The language of Parrots.


Some years ago, I read a beautiful Sufi treatise by Farradin'Attar entitled "Conference of the Birds".
Like all powerful Sufi stories, this one stayed with me.
The story, an allegory, is basically about a flock of different kinds of birds wanting to meet the Simorgh. The Simorgh being none other than the "highest" Bird.
After a lengthy and torturous travel route, only a few made it to the Simorgh.
Many gave up half way. Some got stuck in their own stories, others just dropped out from sheer exhaustion and others were afraid to venture beyond...
But only those that were earnestly seeking to meet Him, managed to make it and reached their final destination.
Of course, Farradin'Attar in his brilliant way, meant the Simorgh as a metaphor for Truth.

Now, I have been receiving tons of mail, from all kinds of people...
I assume they too are searching for the Truth.
But like some of the birds in the Sufi tale, they are stuck.

Some write to me with the same old verbiage, regurgitated about a thousand times...
And it goes like this:" I am anti-occupation, but...Saddam was an Imperialist thug"..."I am against what is happening but you see, you have to understand, that Saddam was a tyrant"..."I really don't like this, but frankly you guys brought it onto yourselves...after all he was a dictator"..." It is all because of him...he was nothing but a traitor"..." He was a CIA/Zionist agent...yeah that's him"...

Some are slightly more sophisticated. They use "important" terminology.
Like big impressive words and get their nickers in a twist with detailed analysis that amounts to nothing really. Others are plain obnoxious...

But none of the above actually bother me ...I see them for what they are.
Either a very ignorant bunch, or people who can't be bothered to think for themselves and opt instead for ready made slogans and that is so much easier, I do concede that.
And some are simply too "basic" to articulate ...
In the past, this would anger me. Then it irritated me. Now I simply don't care.

I have studied closely what is happening to Iraq - too closely, for comfort.
I know who the main players are. I know what the long term plan is. I know what the regional interests are all about...And more importantly, I am made of the "same mud" and "some things" you just know. Informed comment or no informed comment, with and without Empire analysis...

And I know enough about human psychology to realize how power plays, influence and coercion, manipulation and outright deceit work...

I like details but I prefer the end result. I like to see the trees, but I prefer gazing at the forest.
I, in fact, like to see the bigger picture. And for that, one needs to fly high above.

You see, am a bird too... and I love soaring...
And during one of my flights, this is what I saw:

That an imperialist thug would not voluntarily walk to the gallows when he had a chance for a compromise with his predators...
That a dictator who cares about Unity is no longer a dictator...
That a tyrant would save his backside. He could become another Pinochet or a Shah in exile...
That a traitor would not have men loyal to (his) similar ideals still fight the Occupation, sacrificing their families, their future, their lives ....in the same manner that he did.
That a CIA/Zionist agent who wants the blessings of the twinsouls, would still be alive now and running the show...Just look at the majority of the other Arab leaders.

I also saw that Freedom with no dignity is worthless...That democracy with no voice is an empty corrupt word...That love with no commitment is cheap...
And, that parrots look good on the outside. They have a colorful and exotic plumage...but their language is ....oh well....you know...only slogans.
And like in the Conference of the Birds, the parrots kept talking to themselves whilst other birds reached the Simorgh...

Moral of the story: Parrots are just what they are...parrots.Teach them a few words and know that you have owned them for life.

Painting: Iraqi kurdish artist Serwan Baran.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Layla and (khota) Friends,

I hope you enjoy my dance! It is written by Takatoka

- We Are The People -
We are the people of the Longhouse
We are the Spirits Dancing
Upon our Mother Earth.
Her heart the Drum is beating.
We are her children.
We follow the Sacred Path.

We are the people of the Longhouse.
The Four Winds know us.
Trees, birds and animals teach us.
Sun and Moon share visions with us.
The Stone people and waters are we.
They all instruct our path to see.

We are the People of the Longhouse.
Keepers of the Sacred Manataka
The Great Gathering Place.
Place of Peace for all who make pilgrimage
To celebrate the Secrets of Grace.

In the Vally of Manataka
600 nations join hands in a Circle
The Spirit of Peace flotes on air
Black, yellow and white man joins the miracle.
Red man shows the way there.

Rainbow Woman lives at Manataka.
Sister to White Buffalo Calf Woman.
She sleeps in the deep of Mother Earth.
Yet, sheis the sign in thesky to show the way.
Her colors are bright; to remind us of Grace as we pray.

We are the people of longhouse.
The sacred fire of seven woods lift our prayers on smoke.
The Great Creator hearsus.
And, the Sacred Mountain awoke.

Shaking and trembling from the sheep.
The mountain rumbles, big houses crumble.
Pushing hot waters from the deep
People are in fear and some run like like the deer.
But we, the People of the Longhouse are humble and kneel to hear.

Great Creator speaks for Mother Earth.
"I want Manataka back"
The turn of the medicine wheel has come.
The hot springs flow with one great crack.
Sacred waters flow and we sing with the drum

Great clouds of vapors emerge once more.
Colorful rainbows leap from the mists.
We walk the white cloud across the valley floor.
There is only peace; and no shaking fists-
The spirit of Manataka has arisen once more.

The Valley has changed yet it is the same.
There are no buildings to mar its face.
Metal noise replaceed with amazing grace.
The Place of Peace -Manataka is its name.
We forgive those who took Manataka away;and hid the waters for many days.

We come again for the healing breath of Nowasaion.
They come for the healing herbs and healing red clay;
We join hands and sing to the drum untill dawn;
They come for the healing crystal and to pray.

To give much thanks to the Creator above.
We the People of Longhouse ask blessing.
He gave us beauty, everlasting peace, and love.
So be it, we gather again to dance and sing.


------------------------------

Bless all my friend and dance with the Spirit.

Savage American Warrior
Anonymous said…
"I like details but I prefer the end result. I like to see the trees, but I prefer gazing at the forest.
I, in fact, like to see the bigger picture. And for that, one needs to fly high above."

Layla,
Excellent. The parrots are so thoroughly brainwashed that they are incapable of looking at the forest from above. What a sad tale of the anti-war movement, the many on the Left and its psuedo intellectuals etc. and etc.
President Saddam Hussein was a man of honour...
Best,
(re Kofi)
Anonymous said…
Salam Layla,

I find the following verse fits perfectly with those whom you have described:

"And the example of those who disbelieve is like one who repeats what he has heard of calls and shouts; deaf, dumb, and blind, they do not understand." (Qur'an 2:171)

Layth
Anonymous said…
Layla, I hate to break it to you but the founder of the great university of Baghdad, was Persian, so it kind of puts a dent in your theory that the Persian scholars would have no place to study, if the Arabs didnt provide them the university in Baghdad.

Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad was an early Islamic university established in July of 1091[1] when Nizam al-Mulk appointed the 33-year-old Al-Ghazali as a professor of the school. Offering free education[2], it has been hailed as the "largest university of the Medieval world".[3]

Abu Ali al-Hasan al-Tusi Nizam al-Mulk (نظام الملك، ابو علي الحسن الطوسي in Persian; 1018 – 14 October 1092) was a celebrated Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuq Empire.

Born in Tus in Persia (Iran) and initially served the Ghaznavid sultans, Nizam ul-Mulk became chief administrator of the entire Khorasan province by 1059CE. From 1063, he served the Seljuks as vizier and remained in that position throughout the reigns of Alp Arslan (1063-1072) and Malik Shah I (1072-1092). He left a great impact on organization of the Seljuk governmental bodies and hence the title Nizam al-Mulk which translates as "the order of state".

Aside from his extraordinary influence as vizier with full authority, he is also well-known for systematically founding a number of schools of higher education in several cities, the famous Nizamiyyah schools, which were named after him. In many aspects, these schools turned out to be the predecessors and models of universities that were established in Europe.

Nizam ul-Mulk is also widely known for his voluminous treatise on kingship titled Siyasatnama (The Book of Government). He also wrote a book titled Dastur al-Wuzarā, written for his son Abolfath Fakhr-ol-Malek, which is not dissimilar to the famous book of Qabus nama.

Nizam ul-Mulk was finally assassinated en route from Isfahan to Baghdad on the 10th of Ramadhan of 1092CE. The mainstream literature says he was stabbed by the dagger of a member of the Hashshashin sect near Nahavand, Persia, as he was being carried on his litter. The killer approached him disguised as a dervish.

This account is particularly interesting in light of a possibly apocryphal story recounted by Jorge Luis Borges. In this story a pact is formed between a young Nizam ul-Mulk (at that time known as Abdul Khassem) and his two friends, Omar Khayyam and Hassan-i-Sabah. Their agreement stated that if one should rise to prominence, that they would help the other two to do likewise. Nizam ul-Mulk was the first to do this when he was appointed vizier to the sultan Alp Arslan. To fulfill the pact he offered both friends positions of rank within the court. Omar refused the offer, asking instead to be given the means to continue his studies indefinitely. This Nizam did, as well as building him an observatory. Although Hassan, unlike Omar, decided to accept the appointment offered to him, he was forced to flee after plotting to dispose Nizam as vizier. Subsequently, Hassan came upon and conquered the fortress of Alamut, from where he established the Assassins.

Another report says he was killed in secret by Malik Shah I in an internal power struggle. Consequently, his murder was avenged by the vizier's loyal servants of the Nizamiyyah, by assassinating the Sultan. (p17 of ISBN 964-303-008-3)

The third account is the least known but most interesting of all theories surrounding the death of Nizam ul-Mulk. According to this account, the Sultan ordered a Sunni - Shia debate to take place in his royal court to obtain some answers. The debate ended with the Shia side convincing the Sultan and his Vizier (both of whom were followers of the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam) to voluntarily convert to the Shia faith. This aroused the rage of some extremists of the Sunni establishment, resulting in the assassination of both the Vizier and the Sultan. This account appears in a report by Mughatil ibn Bakri, a staff of the Nizamiyyah, who also was the son in law of Nizam ul-Mulk.
Anonymous said…
Dear Layla,
Simply exquisite...Masha"Allah
Thank you.
Anonymous said…
Going by all the comments glorifying Persia in Iraq, I get the feeling that posters here seem bent on trying to convince people that nothing is original Iraqi.... For those of us who have been following this for a while, and also from comments by Layla, I am inclined to agree with her that copied and pasted works will do NOTHING whatsoever to convince anyone. Try to be original, please, mostly 'anonymous' posters.....and I guess the next thing we will get to read is that Iraq was Persia but was stolen by Iraqis/President Saddam Hussein/Sunnis..... One gets tired of all this bickering, when so much bloodshed is taking place..
Anonymous said…
And it goes like this:" I am anti-occupation, but...Saddam was an Imperialist thug"..."I am against what is happening but you see, you have to understand, that Saddam was a tyrant"..."I really don't like this, but frankly you guys brought it onto yourselves...after all he was a dictator"..." It is all because of him...he was nothing but a traitor"..." He was a CIA/Zionist agent...yeah that's him"...

Hmm, then by using the same rationale that the parrots have been squawking about in the above paragraph, shouldn't some mighty power invade the United States and despose our tyrant, the "Little General" that goes by the name Bush?

Adding to this line of thought is Herr Bush's own statements about not letting terrorists or terrorist states have WMD's.
Since the United States has and continues to commit massive acts of terrorism against Iraq and her people--more than 655,000 civilians killed in the last four years--and repeatedly attacks and destroys civilian targets, shouldn't the United States be disarmed by using the force of UN Security Resolutions?

Using Bush's own logic--such as it is--one can easily indict and convict the United States for being the world's Number One Terrorist State.

i weep for my country for i no longer recognize what it has become. Except a nation of fat and lazy war criminals.

Greg Baco
Ava, MO USA
Layla Anwar said…
to American Savage Warrior...
Many thanks as usual for your beautiful Native American poetry..I just love it .
Layla Anwar said…
Little Deer,

Yep seems so...
Anonymous above will come a in few days and give us another lesson in twisted history...
He/She will claim next that the Abbasid period in Baghdad and Haroon al Rashid himself was an aryan....with viking roots...
lol
Layla Anwar said…
moreover...what has that got to do with the price of tea in China..unless of course anonymous above has other colonizing plans in mind....
A double colonization...Euro/Persian...ah what fun!
Anonymous said…
Thank you for another good post, Layla. Just ignore all the morons who write to you! Sadly, most people's relationship with reality is second hand. Their perceptions are shaped almost entirely by what they read or what they're told. And in the case of Saddam Hussein, the disinformation is utterly pervasive.
Anonymous said…
To Dickless Cheney.

So you escaped the Grim Reaper …or so you think.
Unlike the six hundred and fifty-five thousand
Bodies torn asunder by smart bombs, dum-dum bullets, depleted uranium…
And yet you continue to walk, and the stink of death follows you
Secure in your hubris and your Production Sharing Agreements.

I blow myself up on you.
For six hundred and fifty-five thousand souls
Men, women, and children
Immolated, blown to pieces, starved to death, holes drilled in their skulls
Rotting in the ground that used to be Iraq…

I blow myself up on you
For the savage rape of a sovereign country
For lies and deceit
For a million children dead of starvation,
Pitiful little bodies rotting in the earth that used to be Iraq.
Anonymous said…
See in your reality the Nizameya uiniversity of Bahdad was not started by Nizam Molk the Vazir of Malik Shah, a man born out of the same ethnic group your heros call "flies"!!!!!! In the baathist twisted altered reality, none of this that all encyclopedias and scholarly universites agree on happened/ the abassid had no realiton to the persians is what the baathis idealogy preches, denying the existence of their own history, a history that is intricatlet tied with Iran, to deny that is to simply put wipe out your own history and create an altered reality, that is what chauvinism is. Hitler was good at doing that, and the baathist kinda sucked in doing that, because the deeply tied historical roots of Iraq and Iran are very obvious and the abaasid period is filled with many examples of that. But then again There was no such thing as Nizammeya university, or nizam molk or Al Ghazali, here is something you should know about ghzali, he was from khorasan and the first professor of Nizameeyah. I am sorry to dissapoint you, but Saddam was a chauvinist, who wanted to give all credit int he world to Arabs, just like Hitler wanted to creadit everything to the Germans. Go read some Ibn Khaldun go read something other than baathist progpoganda. all these pastings are referenced and backed up by prominent sources.

Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī (1058-1111) (Persian: ابو حامد محمد ابن محمد غزالی‎), known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia (modern day Iran). He was a Muslim theologian, philosopher, and mystic of Persian origin [1] and remains as one of the most celebrated scholars in the history of Islamic thought.

Contents [hide]
1 Biography
2 Criticism
3 Works
3.1 Theology
3.2 Sufism
3.3 Philosophy
3.4 Jurisprudence
3.5 Logic
4 Literature
5 Quotations
6 References
7 External links
8 See also



[edit] Biography
Al-Ghazali contributed significantly to the development of a systematic view of Sufism and its integration and acceptance in mainstream Islam. He was a scholar of orthodox Islam, belonging to the Shafi'i school of legal thought of Sunnite Islam and to the Asharite school of theology . Imam Ghazali received many titles: Sharaful A'emma (Arabic: شرف الائمه), Zainud din (Arabic: زین الدین), Hujjatul Islam, meaning "Proof of Islam" (Arabic: حجة الاسلام).

Al-Ghazali remains one of the most celebrated scholars in the history of Islamic thought. He lectured at the Al-Nizamiyya of Baghdad (the highest ranked academy of the golden era of Islamic civilization) between 1091 and 1096. He was the scholar par excellence in the Islamic world. He had literally hundreds of scholars attending his lectures at the Nizamiyyah. His audience included scholars from other schools of jurisprudence. This position won him prestige, wealth and respect that even princes and viziers could not match
Anonymous said…
he is right about Ghazali, I found this out about him doing a google

Al-Ghazali, Philosopher

Born: 1058
Birthplace: Khorasan, Iran
Died: 1111
Best Known As: Medieval Islamic philosopher and theologian
Born in eastern Iran, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali was known as Islam's most gifted scholar. He taught law in Baghdad, but in 1095 resigned and for 12 years wandered the desert as a Sufi mystic. Al-Ghazali is considered the most influential Islamic philosopher of the medieval period, known for reviving mysticism and critiquing rationalism within orthodox Islam. In 1106 he returned to teaching, the most renowned Islamic theologian of his time. His most famous books are Tuhafat al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers) and Ihya al-'Ulum al-Islamia (The Revival of the Religious Sciences).
Anonymous said…
and just to make clear Tus is not a city in Iraq,

Tous, Iran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Tus)
Jump to: navigation, search
Toos (توس or طوس in Persian) also known as Tous or Tus, is an ancient city in the Iranian province of Razavi Khorasan.

The city was vanquished by Genghis Khan's Mongol conquest in 1220.

Some notable figures in the history of Iran who were born in Toos include: Geber, Ferdowsi, Asadi Tusi, Nizam al-Mulk, Al-Ghazali, and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi.

Caliph Harun al-Rashid is said to be buried in Tus.




This Iran location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Unless you want to re creat geography according to baathist idealogies
Anonymous said…
response to abdullah. you're trying too hard madam.
Anonymous said…
As an individual, it is important to ME that YOU know who I am.
The rest of the world can wait....

"Freedom with no dignity is worthless"

And that is the highest truth.
People of USA sit back as they loose both, and only watch like sheep, never taking action against it. Having already been fleeced surely the slaughter will come....

President Saddam (rest his eternal soul) was a true man of honor and integrity.
Yes, he may have been beneath the CIA....but name me nearly any official who has not at one time or another played the CIA's games.
In the end Saddam defended his country, his land, his heritage and his people.
As well as his own self worth as he walked to his death.
Like a MAN!

Again I am glad to have met you Layla.
And again I cannot put into words the sorrow I feel for what used to be Iraq.

It would seem they (bush, rice, blair) are all crawling backwards now.
Rice calling for the meeting with Syria and Iran and Blair announcing withdraw of his troops.

Still....
It is amazingly sad what one human can inflict upon another....or hundreds of thousands of others, with no care at all.

Peace Layla.
Stay safe and god bless.
Ike
Layla Anwar said…
Don't you all love this cut and paste...I mean wow, what an intellectual effort that must take huh?
Long cut and paste have been deleted...People who have access to my blog also have access to wikipedia written by laypeople..and modified anytimes.
For historical accuracy...Al Ghazzali wrote in Arabic..
The frontiers between the Abbasid and so called persia were non existent because the latter was part of the khilafat al abbassiya.
Persia only became shi'te during the 15th century , ie safavid period and since then has posited itself as divorced from the rest of its arab brethren..possibly capitalizing on the indo aryan roots..which are still debatable in modern day iran...
tiny fascists ahmadinajad /khameini style..have a lovely evening...
Great aryan viking heroes...loool
Anonymous said…
Oh so now according to this genius Iran was Arab before the Safavids!!!!!!!!! BRAVO what an itellectual you are NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So anyone from Iran before the Safavids was therefore Arab, and hence your way of claiming all the contributions Iran ever made to Islam and Science in general as Arab contribution, why dont you go screw yourself with that pathetic analysis, you moron. It is true that the Language of the time was Arabic because the Arabs conquered Iran, but just lke the Persians conquered the greeks, it didtn mean greek scientist were Arab. Arameic was used as the official language before the Arabs, and following the Arab invasion, Arabi took its place, this does not make Iranians Arabs simply because they also spoke the language that was like English is today. Thatis exactly what Dr Kaveh talke about when he says

It should come as no surprise that many Arabs (including high ranking statesmen and highly educated professors) now believe that the following Iranian scholars of the Islamic era to be all Arabs: Zakaria Razi "Rhazes" (860- 923 or 932, born in Rayy, near Tehran), Abu Ali Sina "Avecenna" (980 -1037, born in Afshana, near Bukhara, ancient Samanid Capital), Abu Rayhan Biruni (973 - 1043, born in Khiva, Ancient Khwarazm now modern Afghanistan), Omar Khayyam (1044-1123, born in Nishabur, Khorasan), Mohammad Khwarazmi (d. 844, born in Khiva, Ancient Khwarazm, now in Modern Afghanistan). Not a single one of these scientists hailed from an Arab-speaking region, all were born in what is now Iran or the former realms of Persian speaking world.

This has posed an awkward contradiction for pan- nationalists. Their counter to these facts, are mainly based on two premises:

(a) Men such as Biruni are claimed as Arabs simply because they had the name "Al-" attached to their last names or had Arab/Muslim names such as "Omar". This is tantamount to saying that all great people in history with Christian names such as Chris, Michael, or John have been Jews, simply because their names are Jewish. Following this logic, we then must accept Christopher Columbus (Spain), Michaelangelo (Italy), and Johanes Kepler (Denmark) as Jews. Persia accepted Islam after the 7th century AD, just as Europeans accepted Christianity in great numbers after the 3-4th centuries AD. Simply, put, nationality and religious confession are not the same thing. One does not "become" an Arab simply because one is Muslim, just as one does not "become" Jewish simply because one is Christian. Pan-Arabists have simply stretched the definition of Muslim to conveniently include those non-Arabs whom they view favorably as Arabs.

(b) All of these men (without exception) are simply argued to be the descedants of Arabs who settled in Iran after the Arab conquests. While true that Arab garrisons occupied Persia for approximately 222 years, how and when did these warriors from the tough deserts of Arabia become scholars so quickly? Persia's history and traditions of learning rival those of Greece, India and China, and like them, predates Arab civilization for thousands of years. When the Arabs erupted from their desert homes in Arabia and overthrew the Byzantine-Roman and Sassanian Persian empires, they simply inherited the rich legacy of Rome and Persia. Simply occupying another person's territory does not entitle one to their achievements - in that case Greek scholars such as Democritus
(Abdera, Ionia 460 - 370 BC), and Pythagoras
(Samos, Ionia 582 - 500 BC) are automatically Persian, simply because Achaemenid Persian garrisons ruled the Ionian Greeks (present Western Turkey) at the time. The best retort to the pan-Arabists is the aforementioned Ibn Khaldun himself, who has made clear, in no uncertain terms, of the mighty contributions that have been made by the Persians.
Unknown said…
you don't know much leyla, but sure you have a loud mouth full of envy and hate for Iraq's brothers and sisters in Iran.

Iraq's resistance to occupiers is the greatest strength of this nation, and commentators like you who work for the final goals of USA and Israel (involving and attacking Iran) are the weakness of the resistance.

I wish you would either educate yourself or shut that hateful mouth of yours.

MUSLIM UNITY IN FACE OF ANGLO-ZIONIST AXIS OF HATE. WE ARE AL MUSLIM SHIEE SUNNI IS AN OLD BRITISH CATEGORIZATION.
Layla Anwar said…
seems that anonymous has reading skills impediments....I sugges to him he re-reads what I wrote...Mr cut and paste !..lol
Layla Anwar said…
jose ignacio...
Am terribly impressed with your outcry of indignity.
Why don't you tell your darling iran to stop backing the death shi'te militias that are targeting the resistance...or better still..go and read some more. You will find precious articles on www.uruknet.info to educate yourself...and then come back and give us more of your outbursts...
Anonymous said…
Layla,

You're such a good person of good people and you must always keep you head up and your heart free of those who know little.

I will share a prayer with you and a poem, to our people poems were like songs.

-Luther Standing Bear- Teton Sioux

O Earth
for the strength in my heart
I thank Thee.

O Cloud
for the blood in my body
I thank Thee.

O Fire
for the shine in my eyes
I thank Thee.

O Sun
for the life you gave me
I thank Thee

---------------------------



This one is to cheer you up and let you know you're loved.



I've dreamt you this night
In the dream you walked on the pebbles of the shore,
and I walked with you.
I've dreamt you,
and it seemed I were awake:
I pursued you.
I desired you,
and you were desirable
as a young seal.
You were a young seal
plunging into the water
when it feels pursuded by a hunter.
So I dreamt of you,
so you were desirable.

Don't you just love, love!!!


SAW
Anonymous said…
Layla isnt this incredible?

Shahr-e Sokhte (also transliterated Shahr-i Sokhta), Persian for Burnt City, is a Bronze Age urban settlement in the southeast of Iran in Sistan. The Burnt City is located on the bank of the Helmand along the Zahedan-Zabol road.

Covering an area of 151 hectares, Burnt City was one of the world’s largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built around 3200 BCE and abandoned nearly a millennium later, in 2100 BCE. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. It is called "Burnt City" because it was not rebuilt after the last conflagration.

The oldest known backgammon, dice and caraway seeds, together with numerous metallurgical finds (e.g. slag and crucible pieces), are among the finds which have been unearthed by archaeological excavations from this site. [1]

Other objects found at the site include a human skull which indicated the practice of brain surgery at the site.

In December 2006, archaeologists discovered the world's earliest artificial eyeball. [2] It has a hemispherical form and a diameter of just over 2.5 cm (1 inch). It consists of very light material, probably bitumen paste. The surface of the artificial eye is covered with a thin layer of gold, engraved with a central circle (representing the iris) and gol lines patterned like sun rays. On both sides of the eye are drilled tiny holes, through which a golden thread could hold the eyeball in place. Since microscopic research has shown that the eye socket showed clear imprints of the golden thread, the eyeball must have been worn during her lifetime. The woman with the artificial eye was 1.82 m tall (6 feet), much taller than the ordinary women of her time. She was aged between 25 and 30 and had a dark, exotic skin. Her Afri-canoid cranial structure point to an origin in the Arabian Peninsula. With her shiny golden eye, she must have been a striking figure, perhaps a soothsayer or oracle. [3]

Burnt City has been continually excavated since the 1970s by Iranian and Italian archaeological teams; new discoveries continue to be reported through the present date. [4]
Anonymous said…
President Saddam Hussein was a leader with a brilliant vision,time proved it.A man of a courage,dignity,honour.You will always live in my heart,my hero.Lion of Iraq,God bless your soul.
And my prayers are with all Iraqi heroes,known and unknown,with you brave defenders of Fallujah and all towns and villages, with all who resist.
Very soon day will come and filthy u.s. and all their monkeys aka iraqi government,sistani ,al hakim etc will pay.Just like those vietnamies traitors and collaborators.
Robin said…
Ahelen Layla,
I wanted to let your readers know about this project, 100,000,000 Blogs for Peace http://bluepyramid.org/peace/

The Pledge
I believe in the immediate withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from the nation of Iraq. I believe in using my blog, in whole or in part, as a tool toward this end.

Who's Eligible
For the official count (toward 1,000,000), a blog must be based in the home country of a nation currently engaged in the Iraq War. As of now, those nations are: Albania, Australia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

Additional blogs from other nations may list themselves as "Support Blogs". While not counting toward the 1,000,000 count, these blogs will be eligible to participate in some of the challenges and will be listed in their own section.

Peace to you dear Layla, and may I and others always be tools of peace in whatever way we can to educate others about the God-forsaken travesty of what our nation has done to yours. Take care.
Anonymous said…
Dear Layla

I admire your blog and have read several of your very informative and interesting comments on www.Uruknet, which I do highly appreciate.
But through my life experience, our colonizers did always follow the easiest axiom ( Divide & Rule ) by spreading religious & or ehtnic struggles between our people to ensure total domination.It is deeply regretful that instead of being united side by side notwithstanding our religious beliefs or origins, to resist and liberate our countries, we are fighting each other...Worst of all the latest insane Sunni/Shi'a cruel exchanged massacres undoubtedly incited and planned by our common enemy !
Anonymous said…
Layla,

and anon

I will share something that Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee Nation said. Although he lived from 1768-1813, his views we should all share today.

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"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about religion; respect others in their views, and demand they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

Always give a word or a sign of salute when passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

When it comes your time to die, be not like thoughs whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home."

------------------------

Layla, we seen Saddam died as a hero for he did not weep on his death song when going home.

Do you think bush could do the same? lol!!!

Savage American Warrior
Anonymous said…
Anonymous,
Please give yourself an identity (a pseudonym)at the end of your comment so we all know who is writing what.

Anyway, for that patriotic Iranian, Persian anonymous whatever - enough of your bellyachings about whose who of the past in Persian history. You want to glorify your Persian past, go start your own site, leave Layla alone. This is her site, to inform the world of the pains of what is Iraq today and the injustices inflicted to her people. We want to know that. My advice to you Iranian savak, buzz off.

A Muslim Sister
Alan the Red said…
Why Layla, the highest bird of all is the Phoenix, the legandary mythical sacred firebird. Surely everybody knows that? ;-) You can really upset some Yanks by calling yourself Firebird, you know? ;-) Hey, it's easy to upset Yanks anyway.

L.C.A.
Montag said…
Good...a parliament of birds or a confabulation of coyotes; a great deal of talk and logic and reasoning.
Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

We expect talking and logic and reasoning to show us the truth. We forget that these things can also deceive us.
We run our scams with words and reasonings,too.

So we never know what to do, deceived by talk, ceaseless talk.
We can look at an atrocity and wonder : Is this an atrocity? Or is it a metaphor for an atrocity? Is it merely an unpleasantness? Who shall we elect to decide for us?...
Anonymous said…
Well said, Muslim Sister. All this cut and paste nonsense that Anonymous posts is getting very boring - in my case, I am just going past them. It's Iraq we wish to talk about, not Iran. Iran is neither occupied nor destroyed. If we want to learn about Iran, we are all capable of looking up the appropriate resources.
Layla Anwar said…
Well said Muslim Sis and Little Deer.
You summed it all up. Iran is neither under occupation nor destroyed...whilst Iraq (and thanks to Iranian collaboration amongsts other Vultures) is .
Layla Anwar said…
Lord C.Abbas.

The Simorgh in this fable is surely the highest of all...He does not die and therefore needs not be resurrected.
Layla Anwar said…
Montag,

"So we never know what to do, deceived by talk, ceaseless talk.
We can look at an atrocity and wonder : Is this an atrocity? Or is it a metaphor for an atrocity? Is it merely an unpleasantness?"

I love this paragraph..do you mind if I quote it in the future?
You so aptly describe another form of denial...
Layla Anwar said…
SAW ,
You always have beautiful words and verses...many thanks.
Layla Anwar said…
Ike,
God bless and stay safe.
Layla Anwar said…
to anonymous above anonymous.
I wish people would leave at least a pseudo or an initial so I can respond ...
dear Anonymous,

Thanks for appreciating my humble writings.
I agree with you that the colonizer has used divide and rule...
But I also know that you cannot break a branch that refuses to bend.
And some Iraqi branches did bend westward and eastward and the result is what you see now.
One of the french ministers was heard on the radio today, Doust Blazy (his name) . He said Iraq is under partition. This is the first time a european leader actually uses that word.
Some of our "neighbors" want that partition as much as the colonizer.
Hence they have also contributed to the divide and rule...playing that ugly card handed by the Brits and the Americans.
Layla Anwar said…
Marhaba Robin, good to see you here.
Thanks and peace to you.
In solidarity.
Montag said…
Please quote all you like and feel no obligation to mention source.

If I see it in the future, it will help me remember what was once said.
The only reason I remember what I write in my own blog is the fact that I stumble over them when I get up in the middle of the night.

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