15 The Rose and the Desert

گل و بیابان

Ispahan |

Iran

Persian

Behind the scenes

This text was born from my fascination with Isfahan, often called “half the world.” I imagined Naqsh-e Jahan Square, with its turquoise domes and blue minarets – one of the most iconic architectural landscapes in Iran.

In my illustration, an old rose seller throws petals into the sky. Behind her stands the mosque of Isfahan, bathed in that deep shade sometimes referred to as “Isfahan blue,” while the roses evoke the city’s famous fragrance.

Some of the petals carry words in Persian. One can read آزادی (âzâdi – “freedom”), گل (gol – “flower”), and امید (omid – “hope”). I wanted these words to appear as if they were drifting away, like a silent message.

The rose thus becomes a symbol: fragile yet resilient, capable of blooming even in arid soil.

This text is also, and above all, my tribute to the extraordinary courage of many Iranian women who are fighting for freedom and continue to plant seeds for a better world.

Echoes of the world

Persian – or Farsi – is a deeply poetic language. It is written using an adapted version of the Arabic alphabet, enriched with a few additional letters to represent sounds specific to Persian.

For centuries, it has carried a rich literary tradition with authors such as Hafez, Saadi, and Rumi. In Iran, poetry remains part of everyday life: it is not uncommon to hear verses quoted in conversation.

Persian culture also maintains a long-standing connection with gardens. In a country often marked by arid landscapes, these enclosed gardens have, since antiquity, evoked an image of paradise. Their existence is made possible by qanats – ingenious underground channels that carry water from the mountains to cities and oases.

The Persian title گل و بیابان (gol o biyâbân) literally means “the flower and the desert.” Two contrasting images: fragility and aridity.

Listen to an audio excerpt of the text