Iran: Cuisine, culture and more

If you've always wondered about Persian food, here's a great multi-part series on Iranian.com.

Each segment runs about 10 minutes and looks at food, music, culture, ordinary life and beautiful scenery.

This first series covers the northern province of Gilan, on the shores of the Caspian. It was good to revisit an area that I had last seen in person such a long time ago.

The next series - not yet posted - covers the central area of the country, including Isfahan, where the Dardashti family originated, in the neighborhood of Dardasht.

Isfahan was one of the first places, according to tradition, where the Jews settled following the Babylonian Exile. So many Jews lived there that Arab geographers called it The City of the Jews.

According to legend, when the Jews were exiled from the land of Israel, they took along samples of the water and soil. At each place they stopped, they checked the water and soil of the place with their samples from home. When they reached Isfahan, goes the story, the samples matched and they settled down.