Monday, May 18, 2009

Iran observes Omar Khayyam day


Press TV

"Iran marks the 961st birthday anniversary and national day of an eminent Persian poet, astronomer and mathematician, Khayyam of Neyshabur.

Iranian cultural officials are holding ceremonies today in Khayyam's hometown Neyshabour, located in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi that honor the Persian poet.....

Born in Iran's northeastern city of Neyshabur, May 18, 1048, Khayyam is recognized worldwide as one of the most wildly acclaimed Persian poets and astronomers.

He is best known for his poetry and his quatrains, known as The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, which was popularized among other nations by Edward Marlborough Fitzgerald's liberal translation in 1859.....

A quatrain by Khayyam, as rendered into English by Edward Fitzgerald, reads as follows:

When once you hear the roses are in bloom,
Then is the time, my love, to pour the wine,
Houris and palaces and Heaven and Hell,
These are but fairy-tales, forget them all
Drink wine, for long you'll sleep beneath the soil,
Without companion, lover, friend or mate,
But keep this sorry secret to yourself:
The withered tulip never blooms again
....."

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