Gem of Mahan Photo

Photographer’s Note

The shot shows the mausoleum of Shah Nematollah Vali which is located in the town of Mahan in Kerman province, Iran.

Shah Nur od-Din Nematollah Vali lived up to hundred years of age (1331-1431). He was an Islamic scholar and a sufi poet from the 14th and 15th centuries. Descended from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, Shah Ne'matullah was the Qutb of a sufi order after his master Sheikh Abd-allah Yafe'i. He was born and grown up in Koohbanan ( in Kerman Province). He met Abdollah Yafe'i in Mecca and became his disciple. He studied intensely with his teacher for seven years until he spiritually transformed. He traveled to Samarqand, Herat, and Yazd and he spent the last years of his life in Mahan.
By the time Shah Nematullah died, his fame had spread throughout Persia and India, and it is said he initiated hundreds of thousands of followers in the path now known by his name.

The dome over the tomb of the well known Sufi leader dates back to the early 15th century. The complex is famous for its tile work and the ceiling is quite spectacular. There are also seven ancient wooden doors that are made in India. In the courtyard, there is a pond surrounded by cypress trees. There are also two minarets from the Qajar period.

I searched for the English translations of his poems and the following poem is one of them.

"The Sea Is Our Essence"

We are of the sea, and the sea is our essence;
why then is there this duality between us?
The world is an imaginary line before the sight;
read well that line, for it was inscribed by us.
Whatsoever we possess in both the worlds
in reality, my friend, belongs to God.

His love I keep secretly in my heart;
the less of the pain of His love is our cure.
Companions are we of the cup, comrades of the saki,
lest thou suppose that he is apart from us:
it is the assembly of love, and we are drunk --
who ever enjoyed so royal a party?
So long as Nematollah is the slave of the Lord,
the king of the world is a beggar at his door.
*

A photo of his tomb is available in the WS.

PaulVDV, giorgimer, parbo, papagolf21, saxo042, danos, banaei_nikon, patdeph, gracious, Waylim, Dyerco, AiresSantos, siolaw, paura, rjb874, daddo, BWJ, stego trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

PaulVDV (5332) 2009-05-11 13:04

Hello Atousa,
Well composed picture of this mausoleum and beautifully framed with the trees.
Best regards, Paul

giorgimer (21468) 2009-05-11 13:15

Hi Atouse,

very nice place, I like both architecture and nature.

Well done!

Gio

parbo (11006) 2009-05-11 23:17

Hello Atousa,

Excellently build point of view while adding minarets and trees to your well taken frame. Small pool worked perfectly for increasing beauty and creating partially wonderful reflection of historical facade. Young lady and visitor added life to your photo. Congratulations. Have a nice new week.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

foozi (4735) 2009-05-12 0:13

Salam Atousa,
verey lovely capture of the place. Very dramatic presentation with excellent tall trees and emerging minarets. Very ncelycomposed.
Beautiful place to see and visit.

Regards,
Foozi

papagolf21 (56675) 2009-05-12 0:46

Bonjour, Atousa,
Oh ! superbe prise de vue. Il faut dire que le sujet est d'une grande beauté !
Un grand merci pour ce très beau cadeau offert.
Félicitations.
Amitiés.
Philippe

saxo042 (16182) 2009-05-12 1:33

Hi Atousa,
Excellent POV and very fine colours of this mosque! A good note of true TE spirit!
Kind regards
Gunnar

danos (33126) 2009-05-12 4:51

Hello Atousa,
nice perspective of the mausoleum of Shah Nematollah Vali,with the little pond to creates depth in the scene.The existence of the mother with her child adds life and the brilliant colours make it even more nice.Well done.

Regards,Danos

mustafatavsiz (224) 2009-05-12 5:33

Selam,
this is good but in my opinion if you could get a little bit close and shot with a reflection on the water it might be more interesting.

Mustafa

banaei_nikon (775) 2009-05-12 6:14

Salam Atousa,
Well composed picture of this mausoleum and beautifully framed with the trees.
Best regards
**MAB**

patdeph (18270) 2009-05-12 9:45

hello Atousa
the place is superb,the colours and the luminosity are wonderful!You have chosen a perfect POV to show the beauty of the garden around the mausoleum!Splendid!
Regards

gracious (20017) 2009-05-12 10:37

Salam Atousa,
Thank you for this wonderful image on the mausoleum which captured beautifully!
excellent depth with beautiful sunlight falls on this place which created a wonderful displayed of light and shadows!
very calm and peaceful place here
thanks for the notes
greeting
Tony

Waylim (11093) 2009-05-12 12:57

Hello Atousa,
Beautiful image of the mausoleum, as much as I like the natural environment around the area, I feel a little disappoint to not be able to see the sausoleum more due to the trees. The quality of the photo itself is great and I like the inclusion of the woman and a child to give some liveliness. Well manage light between the shadow and light. Thanks. Beautiful poem and useful note.
Way

Dyerco (9256) 2009-05-12 20:14

Hi Atousa
The exposure has been well handled and the people on the left provide scale and life to the image. Imagine living to 100 back then. He would have been highly regarded I'm sure.
Phil

emka (22177) 2009-05-12 23:57

Hi Atousa,

Beautiful composition, interesting Iranian architecture. I like the dome in emerald colour. Nice symmetry and reflections. Wow, near the tree is it the mother with child? This all black silhouette looks very impressive. Thanks for sharing the photos of your country. Not much occasion to see them.

Warm regards

Malgorzata

AiresSantos (42760) 2009-05-13 11:33

Hi Atousa
Nice view of th Shah Nematollah Vali mausoleum.
Beautiful architecture and colours
Have a nice evening
Aires

skippy007 (7285) 2009-05-13 16:25

Hello Atousa, Very beautiful & interesting mausoleum, not only for it's architecture but more importantly for it's history, I like the framing, the minarets soaring above the trees, the pond creates interest in the form of reflections, the mother? and child are well placed in the frame & add life and interest to a very good quality image.
Regards
Santo

siolaw (25802) 2009-05-13 23:44

Salam Atousa,
We can see that it is impossible to get an open front view of this beautiful mosque, but it iss nice to see how tall are both the trees and minarets.... Good light managment with correct exposure of the shadow areas.
Informative note too!
Greetings
Laurent

aadilj (17950) 2009-05-14 2:34

Hello Atousa, this isnt one of my fav countries for nothing and you do full justice. I love the view and love the saturation in this fresh and vibrant image

paura (39052) 2009-05-14 4:49

Atousa,
How a bautiful place here! Nicelly composed photograph indeed. Well done.

Regards

Palo

ElAprendiz (7370) 2009-05-16 17:52

Salam Atousa:

A beautiful place and great perspective.

The low point of view, provides a balanced depth of field. Good handling of light and people, strengthen the composition.

John

daddo (11511) 2009-05-20 5:08

Salam dear Atousa. Any Sufi of yours is a Sufi of mine.I love the power of the last two lines.Somehow the tall trees match the wisdom of the poem. Lovely colours, especially the blue of the tiles. Regards. Klaudio.

BWJ (1775) 2009-05-20 9:01

Hello Atousa,
The splendid combination of vibrant color, shadows, light, and reflections give this picture a magical look. Including the woman and the child on the left was a good idea to add interest and perspective. It is an exquisite composition. Thank you for the workshop and for the excellent note.
Kind regards,
Betty

Angshu (34027) 2009-05-24 22:13

Salam Atousa
Lovely architecture of the mausoleum. I might have wanted to see more of the dome, which is peeping through the trees here. But the wide angled view here is good in its own right with good framing & reflections in the small pool in the FG. A very fine & informative note to boot. Well done!
Best regards
Angshu

stego (22400) 2009-06-03 9:50

Salam Atousa,
You captured wonderfully the very tranquil beauty of the place. Like the garden and the mausoleum, the image is full of harmony. The presence of the persons is a bonus. Very good light management.
I like the WS also. It h~features an extraordinary light and colours and it's a great presentation of the place.
Regards,
José