Photos by Nima Dimari, Mehr News Agency

Pir Shahriar (or Pir Shaliar) is one of the oldest ceremonies which is still celebrated twice a year in the village of Oramanat Takht in Iran's Kurdestan province. According to some historians, the origin of this event goes back to a 1000 years ago. Others believe the tradition is much older than that.

The tomb of Pir Shahriar Urami, writer of the book Acquaintance of Pir Shahriar is one of the revered pilgrimage sites for the people of the region who were Zoroastrians before the advent of Islam.

The first event falls on 15th of Ordibehesht, the second month of the Iranian calendar, around mid-May; the next ceremony falls on 10th of Bahman, the eleventh month of the Iranian calendar, around beginning of February. The spring ceremony is called Koohsari which is accompanied with the playing of instruments like Daf and delivering speeches on Pir Shahriar's personality. The winter ceremony is called Aroosi Pir Shahriar and is celebrated for two weeks.

Read the report by Mehr New Agency (in persian)

 
Kurdestan, Iran

Oramanat Takht Village (source: Kurdistan Tourism):

The same is located in an east-west valley on steep slope overlooking the northern front of the Takht Mountains 63 km. south of Marivan. The village houses are generally made of stone and stair like fashion, with beams covering the ceilings. These houses are arranged such that the roof of one house is the courtyard of the other.

The climate of this region in spring and summer is very pleasant and it is very cold in winter. The Oramanat Takht Village is one of the attractive rural areas of Kurdestan which besides its panoramic views, has valuable tourism capacities because of the annual performance of an ancient and wonderful ceremony of Pir Shahriar.

The inhabitants of the Uraman Takht are Sonni moslems from the Shafei sect. Also, their language is known as Hevarami. The Urami dialect is one of the famous Kurdish languages. Ancient fire temples, remnants of this region indicate that the inhabitants were Zoroastrians before converting to Islam.

The Sirvan River flows from the deep valleys of this region and enters Iraq. The border areas of the Sirvan river are called Ravar. Here the lands are covered with walnut, pomegranate, fig and mulberry trees. In spite of difficult climatic conditions the inhabitants abide by their traditions.

Other sacred sites include Oihang and Abdollahi mosques, the tomb of "Loskeh Hijij" which is highly respected by the people of this region and other people of Kurdestan.

Watch Videos of Pir Shahriar held in 2008

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