A Century Ago in the Land of Lion and Sun

In the upcoming series of talks, we want to introduce a book titled 'Life in the Muslim East'; the author of this book is Pierre Ponafidine, who wrote it in Russian, and his wife, Emma Kusheran Ponafidine, translated it into English. The English translation of the book was published in 1911, a little over 100 years ago, and contains the author's memories from 36 years of work and life as the consul of the Kingdom of Russia in Iran and the Ottoman Empire, as well as his travels to various regions of Iran, 'Turkish Arabia' (Hejaz, Baghdad, Basra, and parts of Kurdish Iraq), and 'India'. Ponafidine's book describes the conditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which coincides with the late Qajar period and just before the Constitutional Revolution in Iran. The book primarily relates to life, customs, culture, and various aspects of life such as religious customs and beliefs, food and cooking, health, the status of women, the judiciary system and the functioning of the judiciary, punishment and blood money, Shia and Sunni and Wahhabis, travelogues of Mecca and Medina, pilgrimage to Shia shrines in Iraq, mourning rituals in Iran, national and religious holidays, bribery and corruption, hospitality, sports, entertainment, and the widespread use of hashish and opium, each of which is extremely interesting to read. The section on Iran is titled 'In the Land of Lion and Sun'. However, there are also references to topics related to Iran in other sections, including the status of women in Iran within the framework of Sharia and custom, as well as the general situation of Kurds who lived at that time in terms of state citizenship in both the Ottoman Turkey and Iran. This work also contains very interesting photographs taken by the author and his wife from Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and India. As far as I know, this book has not been translated into Persian, which is truly regrettable. It may not need explanation that when an individual, whether Iranian or foreign, speaks of their observations in Mashhad, firstly, these are the specific observations of that individual, which depend on their personality, knowledge, identity, feelings, experiences, and memories. This likely varies from person to person. Secondly, what a person observes in Mashhad or any other point in Iran does not necessarily need to be valid for all of Iran and Iranians. The third point is that it should be understood that not everyone needs to agree with these memories and statements. It is also not necessary for one to like the author. Nevertheless, in my opinion, despite some critical views based on comparisons of Iran with Western and Christian societies, Ponafidine speaks from a perspective that is both fair and scholarly, along with a background of understanding (though not always agreement) of the Muslim and Iranian society of a hundred years ago, providing extraordinarily interesting information to today's Iranian reader that cannot be found elsewhere. A century ago in the land of Lion and Sun. Book: Life in the Muslim East (1911) Written by: Pierre Ponafidine. Selected and free translation: Abbas Javadi. Reading the entire book, including sections related to the Ottoman Empire (including present-day Turkey, Iraq, and Arabia) and India, is also very interesting. Perhaps even without knowing that social and geographical environment, understanding the specific situation of Iranian society at that time may not be possible. However, including that large section of the book in this translation would have made the task more difficult and perhaps even impossible. Therefore, you will become familiar with a very concise summary of the chapters and sections related to Iran in this book through ten talks. If you wish to read the complete work in English, you can find it online under this title in PDF or printed form: Pierre Ponafidine: Life in the Muslim East, New York 1911. The photos you see in the text of this writing are taken from the book itself and are the work of the author and his wife. Finally, I feel the need to explain what I mean by the term 'selected and free translation'. What you will read will not be a word-for-word translation of 'Life in the Land of Lion and Sun' or other sections related to Iran in this book. I will select, summarize, and translate what I find most interesting for the Iranian reader, with my personal taste. In translating the text, I will also feel freer to make my work easier and my language smoother. However, I will not deviate from what the author has said and written. Thus, everything you will read is what Pierre Ponafidine saw and experienced in Iran and the region over a hundred years ago. I have not added anything from myself, although what has been selected from the complete text of the book and how it has been expressed will be my work and responsibility.