آبی

In Tehran, آبی is shorthand for one of two things: the football club Esteghlal (استقلال) and its supporters, who wear blue and are known collectively as آبی‌ها (âbi-hâ, "the Blues"). The other major Tehran club, Persepolis (پرسپولیس), wears red and its fans are called سرخ‌ها (sorkh-hâ, "the Reds"). The Tehran derby between the two is one of the loudest fixtures in Asian football. "من آبی هستم" (I'm blue) and "من سرخ هستم" (I'm red) are not literal statements about color preference; they are tribal declarations. آبی also has a calmer cultural register: in Persian poetry and design the color is associated with the dome tiles of mosques, especially the Isfahan school, where firuze-blue and lapis-blue dominate. The color is calm, contemplative, and associated with water and mercy in Sufi imagery.