- published: 12 Aug 2011
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Manjil (Persian: منجيل, also Romanized as Manjīl and Menjīl) is a city in the Central District of Rudbar County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,028, in 4,447 families.
Manjil is located between N36º45´18˝-N36º41´42˝ and E49º23´6˝ and E49º31´ 48˝. Its known as the windy city of Iran; a reputation it owes to its geographical position in the Alborz mountains i.e., at a small cleft in Alborz that funnels the wind through Manjil to the Qazvin plateau. Throughout the history Manjil has been a gate to the Southern Caspian region. There are numerous archaeological site excavations (mostly illegal) in Manjil area because of its rich cultural history. Some of these sites are related to the Ismaili era i.e., Hassan Sabbah movement based in Alamoot forte (one may find artifacts from 2-3 millennia B.C., in some households in the area!).
Manjil is also known for its olive gardens and the river Sefīd-Rūd (or "Sepid Rood", "Sefid Rood", "white river"). This river that passes by the town is formed in Manjil by two joining rivers and since 1960 has been the site of Manjil dam built on it that significantly contributes to Gilan's agriculture while generating electric power. The lake behind the Sepid Rood dam also ads to the beauty of the area (visible on Google earth at the above coordinates).
A Pledge to Rescue Our Youth
Maya Angelou
© 2006
Young women, young men of color, we add our voices to the voices of your ancestors who speak to you over ancient seas and across impossible mountain tops.
Come up from the gloom of national neglect, you have already been paid for.
Come out of the shadow of irrational prejudice, you owe
no racial debt to history.
The blood of our bodies and the prayers of our souls have bought you a future
free from shame and bright beyond the telling of it.
We pledge ourselves and our resources to seek for you clean and well-furnished schools, safe and non-threatening streets, employment which makes use of your talents, but does not degrade your dignity.
You are the best we have.
You are all we have.
You are what we have become.