Abbas Amanat

In the case of an old nation, which has been on the map of the world for 3,000 years, 2,500 years, this is not an exaggeration.

I am not a nationalist per se, but I mean, if you look Persia on the map of the world in ancient times, it is still there as it is today.

Very few countries in the world are like that.

that they would have that kind of a continuity over a course of time.

And that's not without a reason, because there was this sense of a center versus periphery that had found some, there's a huge amount of tension, but there is also a sense of belonging

And state is very much at the center of it.

I mean, that's why the concept of a state matters for the creation, for the shaping of this culture.

What happened is therefore, you can see that today in answer to your point about traveling blindfolded, is that you would be surprised to see how much people share

And in terms of, I just give you one anecdote.

In 1968, I believe, must have been,

I traveled to Azerbaijan.

I used to travel and actually photograph.

No, no, not blindfolded.

So I went to a bazaar in the city of Khoi, which is in the northwestern Iran, on the border with what is today the Republic of Turkey, Afghanistan.

And I went to the bazaar and I was interested in the kind of leather work that they produced.

So I tried to buy some stuff and I was surprised to see that how few people knew Persian.

So they could not communicate in Persian with you.

Either they have to ask somebody from some other store to come and translate for you.

This is 1968.

It was Persian.