An old buckle of a Persian Belt

Today I visited a unique exhibition at Rotterdam's World Museum: "The Persians, Warriors and Poets". It's a joint project between this Dutch museum and Stibbert Museum in Italy.

The exhibition is mostly focused on the Persian weapons in Safavid era; ca. 16th and 17th century. This era is quite important in the history of Persia (or Iran). Safavid kings reunited the country and Persian art (except for music) also blossomed in this period.

But now many Persians do not show interest in Safavid dynasty. It seems the main reason is the current political situation in Iran. The current government of Iran is Shia and Safavid kings were also Shia and cited Shia Islam as the official religion of Persia when they came to power; different from the rest of Islamic countries which are mostly Sunni. Another important point which should not be forgotten is the Persians were mostly Zoroastrian before the Arabs' attack to their country in 7th AD.

Anyway what attracted my attention at the exhibition is not weapons or religious/national stuff; it's a very cute belt's buckle. Very artistic! I made a photo of that which you can see in the beginning of this page. It has been made around 1800 AD by a Persian artist. I also love the color, a peaceful blue!

Today also BBC Persian TV aired an informative report from the exhibition. You can watch it here.
Rotterdam's World Museum has also published the catalogue of the exhibition as a superb book.

SAE Institute; a Terrible Education Experience in Rotterdam

While ago I was advised by one of my friends in Rotterdam that if I am interested to attend a short video production course in English, SAE Institute, (a kind of creative media education) is a choice.

I registered online eagerly to attend the weekly classes but the content of the course was quite disappointing...

The teachers used to just show samples and talk about them. They never asked us to film something, show it in the class and talk about the technical issues and problems there!
It was quite surprising to me because SAE is mostly famous for its practical side.

On that time they announced for this short video production course they will offer 50% discount. So it could be seen what is the reason behind this low level course!

I started to talk with college mates. They were quite confused as well and had no idea what is going on in this course!
From the other side, the teachers were regularly rescheduling the classes and did not pay any attention that many students are coming from other cities, far from Rotterdam, and they need to plan for their trips earlier.

The final examination was the last joke of the course. When I complained about the whole story with SAE headquarter in London, they just passed me to each other and finally wrote me they have investigated the issue and there has not been any problem!

My feeling is this so-called short "video production course" was a way for them to receive money from expat community in the Netherlands who wish to study such a course in English.

I just wanted to share my experiences with others who see the advertisements of SAE in the Netherlands and specially their Rotterdam branch.

Dariush shines in Holland | De Doelen Repairs Its Image

On 11 Oct. 2014 Dariush, the legendary Persian pop star shined once again in a concert at De Doelen in Rotterdam.

 The venue was full of his fans who were singing with him during the event.

De Doelen before this concert was a hated place for many Persians in the Netherlands. During 2009 pro-freedom demonstrations in Iran which many people were killed by the Islamic goverment in Tehran and other cities, the regime tried to cover up its crime by organizing a so-called "Peace Concert" in Europe. Their agents hired famous venues in big European cities to give this impression that they are culture-oriented. In Holland they hired "De Doelen".

It was quite surprising that how De Doelen decided to accept Iran's Embassy offer to hire the hall in a time that human rights violations in Iran were every day in the news.

 For the concert in January 2010 the embassy sent free tickets to its own people. At the night of the concert a big demonstration was organized by Iranian opposition groups in Netherlands against the event. Inside the hall the embassy's agents attacked the protesters and the concert was remained unfinished.
 See the photos here.

It seems De Doelen just cares about money and nothing else. Anyway it's good that finally a pro-freedom Iranian singer performed there. Maybe an opprotunity for De Doelen to repair its image for Persian-Dutch community.

Parts of Dariush Concert in Rotterdam can be watched here:

(VIDEO)