[Magdalen] Persia.

[cantor03 at aol.com]

One of the online news services had a special feature today of a
Shiite seminary in Iran.  The candidates are expected to study for at
least six years, and they dress in the typical garb of an imam with
long flowing robes and their characteristic turbans.  The students 
are, of course, all male, and number in the hundreds.  The Persian
men are generally quite handsome, and beards are the rule.
 
What really caught my attention, however, were the pictures of a few
of their Shiite shrines and mosques.  I'm used to the mosque style
characteristic of Turkey and the Balkans (ultimately derived from
the famous Hagia Sophia of Istanbul) that seeing the incredible
beauty of the Persian tiles and inlays, both inside and outside these
buildings along with the fantastic and often gigantic Persian rugs
was an eye opener.
 
It is too bad that Iran is so far off the circuit of tourism, for Iran
has an abundance of these world heritage sites which are pretty
much out of bounds for Westerners.  Has anyone of this list seen
any of this directly?
 
We did, incidentally  have a large Persian family who were active
at Saint Christopher's/Christ the King in Frankfurt/M, Germany.
 
 
David S.