Meybod, The Local Zurkhaneh (Zoorkhaneh), A Pahlevan Practising After The Evening Prayer
With a population of about 75,000 making it the second major city in Yazd Province, Meybod is a desert city. Pahlevani and Zurkhaneh (Zoorkhaneh) rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavani ("heroic sport") or varzesh-e bastany (varzeš-e bāstānī, "ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran and adjacent lands. 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”. Traditional Iranian wrestling (koshti) dates back to ancient Persia and Parthia and was said to have been practiced by Rustam, mythological hero of the Shahnameh epic. While folk styles were practiced for sport by every ethnic group in various provinces, grappling for combat was considered the particular specialty of the zourkhaneh. The original purpose of these institutions was to train men as warriors and instill them with a sense of national pride in anticipation for the coming battles. When the Arabs invaded Persia around 637 CE, the zourkhanehs served as secret meeting places where knights would train and keep alive a spirit of solidarity and patriotism. Invaders repeatedly targeted the houses of strength to discourage rebels, but new ones would always be organized in a different location. Following the spread of Shia Islam, and particularly after the development of Sufism in the 8th century, varzesh-e pahlavani absorbed philosophical and spiritual components from it. Religious hymns were incorporated into training.
Size: 6958px × 4644px
Location: Meybod, Yazd Province, Iran
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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