Sayyed Jamáleddin e Asadábádi Ave, in the Yusef Abad neighborhood of Tehran, in Iran. It is the main synagogue of Tehran, and it is also one of the largest synagogues of the city.   read more…

Haim Synagogue in Tehran

5 May 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

The bema © Mozaso0/cc-by-sa-4.0

The bema © Mozaso0/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Haim Synagogue (Persian: Kenisā-ye Hayim) is a synagogue at 30 Tir Street, formerly known as Qavam-os-Saltane, in central Tehran, Iran.   read more…

Persian gardens

11 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Bagh-e Eram in Shiraz © flickr.com - Bagh-e Eram/cc-by-sa-2.0

Bagh-e Eram in Shiraz © flickr.com – Bagh-e Eram/cc-by-sa-2.0

In garden design, Persian garden or Iranian garden is a style of “landscapegarden which emerged in the Achaemenid Empire. Nine historical gardens, all of them in Iran, have been inscribed in UNESCO‘s World Heritage Sites as The Persian Garden since 2011.   read more…

Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf

9 March 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Tasnim News Agency/cc-by-4.0

© Tasnim News Agency/cc-by-4.0

Kharg or Khark Island is a continental island of Iran in the Persian Gulf. The island is 25 km (16 mi) off the coast of Iran and 483 km (300 mi) northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. Its total area is 20 km² (7.7 sq mi). Administered by the adjacent coastal Bushehr province, Khark Island provides a sea port for the export of oil and extends Iranian territorial sea claims into the Persian Gulf oil fields. Located on Khark Island is Khark, the only city in the Khark District.   read more…

Persepolis in Persia

1 September 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, House of the Month, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

Queen's Quarter, entrance to the museum and central office © Davide Mauro/cc-by-sa-4.0

Queen’s Quarter, entrance to the museum and central office © Davide Mauro/cc-by-sa-4.0

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros Mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   read more…

Persian Gulf

13 May 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

West Bay district of Doha in Qatar, as seen from the corniche at night © Alex Sergeev - www.asergeev.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

West Bay district of Doha in Qatar, as seen from the corniche at night © Alex Sergeev – www.asergeev.com/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Persian Gulf, also known as the Arabian Gulf, is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The river delta of the Shatt al-Arab forms the northwest shoreline. The Persian Gulf has many fishing grounds, extensive reefs (mostly rocky, but also coral), and abundant pearl oysters, however its ecology has been damaged by industrialization and oil spills.   read more…

Meze

19 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  10 minutes

Israeli meze © flickr.com - Ted Eytan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Israeli meze © flickr.com – Ted Eytan/cc-by-sa-2.0

Meze (also spelled mezze or mezé) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in eastern Mediterranean cuisines: Syria, Iraq, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Armenia. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A meze may be served as a part of a multi-course meal or form a meal in itself. Meze are often served with spirits such as arak, rakia, raki, oghi, ouzo, or grappa at meyhane and ouzeri or at regular restaurants.   read more…

Windcatcher

2 December 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Architecture Reading Time:  10 minutes

Aghazade mansion in Abarkooh, Iran © Amir.salehkhah/cc-by-sa-4.0

Aghazade mansion in Abarkooh, Iran © Amir.salehkhah/cc-by-sa-4.0

A windcatcher, wind tower, or wind scoop is a traditional architectural element (Persian architecture) used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs, depending on whether local prevailing winds are unidirectional, bidirectional, or multidirectional, on how they change with altitude, on the daily temperature cycle, on humidity, and on how much dust needs to be removed.   read more…

First anniversary of Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel

7 October 2024 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  14 minutes

© Ecrusized/Rr016/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Ecrusized/Rr016/cc-by-sa-4.0

On 7 October 2023, the paramilitary wings of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP, and the DFLP launched a series of coordinated armed incursions into the Gaza envelope of neighboring Israeli territory, the first invasion of Israel since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. This incursion fell on the day of Simchat Torah, right after the festival of Sukkot, a Sabbath day. The attacks initiated the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, almost exactly 50 years after Operation Badr and the greater Yom Kippur War of 6 October 1973. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups named the attacks Operation Al-Aqsa Flood (or Deluge), while in Israel they are referred to as Black Saturday or the Simchat Torah Massacre and internationally as the 7 October attack.   read more…

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