Beheshtieh: The Jewish Cemetry in Tehran

Beheshtieh [the Persian word for "heavenly place"] is the fourth -and the most recent one- Jewish cemetry in Tehran buit in 1936. The Iranian Jewish community is the largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. Jews have lived in Iran for nearly 3000 years. After 1979 Revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, recognized Jews as a religious minority that should be protected and gave Jews a guaranteed seat in Parliament.

This cemetry was founded by a Russian called Bedansky and later was developed by Jahangir Banayan and a group of welknown Jews leaders in iran. This is a 71000 sq.m cemetry based in Southeast of Tehran. Many iranian famous Jewish artists, writers, researchers amd sport figures are buried in this cemetry. There is a section for Mashhadi Jews and another one for Polish Jews who migrated to Iran during World War II. It is really a museum of old tomb stones.

I've been taking images of this cemetry for a while. I hope the images I sent to your exhibition could portray the feeling of this unsual cemetry in Tehran.