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BANEH, Iran - A wind enthusiast, Shadi Majidkha's childhood dream of catching a glimpse of her hometown Baneh, near Iran's western border from the sky, eventually came true.
Running towards the cliff edges of Gali Khana, outside Baneh city, Shadi ascended to the sky after she was allowed to paraglide, after months of training.
"Despite the fact that I have been involved in many sports training and activities, I have a great feeling about this sport [paragliding],” Majidkha told Rudaw. “I hope anyone who has dreamed of flying since their childhood can come forward and get involved in paragliding training and fulfill their childhood dreams as I did. My childhood dream was to be able to fly. I have dreamed about it many times and I finally fulfilled it."
A total of 40 paragliders from Baneh, Hamadan, Tehran, Shiraz, and some other places took part in the Baneh Paragliding Festival, an event organized by local Baneh paragliders to celebrate the inauguration of a paragliding take-off ramp on top of the Gali Khana cliffs.
"I have been paragliding for six years now. A few times last year, we came to this spot for paragliding. This location is very suitable for paragliding sports,” Sina Ahmedi, another paraglider, said. “I hope the authorities will support paragliders. Last year, we paraglided for nearly 80 kilometers from Baneh to Diwandara. It has a great space for paragliding."
Paragliding is one of the newest activities in Iran and the Kurdish western region which is rapidly growing in popularity. About one-third of the country is mountainous, something deemed unique to practice the sport.
Running towards the cliff edges of Gali Khana, outside Baneh city, Shadi ascended to the sky after she was allowed to paraglide, after months of training.
"Despite the fact that I have been involved in many sports training and activities, I have a great feeling about this sport [paragliding],” Majidkha told Rudaw. “I hope anyone who has dreamed of flying since their childhood can come forward and get involved in paragliding training and fulfill their childhood dreams as I did. My childhood dream was to be able to fly. I have dreamed about it many times and I finally fulfilled it."
A total of 40 paragliders from Baneh, Hamadan, Tehran, Shiraz, and some other places took part in the Baneh Paragliding Festival, an event organized by local Baneh paragliders to celebrate the inauguration of a paragliding take-off ramp on top of the Gali Khana cliffs.
"I have been paragliding for six years now. A few times last year, we came to this spot for paragliding. This location is very suitable for paragliding sports,” Sina Ahmedi, another paraglider, said. “I hope the authorities will support paragliders. Last year, we paraglided for nearly 80 kilometers from Baneh to Diwandara. It has a great space for paragliding."
Paragliding is one of the newest activities in Iran and the Kurdish western region which is rapidly growing in popularity. About one-third of the country is mountainous, something deemed unique to practice the sport.
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