IMOW - Zourkhaneh

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STATISTICS:


•	Zurkhaneh or zourkhaneh (literally; house of strength) is the Iranian traditional gymnasium, in which the national Iranian sport so called Varzesh-e Pahlavani or Varzesh-e Bastani is practiced

•	Zourkhaneh is not only a place for physical exercises but also a place for learning chivalrous behavior.

Zourkhaneh
Mehraneh Atashi

Iran

GALLERY

CONVERSATION

The presence of women is religiously prohibited in the Zourkhaneh. Zourkhaneh is a traditional center of male sport where religion, tradition, virility and symbols of the Persian hero are all mixed. The first day I entered the Zourkhaneh with mirrors reflecting the scene all over, I suddenly found myself standing in front of some big and strong men. It was so hard to gain the trust of these extremely religious Moslems and their agreement to pose half naked in front of me and the mirror, but magic of photography helped me. I made sure to be present in each photo as a subject among the heroes.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THIS STORY

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Imagining Ourselves Team (United States)
Why do you think Mehraneh placed herself in all of the photos?

Boushra Almutawakel (Yemen)
Dear Mehraneh,

I am from Yemen and also a photographer. I met Minou, who gave a presentation on some of the photographers her gallery represents. It was in this venue that I was first introduced to your amazing work. Minou is now helping me put an exhibit here in Yemen

I really commend you on your interesting photos, and how you were able to get the men to trust you. I also love your little

Bita Haidarian (United States)
I have only heard about Zourkhaneh, but I have never seen pictures of them. This is really great. I would love to see more.

Hanieh S (Iran)
well u really did a wow stuff ,keep goin on ur photography and breaking tabloids .

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Hanieh S
Iran

Boushra Almutawakel
Yemen

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