The Hazrat Ali Shrine in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. Mazar-e Sharif is the fourth largest city in Afghanistan, up north near the border with Uzbekistan. The Hazrat Ali Shrine is believed by many Muslims to be the burial place of Ali ibn Ali Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. In Mazar-e Sharif, as in most of Afghanistan, Persian (or as it is called here, "Dari") is the main language, with Pashto a close second. The famous Persian-language poet Jalal al Din Muhammad Rumi- generally known only as "Rumi" in English- was born here in the 1200's. Although he wrote...

Between Kurds, Turks, and Queers in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul

author: Reza : Istanbul, Turkey

The view from my new apartment in Tarlabasi, Beyoglu, Istanbul: Although quite close to Istanbul's commercial heart, this neighborhood was largely vacated after the population transfers between Greece and Turkey in the early 20th century and since then has been largely occupied by various migrants from the countryside. In the 1970's (or 80's? I forget) a highway was built alongside it, demolishing a large number of historic dwellings but conforming the area to the citywide transportation reforms. As a result, however, the area was cut off from Taksim, the neighborhood that today comprises the heart of the "success story" of neoliberal,...

Among the Cannons and Buses of Downtown Tehran

author: Reza : Tehran, Iran

The central square of Tehran, Iran was built in 1867 as part of a process of urban reformation initiated under the monarch Nasreddin Shah Qajar. Called Meydan-e Toopkhaneh (Cannon House Square), the Square marked the northern extent of the old, walled city and the entrance to the modern, planned city to be built to the north. The Qajar palace was (and is still) located directly south of the square, while an old neighborhood alongside it was demolished and made into a city park, displacing the area's residents but giving Tehran's Europeanized elite a place to promenade. A block away, meanwhile,...

Looking North in Snowy Tehran

author: Reza : Tehran, Iran

This is a photo that has been floating around the Iranian blogosphere lately. It shows the view looking north from Central Tehran across the Towhid Tunnel and the Navvab Housing Project above it. The housing project was built with a freeway running through the middle of it in the 1990's in order to improve transportation across this megacity of nearly 14 million (and to locate lots of new people near that transportation). Needless to say- as is the case with highway transportation all over the world- it didn't help much, and subway and light rail lines www.urbanrail.net/as/tehr/tehran.htm are being laid across...

A Stroll in the National Garden of Tehran

author: Reza : Tehran, Iran

Downtown Tehran is an extremely hectic, busy place. As part of the modernization of the city's urban fabric that took place in the early 20th century (a phenomenon that occurred similarly in almost every major Iranian city at the time), a grid of wide, 6 lane roads was laid over the city's old winding alleyways. These roads bisected the old city (the bazaar and its environs) and led outward in a perfect grid fashion. Pictured here is the view from the inside of the National Garden's gated complex, a tranquil scene insulated from the boulevard beyond. The new roads disrupted the...

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A Lo-res Mini Mono Montage of My Local Locality

a lo-res mini mono montage of my local locality lisnaskea, northern ireland

A Lo-res Mini Mono Montage of My Local Locality

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Articles from Reza

Between Poets & Saints in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan

Between Kurds, Turks, and Queers in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul

Among the Cannons and Buses of Downtown Tehran

Looking North in Snowy Tehran

A Stroll in the National Garden of Tehran

The Coquettish Murals of Tehran

An Iranian Beach Holiday

Beirut from the Sky

Yearning for the South in Tyre

Wandering Beirut's Armenian Quarters

Remnants of the French Mandate in Saida

Tehran from 435 Meters

Patiently Awaiting Beirut's Next Urban Transformation

Beauty & Jealousy in Tehran's Ancient Quarters

Watching Pigeons Fly from Above the Citadel of Tripoli

The Politics of Resistance in Tehran's Graffiti

Yemen's Capital's Urban Agriculture, Souqs, and Drugs

A Modest Celebration for the 12th Shia Imam

New Park in Old Iran

Pre-War or Something Like It

Cherry Picking in Tehran

Parked Among the Martyrs

Between Poets & Saints in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan

Between Kurds, Turks, and Queers in Tarlabaşı, Istanbul

Among the Cannons and Buses of Downtown Tehran

Looking North in Snowy Tehran

A Stroll in the National Garden of Tehran

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from the archives

A Lo-res Mini Mono Montage of My Local Locality

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