soil, sun and water, these are the symbols of life and creation, best understood by arid of and dried outlands. in south of xorasan razabi province, there is an old city known for its quick sands and aquaducts hidden at the heart of the soil. gonabad, an arid land that stranger to snowfall and rain, a land where water can only be accessed through aquaducts. the city is home. to a muslim

community who has inherited aquaducts from ancient iran. aquaducts are among the greatest manifestations of human civilization during the akamanii dynasty, and of all the aquaducts in the city, kaasabe is the best known which is regarded as a masterpiece in the world's water channel industry. "the water that flows from the aquaducts is the only cure for the lifeless and barren soil. residing there are the muslim people who regard water, wind, soil and sun as signs of life on earth. they view the moon in the sky as a symbol for immortality. of all the names designated for the moon, ramadan describes more than the rise and set of the earth's.

satellite based on a religious duty and an old tradition on the last days of the lunar month of shaban, the people of gonabad and its villages go top of the highest buildings to observe the start of the holy month of ramadan. teenagers who have just reach the age of religious responsibility, accompany their elders to take part in this islamic tradition. they're as much enthusiastic as the elders to see the new moon of ramadan. mobina is among the teenagers who are marking their first years of fasting. to these

people, observing the ramadan cresent is as much pleasing as seeing the new moon of the month of shawwal, which marks the arrival of eid al-fitr. the moon and the mirror. to me, everything began from the summer heat. my eyes began to see differently and my ears heard new whispers. that was when my tongue began to murmur god's magnificents and grandure. saying prayers was the first sign that i had reached the age of religious responsibility, and from then on i could worship my creator. and fasting was a hard but sweet experience that the... holy month

of ramadan had offered me, like all muslims in the world, the people of gonabad and its surrounding villages view the final days of the month of shaban as a time to usher in the holy month of ramadan. the city's vibe is different on these days. in every corner of the city, you'll see people buying food for ramadan, sour and iftar meals. the hot and dry regions in khurasan razavi province, and during the month of ramadan, the city's hot temperatures cannot be easily tolerated. although this region is best known for its historical aqueducts, the square built at the entrance of the city of gonabad is another symbol attesting to the artistry of its people. the square leads to village that is

apparently adjacent to the city, but the locals know that is the village of mandingonabad. mend is one of the most famous villages in gonabad. it's a village with a long history in crafting, colorful and ornamented pottery. motives that represent the culture, thoughts and customs of the people of this region. in not a very distant past, most of these people were engaged in pottery. those people used to be called dashgar. dashkar meant crocker or potter or anyone whose job was to make clay dishes.

most of the potters in men have inherited this art from their fathers. some of them have become masters in the field as a result of strenuous effort. in the past, clay dishes were widely used in people's lives. however, with the advent of porcelin and machine-assisted pottery, the market for conventional pottery and production of consumable dishes lost its prosperity. as a result, the number of workshops gradually declined. but those who are reluctant to let the art slip into oblivion tried hard to preserve the pottery of mend and its exquisite ornaments. the sun and fish motif

is the most genuine design that can still be seen on these earthenwears since the past. the sun is drawn and painted in the middle of the clay dishes and is surrounded by number of fish painted on the margin. many don't grasp the value of this art, but for those who feel the warmth of the artist hands on these works of art, these pottery items are truly invaluable. some of the historical pots found in gonabad are kept at the cities museum. they are an example of the region's art of pottery in different historical eras.

some of the people of gonabad and its surrounding villages still eat in clay dishes. created in mend village, many of the traditional restaurants in the surrounding cities also use men's pottery items. some of the best and oldest men clay dishes can also be seen in the homes of many gona bud residence. in most parties and celebrations during ramadan they take the colorful pottery items out of the old chests and put them on the iftar and suhur tables to decorate them. with their colors, with the start of the holy month of ramadan,

the fasting residents of mend village carry on with their work and activities. in addition to gardening, agriculture and animal farming, farmers prefer to grow crops that don't need a lot of water. that's why saffron is one of the major crops that blossomed during fall and is harvested there. as with many other villages, one of the most important chours of women in men village is to bake bread. this local bread takes a great deal of effort to be prepared. the dough is

made in traditional and natural way. in addition to that, the bread has a high nutritional value due to the addition of medicinal plants. and aromatic vegetables. despite a rise in the number of machine assisted bakeries in cities and towns, this local bread is still widely used in many parts of...

in not a very distant past, people who woke up earlier would wake up others for eating sahoor. this tradition was prevalent in many parts of iran, but with the expansion. of urbanization and the emergence of new clocks and technologies, this tradition sleped into

oblivion.

women in the village work more in the month of ramadan compared to other days of the year. to prepare iftar, sometimes they use tools that have a great impact on the quality and taste of the food. grandmother's old meal is a small, but it's still highly efficient in grinding wheat and barley and even flowering them.

amid a scorching heat emitted from the ground and sky of gonabad, when there was no such things as cooling devices, it was hard for fasting teenagers to withstand thirst and heat. teenage. boys who worked shoulder to shoulder with their fathers would resort to wind catchers and cool basements to stay away

from the heat and keep their fast. some others cooled the ground and lay on it. this was to cool themselves in a breath-taking battle with the outside heat and inside thirst. holy month of ramadan, parents and older individuals who have more spare time sit with the kids and fix their mistakes in reciting the holy quran. as with many other places in mend village, learning the correct recitation the verses of the holy quran begins from

childhood.

jushpare partage is one of gonabad's local foods, the patage takes patient. and effort to prepare. in addition to festivities, juschpate pottage is served in some of ramadan's iftar meals, especially when there is family gathering. grandmother's wooden mortar is a relic from the years when electric mills didn't exist. the dough ingredients include hem seeds, sesame, meat, peas and beans, which are mixed together and placed between the dough slices. the puttage must be cooked in a traditional way, because none of its ingredients can be found in the

market. the dough which is made from wheat flour should be made so... in that it can keep the feelings. this requires a special skills, which are possessed only by grandmothers or youngesters who are interested in cooking this puttage and have learned the recipe from the elders. all family members should help in cooking judage. the process is so lengthy that sometimes it takes up to 2 hours just to open

the door and stuff it with the fillings. most all of the local people in this region enjoy eating juspate puttage and regard it as nutritious food. myade, who is my uncle's granddaughter, is marking her age of religious responsibility. it's the first time that she wants to fast in the month of ramadan. she... has experienced worshipping earlier during this year's aatakov or spiritual retreat in the lunar month of rajab.

grinding curd is one of the things that needs to be done as part of the process of preparing the jus pare. many mothers and grandmothers still believe that the curd that they grind tastes much better than the ready-made and packaged curds. however, grinding curd is not an easy job and cannot be learned. on the passage of the aquaduct water through the gardens of men village, there lies a row

of mulberry trees. local residents of gonabad call this path a street. in late spring, street and its mallberry trees become a rendevu for those interested in this fruit. in the month of ramadan, efforts to collect the mulberry will lead the fruit to iftar spreads. is the first step that should be taken. in the month of ramadan, cooking the dough should be done around the star time because they should be consumed immediately after they're cooked and taken out of the water.

when eating iftar, they take the juice patted dough pieces out and... cook them in a mixture of ground curd, oil, turmeric and saffron, then they decorate it with hot mint and saffron. juschepad should be eaten hot, it should be put on the ftar spread while it's still hot. in family parties and iftar meal. preparing and serving douche partes done in a group.

while many of the chores are yet to be completed if dart time is drawing near and all gear up for. for teenagers, eating and breaking their fast with other family members is a unique experience, especially when they're marking their first days and years of fasting, as with many muslim communities around the world, people in gonabad's men village serve simple iftar cuisines, this has been recounted time and again by grandfathers and

grandmothers. in mid ramadan towards the end of the month, people's vibes changed, as they observe the nights of glory and martidom anniversary of

imam ali, peace be upon him. chronic sessions continue in greater magnificence compared to the early days of ramadan. they find themselves in a divine bond when they stay awake in the nights of glory. اگرچه خانه خرابه. گناه غفلت خویش

است ابوطاهر، القصه يعني لكل عراقي في ايام صدام حسين له قصه كامله يمكن يعملون منها مجلدات. an iraqi businessman who recounts saddam hussein's oppression of himself and others كل ما عندي امر لله عز وجل او قضاء حاجه تتوجه الى اهل البيت ومنهم let's hear abu taher's story together. "we're ready to

marsh, let's start slowly, but strongly and solidarity with the palestine and israel is one of the worst things that has happened or zionism is one of the worst things that has happened to the jewish people." "the my experience, it really, really wasn't until the 80's that i was able to open my heart enough to see truly what israel and zionism had done and was doing and continue to do. i did not grow up as an anti-zionist, which is what i am today. i grew up as a zionist in a

very zionist." family that identified judaism with zionism,