Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!unix.sri.com!headwall.Stanford.EDU!Tehran.Stanford.EDU!mack From: mack@isl.Stanford.EDU (mack) Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian,soc.answers,news.answers Subject: soc.culture.iranian: Frequently Asked Questions [monthly posting] Followup-To: soc.culture.iranian Date: 3 Mar 1994 16:35:28 GMT Organization: Stanford University: Computer Science Department Lines: 1121 Approved: news-answer-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 3 Apr 1994 Message-ID: <2l53kg$cve@Times.Stanford.EDU> Reply-To: mack@isl.Stanford.EDU (mack) NNTP-Posting-Host: tehran.stanford.edu Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) about soc.culture.iranian. It should be read by anyone who wishes to post to the soc.culture.iranian newsgroup. Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu soc.culture.iranian:22664 soc.answers:950 news.answers:15988 Archive-name: iranian-faq Last-modified: 1993/10/7 Version: 1.3 Introduction to the Soc.Culture.Iranian Frequently Asked Questions (with answers) The charter of SOC.CULTURE.IRANIAN is to serve as a discussion group for issues related to Iran and Iranian things. This monthly posting of frequently asked questions (FAQ), with answers, is intended to prevent the recurrence of specific questions or types of questions that are either unanswerable, or are asked seemingly weekly. The information contained here is based on the best postings from the net on these subjects, and thanks are due to the netters who provided them. Information from international sources would be a welcome addition. As with any newsgroup, it is best to read it for a few weeks before posting anything, in order to see what topics are currently being discussed. It may be that some of the information in this file is outdated. If you want to add, delete or change any information in this FAQ, please email to: mack@isl.Stanford.EDU with "Iranian FAQ" as subject. Whenever possible, please include the entire paragraph before and after modification, this will help me in avoiding misunderstanding when applying your suggestions. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents of this FAQ: =================================================================== 1q. Where is the anonymous FTP site for soc.culture.iranian? What's available there? 2q. Where is/how can I contact the closest Iranian consulate/embassy/interests secion? 3q. What are the Persian word processors? What are some of their features? Where can I get them? How much do they cost? 4q. What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Farsi speaking radio programs and/or programs originating from Iran? 5q. How do I tranfer money to/from Iran? 6q. What is the latest on military service/exemption? 7q. Where can I find/how can I contact an Iranian travel Agency? 8q. Where are the Persian/Middle Eastern stores/supermarkets in my area? 9q. Where can I find a Persian restaurant? 10q. What are the various Farsi magazines and newspapers, and how can I subscribe to them? 11q. What are the Iranian organizations around the world? How can I contact them? 12q. If there is not a Persian store in the area that I live, how can I purchase some of the items that are likely to be found in Persian stores? Is mail order possible? 13q. Where can I get books in Farsi? 14q. How do I watch a video cassette that was made in Iran/US/Europe? Where can I convert such videos from one system to another? 15q. If I or a friend do(es) not have access to USENET, but have(has) access to e-mail, how can I (s/he) read articles from soc.culture.iranian? 16q. How can I post to soc.culture.iranian if I don't have posting capability, but have e-mail access? How can I post anonymously? 17q: I have heard one can send/receive e-mail to/from Iran. Is this correct? 18q. Can people in Iran read/post to SCI? =================================================================== And here are the answers: =================================================================== 1q. Where is the Anonymous FTP site for soc.culture.iranian? How do I access it? What's available there? 1a. Tehran.Stanford.EDU [36.28.0.189] is the main ftp site for soc.culture.iranian. A lot of useful information can be found by browsing through it. Whenver anonymous ftp is mentioned in this file, it is implied anonymous ftp to tehran.Stanford.EDU. Please use the following guidelines when using the ftp service: o use login name anonymous o enter your e-mail address as password o in order not to increase the load on tehran, try to use this service after business hours, Pacific Standard Time If you don't have access to ftp, you can get all the above via e-mail. Here's how it works: o send mail to sci-ftp@tehran.stanford.edu and in the Subject line write: "send info" (without the quotes). You will receive a mail from Mr. Background (daemon) at tehran with all the information and list of the files. (but PLEASE do not reply to daemon@tehran) o After you choose the file you want, e.g. gerdsooz.c just send mail to sci-ftp with subject line: "send gerdsooz.c" and Tehran will send you a uuencoded file, gerdsooz.c All you need to do is, save your mail in a file and then run uudecode filename. o There is another feature that may be helpful. The list of files are too long and annoying, so Farhad has created a catalog of lists, to get the catalog menu, you use: "send info catalog" then you can choose from the menu of catalogs. i.e. if you want a list of Noor publications then you use: "send list Noor" o remember capitalization is very important and All catalogs start with a capital letter (but there can be more than one capital letter, except pub). o Here is the list of catalogs: Archive Recipes Farrokhzad Calendar Yellow_Pages Kadkani Conferences Shariati Mazaheri Converters Biographies Moshiri Editors Book_Reviews Naderpoor Gerdsooz Hafez Sayeh Misc Khayyam Sepehri Schools Molavi Shamloo TEX NaserKhosrow Soltanpoor Fonts Qobadiani SourinShaker ISI GolAghA Yoshij Images Farshid_Far Others Dispiscii Hafez Pictures Peik Azizpour Sounds Noor Behbahani pub Poetry Etesami GIF o Currently all files greater that 150K are under construction and you can not retrieve them via email but they all are available through the normal anonymous ftp to Tehran. o Please if you find any problems or have better ideas then let me know (farhad@tehran.stanford.edu). o Also if you want to put new files into anonymous ftp then send mail to sci-ftp-request@tehran.stanford.edu and it will be put there. A partial list of what's available on Tehran follows [this list will continue to expand on a daily basis --mack]. =============================================================== - Gerdsooz Path: Iran_Lib/Gerdsooz/ Keeper/Maintainer: ali@mti.sgi.com o get and read the files sci_announce.gerdsooz and README.gerdsooz in the above directory. =============================================================== - dispISCII Path: Iran_Lib/Dispiscii/ Keeper/Maintainer: anoosh@sgi.com o The dispISCII package provides for a methods of display Persian text on workstations which support the X11 Graphical User Interface. As stated by its name, dispISCII displays bilingual text encoded with the Iranian National Standard, ISCII. o get, uncompress, extract (tar) the file that suits your hardware from the above directory. =============================================================== - khayyam Path: Iran_Lib/Calendar/ Keeper/Maintainer: ali@mti.sgi.com o The 'khayam' program allows you to convert the Jalaali and Gregorian calendars into each other. The first is official in Iran (and surrounding areas like Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics and Kurdish Mesopotamia) and the second in the west. The Jalaali calendar is named after Jalaal-ol-Din Malek-shaah-e Saljuqi by the great Iranian poet/mathematician Omar Khayyam who re-worked it in late fifth century hejri. The Gregorian calendar is named after Pope Gregory XIII who introduced the latest changes in the calendar in 1582 AD. The two have more or less the same year-length, but are based on completely different systems. They differ in both structures and in the way they deal with leap years. o get and read the file README.khayyam in the above directory. =============================================================== - LaTeX-TeX text formatting software Path: Iran_Lib/TEX/ Keeper/Maintainer: mack@isl.stanford.edu o get and read Nehar-announce in the above directory. =============================================================== - persian poetry Path: Iran_Lib/Literature/Poetry/ Keeper/Maintainer: bashir@cs.buffalo.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o Classical poems by famous poets such as Khayyam, Molavi, and Qobadiani, as well as modern poems by poets such as Sepehri, Moshiri, and Shamloo are included in the above directory. In addition comic poems such as those by Gol-Agha and a few poems by unknown poets as well as some poems by SCI subscribers are included in this directory. Some poems are in Gerdsooz format. =============================================================== - book reviews Path: Iran_Lib/Literature/Book_Reviews/ Keeper/Maintainer: bashir@cs.buffalo.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o A brief review on the following books are available in the above directory: after_you_marco_polo dance-of-life foreigner in_xanadu mantle_of_the_prophet masquerade_an_adventure_in_iran noon_val_ghalam paintings-Katoozian persian_adventure persian_nights roots_of_revolution savushun the_road_to_oxiana o Also, the following files contain references to numerous books about Iran and/or Persia: books_about_iran books_about_persia =============================================================== - biographies of famous Iranians: Path: Iran_Lib/Literature/Biographies/ Keeper/Maintainer: bashir@cs.buffalo.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o Summaries of biographies of famous Iranians as published in various publications are included in the above directory. =============================================================== - speeches by famous Iranians: Path: Iran_Lib/Speeches/ Keeper/Maintainer: mack@isl.stanford.edu o English translations of important speeches by famous Iranians are included in the above directory. =============================================================== - gif files Path: Iran_Lib/Images/GIF/ Keeper/Maintainer: farhad@tehran.stanford.edu, anoosh@wildcat.mti.sgi.com o persian miniature drawings/paintings o photos o old/new maps of iran o get and read image.toc under /Iran_Lib/Images/ =============================================================== - jpg files Path: Iran_Lib/Images/JPG/ Keeper/Maintainer: farhad@tehran.stanford.edu o persian miniature drawings o get and read image.toc under /Iran_Lib/Images/ =============================================================== - persian music: Path: Iran_Lib/Sounds/ Keeper/Maintainer: farhad@tehran.stanford.edu o Get and read binhex-help in the above directory. Samples of Persian music in hqx format are available in the above directory. =============================================================== - Old/New issues of NOOR in postscript format Path: Iran_Lib/Noor/ Keeper/Maintainer: farhad@tehran.stanford.edu nasser@unet.net.com o get and read README.noor in the above directory =============================================================== - ISI (Informatic Society of Iran) Path: Iran_Lib/ISI/ Keeper/Maintainer: anoosh@wildcat.mti.sgi.com mack@isl.stanford.edu o get, uncompress and print the compressed, postscript file isi_intro.ps.Z in the above directory. o for membership information please contact anoosh@wildcat.mti.sgi.com =============================================================== - SIP (Society of Iranian Professionals) Path: Iran_Lib/Answers/sip Keeper/Maintainer: mahyar@netcom.com mack@isl.stanford.edu o get and read sip for more information on SIP. o for activities and membership information please contact lajevard@pollux.svale.hp.com =============================================================== - persian name list Path: Iran_Lib/baby_names Keeper/Maintainer: mack@isl.stanford.edu o names contains about 200 names with Persian origin, or commonly used names in Iran with their meaning if known, in alphabetical order. Especially useful for naming babies. =============================================================== - list of Persian bookstores: Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/bookstores Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o bookstores contains name, phone number, and contact address of 36 Persian bookstores, book distributors, and publishers world-wide. =============================================================== - list of Farsi publications: Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/publications Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o publications contains name, phone number, and contact address of nearly 100 Farsi publications world-wide. =============================================================== - list of persian restaurants world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/persian_restaurants Keeper/Maintainer: bahman@mdi.com mack@isl.stanford.edu o persian_restaurants contains name, address, phone number, price range, and comment on quality of food on 63 Persian restaurants worldwide. =============================================================== - list of Iranian Travel Agencies world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/travel_agencies Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o travel_agencies contains name, address, and phone number of 26 Iranian owned and/or operated travel agencies world-wide. =============================================================== - list of Persian stores world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/stores Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o stores contains name, address, and phone number of 14 persian stores world-wide. =============================================================== - list of Iranian mail-order services world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Answers/Yellow_Pages/mail_order Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o mail_order contains address, and phone number of 14 persian stores world-wide. =============================================================== - recipes of Persian dishes: Path: Iran_Lib/Recipes/ Keeper/Maintainer: mack@isl.stanford.edu o the recipe for for the following dishes/appetizers/deserts/snacks are available in the above directory in files with the same names: abgousht baghali_polo chelo_sefeed fereni ghareghorout halva kabab_kubideh khoresht_bamieh khoresht_fesenjoon khoresht_ghormeh_sabzi khoresht_karafs lavashak nan_khamehie paneer rangeenak tahcheen zereshk_polo =============================================================== - pictures of SCI subscribers in gif format: Path: Iran_Lib/Images/Pictures/ Keeper/Maintainer: farhad@tehran.stanford.edu o scanned pictures of some SCI subscribers is available in the above directory. =================================================================== 2q. Where is/how can I contact the closest Iranian consulate/embassy/interests secion? 2a. In United States: Embassy of the Republic of Pakistan Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington, DC 20007 Tel: (202) 965-4990 to 94 Here's what a netter had to say about their service: => Thanks to all those responded to my earlier request => with regard to passport renewal. I contacted the => Iranian Interest Section in D.C. (202) 965-4990 to 94 => and was kindly connected to an automatic fax facility => that sent me the forms I requested (via the touch-tone => interface). I was both surprised and delighted with the => service and the speed of transmission, i.e., as soon as => I hang up, the forms were coming out of my fax machine! => This service is available even outside the regular => business hours of the interest section (take advantage => of discount long distance times!) You can also send the => interest section a fax with your requests, messages, => etc. at (202) 965-1073. => => These are some of the three-digit codes that might be => of interest to this newsgroup. (use these codes to => punch in the form you want to order) You can get a => complete list of these codes by using the 700 code (is => 700 the lucky number? :^) ) => => 100 tamdeed, tajdeed, or tafkeek gozarnameh => 900 similar to option 100 for students with green card => 055 similar to option 100 for students with F-1 => 427 information about military service => 903 approval of student visa => 054 approval of student documents => 600 buying Iran-Air tickets => 901 request for exit stamp for students with F-1 => 902 " " " " " " " " " " green card => 300 " " " " " " for people with green card =================================================================== 3q. What are the Persian word processors? What are some of their features? Where can I get them? How much do they cost? 3a. We have a fairly comprehensive input from: Kees van 't Hoff, CWI, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Here goes his contribution: (many thanks Kees) -------------------------------------------------------------- Good idea!!! I have been away quite a while myself, but I am back again, so I'll post my list about word-processing which could be included in such a FAQ-list. Latest change: Prof. Lagally's LaTeX macro's latest release (2), incompatible with previous releases. The list that hopefully says it all about farsi word-processing. Please feel free to make (or mail me) any corrections and/or additions to the list. MAC: AlKaatib: Is a right-to-left editor and comes with an Arabic font, in any case bitmaps. Is supposed to run under MultiFinder. You type your text in AlKaatib, and then copy and paste it into your favorite application (MacWrite, MS-Word, Excel etc.) Personally, I've used version 1.0 from an illegal copy back in 1986 for a while, but did not really like the concept, so I never bought it. Price: $199.00 retail; Alkaatib $199.00 retail; Alkaatib Laser Font (PostScript) $299.00 retail; Tawfiq Laser Font Family (postScript) $199.00 retail; Ferdosi Laser Font (Postscript) Availability: Eastern Language Systems 39 West 330 North Provo, UT 84601 1-801-377-4558 According to recent news, the Mac line is no longer supported, but just the MS-DOS line. WinText: Is a mixed left-to-right, right-to-left wordprocessor. It uses AIS (Arabic Interface System) or PIS (Persian InterfaceSystem), the Apple systems for use with the Arabic script (see below). I have been playing around with a demo-version and was quite impressed. However, I have heard rumours that it does not like large documents, but never seen real proof of this. The price was too steep for my intentional use (just personal correspondence). Price: 2200 FF (french francs), approx. $350-$400. (Last year's price) Availability: WinSoft 34 Boulevard de l'Esplanade 38000 Grenoble FRANCE tel: (33) 76875601 Patrick Jost's shareware Persian/Arabic text processing capabilities. I have no idea about this, but he announced his package on soc.culture.arabic last year. Price: shareware, $15 (US-price) Availability: Patrick Jost 12228 Venice Boulevard #495 Los Angeles, CA 9006 jost@coyote.trw.com Nisus: Nothing as of yet, but they have announced that they will have an Arabic version in october, based on Nisus 3.06. Price will probably around $350, but maybe an academic rebate ala normal Nisus. Availability: Contact Paragon (+44) 81 642 2255) or fax: (+44) 81 642 4621 (in Europe) I don't know any numbers in the US) I have heard it is out by now. PIS, AIS: The interface systems by Apple for the Arabic script, AIS and PIS, are as far as I know only available through APDA (Apple Programmers Developers Association). You can find them on their CD-ROM's (latest version: 6.0.7). Companies like WinSoft can give you the interface system for an additional price, when you buy their products. PC's: There must be quite a few of them around, but being a DOS-illiterate, I have no idea about them, apart from a shareware one (posted by Ala), and an announcement I saved from comp.text and soc.culture.arabic. INTEXT: Available through ftp: vmd.cso.uiuc.edu name: ipfs passwd: mark command: quote acct iran command: binary command: get INTEXT.ZIP and you have the unzippable (PKUNZIP) version. Multi-Lingual-Scribe: Wordprocessing program supporting 5 to 10 different languages, including arabic. Works with matrix and laser printers. Price: ? Availability: Gamma Productions 710 Willshire Blvd, suite 609 Santa Monica CA 90401 Tel: (310) 394-8622 This info is two years old, so don't sue me if it does not proof to be correct! Nevisandeh System requirement: PC and compatibles with EGA or higher. Printer: Any 24 pin with at least 16K memory, HP Laser II and higher, any Laser printer emulating HP. File exchange: To and from Apple Macintosh, ISCII 2901 Spell Checker: Farsi and English and capability of adding words to the main or user defined dictionary. Documentation: Step by Step guide and comprehensive online help. Price: $150.00 ($120 for students) Availability: Optimate Ltd 18 Edmonscote Cleveland Road London W13 0HQ U.K. Tel: (+44 81) 997 1848 Fax: (+44 81) 998 8304 Email: enquiry@optimate.demon.co.uk Universal Word This package has ability to support any dead or living language(depending on what options you buy), up to 16 color for text and graphics (can import PCX,TIF files), pull down menu, mouse, EMS, unlimited document size and winodow, (you are limited only by amount of disk space or RAM), scaleable fonts between 2 and 100 point,dictionary,spellcheck,mail merge support. System requirement: IBM PC,XT,AT,PS/2 computers or compatible, with at least 7 MB hard disk space and runs with (Hercules,CGA,EGA,or VGA). Printer: dot matrix,laser or postscript Price: $297.50 (US) [1992] Availability: 300 Corprate Pointe Suite 410, Culver City,CA USA Tel: (310) 215-9645 Fax: (310) 215-9668 E-mail: aa831@freenet.carleton.ca Various systems: TEX: There are at least three TEX packages I know of. Since TEX runs on different platforms, you could probably move it almost anywhere. NEGAR-AFZAR This package which will be marketed by Negar-Afzar is a "Complete", "Fast" and highly "Integrated" implementation of TeX and LaTeX in Farsi. The user interface is completely in Farsi; hence the user actually sees the Farsi text as he/she types it on screen. This is accomplished by an advanced bilingual text editor that has a complete on-line help and is included in the package. The implementation is "complete" in the sense that all standard LaTeX style files which are a) book b) report c) article d) letter have been converted to Farsi. "Any" LaTeX command that can be used in English version in these different styles can also be used in the Farsi version. This means that the handling of footnotes, equations, section titles, table of contents, captions, automatic numbering, and anything else available in English LaTex is now available in the Farsi version. The math mode handles Farsi digits and automatic size changing for these digits when they appear in sub or superscripts. You can also include any bitmap (.pcx format) picture (or EPS graphic file if using a postscript printer) in your document or use the LaTeX's picture environment for producing simple graphics. You can even type the LaTeX commands in Farsi. The implementation is extremely fast since the optimal line breaking is determined by TeX. The implementation has a simple Farsi GUI (graphical user interface) that leads the user through the 4 steps of preparing a LaTeX document There is also a complete on-line help that can be called in case of having a question. The package comes with Farsi Naskh font, Farsi Slanted Naskh font, and Farsi Bold Naskh font at point sizes from 5pt to 25pt at LaTeX standard size increments. System requirements: IBM PC-XT/AT, 386 and 486 (and compatibles) DOS 3.0 or above EGA (or VGA or higher) graphic cards Color Monitor HP-LaserJet+ or higher printers (all models) and compatibles Nearly all dot matrix and ink jet printers All postscript printers For more information and Negar-Afzar's address, read the announcement file available from this ftp site. For ftp instructions see earlier sections of this file. The path to the file is: Iran_Lib/TEX/Negar-announce. ARABTEX: This is Prof. Klaus Lagally's LaTeX extension for Arabic writing. It consists of three packages: the actual Arabtex package, the MetaFont package (for those interested), and the style files used by Arabtex. Most recent version: 2 (spring 1992). The latest version has better support for Farsi. It worked wonderfully for me, both on my Sparcstation and on my Mac (with OzTeX, also a free package). Price: free Availability: anonymous ftp: ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) (USA) tex.babel.arabic.macros-lagally and tex.babel.arabic.fonts-lagally or ifi.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de (129.69.211.11) (Europe) pub/arabtex or nuri.inria.fr (128.93.1.26) (Europe) /TeX/tools/arabic or mail to FILESERV@SHSU.BITNET and include the lines: SENDME ArabTex.TEX SENDME ArabTex_MF SENDME ArabTex_STYLE in your mail to get the complete package. PARTEX: A package also known as ATEX, as far as I know by Terry Regier (regier@cogsci.berkeley.edu). The drawback is that it needs a filter before you call LaTeX, but the filter is relatively simple and easily adjustable. Also it uses Yannis Haralambous (France) fonts, and I don't know whether these are still available in the public domain. He used to mail them to interested people, and I have a copy, but I don't know whether I have any rights to distribute them (see below). It worked fine for me however. Price: free Availability: anonymous ftp: ymir.claremont.edu (134.173.4.23) tex.babel.arabic.atex or icsi-ftp.berkeley.edu pub/ai/atex/atex.tar.Z SCHOLARTEX: A package by Yannis Haralambous ( yannis@FRCITL81.BITNET) for Mac and MS-DOS, supposedly handling almost any language. Price: approx. $200 (institutes pay a higher price) Availability: Yannis Haralambous 101/11, rue Breughel 59650 Villeneuve d'Ascq France Tel. (33) 20.05.28.80 Fax (33) 20.91.05.64 Bitnet: yannis@frcitl81 -------------------------------------------------------------- =================================================================== 4q. What are the radio frequencies and broadcast times of Farsi speaking radio programs and/or programs originating from Iran? 4a. Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Frequencies below 3000 kHz are medium wave broadcasts and can only be heard in areas in the immediate vicinity of Iran (unless you have an exceptional receiver and a special type of antenna). Receiving FM broadcasts abroad, on the other hand, is virtually impossible. Radio Tehran External Service Schedule: Broadcasting Schedule: No. Nov. 91 - Feb. 92 (D91-92) Program UTC/GMT Target Areas Frequency (kHz) ------------------------------------------------------------------ English 1130-1230** East Asia 11790, 11930, 9685 Middle East 9525, 7215, 1224, 702 1400-1500 West Asia 702 1930-2030* Europe 9022, 15260, 6030 0030-0130** America 9022, 15260, 9720 French 0630-0730* Europe 9022, 9720, 15260 1830-1930* Europe 9022, 15260, 6030 German 1730-1830* Europe 9022, 15260, 6030 Russian 1530-1630 West Asia 9022, 11790, 1404, 1449 1930-2030 West Asia 1404 Spanish 2030-2130* Europe 9022, 15260 0130-0230** America 9022, 9720, 15260 0530-0630* Europe 9022, 9720, 15260 * For Tehran on FM (100.7 MHz) * For Tehran on FM (97.7 MHz) Correspondence can be addressed to IRIB External Service P.O. Box 3333 Tehran 19395 Iran ******************************************************************* Voice of America The following are times and frequencies of the Persian language programs of the Voice of America and the BBC. The information presented is at least six months old, so there could have been some changes since then. Time (UTC) Frequency (kHz) ------------------------------------------------- 0300-0430 7651 *, 9635, 9700, 11805, 15105 1700-1900 6160, 7280, 9680, 11835 * This frequency is used for the broadcast in Single Sideband mode (Lower). It is the frequency of the station in the US that relays the program to Greece. Your receiver needs to be equipped with a certain type of circuitry in order to demodulate this broadcast. All other frequencies originate in Greece and are in normal AM. ******************************************************************* British Broadcasting Company BBC: Time (Tehran) Frequency (kHz) ------------------------------------------------ 0600-0630 720, 1413, 9590, 11740, 15575 1945-2030 1413, 7160, 11720, 15575 2200-2230 720, 1413, 7160, 11720 Note: UTC = Tehran Time - 3.5 ******************************************************************* =================================================================== 5q. How do I tranfer money to/from Iran? 5a. The easiest way to transfer money from US to Iran is through Bank Melli Iran. They have a branch in New York. You can wire the funds from any bank in the US to Bank Melli in New York along with the receiving party's name and address (or account number) in Iran. For a nominal fee, Bank Melli will transfer the funds to Iran within a few days. Bank Melli Iran New York Branch 628 Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022 (212) 759-4700 They have a post office box too: Post Office Box 1420 F.D.R. Station New York, N.Y. 10150 Bank Melli also has a branch in Los Angeles: Bank Melli Iran Los Angeles Branch 818 Wilshire Boulevard Los Angeles, Ca 90017 There are contact numbers for Bank Saderat both in New York and in Los Angeles: Bank Saderat Iran New York Branch (212) 753-6400 Bank Saderat Iran Los Angeles Branch (213) 489-2900 =================================================================== 6q. What is the latest on military service/exemption? 6a. From: bamini@athena.mit.edu I have some info on one of the unanswered questions in the FAQ, namely "What's the latest on millitary exemption/service?' From what I've been told by relatives in Iran, for a nominal fee of 8 to 10 *thousand* dollars, one can 'purchase' their exemption from millitary service. Also note that millitary service is mandatory for all Iranian men above a certian age (17?), and that the government has a rather loose interpretation of the definition of Iranian citizenship. If your parents are Iranian, you are considered an Iranian citizen and eligible for service ***even if you were born in some other contry*** Even if you've lived in that other country all your life. Bob Amini bamini@athena.mit.edu [more info would be appreciated --mack] =================================================================== 7q. Where can I find/how can I contact an Iranian travel Agency? 7a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): -list of Iranian Travel Agencies world-wide Path: Iran_Lub/Yellow_Pages/travel_agencies o travel_agencies contains address, and phone number of 26 Iranian owned and/or operated travel agencies world-wide. =================================================================== 8q. Where are the Persian/Middle Eastern stores/supermarkets in my area? 8a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): -list of Persian stores world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/stores o stores contains address, and phone number of 14 persian stores world-wide. =================================================================== 9q. Where can I find a Persian restaurant? 9a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): - list of persian restaurants world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/persian_restaurants Keeper/Maintainer: bahman@mdi.com mack@isl.stanford.edu o persian_restaurants contains address, phone number, price range, and comment on quality of food on 63 Persian restaurants worldwide. =================================================================== 10q. What are the various Farsi magazines and newspapers, and how can I subscribe to them? 10a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): - list of Farsi publications: Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/publications Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o publications contains name, phone number, and contact address of nearly 100 Farsi publications world-wide. =================================================================== 11q. What are the Iranian organizations around the world? How can I contact them? 11a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): - list of Iranian organizations: Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/organizations Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o organizations contains name, phone number, and contact address of 34 Iranian organizations world-wide. =================================================================== 12q. If there is not a Persian store in the area that I live, how can I purchase some of the items that are likely to be found in Persian stores? Is mail order possible? 12a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): -list of Iranian mail-order services world-wide Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/mail_order Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o mail_order contains address, and phone number of 14 persian stores world-wide. =================================================================== 13q. Where can I get books in Farsi? 13a. Available via anonymous ftp (see 1a for more info): - list of Persian bookstores: Path: Iran_Lib/Yellow_Pages/bookstores Keeper/Maintainer: nemazie@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu mack@isl.stanford.edu o bookstores contains name, phone number, and contact address of 36 Persian bookstores, book distributors, and publishers world-wide. =================================================================== 14q. How do I watch a video cassette that was made in Iran/US/Europe? Where can I convert such videos from one system to another? 14a. [someone help me with this --mack] =================================================================== 15q. If I or a friend do(es) not have access to USENET, but have(has) access to e-mail, how can I (s/he) read articles from soc.culture.iranian? 15a. You can send mail to smortaz@handel.sun.com and be put on a mailing list which automatically sends you sci articles via e-mail. =================================================================== 16q. How can I post to soc.culture.iranian if I don't have posting capability, but have e-mail access? How can I post anonymously? 16a. Mr. Shahrokh Mortazavi has been kind enough to set up a posting service that can be used via e-mail. Here's what you need to do: E-mail regular posts to : sci-poster@handel.sun.com E-mail problems to : smortaz@handel.sun.com The features described in 15a and 16a will provide anyone with access to e-mail read/post access to sci. =================================================================== 17q: I have heard one can send/receive e-mail to/from Iran. Is this correct? 17a. Yes, it is correct that one can send/receive e-mail to/from Iran. The connection is made possible through a bitnet site in Europe. However due to very limited resources, few people (mostly universities and research institutions) get the priviledge of having e-mail access in Iran. Therefore, ordinary people can not get accounts on the machines that are connected to the network. =================================================================== 18q. Can people in Iran read/post to SCI? 18a. Yes! Currently SCI articles are being forwarded to a few individuals in iran via the SCI-by-email facility outlined in 16a, and sometimes one can see articles posted by an individuals from Iran. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End FAQ