Thanks for visiting the site! We put tehranshake together several years ago and really enjoyed the great discussions and networks that came out of it. In 2011, we moved on to a different stage in our careers (we’re teaching and doing research now in civil engineering and environmental design). We haven’t been working on the site since then. We’ve left the site up just because we still make new friends through it. Feel free to browse, but please note that most of the information is outdated!
It’s early in the morning; the city is awake. I meet friends to go hiking in “Daar Abaad” and enjoy the glorious mountains and waterfalls of north Tehran. We walk through the cold rivers and let the waterfalls run from our heads to the toes. How incredibly cold the water is and how good it feels! My clothes are all wet and how I enjoy the feeling. Alborz is sacred. People smile and say “khasteh nabaasheed” to us as they pass by. This is an unlikely scene in the chaos of the city. The best part is delicious Omelets in a traditional tea house after a few hours of hiking. Fresh bread with plain omelet made of eggs and tomatoes; and yes, there is always hot tea available. It’s almost noon when we return.
Walking slowly through the few remaining “koocheh baagh’s” of Tehran in Maghsood Beig in the afternoon, I inhale the air with greed and pleasure. Gardens are so rapidly disappearing here and are being replaced by tall buildings that seem to have nothing to do with one another or their surrounding nature. Many days of raining has clearly made an impact on the air and the mood of fellow Tehranies. I pass through Doctor Hessabi’s house and see a beautiful garden with a gorgeous old building in the middle, which is now a famous café with art galleries (café baagh e mouzeh). There is a long waiting list for out-door seating. Read the rest of this entry »
I received an email this morning, which may be a common question and the answer may be of interest to other Tehranies, especially as we are having many earthquakes around the world lately:
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Email from Ms. XX:
Dear Shideh & Shawhin,
I was surfing internet to find information on Tehran earthquake and came across to your weblog. As a solution President announced that 5 million people should leave Tehran enabling his government to control the aftermath of Tehran earthquake.
Interesting article in Time today:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1930622_1930614_1930606,00.html
Next five major (important) earthquakes expected to occur in: Los Angeles, Tokyo, Tehran, Pacific Northwest, Indonesia
“All of Iran lies within a major earthquake zone, and the country has suffered terrible temblors before — most recently in 2003, when a 6.8-magnitude quake leveled the ancient city of Bam and killed more than 30,000 people. But a similar quake in the congested capital of Tehran — where more than 7 million people live — would be a shattering catastrophe. Unlike building codes in other endangered cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo, Tehran’s are relatively lax, and many residents like in the sort of unreinforced-concrete houses that turn into death traps in the event of a strong quake. The Iranian Health Ministry once estimated that a 7-magnitude quake would destroy 90% of the city’s hospitals. Tehran is so threatened that there has been periodic talk about moving the capital.” — Time, Oct. 20th, 2009
[SR] I’m taking a course this semester titled “cultural landscape methods.” It’s in the geography department but covers concepts in architecture, city and regional planning, landscape architecture as well as social, economic, political dimensions. This week we’re reading about J.B. Jackson. Very interesting character. In the US, he’s one of the pioneers of looking… really looking at everyday landscapes… as in land-scapes – or to paraphrase: human settlements or traces on the face of the earth. He’s not a typical academic… but rather has a strong “common streak,” which I totally admire. Read the rest of this entry »
[by SR] Like many others, I’m sure, I’ve often fantasized about towns without cars – would it be feasible? Maybe have a light rail line and perhaps routes for emergency services and perhaps shuttles for the elderly and disabled… but otherwise, no cars. Anyhow, I just came across this interesting article in today’s New York Times: “In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars”. Read the rest of this entry »
how interesting…
http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1372&Itemid=2
http://www.whitehouse.gov/Nowruz/
For those who can’t view this video, this is the text of his message:
VIDEOTAPED REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN CELEBRATION OF NOWRUZ
THE PRESIDENT: Today I want to extend my very best wishes to all who are celebrating Nowruz around the world.
[By Shideh] UC Berkeley had a football game against UCLA today. Typically, these games have quite an impact on everything in town, most importantly transportation and parking become almost impossible. How lively it is to fight for winning though, to have a favorite team, and to show your support for something you relate to. Today, while I work at a café next to the football stadium in Berkeley, I am witnessing hundreds of students and alumni from both universities walk by wearing UCLA or Berkeley shirts, hats, or shorts. Many have brought their children, and of course the children are wearing shirts with the name and colors of their parents’ favorite school. As I write, Berkeley’s marching band passes by with the loudest drums and a few hundred uniformed students marching Bancroft Avenue while the crowd waves at them with open smiles. I am automatically a part of this excitement as I hear that Berkeley has won the game: 41 by 22. Why do I care? What is it that is so exciting about being a part of a community united for a purpose, a community that has a team and is relating to that team to feel better or to fight against something in common? Would I be disappointed in Berkeley if she had lost the game? Perhaps, but I think not for long; I would probably continue smiling and congratulate the UCLA folks passing by.
Photo courtesy of nybox6
I recently had a job interview in England and did not get the job. When I was invited to interview for a faculty position that seemed to be a dream job at the time, I remember getting extremely nervous to even attend the interview fearing for the outcome. I wished I had not applied for the job at all and thought it was too early for me to do this as I was not prepared and not even close to graduating. My father told me something that completely changed my attitude, which is why I want to talk about sports. He said: “this interview is like a football match of your dream. You are invited to play in your national team against another excellent team. What matters is that you play for the sake of playing, the excitement, the glory of the game in itself – pay no attention to the results. Life is not about the outcome, it’s about the game. You will go and you will play your best and will enjoy the game regardless of the results. Do not pre-judge, judge, or post-judge the outcome. Just play…”
[By Shideh] My aunt sent me this letter to share with our blog readers. It is about hope and change and has a strong message for all of us, whether you are from Tehran, Tokyo, Cairo, or Los Angeles, even though the topic is on the existing situation in the United States. Enjoy reading it and send us your own thoughts and experiences:
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On the 28th of June 2008 I made all the possible arrangements to attend a party in Berkeley for Obama. I wanted to participate in that party to unite with the community I felt a part of. Being with the people who are seeking change; who are promoting dignity for mankind irrespective of their race and ethnic back ground. The thought of this understanding coming from American people really excited me for the wonderful world my children and their generation are going to have ahead of them. This all had come at the time when they had lost hope for the future. People of this country were about to have compassion for themselves and for the people of the world. How incredible.
The people at the party were obviously mostly the elite group from Berkeley, fit, outspoken, and open minded of all ages. The refreshments were generously presented along with very efficient display of stickers, pamphlets, T-shirts, etc. It was a wonderful feeling to be sitting with this group under the same roof. The speakers informed us of all that was happening and all that is needed to be done in the few months to come (just a few months). The questions and answers followed the introduction and it gave way to comments about international affairs.
As one of the speakers started commenting and joking about Iran, I found myself feeling very confused. What is going on here? As the jokes about my country continued, I felt as if the walls of the room were closing in on me. I felt even dizzier when I looked around and saw these well intentioned people, or so they seemed in the beginning, as the same prejudiced people they are trying to oppose. Read the rest of this entry »
An educational documentary broadcast from inside Iran also recommended by Mr. Alireza Sarvi:
[By Shideh] Mr. Alireza Sarvi kindly sent us his article on the earthquake risks that Tehran currently faces; to download the complete article, please click on: earthquake prone tehran
If you have difficulty downloading the entire file, please try downloading one page at a time as: part_1, part_2, part_3, part_4, part_5, part_6
It’s a great overview of Tehran’s geological and construction history and the risks involved; an insightful and critical study which you may find helpful.
[By Shideh] We arrived in Sanandaj at last and greeted their famous freedom statue that most surprisingly looked exactly like a famous dance form of Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam. We stayed with the family of two most precious human beings who happen to work for Shawhin’s dad. They had a cozy house on the hills of Sanandaj: small, humble, and darvish style, but had a view of the city. As excited and fascinated as I was with their steep snaky streets and the gorgeous architecture of their houses, doors, and windows, I couldn’t resist noticing their weak construction methods and lack of safety in the case of an earthquake (which is quite likely). What would happen to these people if an earthquake striked? Images of Bam came to my head and it was hard to push them away as I was getting frustrated with my lack of power to help.
Freedom Statue — Photo courtesy of http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3684/
[By Shideh] While exploring beautiful Kurdestan:
A friend sent me this clip from a performance by Kuoban ensemble (formerly 40-daf) in Tehran. It is a combination of Kurdish and Luri music. Delightful yet traditional, proud, and strong. Enjoy:
[By Shideh] To me, leaving Tehran always brings mixed feelings. The comfort of having access to everything I am used to (which make me spoiled), familiarity with my surroundings, and the natural love for my birth place with so many memories on one side made me reluctant to leave, while the chaos, pollution, traffic jams, and the stressful state of Tehran made our journey to Kurdestan easier. We started driving toward Qazvin, then Hamedan toward Sanandaj. The drive was about 10 hours while we barely felt any of it. When we first exited Tehran, we saw a vast lifeless desert in front of us. There were mountains in the background, but no sign of water or greenery. This lasted for a couple of hours when we started to see farms on the two sides of the road. Our surrounding slowly became greener and the mountains changed shape. In some areas it was calmly raining, in others we saw a sunny sky. Zagros was slowly coming out of its shell and appeared in front of us with its young powerful curves, sort of welcoming us first time visitors. What beauty, words can hardly describe it. At that moment, I thought of a relatively cheesy song by Elvis when I saw Zagros and found myself helplessly in love with its beauty: “but I can’t help falling in love with you…”
This mountain range is relatively young compared to Alborz and its shape is distinctly different. It has been a base for many ancient civilizations with mighty rivers and lands for farming.
[By Shideh] A great organization working toward global earthquake safety: http://www.geohaz.org/index.htm
The mission of this Nonprofit Organization is to “reduce death and suffering – particularly among children – due to earthquake and other natural hazards in the world’s most vulnerable communities through advocacy, preparedness, prevention, and mitigation.” I will write more about this organization in the future posts as we just learned about their activities and are planning to do more research and potentially get involved; so more posts to come.
Photo courtesy of J Rodgers
[By Shideh] This morning, at 6:16am local time, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6 struck the northeast corner of the state of Nevada in the U.S., which damaged buildings in a small town near the epicenter. This earthquake was apparently felt as far away as southern California. The USGS recorded eight aftershocks between magnitudes 3 and 4 in the hours following the first shake.
There are records of collapsed building fronts and bricks crushing cars (according to CNN), as well as cracked walls. Fortunately, the authorities have confirmed only one minor injury.
Important observation for everyone, especially Iran’s northern cities where some houses are built out of wood and there are large forests: the main water line shut down because of leaks caused by the temblor during the earthquake this morning, in the city of Wells, Nevada. The breakage of water lines was what ruined the city of San Francisco in 1906 after the earthquake as the fire started while major water lines were shut down and fire fighters couldn’t effectively control the fire. When I talk to older people in San Francisco about the 1906 earthquake, they mostly remember it as the 1906 fire and not the earthquake, even though the fire was caused by the earthquake.
[By Shideh] The art of dancing is truly a gift. It is an amazing feeling – the power in group dances – especially the ones with lots of energy, movement, singing, colors, and joy. I only saw these dances in Indian movies when I was a kid – we never had that experience growing up in Tehran. It seems as if Tehran is the America of Iran, where many people from different villages, cities, and provinces migrate to in order to provide better opportunities for their next generation. It is a busy city with lots of people, high rises, and traffic jams. Tehran has become the melting pot for the country, a city where people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures, languages, and costumes from around the country migrate to and learn to live next to each other. But in many cases, these individuals sadly forget their own backgrounds and costumes. As a result Tehran may have lost its own unique identity. Perhaps it’s hard to define it or perhaps this is what Tehran’s identity is: a melting pot. But why didn’t I, as a Tehrani girl, ever experience a Tehrani group dance like kids who lived in Gilan, Mashhad, south Bandars, or the nomads of Qashghai experienced?
photo courtesy of Ballet Afsaneh
[By Shideh] I read an interesting article by H. Hamzehloo, F. Vaccari, and G.F. Panza, “ Towards a reliable seismic microzonation in Tehran, Iran,” a few parts of which I am including below:
“Tehran, the capital of Iran, is located in a very high seismic zone at the foot of the Alborz Mountains, which is part of the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt. The distribution of historical earthquakes around Tehran shows that the region has been experiencing eight large destructive earthquakes with magnitude greater than 7 from 4th B.C to 1830 (Ambraseys and Melville, 1982). These large historical earthquakes caused severe damage to Shahre Ray City, which is a part of Tehran city at present. The last large historical event was the 1830 earthquake with magnitude 7.1, which occurred approximately 100 km from the city. The closest historical event to the city was the 855 earthquake with magnitude 7.1.
[By Shideh] Today is a national holiday in the U.S., dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the great leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement. He is mostly known for his efforts to end segregation and racial discrimination through non-violent means. His birthday marks a day of hope for all African Americans here as well as for many others around the globe. This is one of my favorite holidays and I wanted to write a post here in his honor and in the memory of hope. Here is a video of his famous speech, “I Have a Dream”:
[By Shideh] A very interesting interview with an American scholar, Richard Frye, at Harvard University about his feelings for Iran. Enjoy:
[By Shawhin] I just finished reading the transcript from an interview between the Financial Times and current Tehran Mayor, Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, published on January 8th, 2008. There’s a lot of information in the transcript particularly regarding development, urban planning, transportation, etc. Dr. Qalibaf has been mayor since September 2005 according to Wikipedia.
I’ve summarized a few points from the article here – these are from quotes from the Mayor:
+ Development in Tehran is handled on three levels:
o Small projects are handled at the local/neighborhood level: via assisting councils (“shora yaari”, شورا یاری) – see details below,
o Medium size projects are handled by the Municipality’s representative offices in 22 zones, and
o Large projects (i.e. highways, Milad Tower, etc) are done at the national level Read the rest of this entry »
A town famous for its beautiful architecture and energy efficiency. Interesting video on National Geographic about Kandovan:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/12/071205-village-video-ap.html
picture borrowed from: www.Anvari.org
A few photographs of Tehran University, most of which were kindly sent by ‘First Lieutenant’. Beautiful architecture and an extremely lively and exciting campus, not to mention the very enthusiastic and upbeat students!
[By Shideh] It’s this time of the year again and everyday as I walk through the campus I experience the beauties of the Fall season in Berkeley. Of course you don’t see as many mesmerizing colors here as you would in the east coast of the U.S. but Berkeley has its own “haal o havaa”. Today though, I long for Tehran’s “Payeez” and can’t stop thinking about the “Vali Asr” Avenue (i.e. Pahlavi Ave.) and its trees in the fall. The nostalgia of pomegranate juice stands, the smell of “laboo and baghela forooshees” in the narrow streets of Tehran, near Meydoon e Vanak on a rainy day. There is so much life and extreme emotions there. Shawhin often says, “Tehran feels like the center of the universe once you get to know it.” I must agree.
[By Shideh] We are back in Berkeley and are in the process of organizing our photos/videos from Iran. We’ll post short summaries with observations from our trip over the next few weeks (as it’s going to be long… and there were plenty of interesting topics for discussion that came up). First, today, a few short thoughts and impressions from Tehran:
[By Shawhin] We’re at SFO airport right now headed to Tehran for 3 weeks. Stay posted for some photos and reports from the great city itself. We’ll have the fortune of meeting with academics in earthquake engineering and planning. We’ll post pertinent discussions on tehranshake.
If you have any particular questions you’d like us to ask for you – don’t hesitate to let us know.
الان در فرودگاه «سان فرانسیسکو» منتظرپرواز به تهران هستیم! به مدت سه هفته آنجا خواهیم بود. منتظر مطلب و عکس از تهران روی «تهران شیک» باشید. خوشبختانه تونستیم قرارهایی با چندین دانشگاه و استادهای زلزله وطراهی شهر(؟) بگذاریم. اگر سوأل خواصی برایشان دارید، بهمون خبر بدین.
[By Shideh]
Today I attended a meeting at PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research) head quarters, here in Berkeley, with a team of visiting engineers from Pakistan. They were mostly interested to learn about the progress in earthquake engineering practice and research in the U.S. and the performance and success of research supported by government organizations. During the meeting, from what I heard, I thought Pakistan and Iran have a lot in common (culturally and socially) and creating joint programs between the two countries can be effective in their progress.
Another topic of interest in this meeting was how to increase women participation in engineering, in Pakistan. Read the rest of this entry »
[By Shideh] As you might have heard by now, one of the key road bridges over the Mississippi river in the US collapsed during the evening rush hour on Wednesday. At lease seven people were killed and 60 injured according to most news sources. About 50 vehicles went into the water as the structure collapsed. Tons of concrete crashed into water in addition to a freight train passing underneath that was crushed under the collapsing bridge.
(pictures courtesy of BBC)
[By Shideh] Interesting information on BBCPersian:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/iran/story/2007/07/070723_ka-tehran-earthquake1.shtml
“در صورتی که زلزله تهران به خاطر فعال شدن گسل ری باشد، ۴۸۰ هزار ساختمان در تهران فرو خواهد ریخت، یعنی ۵۵ درصد ساختمانهای شهر. بیشترین تعداد ساختمانهای آسیب دیده در منطقه ۱۵ خواهد بود.”
“In the case of an earthquake on the Ray Fault, 480,000 buildings will collapse in Tehran: 55% of all the buildings in Tehran.”
In particular, I am glad that discussions af Tehran’s susceptibility to seismic hazard have increasingly become more of a concern to the public and to the media. As misleading as most popular news sources can be in terms of the accuracy of their scientific claims, they can have a strong influence on public awareness and education. Also, this can be especially useful when finding ways to have our ideas heard by policy makers in Iran. Media can not only have a great role in educating the public (or misleading them in many matters), it can be used to put policy makers under pressure for effective action. I think continuous articles and interviews on popular columns of famous news papers and magazines can have a profound impact, which we can have in mind as a possible way for implementing infrastructure related solutions later on. This may seem obvious, but we can start planning for it at some point.
Tehran Shake 
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