license : Editorial Use Only
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license : Editorial Use Only
The Editorial Use Only license means that the image cannot be used for commercial advertising purposes.
license : Editorial Use Only
The Editorial Use Only license means that the image cannot be used for commercial advertising purposes.
license : Editorial Use Only
The Editorial Use Only license means that the image cannot be used for commercial advertising purposes.
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Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals
March 22, 2016 , IRANPahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavani or varzesh-e bastany. a traditional Iranian system of athletics originally used to train warriors. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. Recognized by UNESCO as among the world's longest-running forms of such training, it fuses elements of pre-Islamic Persian culture (particularly Zoroastrianism, Mithraism and Gnosticism) with the spirituality of Shia Islam and Sufism. Practiced in a domed structure called the zurkhaneh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a form of submission-grappling called koshti pahlevani.
Photo: Hossein Ghafoori / IRAN IMAGES
