خصوف ماه و تولد مهدی
Lunar Eclipse & Mahdi’s Birthday
Urban entertainment in the form of Mahdi's birthday, a lunar eclipse, and strange text messages converge on a rooftop in Shiraz.
First, the eclipse and Mahdi's birthday coincide (From IRNA):
Iranian citizens were lucky to witness a partial lunar eclipse from 01:40 (marking the greatest eclipse) to about 03:15 hours local time on Sunday morning. Reduced visibility of the moon occurred hours after nationwide celebrations on the occasion of the birthday anniversary of the last Imam of Shiites, Hazrat Mahdi (May God Hasten His Reappearance), who is also known as `Imam of the Age.' "
Who's the Mahdi? The Messiah, the one who will return at the end of days. Here's what the Quran says about him.
And for those of you who like astrology, here's some astrological babble.
Now, on to the urban experience:
Astrology and astronomy aside, the lunar eclipse provided a fine example of urban entertainment. Many Iranians still sleep on their rooftops in the summer. I am one of them. Up there, on the bed, under the stars, you can get in touch with lunar cycles. It's plain to see them. Every sunset, you sit at the same point, and notice that the moon is in a different phase, and hanging in a different part of the sky. You can track it. Especially this past month, now that the sandstorms in Iraq have died down. The sky has been pretty clear for an urban area.
An eclipse adds another dimension - giving you a sense of being in the middle of space. Hovering, between the sun and the moon. The sun has to be behind you, through 12,700 km of rock and earth - to cast that shadow. Dancing in space.
Sleeping on the rooftops is a great tradition, made possible by flat-roofed housing, a key feature of Iran's urban amenities. Part of the Shiraz building vernacular.
Rooftop sleep also has an economic dimension. It can be part of a whole industry of rooftop furniture, bedding and accessories, including designer mosquito netting.
Natural urban concerts: From the rooftop, you hear the throes of the city, the ebbs and flows of its moods and activities.
The night of the eclipse offers a great audio and visual line-up. In the early part of the evening, the exuberant shouts, music, chanting and din of the crowds celebrating Hazrat Mahdi's birthday echoed from everywhere. Some time after they quieted down, the eclipse began. Most auspicious.
To this excellent natural phenomenon, we add some technology. You can only sit on the roof so long watching an eclipse, before you want to share it with someone. It takes a while for the shadow of the earth to cross the moon.
Earth is a large object. 12,756 km in diameter.
Who to share it with? Most of my family members are traveling, and father was inside on the computer (he popped out a few times to check the progress, but didn't seem interested in the entire extended show. Perhaps watching a shadow move across a distant orb isn't everyone's cup of tea.)
So, of course, I start to randomly text message people I know to make sure they're watching this spectacle.
"There's an eclipse right now. Check it out." I batch text.
I start doing this at 1:00 am, so I think most people are asleep and don't respond. Their loss.
A few people are up, and are watching it. What a thrill! We bond over it. Exclamations of delight, awe, poetry. We're all sunflowers - or moonflowers, gazing at the same point.
The awe is not shared by everyone. One kid's too distracted by not recognizing my phone number. Here is a transcript of the text exchange:
Me: There's an eclipse right now. Check it out.
The Kid: Me?! Sure? Sorry for asking this question! But who are u?
Me: I'm not important. Just enjoy the moon. Eclipses are rare.
The Kid: Everything is rare in this country! Specially enjoying things!
Me: Enjoy anyway. I enjoy you, the moon, grandma's rude poetry.
The Kid: Like to know who u are?!
Me: Who am I? One of many star-gazers out tonight.
The Kid: Think that u sent me first sms wrong! Because why I should enjoy tonight?
Me: Dude, you are dense. The moon. It's in eclipse. Go out and look.
The Kid: I'm not there! not in shiraz now! So you can tell me who u are ;0 but after enjoying of the moon alone.
Me: The moon is in SPACE. You can see this anywhere in Iran. Did you look?
The Kid: If i had 2 choise tonight: first see the moon second knowing who u are i choosed second because my room has no window! Who are u ;0
Me: (sent the next day, because by this time I have fallen asleep and the eclipse is mostly OVER): Your brain has no window. Are you in jail? Couldn't you have gone out into the yard? Miracles all around you and you hide under the covers. I am the moon. Wanted 2 C U.
Wait? How did the kid know I was in Shiraz? Area code?
That last bit was inspired. "I am the moon." There was a time when people used to take the moon seriously. Now the moon has to outsource (for example, to me) to try to drum up some fans to gaze at it. Poor thing.
Not to fear, this isn't the last eclipse. It was, in fact, "...the 29th of 83 lunar eclipses in the saros cycle. The next will be a penumbral eclipse on February 9, 2009. (IRNA)."
Mark your calendars.
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