Imam Khomeini

TEHRAN, May 28--Secretary of the Headquarters for Commemorating the Demise Anniversary of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution described this year’s ceremony to mark the 17th demise anniversary of the Imam as among the most important and popular events in the national calendar.
According to Fars news agency, Mohammad Ansari referred to the sensitive regional and international situation and said that in view of the upcoming elections of Experts Assembly and local councils this year, the ceremony to mark Imam’s demise anniversary will be held more gloriously than before.
Appreciating the efforts of previous governments in commemorating the event, Ansari also referred to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s special attention to the issue and said that his appointment of a special representative in the Central Headquarters indicates his focus on the event.
He further said that some 350 cultural and political figures and combatant writers from around the world arrived in Tehran and will attend the ceremony as special guests.
Meanwhile, hundreds of guests from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey and Persian Gulf littoral states as well as Central Asian countries are expected to attend.
Each year, millions of people from across the country participate in the ceremony voluntarily and this year also, in view of limited transportation facilities, 1.2 million pilgrims from other cities will come to the holy shrine in groups, he noted.
An exclusive ceremony for women is also on the agenda, Ansari said, adding that 12 special letters as well as ten other special letters focusing on Imam Khomeini’s works under the titles of unity, development and independence, leadership and jurisprudence, human rights and Islamic world will be published and distributed throughout the country.
Organizing poetry night, seminar, holding various exhibitions, performing street theaters, article writing contests, presenting Imam’s life on CDs are among the other programs to commemorate the 17th demise anniversary of Imam Khomeini, he concluded.

A portrait of Molana Jalaleddin Rumi

TEHRAN, May 28--Cultural Commission of the Parliament has called on cultural institutes to draw up special programs to mark the 800th birth anniversary of the great Iranian poet Molana Jalaleddin Rumi next year, reported CHN.
Turkey, Afghanistan and Egypt have also planned to hold commemoration ceremonies to mark the occasion while the United Nation’s cultural body UNESCO has approved their programs.
UNESCO has designated the year 2007 as the ’Year of Molana’.
Rapporteur of the Majlis Cultural Commission Mahmoud Dolatabadi said that Molana is an Iranian and is a personality of whom Iranians are proud. The commission has obliged cultural institutes to hold celebrations to mark Molana commemoration year in 2007.
“Of course, Iran will not lag behind other countries in commemorating the year 2007 and the parliamentary commission is following up the issue of holding magnificent celebrations for Molana’s birth anniversary,“ Dolatabadi said.
The lawmaker said that the parliamentary commission will offer guidelines to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to draw up national program for commemorating the year.
The UN cultural said in a statement designating the year 2007 as the year of Molana that he was a poet and Islamic philosopher and he did not mention being an Iranian in his poetry.
He said that Turkey, Afghanistan and Egypt have arranged seminars to honor the renowned literary figure.

TEHRAN, May 28--An exhibition of African cultural achievements opened here at the Islamic Culture and Communications Organization (ICCO) on Thursday, concurrent with the ceremony to mark World Africa Day.
According to an ICCO press release, the one-week event attended by Iranian commercial firms operating in the Dark Continent will be held in the cultural and commercial sections.
The cultural section, which includes 15 pavilions, features the achievements and beauties of Africa in the fields of handcrafts, books, photos, posters and films.
The pavilions have been organized by ICCO’s Arabic and African Cultural Department, Tarbiat-e Modarres University’s African Research Center, International Center for Islamic Sciences, Islamic Republic of Iran Red Crescent, Islamic Azad University, Al-Hoda International Publishing House affiliated to ICCO, Schools for Iranian expatriates and Islamic Thoughts Foundation of the ICCO.
In the commercial section, some 45 pavilions set up by leading Iranian companies are presenting construction and dam building materials, electricity industries, water and energy industries, auto industry, mines, foodstuff and computer.

TEHRAN, May 28--Excavations at Sanjar Mound in Dezful, Khuzestan province, have led to the discovery of a cylindrical seal bearing the design of a winged horse.
According to CHN, such designs had also been discovered in other historical sites earlier but none of them had a lion’s head or goat and cow hoofs. This feature has surprised archaeologists involved in the excavations.
Confirming the news, a member of the excavation team, Mostafa Abdollahi said that in the first round of excavations in Sanjar Mound, a stone seal dating back to the Sassanid era (224-651 AD) was unearthed.
Horse was held in special sanctity and importance during the Sassanid reign, he noted.
He further stated that the winged horse found in the site has round feet like those of a cow or goat and a head like that of a lion.
“We have come across winged horses in earlier rounds of excavations but none of them had an appearance like that of a horse and hoofs similar to those of a cow,“ he noted.
Many Sassanid seals have so far been discovered but the current findings were unique, he concluded.

TEHRAN, May 28--Novice filmmakers from 50 countries took part in Video-X Film Festival in Zurich, Switzerland held a conference to exchange experience. The conference ended on May 28, reported ISNA.
Video-X Film Festival’s website said that the event was held in two sections: professional and amateur in negative and video frames in which the filmmakers elaborated on their works.
At the festival, which opened on May 18, over 250 films were screened.
The experimental films were screened in the context of national cinema and international contest sections.
Organizers of the festival said that 1,400 filmmakers had applied for attending the festival.
Three top films will be awarded in the categories of the jury award, the best experimental film in terms of initiative and the best film in terms of technical expression.

Qamar Aryan

TEHRAN, May 28--Qamar Aryan, widow of late author Abdolhossein Zarrinkoub, is currently engaged in compiling the notes of the great author.
According to ISNA, the notes cover philosophy, history, literature and mystics and she hoped to complete the compilation of the work by March and have it ready for publication.
Zarrinkoub dedicated his library to the Islamic Encyclopedia Institute. The notes are among those transferred to the institute.
Aryan used to go to the institute every Tuesday to compile the notes and work at home on other days to classify her late husband’s notes.
She said that she was anxious that it would be impossible to classify the notes, but, “Now, I’m sure that I will work out the project in the current year.“
The late Zarrinkoub’s books include ’History of the Iranian People before Islam’, ’History of Iranian people after Islam’, ’Dawn of Islam’ and ’Heritage of Sufia’.

TEHRAN, May 28--Graphic artist and poster designer Arash Tanhaei opened a five-day solo exhibit of posters of theater and film at the experimental workshop of Iranian Artists House, reported ISNA.
The exhibit is presenting more than 20 posters of dramas and films as well as posters about cultural and art festivals, cultural figures and books.
The exhibit features a collection of Tanhaei’s graphic works.
Tanhaei is student of Faculty of Fine Arts, Tehran University and has so far held 10 solo and group poster exhibits with other graphic artists.

BEIJING, May 28--Chinese archeologists have discovered eleven tombs from two different dynasties, dating back some 2,200 years, in central China’s Henan province, Xinhua reported.
Located at a construction site in Pingdingshan city, the tombs include four from the Warring States (475-221 BC) and seven of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).
Archaeologists with the city’s cultural heritage administration unearthed 13 pieces of funerary objects from the tombs.
The excavated cultural relics include a pot, a jar, a bottle and a kettle as well as two rare door headers, carved with totem images featuring two dragons with fish in their mouths, and pictures of ancient people’s recreational activities such as drinking in a garden and riding in a horse-drawn carriage.
The discoveries of the tombs will provide important clues to the study of history, culture and folklore in the region since the Warring States period, the archeologists said.