Indonesia Charity Bazaar...

Salaam,

This morning a "Food and Handicraft Charity Bazaar" was being held at Wisma Indonesia in Tehran. It was initiated and organised by the 'Dharma Wanita Persatuan,' the Indonesian Ladies Association in Tehran, in association and cooperation with ladies of the embassies of ASEAN countries + China and Japan.

The objective of the bazaar was to raise fund and donation to help victims of last month's natural disasters that have severely hit Indonesia...the Merapi volcanic eruption, Mentawai tsunami and the Wasior flood.

The event was officially inaugurated by the Indonesian Ambassador, followed by the ribbon cutting ceremony by the spouse and all the other ladies representing the participating embassies. Variety of handicrafts and food items from participating countries were on sale. There were also many raffle prizes won and as well as auctions of interesting items donated by the host and other missions.

As it turned out, the bazaar was indeed a great success for the host, well-attended by the participating missions, family members as well as our local Iranian guests. All for the benevolent cause to help alleviate the suffering of the bereaved families of the victims of the disasters.

Wassalam.

'paparazzi'...
welcome remark...

Asean ladies committee members...

ribbon-cutting ceremony...

line-up of the 'bamboo dancers'...

skillful n entertaining...

our entertainers and the trailing spouses...

contributions...

handicrafts from home...

introducing Brunei food and handicrafts...

briyani with...chicken khorma

entertaining our customers...

Brunei's 'kuih karing'...

and onde onde...

Indonesian beautiful batik clothes and materials...

brisk business @ the Malaysian stall...

popular handicrafts from the Philippines...

and 'land of smile'...

'green tea' cookies from Japan...

one of our Asean + three stalls...from China

hot from the oven...cake by Indonesia

two of the main items on auction...

the day's first successful bidders...

waiting for the highest bidder...

another mesmerizing performance from the bambo dancers...

winning a beautiful masterpiece from the auction...

appreciating donations from the ALC and the +2 ladies...

and our certificate of gratitude n appreciation...

Remembering the Departed...

Salaam,

Last Monday evening, attended a 'tahlil' ceremony and recital of surah Yaasin with friends and families from Indonesia, Bosnia and Sri Lanka at the kind invitation of our Malaysian colleagues held at the Malaysian Ambassador's residence in Tehran.

It was very thoughtful of them to have organised this religious occasion and offered prayers and remembrance to the souls of their departed relatives, friends and indeed all of our Muslim brothers and sisters who have left us earlier to meet our Creator. Thank you so much for the kind invitation. May all our prayers be heard and answered and may the souls of our departed relatives and Muslim brothers and sisters be blessed always by Allah the Almighty and gathered in peace in His heavenly paradise, amin...

Wassalam.

recital of surah Yaasin & tahlil...
after the Maghrib prayers...

leading the prayers and recital...

answering the call for the Isya prayer...

our young Bosnian Muslims sisters...

and dinner reception...

rich selection of Malaysian delicacies...

enjoying the Malaysian hospitality...

the trailing spouses...with the kind hostess

Living with Air Pollution...

Salaam,

As thick cloud of smog descended over the city's metropolis during the last couple of weeks, the city's authority declared a 24-hour public holiday last Wednesday (as well as today) for schools, offices and factories in Tehran. Thus, for two consecutive weeks Tehranis had been experiencing a three-day long weekends.

Lately, Tehran air pollution has reportedly been reaching an alarming level as air quality indicators showed a persistently worsening situation. City dwellers, especially children, the elderly, those with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, heart and asthma patients, had been advised and urged to stay indoors.

The city's air pollution is mainly blamed on its geographical location and increasing population and cars. Official report shows that half of Iran's six million cars fails to meet global standards and burns twice as much gasoline as a European car. Out of the approximately 12.3 million population in the province of Tehran, about 8 million reside in the city, which worsens traffic jams, air pollution, ailments and standard of living.

The pollution problem becomes more acute during winter when lack of wind and cold weather means clouds of smog sit on the city for days on end.

Four years in Bangkok, four years in Jakarta, and now over five years in Tehran...so much the price to pay for a healthy life on the move...May Allah the Almighty protect and save us all from all these hazardous phenomenon and calamities...Amin ya Rabbal a'lamin.

Wassalam.

view of the city...just after noon on last Saturday...
smog all over...

clogged traffic...

hazy n foggy

late autumn days...