Sunday, December 7, 2008

Door Knockers


~ photo by Abdi Sami

Door Knockers

"A young girl in the historical village of Abyaneh [Iran] demonstrates to Rick the difference between the two door knockers. In the old times the door knocker to the left was used by women and the one to the right by men. Since they sound differently the women in the house knew whether the person behind the door was a man or a woman."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is fascinating, yet makes complete sense! Interesting photographs, I love the beautiful faces, the archeology and ancient architecture.

northshorewoman said...

the photos are very interesting. Iran is a very photogenic country, both in cultural and physical geography. It's on my list of places to visit! Interesting, too, is this old custom of left-hand knockers for women guests, which calls up all the "sinister" connotations of using the left hand. It's not only in the ME that the left hand has negative connotations. I'm a leftie, too, and those (many) of us in the left culture transcend all boundaries!