Completely redesigned for today's generation of cooks and food enthusiasts, the 25th Anniversary Edition of Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies by Najmieh Batmanglij provides a treasure trove of recipes, along with an immersive cultural experience for those seeking to understand this ancient and timeless cuisine. This edition is a more user-friendly edition of the award-winning and critically acclaimed cookbook series which began in 1986. Food of Life provides 330 classical and regional Iranian recipes as well as an introduction to Persian art, history, and culture. The book's hundreds of full color photographs are intertwined with descriptions of ancient and modern Persian ceremonies, poetry, folktales, travelogue excerpts and anecdotes. The 2011 Edition of Food of Life is a labor of love. The book began in exile after the Iranian Revolution of 1979 as a love letter to Batmanglij's children. Today, as accomplished adults in their own fields, her two sons, Zal and Rostam, encouraged her to redesign the book for their generation. Food of Life propels Persian cooking into the 21st Century, even as it honors venerable traditions and centuries of artistic expression. It is the result of 30 years of collecting, testing and adapting authentic and traditional Persian recipes for the American kitchen. Most of its ingredients are readily available throughout the U.S. enabling anyone from a master chef to a novice to reproduce the refined tastes, textures, and beauty of Persian cuisine. Food-related pieces from such classics as the 10th century Book of Kings, and 1,001 Nights to the miniatures of Mir Mosavvar and Aq Mirak, from the poetry of Omar Khayyam and Sohrab Sepehri to the humor of Mulla Nasruddin are all included. Each recipe is presented with steps that are logical and easy to follow. Readers learn how to simply yet deliciously cook rice, the jewel of Persian cooking, which, when combined with a little meat, fowl, or fish, vegetables, fruits, and herbs, provides the perfect balanced diet. ABOUT THE BOOK'S TITLE Food of Life, the title of the book, comes from the Persian words nush-e jan, literally "food of life"--a traditional wish in Iran that a dish will be enjoyed. For the updated 1993 edition the title was changed to New Food of Life. Now, for the 25th anniversary edition the title returns to its original name, Food of Life. The full-color Food of Life 25th Anniversary Edition contains 50% more pages than its 2009 predecessor and special added features: *New Recipes adapted from Sixteenth-Century Persian cookbooks *Added vegetarian section for most recipes *Comprehensive dictionary of all ingredients *A glance at a few thousand years of the history of Persian Cooking *Master recipes with photos illustrating the steps. *Color photos of most recipes with tips on presentation *Updated section on Persian stores and Internet suppliers *Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperatures for all recipes *Choices for cooking recipes such as kuku in oven or on stovetop. *Encourages use of seasonal and local ingredients from farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) sources or one's own backyard

Axis of Evil World Tour goes beyond the superficial coverage found in much of the media to bring a boots-on-the-ground look at three of the most enigmatic, difficult-to-enter countries on the planet—Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. North Korea: Visit the tense yet quiet DMZ that divides North from South, one of the eeriest places on earth. Spend time touring Pyongyang, the showcase capital that houses the regime and its elites. Travel halfway across the country to the beautiful “Heavenly Fragrance” mountain for a visit to the surreal, cult-like “museums” housing gifts to the country’s leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. Iraq: What’s it like to live on a U.S. military base during the war in Iraq? Spend two months as part of the Iraqi Survey Group, the international team that was tasked with finding Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction. Iran: What do Iranians think of the U.S. and Americans? You might be surprised. Travel around the country and take an inside look at Khomeini’s tomb, hear about Iran’s own fight against Al Qaeda, and take a look inside the secret world of the mullahs that really run Iran. Head to AxisofEvilTour.com for photos, book excerpts, and video clips.

Lonely Planet Iran Pause on the Grand Stairway at Persepolis and imagine trumpeters heralding your arrivalIndulge in rosewater ice cream as you stroll between centuries-old bridges in EsfahanBelieve it when you see it: check out the world's most unexpected ski resortsRent a room with a view in a mountain village and watch life unfold as it has for centuries In This Guide: Two authors, five months of on-the-ground research, 379 invitations to teaPacked with tips for overlanders, women, and solo travelersIncorporates Farsi words and script throughoutGet up-to-the-minute info from other travelers on the Iran branch of the Thorn Tree: lonelyplanet.com

In 1926 Vita Sackville-West travelled to Iran to visit her husband, Harold Nicolson, who was serving as a diplomat in Teheran. Her route was deliberately slow-paced - she stopped in Egypt, where she sailed up the Nile to Luxor; and India, where she visited New Delhi and Agra before sailing across the Persian Gulf to Iraq and on through bandit-infested mountains to Teheran. She returned to England in an equally circuitous manner and despite travelling under dangerous circumstances, through communist Russia and Poland in the midst of revolution, her humour and sense of adventure never failed. Passenger to Teheran is a classic work, revealing the lesser-known side of one of the twentieth century's most luminous authors.

Roger Housden traveled to Iran to meet with artists, writers, film makers and religious scholars who embody the long Iranian tradition of humanism, the belief in scholarship and artistry that began with the reign of Cyrus the Great. He traveled to the mountains of Kurdistan to learn from Sufis, whose version of Islam exhorts nothing but tolerance and love. From the bustle of modern Tehran to the paradise gardens of Shiraz to the spectacular mosques and ancient palaces of Isfahan, Housden met Iranians who were warm, welcoming, generous, intellectually curious, and who would recite the poetry of Hafez or Rumi at the slightest opportunity. Saved By Beauty weaves a richly textured story of many threads. It is a deeply poetic and perceptive appreciation of a culture that has endured for over three thousand years, while it also portrays the creative and spiritual cultures within contemporary Iran that are rarely given any mention in the West. It is a suspense story that reflects on the philosophical and aesthetic questions of good and evil, truth and beauty. And finally, it is the story of a man in his sixties on a personal quest to discover if the Iran of his youthful imagination continued to exist, or whether it had been lost forever under a strict totalitarian regime. In Iran, Roger Housden was brought face to face with the reality that beauty and truth, deceit and violence, are inextricably mingled in the affairs of human life, and was forever changed.

In 1933, the delightfully eccentric travel writer Robert Byron set out on a journey through the Middle East via Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad and Teheran to Oxiana, near the border between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. Throughout, he kept a thoroughly captivating record of his encounters, discoveries, and frequent misadventures. His story would become a best-selling travel book throughout the English-speaking world, until the acclaim died down and it was gradually forgotten. When Paul Fussell published his own book Abroad, in 1982, he wrote that The Road to Oxiana is to the travel book what "Ulysses is to the novel between the wars, and what The Waste Land is to poetry." His statements revived the public's interest in the book, and for the first time, it was widely available in American bookstores. Now this long-overdue reprint will introduce it to a whole new generation of readers. This edition features a new introduction by Rory Stewart, best known for his book The Places In Between, about his extensive travels in Afghanistan. Today, in addition to its entertainment value, The Road to Oxiana also serves as a rare account of the architectural treasures of a region now inaccessible to most Western travelers, and a nostalgic look back at a more innocent time.

"Among the Believers" is V. S. Naipaul's classic account of his journeys through Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia; 'the believers' are the Muslims he met on those journeys, young men and women battling to regain the original purity of their faith in the hope of restoring order to a chaotic world. It is a uniquely valuable insight into modern Islam, and the comforting simplifications of religious fanaticism. 'The edgy exactitude of Naipaul's writing is both effortlessly classical and yet at the same time brilliantly contemporary, as sharp and lucid as a spear of glass...He is inimitable, truly great and truly deserving of the Nobel' - "Observer".

From Persian-style Russian Salad with Tarragon Mayonnaise, to Skewered Beef Leaves Marinated in Yoghurt, Cardamom, and Black Pepper, or Coconut Cream Flakes with Toffeed Mango, this is an unforgettable journey through the culinary landscapes of ancient Persia and modern-day Iran Persian cooking is one of the oldest and most sophisticated cuisines in the world. Its influence has spread across India and the Middle East, to North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, and even through Medieval Europe. A cuisine that is subtle, elegant, and alluring, it rejoices in rice, uses fresh herbs in abundance, and combines meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables with exotic spices, such as saffron, cardamom, and dried limes. Discover this land here, where the rich diversity of climate, countryside, architecture, and poetry provide a fitting background for an equal variety and richness of cuisine. Join the authors as they visit bustling bazaars and tiny soup kitchens, pick saffron before dawn, and fish, in time-honored tradition, from wooden dhows in the Persian Gulf. Then discover the joy of Persian cooking for yourself with the mouthwatering recipes that they have created for the home kitchen, as mixture of centuries of tradition with modern techniques and flavors, perfect for both the home cook and the experienced chef. Measurements are metric.