Isfahan, city of cities

a recente visita do ministro dos negócios estrangeiros português renovou a minha atenção para Isfahan, essa cidade antiquíssima que foi já capital da velha Pérsia. foram bons tempos os passados com Maalouf (esse ilustre fenício) em Samarcanda. a questão inicial surgiu quando a página fb que promove a libertação do véu islâmico por parte das mulheres iranianas mostrou a foto do nosso ministro português e esposa, a qual tinha vestido o chador, a mais forte forma de ocultação. podia ter usado apenas o lenço, como fez recentemente a esposa do chefe de governo da Croácia. a mesma página fb dava o exemplo de Michelle Obama que na Arábia Saudita não usou qualquer lenço (e foi assim eclipsada das páginas dos jornais). começo logo a tirar conclusões sobre o modo de estarmos no mundo vs. o modo de estar no mundo dos americanos. laudas a Michelle mas o resultado é mais positivo para nós enquanto país, mais positivo para nós enquanto mulheres, a atitude de Michelle. de que lado estou? de ambos. [mas gostava de desafiar a esposa do ministro a integrar-se igualmente na paisagem quando visitar o Rio de Janeiro].

"This lady seen at the picture is Ms. "Roy Machete" Minister of Foreign affairs in Portuguese who has recently traveled to Mashhad, Iran and she had visited the mausoleum of 8th Imam of Shiite, and also Astan Qods Razavi. According to the interior press written about her" I wouldnt imaging that such an institute like Astan Qods Razavi coul influence the economy and culture of the country' she says. The non-Iranian female politicians do ultimately wear headscarves to visit the religious centers, ironically this lady has worn Chador."

"Michele Obama did not wear a scarf or a veil or a hijab when she visited Saudi Arabia, the most fundamental and conservative Muslim country. But German parliamentarian and other European female politicians wear a head scarf or the veil when they visit Iran. When westerners put on the veil without any protest, the Islamic Republic is emboldened to put more pressure on Iranian women to wear the hijab."

(ainda no outro dia lhe disse que quando lhe disserem que ou tem de ser isto ou aquilo para não acreditar pois pode ser aquilo que quiser. nunca há duas alternativas, que pobreza)

as relações entre Portugal e o Irão-Pérsia são tão longas quanto as viagens portuguesas para a Ásia. o ponto de contacto foi a fortaleza de Ormuz que continua lá, em estado de abandono há 300 anos, com reparações menores feitas pelos iranianos, menores mas destruidoras com o uso de cimento e com o comprometimento do património. a Gulbenkian tem um estudo feito para a recuperação do monumento desde 2004, na gaveta. bom era que o ministro o conseguisse fazer aprovar. aliás, o papel da Gulbenkian na preservação do património português nos quatro cantos do mundo fazia só por si com que esta Fundação fosse um pilar no panorama do país.

"Citadel
Hurmuz [Ormuz/Hormoz/Armûz], Persian Gulf | Red Sea, Iran

Military Architecture

Despite the improvements and benefits made to the fort’s structure, most artillery pieces were placed in very high positions along the chemin-de-ronde and high in the turrets; cannon embrasures which enabled raking fire were rare. Given the evolution of gunfire ballistics, it became clear that at Hormuz, as in numerous territories marked by Portuguese presence elsewhere in the world, an Italian-style fortress should be built, with angular bastions to absorb the impact of projectiles and avoid blind corners. In 1547, the military architect Francisco Pires was sent to Hormuz by viceroy João de Castro, who rejected a request from the captain of Mozambique Island to have him work on fortifications on that island. This architect had been in charge of rebuilding the Fortress of Diu and was held in high esteem by the viceroy, who was also well versed in the art of fortification, as indicated in several letters to his son Álvaro: “He pleases Francisco Pires very much, because we do not have anyone better than him here’ (Viterbo, 1988, p. 302) [‘]. The presence of the reputed Fernando Pires in Hormuz, with the urgent fortification of Mozambique Island relegated to second place, would only make sense if a project of major importance was required, such as building a modern bastioned structure. Pedro Dias shares this opinion and attributes to that architect the design, who was responsible for the work campaign which converted Hormuz in a modern construction; Rafael Moreira places this major undertaking in a later period, between 1558 and 1560, attributing the whole conception to Inofre de Carvalho, based on the account of Diogo do Couto, who mentions him as a “great architect (who had been ordered to reform the Fortress of Hormuz by King Sebastião)” (Viterbo, 1988, p. 530). Whatever the case, one of the most ambitious projects in the East was fulfilled: a trapezoidal fortress fit onto a sandy headland, with a footprint much larger than the former one (about 20,000 square metres). It boasted four impressive angular bastions and was bounded by the sea on three sides. To the south was a moat which isolated it from the rest of the island when necessary. The idea was to envelop the Manueline fortress, using and including only some parts of its structures, the south and southwest faces; the rest was demolished and the intramural area greatly expanded to the north. Inside, vaulted annexes were built along the wall and supported artillery (in 1606, around 70 bronze guns). It was also during this renovation that Inofre de Carvalho had a new and ample oblong cistern built by the southwest bastion. It measures 21 metres long and 7.20 metres high, with its still-surviving vault resting on six large pillars.
After this renovation, several military architects (João Baptista Cairato, 1591; Júlio Simões, 1596; António Pinto da Fonseca, 1613) inspected the fortress, essentially carrying out repair work; in 1606 Orta Rebelo considered that it was “the most [un]conquerable fortress” in the whole Estado da Índia (Serrão, 1972, 92), though later opinions, namely of Garcia de Silva y Figueroa, ambassador of Filipe II, as revealed by Luis Gil Fernández, were not positive regarding the citadel’s military conditions. After 1622, Persian additions such as the widened moat, construction of an exterior counterscarp protecting the entrance and raised parapets did not undermine the whole. The city of Hormuz soon lost its commercial and military importance and was abandoned, along with the fortress. Over the last three centuries it was transformed into an impressive ruin with unquestionable heritage value.
To prevent its gradual deterioration, Iranian authorities have recently taken a number of preventive and emergency steps, some of them not very selective. In 1977 the west wall and northwest bastion were cemented; in the late 20th century one of the round bastions was rebuilt and the floor of the Manueline cistern was raised by about two metres.
In 2004 the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation offered the Iranian authorities a project to rehabilitate the fortress, which has enabled reflection about space and its history. An architectural survey of existing structures was carried out and new data and specifications used for planimetric restoration of the tower, manueline fortress and citadel, according to the 1978 plans prepared by Wolfram Kleiss, vital tools for understanding the whole complex, what it once was and what it is today.

Maria de Fátima Rombouts de Barros"

de resto, importa ler o relato da captura de Ormuz em 1507. e também o relato dos nossos tão antigos "aliados" que se aliaram dessa vez aos persas para retirar a cidadela aos portugueses em 1622.

desde essa altura que os persas iranianos não nos adoram (interessante minúsculo artigo no I, pena não ter sido aprofundado), pelo menos, enfim, até à entrada de treinadores portugueses no seu futebol. tenho uma teoria: os nossos treinadores de futebol são o equivalente aos nossos padres de então. a religião é que é outra, as catedrais também.

por falar em padres, o incrivelmente interessante relato da construção do convento da ordem de santos Agostinho, e respectiva igreja, em plena Isfahan, cidade das monumentais mesquitas, centro do saber islâmico e da imponente igreja arménia - pelos portugueses. aqui. os terrenos foram oferecidos em 1602, com a promessa de favor divino para derrotar os otomanos. para ler: The Mission of the Portuguese Augustinians to Persia and Beyond (1602-1747) By John Flannery. que pena não ter sido por um português, afinal.

no site da presidência do Irão, o testemunho da presença do ministro português. enquanto o Irão fala e repete a bondade da sua iniciativa nuclear e o levantamento das sanções, o nosso lado preocupa-se com a colaboração (queremos o dinheirinho). está bem, Portugal dá-se bem com gregos e troianos e ainda bem.

terminando com a minha saudade da azul Isfahan e das suas montanhas, do rio e da ponte monumental, do intricado azul dos azulejos e das estradas infindas de Kiarostami, sugestões de leitura no Guardian. também posso dizer que estas sugestões não são imparciais, o melhor seria mesmo seguir estas sugestões de leitura. para mais tarde. por enquanto embrenho-me na mais doce personagem feminina, Françoise, a cozinheira de Combray.