TEHRAN // Kiavash Sharifi can hardly describe the feeling of tip-toeing across an abyss on a thin ribbon of webbing that bends ever so slightly downward.
The 22-year-old is one of a growing number of Iranians embracing the extreme sport of slacklining – a high-wire walk on a flat line of webbing strung between rocks or trees up to 60 metres above the ground. The webbing provides slightly more stability than a round cord, but is also bouncier.
“It is very exciting. I’m short on words when I want to describe how it feels when you are on the webbing, and how it feels when you manage to walk the whole line and reach the other end,” Mr Sharifi said. “When you are on the webbing you don’t notice anything else.”
He is part of Iran Slackline, a group of friends who have had to find their own footing in a country with no formal institutions for the sport. They must make much of their equipment by hand or acquire it abroad – including safety devices.
On a recent day the friends gathered in the mountains outside Tehran, with the capital skyline serving as a backdrop. They strung a 10m strip of webbing between two rocks 30m above ground.
Unfazed by the danger, they laughed and joked as they took turns inching across. One of them placed his hands on the line and lifted himself up with just his arms. Then he leaned back on the line as if using it as a hammock.
“When I’m walking on the highline I have a very good feeling. I feel free. I’m free from all preoccupations and it is very enjoyable,” said Mohammad Reza Abaee, 23, who is the most experienced of the group. High-altitude slacklining is known as highlining.
“My biggest dream is to do a base jump from the highline,” he said, referring to another extreme sport in which one jumps from a high-altitude stationary object and glides to the ground with a parachute or a wingsuit.
Mr Abaee, who was previously a rock climber, said he stumbled upon the sport of slacklining on the internet. He and some friends then went into the countryside and strung a rope between two trees. By his second attempt, he had made it across.
For 24-year-old Masoud Chenaghloo, it’s a journey that has just beginning. Another former rock climber, he only took up slacklining a few months ago.
“When I’m on the webbing ... my self-confidence is very high,” he said. “I’m looking down on everything from the top. I feel I have a separate world for myself and the rest of humanity is living in another world.”
* Associated Press
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- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
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Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
