Persian New Year Concert @ Oberhausen Arena, March 2014

Since around 10 years the biggest Nowruz (Persian New Year Concert) in the world is taking place at Oberhausen Arena, Germany. This year also the concert was organized on 22 March 2014.

The singers were who were invited this year were Sattar, Shahram Shabpareh, Andy, Shadmehr Aghili, Kamran-Houman and Shahab Tiam.

That was wonderful to see thousands of Persians at the venue but the sound quality of the concert was terrible; too much echo and high volume of percussions turned the hall to a sport club! It was almost impossible to recognize the voice of singers and the sound of the instruments! Hopefully the organizers pay more attention to this issue for the next events.

At the concert Shahmehr Aghili invited the audience to sing the patriotic anthem EY IRAN. That was an emotional moment which has been captured in this video:

Persian Fire-Jumping Festival in Holland

Tonight Persians in various parts of the Netherlands celebrated "Chaharshanbeh-Soori"; their ancient fire-jumping festival which its root goes back to thousands years ago.
Here are some photos of the celebration by the Delft Lake:

A so-called academic center : BRITANNICA !

This afternoon when I was checking various atlases at the library I came across with Encyclopedia Britannica World Atlas. In the Persian Gulf region maps I noticed that in all maps they have removed the adjective 'Persian' from the historical and internationally recognized term of the Persian Gulf.

Not far from the Persian Gulf region I saw the complete titles of "Gulf of Oman", "Arabian Sea", "Indian Ocean", etc. have been used. So the question is based on what evidence Britannica which claims to be an academic institution removes 'Persian' from the Persian Gulf. They should not be unaware about countless documents and maps which prove the accuracy of the historical name of this waterway; a fact which has been emphasized in the United Nations directive as well.

It is quite sad to see the so-called academic center has become involved in political/economical games. If Britannica believes "The Gulf" is the correct term of the Persian Gulf consequently they should mention the reasons in their atlas.
If they believe "Persian Gulf" shows the Persian ownership in the region, then they should stop using the terms "Indian Ocean", "Gulf of Mexico", "Arabian Sea", etc.

Kiwi Blossoms in Persia

Kiwifruit blossoms in Roudsar, northern part of Persia.

Latest Photos of Princess Ashraf Pahlavi

The Persian princess Ashraf Pahlavi is one of the most controversial figures of Pahlavi regime until 1979 Islamic revolution. There have been a lot of rumors about her moral/financial corruption and also her involvement in drug trade in Persia (Iran).
After the victory of Islamic revolution in her homeland, the princess has kept a very low profile media presence. There was not any new photo or video of her since early 1990s but recently two new photos of her have been published in various Persian-language websites.

Princess Ashraf now lives in Paris.

Persian Gulf view from Kish Island

Kish Island is considered as the "Pearl of the Persian Gulf".

This photo has been taken by a tourist in Kish; a view of the waterway which had been full of tensions in past few decades.

Ancient Persian Costume Redesigning

Redesigning of an female Cloth from ancient Persia (Parthian era, 200 BC.), Designer is the Persian-Dutch artist Maryam Entezami. She lives in Eindhoven.

More info about her work: http://www.maryentez.com/