Giveaway – Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico by Lena Nelson Dooley

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In the past week as I immerse myself in all things Ancient Persian, I discovered a few key things about the culture.

1.) Persia was crazy wealthy. I’m talking C-R-A-Z-Y. Jewels embedded in the ceilings. Stone pillars polished so highly they shone like mirrors. Gold this, silver that, everything all bling-bling. There was not an inch of the king’s palaces that weren’t decorated, painted, bedecked, bejeweled, or otherwise designed to impress. And it wasn’t just a palace. Each capital city had a compound with multiple palaces, and there were four–count ’em, four–capital cities.

2.) They were surprisingly modern in their thoughts about women. Not only were there professional women, they earned MORE for the same work than men did. They got a year’s paid maternity leave. And one of Xerxes’ most trusted naval commanders was a woman. Cool, eh?

3.) Religious tolerance was not an invention of the United States. It was also the policy in Persia–which shouldn’t be all that surprising, given how often the generosity of the kings of Babylon, Persia, and Media are mentioned in the Bible when the Jews were their subjects. Though Persia actually had a monotheistic society, they let all their subject nations keep their own systems of belief.

4.) It is impossible to listen to Iranian dance music without dancing. Seriously–try it. I turned some on just for ambiance. First some slower stuff like what they played in the documentaries I was watching, then a faster one that had me bopping around my chair, much to the amusement of my hubby and daughter.

Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday! Back I go to Jewel of Persia . . .