textual analysis on tenses Chasing shadows and light in Iran

Chasing shadows and light in Iran

 

 

In the garden courtyard of Esfahan’s famous Abbasi Hotel, surrounded by 300-year-old caravanserai-style rooms, I was in the company of an Iranian architect. We were discussing my plan to travel to the desert towns of Kashan, Na’in, Garmeh and Yazd.

“Ah those places!” his face lit up. “It’s like chasing shadows and light when you go there.”

These words would stay with me during my journey to these towns, where 3,000 years of generations have adapted to the environment to create a unique style of desert living.
I started in the beautiful city of Kashan, which sits where Iran’s vast desert, Dasht-e Kavir, begins. Located just 250km southeast of Tehran, it’s often overlooked by travellers heading for the big attractions further south, such as Shiraz and Esfahan.  

Built from unbaked mud brick, the presence of shadow and light was evident from the very moment I stepped into the old city in search of Ehsan Hotel, one of the famous 19th-century traditional houses that were built by wealthy merchants at the height of the lucrative Qajar Dynasty when Kashan was a bustling commercial hub. Most houses have since disappeared but some have been repaired and are open to the public.

read more and to go to link click once: http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20140604-chasing-shadows-and-light-in-iran

challenging words:

courtyard: avlu
caravanserai: kervansaray
unbaked mud brick: çiğ- pişmemiş kerpiç
Merchant: tüccar
lucrative: kazançlı, karlı
bustling: canlı, hareketli
commercial: ticari
hub: merkez

This news is about desert towns of Iran. This is a travel news. Marian Reid tells us his expressions about where he travelled, what he saw and what he withnessed. As a result of this situation, the writer's tone is descriptive, expressive and informative. This is because he describes towns (unbaked mud brick), expresses their feelings (Ah those places!” his face lit up. “It’s like chasing shadows and light when you go there. ) and gives informations about there. He mainly uses  past tense because he conveys his memories, so he must use specific time in the past. Also, he partly uses simple present tense while he is expressing generalizations (it’s often overlooked by travellers ) , and he partly uses present continuous tense while he is expressing actions which are happening at the moment of speaking ( It’s like chasing shadows and light when you go there ). Moreover, he uses present perfect tense a few times while he is refering to events connected to the present, without a definite past time ( Most houses have since disappeared but some have been repaired and are open to the public. )


  This news has really attracted my attention and curiosity, and it has given point of view  to me about these desert towns. it has a informative, satisfying and attracting theme. I agree with his opinion ''It’s like chasing shadows and light when you go there .'' , for I am fascinated with this unique style of desert life .