The Joys of Snow and Winter Sports

Date: 22 January 2019 - 21:07

News ID: ۶۲۳۵۷

Salaam dear young friends. Nice to meet you again after a week’s gap. Hopefully, by the grace of God Almighty you are all fine and in the best of health, and of course, in the best of spirit.
In Iran, we are experiencing the frostiness of winter. Snows have blanketed most of the country, especially the higher altitude regions. It is a beautiful sight to see almost everything white, even the trees, which resemble tall cotton plants with fluffy fibre sprouting from their branches.
It is indeed a thrill for lovers of winter sports to take to the mountain slopes in various parts of the country to enjoy skiing. For the information of our readers abroad, Iran has excellent ski resorts of international standard, scattered throughout the country, from Khorasan in the east to Azarbaijan in the west and down south via Kurdistan through the Zagros mountain range to the Isfahan and Fars Provinces.
In Tehran Province, in the Alborz Mountains, we have four famous ski resorts. These are Dizin, at an altitude of 3,600 meters, complete with three gondolas and 12 chairlifts; Darbandsar and Shemshak whose altitudes are 3050 meters and 2,550 meters respectively; followed by Tochal, which is nearest to the capital.
Of course, you do have to be very careful of avalanches so it is highly recommended that people who want this kind of experience should carry all of their avalanche gear and know how to use it.
We compared snowflakes on tree tops to cotton plants, and you will be surprise to know that in Iran has been producing cotton for the past three thousand years, which means the Greeks of Alexander the Macedonian, the savage invader who destroyed the ancient Achaemenid civilization, were surprised to find that the basic material for the clothes that human beings wear grows on trees.
The planting of cotton was common in Merv, Ray and Pars of Iran. In Persian poets’ poems, especially Ferdowsi’s Shahname, there are references to cotton ("panbe” in Persian). Marco Polo (13th century) refers to the major products of Persia, including cotton. John Chardin, a French traveler of the 17th century who visited Safavid Persia, spoke approvingly of the vast cotton farms of Persia.
Today, close to 180,000 tons of cotton bolls are estimated to be produced in Iran by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2019), from which around 60,000 tons of carded cotton will be extracted.
Well friends, before bidding you goodbye we renew our condolences to you on the tragic martyrdom anniversary of Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) that we observed earlier this week, with special ceremonies throughout the country.
Indeed, the presence of youngsters at the mourning ceremonies and their acquaintance with the fundamentals of faith, including the sacrifice of this noblest of all ladies for the defence of humanitarian values, was commendable. Insha Allah, in the next two weeks we would again be commemorating the martyrdom anniversary of Hazrat Zahra (SA) as per the second version, which is a public holiday in Iran.