Zanjan Tourism Guide

Nowrouz-e Jamshidi

Nowrouz embraces a variety of different features of an intangible cultural heritage as of its antiquity, a very vast geographical scope and many periods, as well as a time of its holding. It consists of a variety of cultural forms and expressions based on myths just like Jamshid, the mythological king of Iran, for which Nowrouz has also been called Nowrouz-e Jamshidi. A similar myth exists in the Indian mythology, as well as the Turkish famous “Bozkurt” myth in Turkey; for legends, the legend of “Amoo Nowrouz” in Iran, Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries in which “Naneh Nowrouz” waits for Amoo Nowrouz to come but at the very moment of the beginning of the New Year, she falls asleep. Amoo Nowrouz comes and goes while she is asleep. This legend repeats every year. It should be noted that although the myths sound ancient but they are narrated and alive in our culture at the present time; tales; epics; poetry: in addition to the classical poems that have been called “Nowrouz-i Poems”, the poets of today have also Nowrouz-i Poems that are published before and after the Nowrouz ceremony in books, magazines, internet and also recited in radios and televisions; music: In the Iranian ancient and classical music, there exist very special songs and melodies such as “Naz-e Nowrouz”, “Yaad-e Nowrouz”, “Nowrouz-e Khordak”, “Nowrouz-e Khara” and “Nowrouz-e Saba”. More to say, there is a very famous Afghan song “Molla Mammad Jaan” that is the distinctive Nowrouzi song in the city of Mazar-e Sharif that is also recognized in Iran and Tajikistan.

experiences, skills and arts as well as differing objects like work and daily life instruments that have been and are employed in different stages of this celebration such as renewing furniture, producing artifacts and toys for children, decorative objects as well as jewelry made of precious gems and/or metals especially for newly married couples. As a whole, these ceremonies own a general shared feature all over the mentioned territory, but in details they enjoy different local and regional particulars that prove the rich cultural diversity of practices of the element.

Nowrouz is celebrated on 21st of March, which is considered as New Year holiday and the beginning of Spring, the element is celebrated on 21st of March. The date was originally calculated on the basis of astronomical studies starting from antiquity. In the Medieval Period that calculation was confirmed and updated by famous scholars such as Abu Reyhān Bīrūnī, Mahmud Kashgari, and Omar Khayyam. There are various ceremonies, rituals, and cultural events held within every family and community. It enjoys traditional games, special cuisines, respect for nature, performances in music and dances, oral expressions and literature, handicrafts and painting masterpieces (in particular miniature arts). Values of peace and solidarity, reconciliation and neighbourhood, cultural diversity and tolerance, healthy life-style and renewal of living environment are promoted and transmitted from generation to generation during this cultural event. Women play a major role in the cultural event, by managing the ceremonies and disseminating the traditional knowledge to the youth. It is a part of and strengthens the cultural identity of the state's parties involved.

The first hours of the element begin with visits of families, elderly people, neighbors, bereaved families, and the disabled. During visits people exchange gifts, particularly to the children and newly-married brides.

There are two important meals: the dinner at the Nowrouz and the launch of the Nowrouz Day. The meals consist of cooked rice and the inhabitants of each region add other ingredients specially vegetables (Sabzi polo) as well as chicken, wheat noodles (Reshteh) and fish as they can facilitate.

Haft Sin

One of the most prominent features of the element is the Table, which consists of meals and the related symbolic objects. The objects symbolize purity, brightness, livelihood and wealth. The Table, which is also called “Sofreh-ye Haft Sin” in Iran, contains “water” as a symbol of purity, “candle” or “lantern” as the symbol of brightness, “Sabzeh” or dishes of “green sprouts” as a symbol of greenery, “Samanū” in Iran, that is a sacred meal consisting of juice of the wheat sprouts, different traditional and local “confections” that symbolize happiness, “mirror” symbolizing purity and brightness, “egg” symbolizing fertility and abundance and “fruits” especially “pomegranates”. As said before, in Iran it is called “Sofreh-ye Haft Sin” comprising of seven components whose initial letter is /S/.

The element promotes values of peace and solidarity, reconciliation and neighborhood. For example the elders of the families try to reconcile those members of the family who have broken off their relations. In Tajikistan, the people who have broken off their relations, come together and reconcile without the intervention of the elders. Cultural diversity and tolerance, healthy life-style and renewal of living environment are promoted and transmitted from generation to generation during this cultural event. The children participate in the event actively in such rituals as coloring and decorating the cooked eggs of the Sofreh, which are then given to children as gifts, who finally they play games with the said eggs.

Women play a major role in the cultural event, by managing the ceremonies and disseminating the traditional knowledge to the youth.

They have the main role in the ceremonies and in some they are the only persons who administer the ceremony: e.g. cooking Samanū as a sacred meal. They also prepare Sabzeh (green sprouts); they also prepare the Sofreh, meals and confections, as somehow sacred elements..,

Located 500 meters southwest of Soltaniyeh, Sheikh Boraq or Chapi Oughlou is the mausoleum of an Ilkhanid period (1256–1335) mystic and Sufi master.  This octagonal mausoleum is 17 meters high and 7.6 meters wide. The dome sits on a hex decagonal dome chamber and has no tile work. The mausoleum consists of a tomb chamber in which the body of the Sheikh has been placed at the center and is surrounded by the bodies of his disciples according to their importance. The walls of the tomb chamber have no decorations. A beautiful Mihrab (prayer niche) with stucco Muqarnas (ornamented vaulting) decorations sits on the southern part of the chamber.Light wells circulating the dome provide lighting for the chamber. Sheikh Boraq or Chapi Oughlou Historical Complex is a registered National Heritage Site. 

Built on the order of the eighth Ilkhanid ruler Oljeitu, also known as Muhammad Khodabandeh (1280 – 1316), Soltaniyeh was the third Ilkhanid capital after Maragheh and Tabriz. Soltaniyeh was the place Ilkhanid rulers went to hunt and to relax. Muhammad Khodabandeh is said to have built the Soltaniyeh Dome to become the first Shia Imam Ali (PBUH)’s (599-661) new shrine. After encountering fierce opposition from the Scholars of Najaf who were furious at the Ilkhanid ruler for wanting to move Imam Ali’s remains, Muhammad Khodabandeh abandoned his plan and Soltaniyeh Dome eventually became his own mausoleum.  

Soltaniyeh Dome is the third tallest dome in the world after Santa Maria delle Grazie in Italy and Hagia Sophia in Turkey. The dome of Soltaniyeh is 25.5 meters in diameter at its base and 48.5 meters tall. After a lengthy process, the tilework of this dome was successfully renovated in 2008.