Azadi Tower, Tehran

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--The significance of Azadi Tower as a cultural heritage site and the historical events which have taken place at this location will be featured in a photo contest, reported Mehr news agency.
The contest, which is sponsored by Rudaki Cultural and Arts Foundation, is aimed at safeguarding the values of the Islamic Revolution and will focus on two themes: “Azadi Tower– and the “Events at Azadi Tower–.
The section of the events at Azadi Tower will portray the large rallies held at the square in the run-up to the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Photos competing in the Azadi Tower section will focus on the cultural heritage aspects of the structure as well as its architecture and pictorial documents about the building.
Each applicant can submit a maximum of five photos (20x40 cm) for the event and the deadline for receiving the entries is October 21.
The jury of the contest includes Simon Ayvazian, Yahya Dehqan-pour, Farzad Hashemi, Nader Davoodi and Afshin Shahroudi.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--A commemorative stamp has been released to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Tehran University.
According to IRIB's News Department, chancellor of the university Reza Faraji Dana said in a ceremony to mark the release of the stamp pointed out that the university's insignia dates back to over 2,000 years.
The two wings seen on the emblem symbolize human ambition to attain higher stature through different means, the chancellor said, adding, "Education and research represent the two wings that are effective in generating knowledge."
He further stated that if one of the wings is considered the thought, the other wing will surely symbolize dialogue.
The law to establish Tehran University was approved by the then Majlis in 1934, he said, adding that the law which stipulated only six courses including medicine, technology, natural sciences, literature and theology and law came into effect in the 1934-1935 academic year.

Sio-Se Pol, Isfahan

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--Iran–s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) is holding Sourgani Festival in 30 provinces to introduce the cultures and traditions being observed in every province as well as local songs from the region.
The ICHTO has sponsored the nationwide event to promote tourism by helping people get acquainted with traditions and cultures of other provinces and go to visit them.
Sourgani Festival, a tradition in ancient Iran, will be held from September 22 for 10 days on the occasion of the Tourism Week and the Sacred Defense Week.
The event will introduce historical monuments and cultural heritage sites to tourist visiting the provinces.
The traditions which will be featured at the event will be: Praying for Rain, Recital of the epic poem Shahnameh, Wooden Horse play, Khayyam Khaneh Bushehri (a house in Bushehr where Khayyam–s poetry is recited for audience), local music and celebrations to mark birth anniversary of Imams (AS) of Prophet Muhammad–s (PBUH) infallible household.
Meanwhile, ICHTO deputy head for communications affairs, Ahmad Mohit Tabatabaei told reporters that the International Day for Tourism (September 27) has been designated the world day for tourism and sports this year.
Elaborating on the ICHTO plans to develop tourism, he said that in 1990, about 100,000 tourists visited Iran whereas, one and a half million tourists visited Iran in the year 2003.
He said that the World Tourism Organization–s General Assembly designates every year with one motto and it designated this year as the year of tourism and sports--the two elements for development.
He said the World Tourism Organization–s general assembly decided in its conference in Turkey in 1998 to celebrate the international day of tourism in one of the member states each year and Malaysia is expected to host the general assembly this year, 2004.
The general assembly designated the year 2001 as the Year of Tourism and Dialogue Among Civilizations at Iran–s initiative.
Mohit Tabatabaei said that the international day will be held in Iran in presence of Secretary of the World Tourism Organization Francesco Frangialli and Iranian officials at Vahdat Hall, Tehran on September 29.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--Well-known composer and conductor of Iran National Music Orchestra Farhad Fakhreddini has announced that he will conduct a concert in Yazd on September 28 in which popular singer Alireza Qorbani will present some songs. Other singers Hourvash Khalili, Shurangiz Zahireddini and Mohammad Reza Safi will accompany Qorbani in the performance, reported Mehr news agency.
He said that the program will be held in two sections. The first section which will be performed by Qorbani in chorus with other singers and will include some non-vocal pieces while the second section will be a solo performance by Qorbani himself. Some 14 Persian songs will be presented in the two sections, Fakhreddini said.
He said that he also plans to conduct concerts in Tehran on October 14-15.
He said that he would perform a repertoire in Tehran which is similar to what the orchestra performed in Yazd with minor changes.
Asked about the new singers in Iran National Music Orchestra, he said that the orchestra is made up of 10 to 12 singers and this number of vocalists is enough. —Some people believe that every singer working at national music center should be invited to the orchestra. That–s not right. For instance, Mohammad Reza Safi who takes part in the concert as a co-singer, is making a debut. We will also bring other singers to the scene soon.š

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--Operations to reconstruct and repair a public bath from the Middle Ages located in the vicinity of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth infallible Imam of the household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), have been completed following three years of intense efforts.
Announcing this, deputy head of the department of Imam Reza (AS) endowment property, Javad Ataei said that executive works to rebuild the edifice known as the Shah Public Bath began in 2001 with the aim of turning it into a museum.
The property was acquired from their owners to unearth the ancient building, he said.
Ataei said that the bath covers an area of 1,000 square meters adding that another section of the bath was discovered after completing the rebuilding of the first section. The new part is 800 square meters, he said.
He said that 12 billion rials, funded from the account of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (AS), have been spent on rebuilding the ancient bath.
Three options have been considered for the bath, he said adding, —It will be open to the public, or will be turned into a museum for ancient armaments or a museum for culture of bathing in Islam.
He said that Shah Bath was built in 1648 during the Safavid era and designed according to the architecture of that period.

TEHRAN, Sept. 24--Stories by Iranian children and young adults which were influenced by the literary works and paintings of European children will be translated into English and published in Europe.
According to IRNA, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) has planned to compile stories by 2,500 young Iranian adults for the 'European Children's Book'. Teachers and illustrators will cooperate with Iranian children in compiling the book.
The European Children Festival Literature is currently underway here and will continue until October 8. About 60 authors and illustrators of children's books from five European states are taking part in the event which began on September 22.
Information about the festival is available on www.Xchange.com.
Those interested can visit the website to obtain six pictures of European artists and write stories about them or draw pictures on them and send them back to the Internet workshop.

Gael Garca Bernal playing a medical student--Che Guevara--who became a revolutionary, in 'The Motorcycle Diaries'. (AP Photo)

HAVANA, Cuba, Sept. 24--The luminous gaze of revolutionary icon Ernesto 'Che' Guevara is almost a constant presence in communist Cuba, his dark eyes staring out from beneath a black beret on office walls and pro-government billboards, said AP.
Nearly four decades after his death during an abortive attempt to export revolution to Bolivia, the Argentine-born physician remains a beloved national hero, almost a secular saint, to many on this Caribbean island.
With a biopic about Guevara's early years, "The Motorcycle Diaries," opening in the United States on Friday, his relatives hope the film will show Americans another dimension of the man they may know only as an iconic image.
"It will be very interesting for Americans," said Camilo Guevara, the 42-year-old son of the late revolutionary and a project director at Havana's Che Guevara Studies Center.
The film is based on the personal writings of Guevara and fellow Argentine Alberto Granado about their travels across Latin America on a Norton motorbike in 1952.
"The film appears to be very faithful to the documents, respectful to the subjects and esthetically beautiful," the younger Guevara said this week. "I liked it very much."
Producer Robert Redford traveled to Cuba in January to privately screen the film for Guevara's widow, Aleida March, and other close relatives.
The film's Brazilian director Walter Salles and Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal, who plays Guevara, traveled here in June when the movie opened to enthusiastic audiences.