Located in Southwest Asia, the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most important countries in the Middle East region, with a population of 84 million and an area of ​​1,648,000 km2, bearing the traces of dozens of different civilizations that lived on the same land for 5000 years. Its capital is Tehran, the official language is Persian, Iran is surrounded by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the south, the Caspian Sea in the north and has land borders with Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

When it comes to Iran, which is on the agenda of the world, the first things that come to mind are; Khomeini and the Islamic state he created, the life order based on Islamic rules, the Iran-Iraq War between 1980-1988, which was created by the imperialist powers for the sake of interest and caused the death of millions of people. Iran, which stands on its feet in the face of the embargoes and great social traumas that the West has applied since 1980, albeit with ups and downs, after the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution and which has been continuing for 35 years.

When we came to Iran, there were some hesitations and concerns about the way we should dress and how we should behave, especially women. It seems that, not so much as it is exaggerated, there are even women who wear well-groomed hair, half-covered heads, make-up, and uncovered in big cities. Men, on the other hand, would be better off not wearing things like shorts. Obviously, women are much more free than they used to be. Since the southern regions are more religious, one should be more careful. Previously, women who were not sufficiently covered were interfered with by the police with sticks, now there are no such cases.

Planes to Iran take off after midnight from Turkey and arrive very early in the morning, so the day you arrive is lame, especially for those who are fond of sleep.

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We arrive in Tabriz early, we spend time so that people wake up and life begins. We are going to Kandovan village, an interesting village that was formed as a result of natural formations dating from the 3rd century, an hour away from Tabriz.

Kandovan is a village with a population of around 650 and 158 families, in Osku Shahristan of East Azerbaijan province, which has a 700-year history, on the slopes of Sehend Mountain. A natural wonder, formed by the erosion of the tuff layer formed as a result of geological formations on the slope of Sehend Volcano, by wind, rain and other natural events, it is exactly the same as the geography of Cappadocia. The structure, which consists of a large area in the Cappadocia region in Turkey, covers a smaller area in Kandovan. The geographical structure formed in this way exists in only three places in the world, Cappadocia, Kandovan and the Grand Staircase in Utah, USA. However, what distinguishes Cappadocia and Kandovan from Grand Staircase is that there is still life here. In Kandovan, just like in Cappadocia, local people live in caves and structures on the mountain slopes. The life that started in the caves was later expanded with narrow roads built between the houses, stairs, and additional adobe houses built outside the houses. Today, it has become a touristic place due to the interest of tourists, and life continues in a complex order. As the construction has been stopped recently, protectionism has started, albeit partially.

When you come to Kandovan and get out of the vehicle at the beginning of the village, you find yourself in this beautiful geography. You can enjoy the village by walking up and down the slope on half cobbled, half earth, narrow and somewhat mixed roads. There are benches in the streets along the slope in the village. They sell handicrafts, food and souvenirs unique to Iran. In addition to these, several houses are open to the visit of tourists.

As in every city of Iran, it is possible to see Iranian hospitality in Kandovan. This hospitality increases even more, especially when they realize that you are Turkish. While walking around the streets, you come across people who want to meet you, take photos or chat with you with a smile. If the conversation progresses a little, they invite you to their home for dinner or even to a yacht, very sincerely. Can people. As we were among the first to arrive early in the morning, we had the chance to take pictures, it became increasingly crowded, it became difficult to walk and walk around. Due to the embargo imposed on Iran and the unilateral publications of the world public opinion, very few tourists come outside of Turkey. The visitors are generally the local tourist group. It seems too tumultuous and irregular, but even as it is, it’s beautiful, it’s worth seeing.

Kandovan is also part of the Lake Urmia region, which was the central region at the beginning of the second phase of Zoroastrian history.

We never forget, I wonder how much the petrol liter price is here. we tried, we couldn’t calculate! If we bring a few small cans of diesel, it would be very appreciated as a gift, we would receive a lot of blessings.

We’re going to a place called Oger Dize for lunch. It’s like an oasis in the desert, it’s a huge place, it’s an interesting, beautiful place with trees, pools, waters, fountains, etc. Partitions arranged in the form of traditional floor tables, they have reserved a table for us, in case they cannot sit on the floor. Great, perfectly cooked beef with chickpeas in flames and sauce. Traditionally, it is eaten like a wrap by mashing the meat and its contents with a mallet, making it into a dough and wrapping it in pita. I preferred to eat it by feeling the taste of each ingredient without crushing it. Perfect, okay.

In this region, the majority can speak Turkish and you can communicate easily.

We are going to Tabriz Friday Mosque. Huge mosque built by Ilkhanids and built on a fairly large area, also known as Mescid-i Alişah (Alişah Mosque). It is only open for worship on Friday and Eid prayers, other times it is closed, so we could not visit it, I would love to see inside. Friday mosques are important in Islamic geography, especially in Central Asia. It is generally the largest mosque in the region, Friday and Eid prayers are performed only here. The people of the surrounding area also come here for Friday prayers, gather, and it is a socialization center such as conversations, communication, news from other regions, and information exchange. Most importantly, in the past, government declarations, edicts and acquittals were announced to the public here. For this reason, Friday mosques acted as important communication centers.

In the same area, there is also a structure like the big castle gate, the Shah Ali Gate. It is one of the places where clashes took place and executions took place during the Khomeini Revolution. Bullet marks still remain on the walls.

El Lake; Its name, which was formerly Shah Lake, was changed to Al (People’s) Lake after the Islamic revolution, it is an isolated place in the city away from the noise. It should be a sought after place to rest and calm down. The lake in the middle of the park, surrounded by walking paths, tea gardens and benches, is actually a large pool. It is thought that it was originally made for agricultural purposes. The elegant building in the middle of the lake represents a Qajar Palace and the architecture of the period it belongs to. It has been restored and is now used as a restaurant and cafe. After a long day, tired coffee was good.

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Tabriz; The city, which has a population of 3.5 million and mostly Azeri Turks, has been Iran’s gateway to the west throughout history. Tabriz, where modernization steps have been taken in every period, is among the cities that steer the country with its industry today. Tabriz, which is the capital of East Azerbaijan Province and also one of the largest cities in Iran, is one of the places where you will not have language problems in Iran, almost everyone speaks Turkish.

Its name is Persian, “teb” means fire and “riz” means shed. The name story of the city is that the beloved wife of Abbasid Caliph Harun Reşid got rid of the febrile illness after entering the healing waters here. From that day on, the name of the city began to be called Tabriz, which means “shedding fire”. According to some, it takes its name from the mountains that surround it on three sides. In Kipchak Turkish, “Tavris” means between the mountains.

Azerbaijan Museum; It is one of the museums with the richest collection in the country. It was opened in 1958. The museum, where objects found during excavations in East Azerbaijan Province are exhibited, consists of main galleries, office rooms, a library and a garden. The museum, which has 2,500 manuscripts describing Iranian history, art and culture in its library, also hosts two very important findings from the Sassanid period. These are the skeletons of a man and a woman, known as “lovers”, facing each other, and the stone carved into a single piece of marble weighing about 3 tons, with the inscription “Bismillah”.

Masjid-i Kabud (Blue Mosque); Magnificent tiles used in forehead and wall decorations. Because of these tiles, it is also known as “Islam’s Turquoise”. The building, which was built in the middle of the 15th century, was badly damaged as a result of the earthquakes, but was reopened with successful restorations. One of its biggest features is that the name “Allah” is written 1001 times with blue tiles. The 17-meter columns on which the names of Allah, Muhammad and Ali are written immediately attract attention at the entrance.

The statue in the courtyard of the mosque belongs to Afzaladdin Bedel Khagani, one of the 12th century Azerbaijani poets, and this garden is also known as the Khagani Garden.

Grand Bazaar; Tabriz is one of the important cities that has been on the trade routes since prehistoric times, has been one of the intersection points of the Silk Road, and is the center of trade. Tabriz Grand Bazaar is one of the largest bazaars in the world, dating back to ancient times. The length of the streets of the bazaar, which has 24 caravanserais and 7350 shops, is 3.5 kilometers. The bazaar, which is said to be about 1000 years old, took its present form with the restoration made in the 15th century.

The Grand Bazaar, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010, was awarded the Aga Khan Award for its successful restoration in 2013. The maze-like and always crowded bazaar is divided into sections such as carpet makers, jewelers, and shoemakers according to the type of goods sold, as in the Istanbul Grand Bazaar.

**

We leave Tabriz, 300 km away, in the city of Erdebil, which is on the World Heritage list, we go to the Erdebil Lodge of Sheikh Safiyyüddin-i Erdebili, the founder of the Safavi sect, and one of his grandsons, Shah Ismail.

Ardabil is a province where Safavidism was born and Turkish is widely spoken on the most forested and fertile region of Iran. The Safavids in the 15th and 16th centuries were an important period for Iran.

Ardabil is an important place in terms of Iran and Islamic history, and it is one of the important crossroads of history, where many events were experienced both in terms of religion and sovereignty. The Safavids, which evolved from being a Sunni sect to a Shiite state structure, became Shiites during the reign of Sheikh Cüneyd, the fourth leader of the sect.

The Shah Ismail Lodge or the Safavids Lodge is like the cemetery of martyrs, the notables of the Safavids who died in the wars were buried here. At the entrance of the seven-door convent, there is the çilehane, where the dervish who comes to the lodge will isolate himself from the world. It is decorated with the most beautiful examples of Iranian tile art, especially the door called Dervaze. At the last point, there is the tomb of Alemşah Hatun, the mother of Shah Ismail. Next to that grave are the tombs of Sheikh Safi, Sheikh Haydar and Shah Ismail. It can be seen here that the most important synthesis of Indian art and Iranian art, how the art of ornamentation in the Turkish and Iranian world of the 16th century masterfully made use of geometry and revealed an unrivaled art.

The Safavids, the Safavid Empire or the Safavid Empire, existed between 1501 and 1736, one of the most important dynasties in Iranian history, considered the beginning of modern Iranian history.

This period, which started in the 1500s, is a period in which events including the Ottoman Empire, up to massacres between Sunni and Shiite sects were experienced.

Iran is a country with a deep culture and civilization that has lived on the same land for 5000 years. It is not easy to understand the flow of history in these lands where different beliefs and sects live. At the root of every event and every experience, social events, wars and intrigues created by religious-based separations are seen. The Shah Ismail incident is one of them.

It seems that since the death of Muhammad, Islam has struggled to dominate the society, to rule, to own more lands and interests through the sects it created within itself. Is it over, no, it continues today. Shouldn’t all religions and beliefs be about peace and brotherhood? Why does this happen, think about it, maybe one day we will understand the truth!

In connection with these issues, let’s take a brief look at what is Shia, Shia, Alevism, Kizilbash, Bektashism, and if there are any differences.

Shi’ism or Shia is the sect of Islam that believes in the sinlessness and infallibility of Ali and his descendants, and that Ali was chosen as the caliph by Allah himself. It is the second largest sect after Sunnism and constitutes 10-15% of the Islamic world. Although the word Shiism can be used synonymously with Jafarism, Shiism or Shia means “people who support Ali” as the caliphate, and in later periods it became a sect by forming its own conceptual and theological infrastructure.

After the second half of the 19th century, the concept of Alevism began to be used more often instead of the concept of Kızılbaş. Nusayris also used the name “Alevi” for themselves from the end of the 19th century. Nusayri, which continues to exist in Syria, is a sub-branch of Shiite-Imamiyye, although it uses the name “Alevi”. Anatolian Alevism, on the other hand, is not a sub-branch of Kizilbash and Bektashi Shia.

Shiism is Sharia, Alawism is Sufism. The main point between Shiism and Alawism is the love of the Ahl al-Bayt and the twelve imams. There is no confession and allegiance in Shiism, there is in Alawism. There is witness and loyalty in Shiism, there is no surrender.

Those who believe in Hazrat Ali and recognize him as the caliph are generally referred to as “Alevis”, Shiites are Iranian Alevis, Kızılbaş is a religious community of Alevi origin in a wide geography consisting of some Turkmens.

Alevism and Bektashism have many common features in terms of belief. However, although Bektashism is a sufi order with its basic principles and rites, Alevism is the same as Hz. It is an identity that gives importance to being a descendant of Ali. While Bektashism was an open sect before, Alevism was based on secrecy.

Some of the Turkmen tribes living as Yoruks in Anatolia are Alevis. It has become a habit for Sunnis to call them “Kızılbaş” among the people.

Kızılbaş is a name used for the followers of the Ardebil / Safavid Lodge in the 16th century. Shah Ismail’s father, Sheikh Haydar, wore a 12-slice red crown to distinguish his followers from other sects. Thus, the name Qizilbash became a praiseworthy name especially for Turks who were followers of the Erdebil Lodge.

In Ottoman sources, the term Kızılbaş is used for the Safavid state. The name of the Safavid state also comes from Şeyhsafiettin.

If we make all these more understandable and basically look at the differences between Alevism and Shiism;

– In Shiism, worship is done in the mosque.

+ Worship in Alevism is done in the cem house.

– There is an imam in Shiism.

+ There is a dede/mother (Pir) in Alevism.

– The call to prayer in Shiism.

+ There is no call to worship in Alevism.

– Worship in Shiism is harem and selamlik.

+ Worship in Alevism is mixed between men and women.

– In Shiism, one turns to the qibla/Kaaba in worship.

+ In Alevism, one returns to face to face, and cemal to cemal.

– There is a sharia gate in Shiism.

+ There is a belief in 4 doors and 40 positions in Alevism.

 

All of these beliefs were born from the belief and culture of the Kızılbaş and have survived to the present day as a sect or sect as a result of the differentiations arising from the geography and separations over time. In other words, what should be in all religions and beliefs is that you have the belief in God in your heart, all of them are parallel in the way of Allah. The reason for the separations is the behavior of power and sovereignty.

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We have a long way to go, we leave Tabriz, in the southwest direction, we go to Qazvin, one of the oldest cities in Iran and the capital during the Safavid Empire period between 1548 and 1598. 550 km. The road looks like it will take more than ten hours.

Follow the Heyran Valley through the Heyran Mountains and continue on the road accompanied by wonderful nature views.

The Caspian Sea began to appear, passing through the city of Lisar and through the Elburiz Mountains, stopping for lunch on the shore of the Caspian Sea in the city of Anzalit. The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest saltwater lake, with an area of ​​371,000 km² and an average depth of 187 m. It is also the world’s largest inland body of water. The most valuable fish of the Caspian, where more than 80 different fish live, are the sturgeon and Uzun Head, known for their caviar.

We are in the village of Masule, at the foot of a very steep mountain, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage candidate list.

The houses seem to be built on top of each other in the form of terraces, 180 families live in the protected village, the population is around 600 people. The roofs of the houses on the lower floors are used as the courtyards of the houses on the upper floors. In some cases, side streets are also over interconnected roofs. In other words, each building seems to be adjacent from the bottom, from the top and from the sides.

The village, which started to be established in the 10th century, is considered to be the place where Shiism and Alevism started in the 1300s. A place hidden in the forest between the mountains, its touristic value is increasing, so there are more tourists than locals. Climbing narrow stairs we go up to residential areas, narrow maze-like stairs, narrow passages. The Village’s Bazaar is in the middle of the slope, between the streets so narrow that two people cannot walk side by side. Imagine living here, climbing these stairs with dozens of steps every day, climbing these steep slopes morning and evening with packages in hand, just came home in the evening, and it occurred to you that you forgot something in the car below!!

We will spend the night in Kazvin, it is evening, we are halfway through, the road does not end because the roads are not suitable for speeding over 40-50 km on average, a little hopelessness has begun, we have been on the road since morning, the 550 km road has not finished.

We were able to reach Qazvin at midnight.

**

We are going to Alamut Castle. This is a defensive castle in the sense of “eagle’s nest” built on a very high hill. It’s a 4-hour drive, 110 km from Qazvin, but the road gets longer when the vehicles are a bit old. Not much remains of the castle, only its ruins, excavations in and around Alamut Castle have stopped due to the circumstances. The view at the highest point, which can be reached with a steep climb of half an hour, is magnificent. It really dominates everywhere like an eagle’s nest, in a position where the whole environment can be easily observed.

If we look briefly at the interesting story of Alamut Castle;

Alamut Castle, chosen by Hasan Sabbah as the location for the Assyrian sect, is a castle built on rocks that exceed two thousand meters in height. The castle was established on fertile lands, in a wooded valley as well as rocks.

In the years when the Seljuk State ruled, the Assassin sect, which was founded by Hasan Sabbah, came to the fore with its assassinations. Hasan Sabbah convinced his men that the key to heaven was in their own hands, and by using the narcotic effect of the poppy, he had the members of the cult, which he trained, assassinated many statesmen and rulers, and was able to intimidate the countries around him.

1092, Sunni and Shiite tensions prevailed during the Seljuk period, and the Sunnis were putting heavy pressure on other sects by carrying out mass murders. Hasan Sabbah, who is 16-17 years old, is very disturbed by this situation and starts a struggle within himself. Having studied mathematics, philosophy and religion, Sabbah received religious education in famous madrasas in Baghdad, focused on religious philosophy, and lived a period of enlightenment within himself. He tries to spread his ideas by going to different regions, gathers believers around him, in fact, his aim is to stand against the persecution and oppression and to start a movement in this direction. After a while, he comes to the place where Alamut Castle is and demands that Mahdi, the head of the Alamut state, be accepted. In the castle where he settled, he finds supporters among the castle soldiers, teaches them and binds the majority of the castle soldiers to himself. He confronts the Mahdi, demands his surrender and easily captures the castle. The cult he created by using drugs, mainly assassinations against cruel dictators, started to be effective and started to be effective in the region up to Afghanistan over time.

In 1256, the Mongolian Ilkhanate army under the command of Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, who went to invade Baghdad, captured the Alamut castle in order to destroy the Assassins, all the Assassins in the castle were killed, the castle was destroyed, and its famous library was burned.

Once upon a time, the word “Hashashi” was used a lot as a political polemic in our country, I wanted to indicate what the subject was and where it came from.

Qazvin is one of the important cities of Iran and became the capital of the Safavid state in the 16th century.

We are going to Kazvin Ulu Mosque or Cima Mosque. It’s one of those structures that are really big and meaningful.

It is one of the oldest historical Friday mosques in Iran. The building, which belongs to the Sassanid period, has survived with various additions and repairs over time. The first construction of the building started in 807 by the order of the Abbasid Caliph Harun Reşid. The mosque, to which two iwans were added to the north, was built with brick material between 1038-1194 when it was under the rule of the Seljuks. Inscriptions in some parts of the mosque were covered with tile plates in later periods.

In all Sunni and Shiite mosques, the minarets are in the shape of a long pointed cypress tree. The cypress tree is the type of tree that is desired to be in cemeteries. According to ancient beliefs, the cypress tree, with its long pointed form, guided the soul to rise to the sky after death. For this reason, the cypress tree has become an important symbol in this sense in the Islamic world. It is possible to see cypress trees in the cemeteries here.

In the centers and crossroads on the Silk Road, there are generally caravanserais for accommodation, trade and protection. Qazvin has been one of the important centers on the Silk Road since ancient times, here we go to the caravanserai. Today, these caravanserais still preserve their identity as a trade center, that is, a shopping place. Since there is such a situation, we followed the rules and completed our necessary shopping.

After contributing to the Iranian economy, we are going to Kazvin Ali Gate. The door is closed, in the past only members of the royal family could enter. We told a lot, we said that we are descended from the king, but they did not accept us because they did not find us suitable in terms of nobility! It has been closed for a long time.

Qazvin Choreography Museum is a place you can go if you have time.

After dinner, we go to the capital Tehran. Tehran is a city with serious traffic congestion.

It was evening, we finished the day again.

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The capital, Tehran, which draws attention with its population of over 18 million, traffic and mixed structure, is the largest city of Iran. Agha Mohammad Khan declared Tehran the capital in 1788, which he captured in 1785, and the city, which developed rapidly after this date, has remained the capital of Iran until today. During the reign of Reza Pahlavi, who ascended the throne in 1941 after the overthrow of the Qajar Dynasty in 1925, the city rapidly modernized and expanded to a large extent with the influence of the development in the oil industry.

However, after the Shah was overthrown and the Islamic Republic was established in 1979, the city entered a period of stagnation due to economic and political problems. Tehran, located on the southern slopes of the Elburz Mountains, is one of the most modern cities in Iran that shapes the economic and social life of Iran as the capital.

Tehran National Archaeological Museum; Opened in 1937, Iran’s richest museum, where ancient Persian artifacts, pottery, metalwork, books and coins are exhibited, consists of two buildings. Artifacts collected from the pre-Islamic period are exhibited in building number one, and post-Islamic artifacts are exhibited in building number two. It is a very nice and organized museum, one of the must-see places.

Golestan Palace; A palace from the Qajar Dynasty, within the boundaries of the old Tehran walls, near Erg Square, in the south of Tehran. The construction of the palace started during the reign of Tahmasp I, who was from the Turkish Safavid dynasty, and was used as the residence of the Shahs of the Iranian Turkish dynasty, Qajar dynasty. This palace, which was used for official ceremonies and the residence of foreign delegations during the Pahlavi Dynasty, is now used as a museum. Shah Reza Pahlavi married Farah Diba here.

It is one of the most important things to see in Tehran. An amazing place. Golestan Palace, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List, has been the most beautiful heritage that the Qajar Dynasty brought to Tehran. It is a masterpiece that combines the deep-rooted Persian culture in the fields of architecture and handicrafts with western technique and architecture. It is the most famous Palace of the East with its garden full of pools, its rich 19th century handicrafts and splendor inside and outside, and its famous galleries. The palace, which has sections such as Şems-ül Imare, Selam Hall, Mirrored Hall, Taht-i Marble Hall, Ebyez Palace, Kerim Hanlı Halvet, is really big and decorated with very beautiful tiles. Must see places.

Grand Bazaar; Tehran Grand Bazaar, which carries traces of Iranian architecture and still preserves its historical texture, is an important part of the social life of the city with its colorful shops. The bazaar, which is one of the rare examples of Iranian architecture, has a unique architectural texture with its brick walls, motifs and figures telling the history of Iran. There are large domes at the intersections of the corridors of the bazaar, which consists of long interlocking streets. Is it okay to come to the Grand Bazaar and do some shopping? At least you have to buy dates, tea or something! We did the same, a lot of things were taken again.

Carpet Museum; Established in 1976 by Iran’s last Queen, Farah Pahlavi, the museum exhibits a variety of Persian carpets covering all of Iran from the 18th century to the present. The museum also has an exhibition hall of 3,400 square meters and a rich library of approximately 7,000 books. It is an extremely interesting place for those who are interested in carpets.

Azadi Square, Freedom Square; Pre-Islamic and post-Islamic Iranian architectural elements were used in the 48-meter-high Azadi tower, which was built by an architect named Hüseyin Emanet during the reign of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in ​​1971 to commemorate the 2500th anniversary of the historical Persian Empire and has become the symbol of Tehran. Freedom Square, which has become one of the most valued structures of the Iranian people over time, also hosts many social events that take place in the country. For this reason, this building has a great political value and has a national value in the eyes of the Iranian people.

**

Iran started to improve its economy with the income obtained from oil in the 1970s, but the wealth was mostly used by the Shah and his family, and it was not reflected to the public. Those who lived in that period will remember, Iran’s infrastructure was better than Turkey’s and Iran’s 2500th celebration ceremonies, which were organized by the Shah Penhs, attracted a lot of attention. Celebrations, which were made by spending huge sums of money, created great discomfort in the society, there was great unrest in the part of the country that did not receive a share of the income, and social movements started with progressive intellectual thought under the leadership of Ali Shariati. During this period, Ali Shariati was killed during his visit to England, right after that, the left movement started to be shown as slowing down, and Khomeini emerged as the continuation of the left movement in this gap.

In order to understand Iranian political history, it is necessary to know Ali Shariati, especially among the sociology of religion and contemporary Islamic thinkers, as the revolutionary in Iran, the father of Islam and the chief thinker of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. He argued that various ideas that emerged in Western thought, such as some Marxist ideas, were at the core of Islam and that it was expressed in a different way. He is a philosophy scientist who argues that Islam is a sociological structure and struggles with the dilemmas of Islamic methodical thought, rather than Islamizing sociology based on this style.

During the Islamic Revolution, Shariati, the most popular writer in modern Iran, was a revolutionary very popular among the intelligentsia, whose lecture tapes were widely circulated even among the illiterate.

His works were reprinted, his slogans were chanted at demonstrations, and his ideas were freely discussed by revolutionaries and especially radical high school students. In fact, his ideas were much better known than those of Ayatollah Khomeini.

After his lecture hall was closed by SAVAK forces, Shariati was arrested and imprisoned, accused of defending “Islamic Marxism.” He spent 18 months in a cell. Ali Shariati, who was placed under house arrest in 1975, was not allowed to go abroad until 1977. He was assassinated in England, where he later went.

Some of his statements;

Of the words that best summed up Ali Shariati’s image in the West: “I don’t believe in a God, but if I did, it would be Shariati’s God.”

“Only religious scholars could deceive a religious society in the name of religion, and it did.”

“Don’t think, obey, not those who say; Listen to those who say think, ask, question.

“When there is a fire and someone is calling you to pray, know that this is the invitation of a traitor.”

“They deceived the people with their stories of the prophet who was fed with a single date palm and Omar wearing a patched robe, and they built palaces and villas for themselves.”

**

Iran, where Turks have been home since ancient times, has been the most important settlement center of various Turkish tribes, especially Oghuzs. Although little research has been done on it, the existence of many diverse Turkish communities and their contributions to the region are evident in every field from history to culture. The Iranian Turks, who are the second Turkish community after Turkey with a population of more than thirty million, are composed of various Turkish tribes.

Kashkay Turks have been an important actor in Iran’s geography, especially in the political field in the contemporary history of Iran. When the south of Iran was occupied by the British in the 1st and 2nd World Wars, the Turks of Kashkay faced the British.

Iran has been trying to survive under the heavy embargo pressure applied by the world for 35 years. Previously, as a result of the political and economic embargo, it was expected that Iran would kneel before the United States and the West in a few years, give up its nuclear activities, and not follow a policy under American control over oil. In the meantime, he received serious injuries and suffered great difficulties, but he never knelt down. Despite all the pressures, it continues the nuclear program under current conditions and tries to meet its needs from eastern countries, especially China.

**

If we look at the history of more than the last millennium, we see how the countries that we describe as the West today colonized the world and acquired wealth in many parts of the world through violence and massacres.

“If everyone had eaten in front of them since the 1200s, today Europe would be the poorest country in the world, and Africa would be the richest.”

Iran, the land of civilizations, is inhabited by Turks from different tribes with a deep history and cultural background.

 

best regards

Hayrettin Kagnici

June 2022