Poland from a Persian Tourist's Perspective

Beelzebub,

Were you an English major in college? : P

Unlike the pedantic Polish nature I was speaking of the content not the grammatical or technical structure.

It is obvious to me that Seanus was a psychology major.

The irony of life, Darius, there is indeed a member of this forum who is seems very racist ( an understatement) and who bears almost the same "name " as yours , he probably does not know that Darius is a typical Persian name and neither does he know where and what Persia is !

It is really funny!
You are right , the vast majority Polish people is not at all racist or unwelcoming , in general as we know ,respectable people are respectful.

Don't worry, you are not the only one to have been misled.
I guess the best way to find out if someone is Polish or not, is to check his profile. If it says that the person speaks Polish, than he's most probably a Pole (or a foreigner, who speaks Polish, but it's rare).

Torq help! Any other way you can think of???????

Nah, I was a law major. I just want to draw out some traits from the man. Everything I try seems to draw out generalisations unfortunately. Maybe some table manners, that's more specific. Or maybe queuing or shop etiquette etc etc. A bit more specific.

So why change to the name of the country if they are not ashamed of it?
If someone wanted to change the name of Poland I would want to kick that someone... Hard.

You're right As I mentioned earlier we prefer the word Persian which it's been for thousands of years over Iranian.
Back in the 1930's Military generals send out a note to the world leaders and officially changed the countries name from Persia to Iran in order to be closer to Hitlers Nazi Germany. Iran basically means Aryan.. This was of course done to please Hitler and the Nazi regime.

It's a long complicated story.. The official red, green white flag with the crest in the middle which you see today isn't really the "real" flag.. it's a vandalized version of the 1964 Lion and Sun flag

There are two very racist members here who share his name, actually. ;) One has the exact same name, the other has the Polish equivalent.

Seanus,
You are ok. You have a sense of humor. :)

I had heard that story before, but I was under the impression it was a bit fabricated. "Persia" sounds so much nicer, they should change the name back =/

The country has been couped several times during the last century, when corrupt military leaders and foreign mercenaries meddle in a countries affairs then there's nothing you can do. Specially after your rights get taken away overnight.. literally in some cases.


True story.. Check wikipedia. Ever wonder why they never teach you about the Persian Empire in school.. it's always the Greek Empire even though the Greeks plagiarized our technology for hundreds of years. .. Kinda weird uh? All humor aside. A namechange will most likely happen after the next regime change. People just need to get off their asses and start a rebellion.. If the IRA in Ireland could do it then people of our homeland should be able to also.


Good looking on average :) Very friendly.. Almost too friendly, kinda suspicious. Overall the women seemed nicer than their southern colleagues.. Like compared to Italians.. those Italians are impossible.


Let me guess? he's not polish either right?

DarriusTraveller,

When it comes to regime change in Iran, you have my support.

Can Iran become Persia again? I would like that...sounds much cooler! :)

Darius - you told that Zoroastrian religion is still alive in Persia. I wonder if you seen any (even most remote) sign of Zoroastrian tradition in Poland. What do you think for instance of this:

Enkidu, some scenes from Polish films tell a story. Look at the film 'Job', the scene where he asks him 'zamszowe'? (made of suede) and he receives the reply, 'nie, za swoje' (oburzony). Not 'za mszowe' with a space which would mean from a collection.

Defensive and irritated.

Seanus
Its about the Sun symbol which was (if I remember it correctly) a sign of Ahura Mazda.
This symbol was adopted by Greeks, then by Romans, then by Catolic Church. And finally - we have got Polish monstrancja with the Ahura Mazda symbol for no particular reason. I think it's fascinating.

The Sun is a HUGE symbol in esoteric mystic traditions symbolizing the great single one divine Being. Our Western concept of "God' doesn't come close to the significance of this "Sun" god. It is a very widespread and powerful symbol of divinity.

Och, nevermind. I was talking about your defensive theories, enkidu, but woosh ;) ;)

And first conception of God-Creator, first idea of divinity and monotheistic religion was (ta daaaa) Zoroastrianism.
- Also conceptions such as hell, heaven, satan, fight between light and darkness, virgin conception of prophet etc are originating from this source.

easy on the eye....yes.

its the hair on the bodies that is the turn off.

An German saying that!
You are truely no Nazi :)
Hear angels hear! Our Prusak is OK!! :D


No idea (I am too lazy to check the profile info)

I am Norwegian/Polish ^^
and welcome to Polishforums ofc
(I have been minimum once a year in Poland so I think I am valid) :p
Oh and very well written I was really enjoying it


LOL (I am not translating that one)

you mean the Islamic Republic of Iran

Seriously?

Ancient Perses were among the few nations respected by Greeks.(although having very asian despotism).Herodotus describes that Perses punished ungratefullness by law which impressed Greeks.The magi also who brought presents to Christ were Perses.(the word magi,magic etc is persian one).

Oooh...that warms my heart so much. To hear such informed and accurate remarks.

I'm not only racist, I'm actually VERY racist. And I share DariusTravellers name, and I didn't know it has a Persian background...ooohhh....(I live in Norway OK? We have many Iranians here who have pointed this out to me). And one of my friends father is a renowned archeologist who worked with Thor Heyerdahl. He signed one of his historical books to me with the inscription "To King Darius"...so lighten up.

Really? That is all you guys can come up with? Bashing people on other threads? If anything is cowardly, it's this. And now you got me here too, Matowy and LwowskaKrakow!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_peoples

"From a linguistic standpoint, the term Iranian people is similar in its usage to the term Germanic people, which includes various people who speak Germanic languages such as German, English and Dutch, Norwegian, or the term Slavic people, which includes various speakers of Slavic languages including Russians, Poles, Croats or Serbs."

The language of that literature was predominantly Greek, though at one stage or another various parts of it passed through Aramaic, Syriac, Coptic or Latin. Its ethos and cultural matrix was likewise Hellenistic

"In the Gathas, Zoroaster sees the human condition as the mental struggle between aša (truth) and druj (lie)".

In Norway we call our old beliefs "Åsatru". Coincidence? Maybe, but there are so many links to greece, rome and other white areas to provide enough evidence that the people that built these mighty empires were europeans/of european ethnicity, and that "caucasians" travelled and settled throughout the whole northern hemisphere. As DariusTraveller said, they are not Arab, they are Persian...

Here's how they believe how Zoroaster looked like;

"Zoroaster is rarely depicted as looking directly at the viewer; instead, he appears to be looking slightly upwards, as if beseeching God. Zoroaster is almost always depicted with a beard, usually brown. His complexion is pale, and this along with other factors bear similarities to nineteenth century portraits of Jesus."

And so it all ended;

"Starting with the reign of Omar in 634 CE, Muslim Arabs began a conquest of the Iranian plateau. The Arabs conquered the Sassanid Empire of the Persians and seized much of the Byzantine Empire populated by the Kurds and others. Ultimately, the various Iranian people, including the Persians, Azaries, Kurds and Pashtuns, converted to Islam. The Iranian people would later split along sectarian lines as the Persians (and later the Hazara) adopted the Shi'a sect. As ancient tribes and identities changed, so did the Iranian people, many of whom assimilated foreign cultures and people".

For fun's sake we can take a look at a couple of pictures of Darius here;

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_I

Does look white to me as does Zoroaster, even with blond curly hair on some pictures...but then again...Matowy and LwowskaKrakow might disagee, as they usually do if something doesn't feel to comfortable with their views. Namecalling is also popular. Too bad for them it doesn't work on me.

Just read up on the history of that area, and the fantastic structures, the people, the glory. Who builds these kind of structures? What people? And what is left? Maybe a minority like DariusTraveller, educated, open, but at the same time, trapped in a country that is controlled by mediveal thinking. Must be heart-breaking to know what Persia could have been, if not for the muslims.

Dariusz

• 
  Zoroaster
  

"Asentreu" here...Treu zu den Asen :)

What exactly do you define as "white"? You seem to be using the "modern" (but obsolete) definition of "Caucasian" which encompasses Europe, North Africa and the Western half of Asia, but you seemingly shift this definition to your liking. So are you saying that only the Caucasian peoples are civilized and educated? If so, where exactly does East Asia fit in with your view of the world? Japan is far more advanced in technology than ANY Western country. The Chinese far more intelligent. South Korea can go either way.

Also, the drawing is white because it's drawn in pencil on a white paper...




Persia already went through its golden age. At one time, it was the world centre of riches, mysticism, philosophy, science and civility, and this was when Islam was already widespread throughout Persia. Even Europe marvelled at its grandeur. Like all great civilizations, it eventually ended. I don't remember the exact time frame for this golden age, but perhaps Darius knows. I doubt this matters, though, as this golden age in Persia's history probably doesn't fit with your worldview.


We never called you anything other than "Racist" (which by your own admission you certainly are) and already you threw a tantrum. I am inclined not to believe you when you say it "doesn't affect you".

Poland happens to be like this because they dont have to deal with a multi-cultural society that fails to integrate or idiots that call them "radical anti-cultrual" - how many mosques are there in Germany, Denmark and the UK? I suppose you have Catholic churches all over the place in Iran?


Yep and Pakistanis were Indian - you are now Iranians, not Persians, Iranians are generally considered arabs, but I can call you asian if you prefer? - and who can blame someone for thinking you're Muslim when its called "the Islamic Republic of Iran" A place where other religions are not exactly tolerated.

Not having a go, just putting you straight, if Europeans acted in their guests countries how they (the ones from developing countries) act in ours, you could be sure they'd get very different treatment, so before you go flaming that we are this and that...think for a moment why your average person is becoming less tolerent?

Go back to Poland a few years time when its flooded with foreigners and they're no longer intrigued by you..but just consider you another unwanted intruder.


Technically its not, its orgins are Mede and the reason it might be popular in Poland is because its a biblical name, so you can same that a lot of the biblical names have some Babylonian connection (this a place that no longer exists under that name a bit like Persia). Just the same as Jacob, Matthew, David, Luke, David are all Jewish one could say most if not all Polish boys have varients of Jewish names :D


I prefer the word English, but that doesnt stop people calling me British :D

So many negative things to say about our intolerence in Europe, which is slighty rich coming off someone whose country is run by a nazi who denies the fact the millions of people were murdered in camps in WWII, whose people have television sensored and public hangings are still easy to find. Probably the reason you have so many hanging around Calis trying to sneak into trucks bound for my Island.

21, lived in several Western Countries...plus 4 other countries, you stays must have been short.

"Caucasian" is a dumb political correct term coming from the US.
Somehow people calling "White" was not anymore allowed.

We definitely need a "White History Month"...some are really unclear about the history and achievements of the white race, going so far to downtalk and denying anything!