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Dear Antarctica students considering possibility of overseas
study in Iran, I tell you now my story. First I study
in Arctowski campus of UANT and finally decide
to go overseas. I want to do good for both sake of art
and also for communication between antagonistic cultures.
I select Tehran and am accepted. I arrive in Tehran
and meet art students at new university, discussing
with them possibility of preparing a new artistic alliance.
Khosrow Ziapur, a colleague, exclaims a will to create
totally new image with me. We join names and become
new artist, "Edzik Ziapur." Although both
of us are the artist, I become the one who does most
of talking. We have initial success, Iran is more open
than outside world gives credit. Many young people are
against conservatism of M. Ahmadinejad and ائتلاف آبادگران ایران اسلامی
party. As artist Edzik Ziapur, we obtained the forum
for discussion of Christian prayer and cultural centre
in Tehran. Elderly people who attended the forum were
frightened that it would attract Christian settlers
who would continue to become antithetical to thousand
year old Islamic tradition of Tehran. Young people embraced
idea more. "What, do you mean to say Christian
centre is bad because it is Christian?"
The older people affirmed indeed that was exactly why.
"We feel sorry because although only 300 or so
Christian families live in Tehran, they have no means
of public expression", we said. For this concern,
we received even death threats and actions, but
the stone thrown was missed, simply for this suggestion
Christians should have a forum of public expression.
The forum continued at a karnival we staged in the city
centre. A large public campaign began with crosses looking
like swords slicing into a map of Iran. They represented
the churches of Iran and proposed Christian centre.
UNESCO made St. Thaddeus Monestary a World Heritage
Site, and we hoped they would do the same with the proposed
Christian centre but did not receive an answer.
I was thrown out of my flat and moved in with an Armenian couple. I went home early. I do not think overseas study abroad was a very good experience, but wonder what it would be like if Christians and Moslems got along. |
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From the plane on the way down |
Mountains view & urbanised core |
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The Fine Arts school of Tehran Univ. |
Great gate of the University |
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The conference ended poorly |
He was without sin who cast the stone |
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Karnival: I plan to strike the target |
I did not successfully win the prize |
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Supporters with crosses on their face |
Some were beaten for helping us |
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The ad campaign against the centre |
Iranians became very patriotic |
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An Armenian couple was nice to me |
They took me- Thaddeus Monestary |
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We lay on the Seacoast of Caspia |
Shopping in Tehran under embargo |
