Attar ; The Persian Poet Photo

Photographer’s Note

Today is/was the honoring of a Persian poet in Iran ; so I decided to upload a shot of his mausoleum located in Neyshabour that I took it in my recent trip .

Farid od Din Attar was born in Neyshabour and lived about 1119-1220 (Another source mentions he lived about 1136-1230). He lived close to 100 years and was killed by the Mongol invaders. His tomb is in Neyshabour.

Different stories are told about the death of Attar. One common story is as follow: He was captured by a Mongol. One day someone came along and offered a thousand pieces of silver for him. Attar told the Mongol not to sell him for that price since the price was not right. The Mongol accepted Attar's words and did not sell him. Later someone else comes along and offers a sack of straw for him. Attar counsels the Mongol to sell him because that is how much he is worth. The Mongol soldier becomes very angry and cuts off Attar's head so he dies to teach a lesson.

Attar is one of the most ancient poets of Persia. His work has been the inspiration of Rumi and many other mystic poets of Persian Empire. Rumi considered Attar the spirit and Sanai the eyesight , both of whom his poetic masters. Attar met Rumi at the end of his life when Rumi was only a boy and gave his book Asrarnameh as a present to him.

Attar took his name from his occupation. He was a druggist and a doctor in addition to being a poet.

In his shop, he also wrote while seeing patients. Attar wrote 114 pieces, the same number of suras in the holy book of Koran. About thirty of his works survived. To name a few of his works are love stories, biographies of saints, Asrarnameh ("The Book of Secrets"), a collection of quatrains, Illahinameh ("The Book of God") and the last not the least, his most well known masterpiece of Mantiq at-Tayr ("The Bird of the Sky") known as "The Conference of the Birds" .

One of his poems translated by Coleman Barks :

"Looking for your own face"

Your face is neither infinite nor ephemeral.
You can never see your own face,
only a reflection, not the face itself.

So you sigh in front of mirrors
and cloud the surface.

It's better to keep your breath cold.
Hold it, like a diver does in the ocean.
One slight movement, the mirror-image goes.

Don't be dead or asleep or awake.
Don't be anything.

What you most want,
what you travel around wishing to find,
lose yourself as lovers lose themselves,
and you'll be that.

worldcitizen, saeed, stego, kiwi_explorer, Dyerco, sayat, Clementi, daddo, adores, pastadog, skippy007, siolaw, AiresSantos, cfreire, jusninasirun, ahmetgedikli, edal, Henryk_Bilor, jmcl, Angshu, pboehringer, paura, PaulVDV has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

worldcitizen (1991) 2008-04-13 12:00

Hello Atousa,
I like the warm lighting in this photo, and the beautiful colors of the mausoleum. The architecture is also lovely, and the shadows of the trees form interesting patterns on the small structure.

marjan (6069) 2008-04-13 22:21

hi Atousa, very nice shot, excellent colloure and good superb notice.
Marjan

saeed (32) 2008-04-14 1:52

Salam,
very good note & colorful shot,
thank you for sharing
saeed

elihesamian (26033) 2008-04-14 4:50

Salam Atousa,
really a nice informative shot and I'm Thankful you posted it.
a great composition you drew and a fantastic sharpness,colors and contrast you resulted.the playing of the light and shadow is great.
I have photographed the place 3-4 years ago in autumn season,but I have not posted in TE and now I'm glad you did it perfectlly,nicely done !
Best Wishes
M

stego (21486) 2008-04-14 10:36

Salam Atousa,
I had heard about the the genius of medieval Persian poets, but I didn't know the name of any of them, although I think I knew the story of his death. It's nice to have such an informative note accompanying the equally nice photograph of that garden and the colourful charming mausoleum. Good POV, wonderful warm light and colours.
TFS, Regards, José.

kiwi_explorer (12195) 2008-04-15 1:09

Hi Atousa,
What a beautiful mausoleum to commemorate a great man. It is good to know he is remembered well for his wonderful work just like the poem. The surrounding garden is just lovely ... I like the color and image quality. Well composed ...excellent posting! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

Dyerco (8160) 2008-04-15 22:25

Wonderful light on the mausoleum. The detail and DOF are well handled. The write up was excellent as I had not ever heard of this gentleman until now.
Phil

sayat (2941) 2008-04-16 0:29

A very beatiful presentation Dear Atousa with a nice view and a great note.

Clementi (36970) 2008-04-16 1:06

Ciao Atousa,
beautiful the mausoleum colours, interesting the shades which wrap him, right the light like the colours well balanced.
good job
Giorgio

daddo (10427) 2008-04-16 1:09

Salam dear Attousa.Thank you for posting this sensitive tribute to one of the many great Persian poets.I love the poem and am hungry to read more. Your wonderful capture of the mausoleum echoes your sentiments and is a fitting tribute to the poet himself.One can tell that he is much loved by the Iranian people.The shadows of the trees add to the atmosphere and are very evocative. Regards. Klaudio.

axiotea (14905) 2008-04-16 7:41

Hello Atousa
Nice presentation of the mausoleum under a pleasant light which emphasizes its beautiful colors. I also like the tree shadows in FG and the sense of depth in the image.
All the best
Marilyn

adores (14706) 2008-04-20 17:08

Hi Atousa!
It's a good homage, the photo is good, with very goos colours and pov. The mousoleum is very beautiful also, really persian architecture.
Great note to tell the story of this poet!

pastadog (12093) 2008-04-24 6:23

Salam/Shalom Atousa, this shot has very pretty colors and is carefully composed, to present this nice monument. The note is excellent too, cheers :) Daniel

siolaw (24920) 2008-04-26 23:13

Salam Atousa,
Nice light and color tones here and also a good POV and off centered framing. A beautiful monument too.
Greetings
Laurent

AiresSantos (35827) 2008-04-26 23:45

Hi Atousa
Amazing light and colours in this nice composition. Lovely architecture. Very well framed and done
Have a nice Sunday
Aires

cfreire (10950) 2008-04-27 3:40

Hi Athousa
Wonderful shot very well captured about this beautiful place. Your note is very informative, too. The lights and shadows are splendid and you managed it with good control. Excellente picture. Best regards, Consuelo

skippy007 (5713) 2008-04-27 14:54

Hello Atousa,
Lovely colours in this very interesting mausoleum, This photo is very nice, light, detail & composition are superb.
Your note is very interesting & informative.Lovely poem.
Thank you
Regards
Santo

jusninasirun (8990) 2008-04-27 21:01

Salam Atousa. Excellent shot at the mausoleums. Stunning dome under good light and shadow. The whole perspective is pleasant to view. Regards. Jusni

ahmetgedikli (20103) 2008-05-03 22:12

Salam Atousa,
A beautiful shot. Superb light, sharpness and good contrast.
Have a nice sunday.
Ahmet

edal (6547) 2008-05-03 23:33

Salam Atousa!
It is a wonderful shot and a deep philosophical poem. I'm so thankful to you for telling us about the great Persian culture.
Best regards,
Anton

marietom (29890) 2008-05-07 6:11

Hello Atousa,

Qu'il est beau, ce toit vert !
très belle composition, d'une belle architecture.
Bonne journée
Marie

Henryk_Bilor (20260) 2008-05-15 2:43

Hi Atousa
Interesting place. Good capture with a nice play of light and shadows.
Regards

vincz (19031) 2008-05-22 1:05

What a lovely place. You caught it with so beautiful colors. Very pleasant.

jmcl (13251) 2008-05-24 7:46

Hi Atousa,

I love the way the colors leap out from and are contrasted by the burned tones of the surrounding trees. great scale ... wonderful note. very nice. take care, John

Angshu (30896) 2008-05-28 0:44

Salaam Atousa
A beautiful poem...wonder how much more beautiful the original in Persian would be! A very nice tribute to the great poet, composed well. The excellent blue tiles of the mausoleum, the autumn colours on the trees, the counterbalance with the tree on the left. Good work!
With Regards
Angshuman

pboehringer (768) 2008-05-31 17:06

Atousa,
a great image to celebrate this poet, until know unknown to me. The composition is a fine one with the mausoleum off center and the trees to the left giving a nice frame. The colors are well saturated although I have the impression of a slight red hue that requires a small correction.
Your note is a nice one and shows how humble this person has been and how blind brute force can be.
Peter

capthaddock (28640) 2008-06-05 17:34

Beautiful light and architechture, I wish you hadn't cut off the tip of the spire on top of the dome.

mikeo (12111) 2008-06-16 10:21

Hello Atousa,

Firs thanks a lot for vititing my gallery and letting find you this way. World of Middle East, habbits, culture really fascinate me...I dream about visiting your ocuntry one day but I know it will not be easy...

And about photo - this building is incredible, its decorations, colours are superb. Very interesting looking trees all around in brown colours are superb background.
I hope to see lots of photos from your country.
TFS,
Greetings
Mikeo

paura (33137) 2008-07-03 7:59

Atousa,
Uma beleza de trabalho, com ajustes de exposição muito bem executados e lindas cores. Parece um quadro à óleo.

Abraço

Paulo

BWJ (1697) 2008-07-05 9:39

Salam Atousa,
Attar's mausoleum with its rich turquoise color and interesting design is beautiful. Your POV, warm color tones, shadows and shapes of the trees make a gorgeous picture. Outstanding note and poem!
Warm wishes,
Betty

batalay (19188) 2008-07-25 12:25

Hello Atousa,

This is a wonderful photograph, complemented by an excellent note. The story associated with the great poet's death is poignant. I did not know of him, but I am grateful for the engaging lesson.

Warm regards,

Bulent

kschanna (2157) 2008-08-18 2:03

Asalam-o-Alaikum,

I am fascinated by the note you write with this shot. Its fascinating for me because the linguistic references are all too familiar for me. Farsi is such a beautiful language and so easy to fall in love with. Iran especially Neyshabour is a place which I would love to visit one day as Khayam is burried there.

Now coming to the shot, the composition is very attractive, the warm tones go very well with the feel of the shot.

Thanks for sharing

Wasalam
Kamran

PaulVDV (4293) 2008-09-01 22:17

Hello Atousa,
I like your POV and composition.
The light is very good and the colours warm and beautiful. Fantastic architecture.
Best regards, Paul