by Lika Sharifi Sadeghi
...Pieces of a dark stone, divided into two halves forming two stone chairs with an over human-scaled size, are located humbly in the Ilm Park in Weimar, Germany. People pass by, not all so curios to come near to have a closer look.
Two parts of formerly the same entity are now confronting each other with their smooth and soft faces; leaving their rough and uneven sides to the adjacent corners. They create an atmosphere of “dialogue” and “communication”.
Stone chairs sit calmly on a grave-like platform, covered with a grid of delicate Persian geometrical patterns. Right in the middle of the platform, a poem is carved out with Persian script from Hafis, speaking of peace, love and life. On both corners, quotes from Goethe and Calderon, indicate the sense of unity between west and east.
This monument, known as “Hafis Denkmal” is an emblem of peace and dialogue among cultures and nations, away from war and violence. It insists on unification, instead of segregation. It shows the power of the human mind and soul, through which two poets (Hafis and Goethe) - with a vast temporal and geographical distance - can find a lot in common and ignore all their cultural and historical differences, to such an extent that Goethe called Hafis his “twin brother”. It emphasizes humanity’s instinctual tendency to seek communication, to find the truth and lost values around the world, even through cultures and nationalities which are so far apart or so different.
Regardless of what Weimar had to go through during its past war history, this memorial which was built less than 10 years ago by UNESCO, currently sends out the message of peace, tolerance and understanding among people. It speaks of exchange of cultural values and thoughts between west and east and eases the path towards unity. Today Weimar city holds people from different nationalities together and gives them the endless joy of “togetherness”.
“ Wer sich selbst und andere kennt,
Anyone who knows himself and others,
wird auch hier erkennern,
will also recognize here,
Orient und Okzident, sind nicht mehr zu trennen.“
that orient and occident can no more be disconnected.
Goethe (18th Century)
ما ملک عافیت نه به لشکر گرفته ایم
We have not possessed the world of peace, through battles and invasion
ما تخت سلطنت نه به بازو نهاده ایم
We have not been ruling the world of power, by force and attack
Hafis (14th Century)
Interesting. Is the source of the stone significant? Is it okay for people to actually sit on the chairs or is that disrespectful?
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