Iranian Art
The Iranian Cultural Continent constituting the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and adjacent states, is the abode of the world's richest art heritages. Iranian art include many disciplines such as architecture, calligraphy, painting, weaving, pottery, stone masonry and metalworking.
The Iranian art history can be categorized into two distinct periods whose division is the mid-7th century AD, when Arab invaders converted the Persian people to Islam.
Iranian art has undergone several stages of evolution which is evident from the unique aesthetics of Persia reflected in the Achaemenid reliefs in Persepolis to the mosaic paintings of Bishapur. The Islamic period brought about radical changes to the arts styles and practices, each dynasty having its own distinct foci.
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is one of the highly regarded and renowned arts of Iran. The art of calligraphy is so important that some arts appear flawed, without the use of attractive calligraphy.
The art of calligraphy is used in Iran more commonly than any other nation, to enrich and decorate metallic vessels, earthen-ware, and historic buildings.
Music
The art of music in Iran can be traced back to the earlier days of Barbod in the royal Sassanid courts, where many other music cultures like Flamenco have their origins too. Throughout the history of Iran, a distinctive music evolved along with several musical instruments. Some of these instruments became the first samples of a few modern musical instruments used today.
The first references to Iranian musicians are found in Elam and Susa in the 3rd millennium BC. The origin of Iranian traditional music in its contemporary form can be traced back to the Naseri age.
Literature
Over 2500 years, the Persian language has been in constant use; however it is a subset of the superset of languages of Iran. Persian literature is undoubtedly the strongest expression of the Iranian genius. Among the many literary genres, it is poetry where the Iranian literature stands out most. Poetry in Iran has flourished more than a millennium and was highly regarded and emulated in many countries outside of Iran. The writings of Turkey and India have been greatly influenced by Persian literature.
Persian literature has inspired many literary geniuses like Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and others, and Persian language has been called the ideal medium for poetry.
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The Lion and Sun emblem is the most popular National symbol of Iran, and has a long history in Iranian civilization. The lion and sun motif also has an astrological implication. In Iranian culture, the sun rising behind the lion has always been believed to be a symbol of power and kingship.
The traditional Bakhtiari dress for women (right) consists of a long colorful skirt with many layers, and an additional apron-like material, which is thinner and brighter. Bakhtiari women wear long scarves and wraps which can contain ornaments and decorations sewn in from faux coins to hand-sewn designs. Separate shirts are worn at the top with matching vests or shawls. Bakhtiari clothes are versatile and protect the people from weather and extreme conditions. Another form of the Bakhtiari dress is shown here on the left on this 1974, two rial stamp. The stamp collection was issued to commemorate traditional Iranian clothes.
Following in similar suit, the Baluchi dress (right) also uses bright and colorful materials. The emphasis in this style is more on the overall garment which is similar to a loose fitting dress. Underneath the dress, which falls only below the knee, women tend to wear trousers. The trousers are generally straight and long and made from cotton or easy-fitting materials. As this is traditional Baluchi outfit is worn in the villages where manul labor is common, it is important that the dress is highly mobile and comfortable. 
A small headcovering may be worn with gold or silver ornaments landing gently on the forehead. The head dress is also accompanied by a larger shawl. 
Another form of traditional dress stems from the Ghashghahi or Ghashghai region. Women from this region wear, located in the south of Iran, wear long skirts which are slightly more layered and offer much brighter colors. This can be seen on the right. The shirts are usually lighter in color and are sometimes entirely covered by the scarves worn on the head. The Ghashghai head cover tends to be tightly closed at the bottom of the chin with some sort of pin, for example a safety pin. A second headband-like cloth may be wrapped around the head of the individual. This cloth may be longer and hang from the person's head back over the shoulder. Smaller ornaments such as coins may be hung from the forehead, depending on the occasion. For men, the Ghashghahi hat is a common item. The Ghashghahi hat is famous and has a very recognizable round shape, usually made from sheep's hair. They tend to be be light brown and very soft to the touch. Another version of the Ghashgahi dress is depicted in this 1974 stamp on the left.
Another form of dress, known as the Ghoochani comes from the region of Ghoochan. This region is also spelled Quochan and lies about 150 kilometers from the city of Mashhad. In the year 1791 AD, Nader Shah was killed in " Tapeh Nader" (Nader's hill) close to the main city. With hot summers and cold winters, the clothing in this area has to be multi-functional and versatile. The traditional Ghoochani dress looks as depicted in the photo on the left. Women's skirts tend to be shorter and the shoes tend to be made for long walks, and climbs. Vests and head covers are also common and lots of bright colors and lines are used in the patterns of the garments throughout. 
In contrast to the shorter skirts of the Ghoochani's, the traditional Gilani dresses tend to be floor-length. The Gilan province, with a population of nearly 2 million extends from the Caucasus in the northwest of Iran to the western edge of Mazandaran. It is bordered on the west by Ardebil province and the Zanjan province in the south. The capital of Gilan capital is the city of Rasht. This region tends to experience more humid and hot temperature given the mountains surrounding the area. A very distinct trend in the Gilani skirts are the traditional black and white stripes across the bottom of the skirt. Lighter solid shirt and vest are also worn and the head scarves tend to be airy and accompanied by fringes. Men's traditional outfits consist of loose trousers and shirts tied at the waist with a wide cotton belt. Cylindar-like hats may be worn with the outfit as shown in this 1977 photo from a stamp collection depicting the traditional Gilani outfits.
The next traditional dress comes from the city of Kashan. Kashan is located at southeast of the holy city of Qom. It borders on the dry land of Dasht-e Kavir and usually has hot, dry weather. For agricultural needs and most of other water consumption, Kashan uses the age-old Qanat system. There are 60 underground water canals, also known as Kariz, still in operation. Clothes from Kashan tend to be light and airy. The Kashani dress for women features a long solid skirt, accompanied by a long shirt, with ornaments and hand-sewn designs. In addition, long-sleeved vests with large openings are common. The scarves tend to be shorter as shown in the picture on the right. Overall, the dress is simpler and more solid in nature than other regions of the country.
The dress of the people of Khorasan (Kohrassan) is traditionally more protective. The region is situated in the East of Iran, and historically included the regions of Transoxiana and Afghanistan. It was in the 19th century, during the 
By far the most elaborate and diverse form of traditional dress comes from the many Kurds who inhabit several regions of Iran. Since the Kurds live in different regions, their clothes also tend to vary. There are the Kurds from Sanandaj, depicted in the picture on the far right. There are also the kurds from Kermanshah. A sample outfit is shown on the near right photo. Kuridsh outfits tend to have headcoverings which are larger and more elaborate than other costumes. Both men and women commonly have belts which are very wide and tightly wrapped around the waist over the clothes to give the outfit some shape. Shirts, skirts, and trousers for both men and women tend to be very baggy and over-sized. Kurdish women tend to wear many coins and jewels which dangle on their forehead and are attached to a scarf or shawl. 
The dress of the people from Lorestan is very distinct and ornamental. The Lori dress tends to have hand-sewn designs such as paisley and flowers on the sleeve ends and rims of jackets and trousers. The head gear for the Lori people is a rounded look and is achieved by wrapping a large scarf not just on the head but all around the shoulders and neck as well. There is then also an additional cloth that hangs down from the top of the head. In this sample outfit we see the distinct decorations on the edges of the clothes, including the traditional long vest, worn over the dress and trousers. The vest has shorter sleeves, allowing for the dress sleeves to come through. The trousers also have the trade mark stripe designs at the hem. Women's outfits usually use brighter, more feminine colors such as light green, blue, pink and red with flower or rainbow-like patterns. The men's clothes tend to use solid browns, and grays using very little pattern. The overcoats and vests are long and baggy. Hats may be worn as shown in the picture below which is taken from a 1981 stamp commemorating the traditional Iranian fashions. 
One of the most interesting traditional dresses is the Mazandarani dress. The Mazandaran region lies to the north of Iran, in the area of the Caspian Sea, north of Tehran. The region is filled with farmlands and engages in agriculture. The costume of Mazandaran consists of trousers and dress, like most regional dress. The distinguishing feature in the Mazandarani dress, for women, is the skirt. It is usually much shorter and much fuller than the usual traditional outfits. Depending on the occasion and the time of year, the skirts can get quite short, and be likened to puffy mini-skirts. 
For men, generally a cotton shirt that is simpe can be worn with trousers that are similar to hunting trousers. Shoes, socks or boots are often worn high below the knee. Nomadic hats, made from sheep's hair or the like is also very common among the Mazandarani village fashions. Different sample styles, including the 1978 honorary stamps are shown here to depict sample Mazandarani dress. 
The Torkaman tribe in Iran, mainly coming from Turkey and having settled in Iran, also have a distinct and special dress. The Torkaman dress in Iran for the women consists of a long dress with a long open robe. Probably the most conceiling of fashions, the Torkaman dress generally sports a face-cover. This can be in the form of a cloth that the woman ties behind the ears and hangs just under the nose. Clothes tend to favor rusty, and earthy colors, such as deep reds and dark browns. 
The men's outfits also consist of solid-colored tunics and trousers. The distinguishing features are the hats as depicted in this Torkaman concert photo on the right. Helmets like there were worn in battle and warm hats were worn to protect against the cold, harsh winters. Another Iranian stamp from 1974 below shows a traditional torkaman outfit. 
Perhaps the biggest struggle in Iranian Fashion history has been the struggle between the old and the new. Iranians have notoriously been fashion innovators trying to balance expectations of the different tastes in this vast country. Classic Qajar dress code was the last time Iranians witnessed traditional clothes, which included some form of veil, or hejab, for the woman. In the countryside, women have always worn head scarves, which are usually lively and colorful to protect hair from dust. Scarves and wraps are worn often and gathered at the waists to free up the arms. The black chador, seen on the streets even today, probably made its entry in the late 18th century as a way for women to appear in public. In early Persian, women were not allowed to appear in public without some form of veiling. Eventually, traditional Persian and local village clothes were traded in for the more fancy and respected Western outfits in the early 19th century. 
