Iranian Art
Language and literature
There are different languages spoken in different parts of Iran. Mainly Persian in central Iran, Azerbaijani in northwest and central Iran, Kurdish in west part, Arabic in south west, Balochi in east and Turkmen mainly in north of Iran. Among these, the Turkish language's subsets is the largest group comparing others which covers all the northwest, main part of central and north east part of Iran. This is of course the effect of the multiethnic culture of Iran due to the extension of the previous Aryan (Iranian) empires. This is because Iranians traditionally are very tolerant (e.g. The Cyrus Cylinder) and that Iranians internalize (as it is described in the Histories of Herodotus) the qualities which for them are best. A reason for the Turkmen qualitative dominance among Iranian ethnic minorities is a result of the great Turkmen migration from the Altay which led to the coming of e.g. The Seljuq Empire, The Mongolian Empire, The Ottoman Empire to mention a few.
The literature and the amount of historical sources in particular (with the exception of archaeological sources) are poor (e.g. the first national epos of Iran was first written by Ferdowsi in the First Millennium A.D. Over 1,500 years after the founding of the Hakhamaniyan Empire by Cyrus the Great the first Zoroastrian empire). This is an effect of the Arabian expansion which began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The result of this is that most Iranians often say it was the mongols that though their political dominance destroyed most of the Iranian cultural heritage. This is in fact wrong. Wrong because it was for example the Arabs + allies that destroyed libraries, historical sources, Zoroastrian fire temples and sculptures. The main reason for these actions was that this culture was against the values of Islam and a direct threat to the arabification of Greater Iran. See how Iraq no longer is an Iranian country (earlier known as Iranaq = Little Iran) but now a part of the Arab World. Why should Iranians give the blame on the Mongols (in historic context) instead of the Arabs (in historic context)? Because Arabs represent Islam and Islam is now a part of the Greater Iranian culture. That is why Iranians will not undermine their own national identity by blaming Mongols instead of the Arabs for the loss of the Iranian cultural heritage.
Persian literature inspired Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many others, and it has been often dubbed as a most worthy language to serve as a conduit for poetry. Dialects of Persian are widely spoken throughout the region sporadically from China to Syria and mainly in Iranian Plateau. Two important dialects of Persian serving as languages are Tajiki and Dari respectively spoken in Tajikistan and Afghanistan as official languages.
Contemporary Iranian literature is influenced by classical Persian poetry, but also reflects the particularities of modern day Iran, through writers such as Houshang Moradi-Kermani, the most translated modern Iranian author, and poet Ahmad Shamlou.[3]
With 300 international awards in the past 10 years, films from Iran continue to be celebrated worldwide. Perhaps the best known director is Abbas Kiarostami.
Music
The music of Persia goes back to before the days of Barbod in the royal Sassanid courts. This is where many music cultures trace back their distant origins to.[4]
There are nearly countless numbers of traditional teahouses (chai khaneh) throughout Iran, and each province features its own unique cultural presentation of this ancient tradition. However, there are certain traits which are common to all teahouses, especially the most visible aspects, strong chai (tea) and the ever-present ghalyan hookah. Almost all teahouses serve baqleh, steam boiled fava beans (in the pod), served with salt and vinegar, as well as a variety of desserts and pastries. Many teahouses also serve full meals, typically a variety of kababs as well as regional specialities