Iran culture Archives - Iran News Daily

Fake Carpets Lack The Rich Culture of Iran

reporter 1222 — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 04:56:01 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Nowadays, Chinese carpet manufacturers are trying to take over the handmade carpet market of this Iranian “ art-industry ” by using the credit of Iranian merchants.

Ehsan Mohammadi, a designer and expert in the field of Iranian handicrafts, added: “Previously, countries such as China, Turkey, Afghanistan, despite copying the design of Iranian handmade carpets, have not been successful in the global market of this valuable Iranian art.”

He said: “Handmade carpets are the heritage of 2,500 years of Iran and the reason for the failure of others is that this “ art-industry ” flows in the blood of Iranian carpet weavers and is unattainable.

The Iranian designer emphasized that what makes the works of Iranian artists different from the productions of other countries is its originality, and he specified: From the producer of dye and yarn as raw materials to the designers and painters and finally the Iranian weaver, all of them are the inheritors of this irreplaceable art-industry from previous generations which the most advanced educational centers in the world are not able to compete with this education from generation to generation.

The last circle completing the introduction of this original Iranian” art-industry ” to the world are well-known Iranian merchants who by offering Persian handmade carpets, really export the rich Iranian culture to the world.” He pointed out that Iranian merchants are known in the world markets for the values of Persian hand-woven carpets, and said: “These days, there is unpleasant news about the betrayal of some of these merchants to the most original and valuable Iranian art, which is unfortunate.” The economic activist and exporter of Iranian handicrafts said: “Unfortunately, some Iranian traders have joined their Chinese counterparts and export the handicrafts of this country, all of which have been copied, under the name of Persian carpet to other countries.”

He continued: “These traders have gained credit due to years of supply of Persian handmade carpets in export markets, and today they are abusing this credit to betray the first” art-industry “and the 2,500-year-old heritage of Iran. Mohammadi explained that he believes that after a while, this scam will be exposed and those Chinese copied carpet and handicrafts will be discredited.

He added: The Chinese produce duplicated carpets at a much lower price than Persian Carpet by using cheap labor and raw materials. The Iranian designer stressed that cheap prices are initially pleasing to the market: “But in the long run, exposing the fact that these carpets are not prestigious Persian Carpet will create a wave of mistrust against Iranian traders.”

He added: “Before it is too late and the credibility of our country’s first” art-industry ” is damaged, government officials and private sector activists must take a stand against this behavior and inform the target export markets of this scam. Mohammadi concluded: “Protecting the credibility of Persian Carpet is the duty of all Iranians and negligence in this regard is not forgivable.

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National Day of Iranian Poet Attar of Nishapur

reporter 1222 — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 09:58:04 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – April 13 is considered a significant cultural event for Iranians to commemorate the great Persian poet, mystic, and philosopher Attar of Nishapur.

Abu Hamid bin Abu Bakr Ibrahim, also known as Farid ud-Din was born in the city of Nishpur (Neyshabur) located in the north-east of Iran. It is believed that he lived between c. 1145 – c. 1221.

Attar means ‘apothecary’ and this nickname was given to him due to his profession. He was probably the son of a prosperous chemist, receiving an excellent education in various fields. He practiced the profession of pharmacy. The people he helped in the pharmacy used to confide their troubles in `Attar and this affected him deeply.

Eventually, he abandoned his pharmacy store and traveled extensively, seeking wisdom in Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Khwarizm, Turkistan, and India, before finally returning to his birthplace Nishapur.

Attar is one of the most famous mystic poets of Iran. His works were the inspiration of Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, Nava’i and many other mystic poets.

Ilahi-Nama, Mukhtar-Nama, Musibat-Nama, Jawahir-Nama, Sarh al-Qalb, Divan, Tadhkirat-ul-Awliya (Memorial of the Saints) and Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr (The Conference of the Birds) are among his major works.

Considered by Rumi to be “the master” of mystic poetry, Attar is best known for ‘The Conference of the Birds’, a magnificent allegorical tale about the soul’s search for meaning. He recounts the perilous journey of the world’s birds to the faraway peaks of Mount Qaf in search of the mysterious Simorgh, their king. Attar’s beguiling anecdotes and humor intermingle the sublime with the mundane, the spiritual with the worldly, while his poem models the soul’s escape from the mind’s rational embrace.

At the age of 78, Attar died a violent death in the massacre which the Mongols inflicted on Nishapur in April 1221. Today, his mausoleum is located in Nishapur. It was built by Ali-Shir Nava’i in the 16th century.

Every year, a number of literati and scholars gathered at the mausoleum of the Persian poet Attar of Nishapur to mark Attar National Day, which was on April 13.

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The Great Wall of Gorgan, Heritage of Iran History

reporter 1222 — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 09:25:30 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Stretched for almost 200 kilometers along northern Iran, the ancient Great Wall of Gorgan was constructed from 420s CE to 530s as a northern frontier of the then mighty Persian Empire, which was then ruled under Sassanids.

The wall was involved in a series of wars first against the Hephthalites or White Huns and later against the Turks.

Most parts of the gigantic monument are still hidden underneath the surface though some segments have so far been unearthed and even restored to former glory.

Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts along with cultural heritage experts are making efforts to put the landmark monument on UNESCO World Heritage list in the years to come.

The wall is lined by 38 forts. It is the longest fort-lined ancient barrier between Central Europe and China, longer than Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall put together, according to UNESCO.

The gigantic barrier is also more than three times the length of the longest late Roman defensive wall built from scratch, the Anastasian Wall west of Constantinople. The combined area of the forts on the Gorgan Wall exceeds that of those on Hadrian’s Wall about threefold.

UNESCO adds that the Gorgan Wall is remarkable not only in terms of its physical scale, but even more so in terms of its technical sophistication. In order to enable construction works, canals had to be dug along the course of the defensive barrier, to provide the water needed for brick production. These canals received their water from supplier canals, which bridged the Gorgan River via qanats. One of these, the Sadd-e Garkaz, survives to 700 m length and 20 m height, but was originally almost one kilometer long.

The Gorgan Wall and its associated ancient military monuments provide a unique testimony to the engineering skills and military organization of the Sassanian Empire. They help to explain its geographic extent, from Mesopotamia to the west of the Indian Subcontinent, and how effective border defense contributed to the Empire’s prosperity in the interior and to its longevity. These monuments are, in terms of their scale, historical importance and sophistication, of global significance.

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