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Koshti pahlevani in most notable zurkhaneh of Esfahan

Koshti pahlevani and zoorkhanei rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavani or varzesh-e bastani, a traditional Iranian system of athletics originally used to train warriors, and fuses elements of pre-Islamic Persian culture with the spirituality of Shia Islam and Sufism. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music, recognized by UNESCO as among the world's longest-running forms of such training. (Photo by Oleksandr Rupeta/NurPhoto)

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