TEHRAN, Jan. 16--An exhibit of 7,000 Years of Iranian Art, which has been underway in Zagreb since the beginning of October, has proved to be the most successful exposition in the history of Croatia, attracting more than 50,000 visitors in three months.
According to ISNA, in a program titled 'Review of 2004', Channel One of Croatian TV described the expo as the year's most important cultural event.
In the past three years, Iran's National Museum has organized the event in Austria, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain.
The Exhibition of 7,000 Years of Iranian Art, which is currently underway in Zagreb's Mimara Museum, recorded the highest number of visitors which included and a large number of people from neighboring countries such as Austria, Hungary, Serbia-Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina traveled to the city to see the cultural event.
On the sidelines of the exhibition, the Iranian Cultural Center in Zagreb also organized other programs, the most important of which were a display of Iranian contemporary art featuring works by Mahin Noor-Mah, a sculptor and graphic designs by Habibollah Ayatollahi, Tehran University instructor, performance of Iranian traditional music by female members of the group Zendehrood as well as holding academic sessions.

Hossein Fakhimi stands next to his Khayyam sculpture.

TEHRAN, Jan. 16--An Iranian sculptor has completed a plaster statue of the renowned Iranian poet Hakim Omar Khayyam, which will be installed at Florence University in Italy.
According to ISNA, Hossein Fakhimi, who received an order from the university as well as Florence Municipality last year, started making the two-meter-high stone statue of the poet on Saturday.
The statue will be unveiled in a ceremony to commemorate the poet in Florence this spring.
Fakhimi holds a PhD in designing statues from Madrid's College of Fine Arts. His major works include statues of 'Peace', 'Man Riding a Horse', 'Martyr Chamran' and 'World Champion Takhti'.

TEHRAN, Jan. 16--A Bangladeshi jury member of the International Award for Photos on Art and Benediction, Shahidul Alam, will organize an educational workshop concurrent with the first exhibition to that effect in Niavaran Cultural Complex.
Alam usually serves as a jury member in most of the reputable photo festivals in the world including the Netherlands' World Press Photo.
Meanwhile, Cris Melozhinski, a Swede who is one of the founders of Moment Photo Agency will hold a workshop themed 'Religions and Benediction' and will present his works relevant to the topic.
The workshops will begin on January 27 in Niavaran Cultural Complex.
In addition to the workshops and the main exhibition, an exposition featuring a selected number of works by the world's great photographers.

TEHRAN, Jan. 16--Doctors from Tehran's Pasteur Institute are conducting DNA studies on the fourth king of the Qajar Dynasty, Nassereddin Shah from a bloodstained handkerchief.
Members of his family, who presented the handkerchief to Golestan Palace Museum, said that the handkerchief had been put on the wound sustained by the king in a fatal attempt on his life.
Cultural Heritage News agency (CHN) reported that the Pasteur Institute and the Coroner's office have made preparations to determine DNA and the genetic pattern of the Qajar king with the least damage to the sample on the handkerchief.
Manijeh Hadian, expert of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization said that Golestan Palace Museum also holds an old chair stained with Nassereddin Shah's blood.
There is also a handwritten text by Dr. Sheikh saying that the handkerchief had been wrapped around the wound Nassereddin Shah had received in the fatal attempt on his life.
"The handwriting is taken as a proof that the dried blood on the handkerchief is that of the Qajar king," she said.
Hadian said that neither the chair nor the handkerchief will be taken out of the museum.
"The handkerchief will be removed from the frame to take a small piece as a sample and the doctors will also need a scrape of the blood from the chair cover," she said.
She quoted the Badr family, relatives of Nassereddin Shah as saying that those accompanying Nassereddin Shah wrapped the handkerchief on the chest of the king soon after he was shot in the chest to stop the flow of blood.
The blood also contaminated the chair.
Nassereddin Shah was the first Iranian king to visit Europe. He supported innovation in the field of education and telecommunication by setting up Darolfonnon School and telegraph system.
He acceded the throne upon the death of his father Mohammad Shah with the direct assistance of Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir who served as his prime minister.
He was assassinated two days after the fiftieth anniversary of his reign at Shah Abdolazim (AS) holy shrine he used to visit for pilgrimage and died instantly. He staggered to the tomb of his sweet lover, Jeiran, before collapsing.

Sonia Gandhi

MUMBAI, Jan. 16--An UK-based non-resident Indians (NRI) is all set to make an English film on Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and has started the search for an artist to play the lead role.
The plans to launch the film was unveiled at a press conference recently by Patricia Hewitt, secretary of state for trade and industry and minister for women in UK.
The film titled Sonia will be produced by Sunanda Murli Manohar, an NRI from UK, and is based on a book written by journalist Rasheed Kidwai titled Sonia--a biography .
The film will be directed by Jagmohan Mundra, who has made Hindi films like Bhawandar and Kamala. The film will be shot in India, Italy and the UK and a search was on to find an actress to play the role of Sonia, its producer told reporters.
The film begins from Sonia Gandhi declining Prime Ministership and focus on the way she built up the Congress after taking over as party chief.
Sunanda has already produced films like Indian Summer, Blood Stone, Tropical Heat etc. Her Ramji Londonwale is now ready for release.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 16--Having lost almost everything, the people of Banda Aceh--the worst hit city in the tsunami disaster--say they fear they will lose their rich historical and cultural heritage as well, reported AFP.
"There are no reports about this because nobody's thinking about buildings or arts," said Wiratmadinata, who worked as a reporter for the Harian Serambi Indonesia newspaper in Banda Aceh.
"I care. I am Acehnese, I don't want to lose my identity." Half of Banda Aceh, a city of 400,000 people before the tsunami, is in ruins. Tens of thousands of residents were killed in the previously charming and picturesque city that was studded with former sultans' palaces, queen's bath places and royal burial grounds.
"I cannot exactly count what has been destroyed, but the old town, which like many Indonesian old towns is located by the seashore, is completely destroyed," said Sujiman A. Musa, a local cultural expert and former journalist.
Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province, holds historic and cultural significance because it is where Islam spread from the Middle East to the rest of Southeast Asia.
The Acehnese are also a distinct ethnic group in Indonesia who are intensely Islamic and possess a rich culture and their own language. Aceh was an independent sultanate in the 17th century but was invaded by the Dutch in the 19th century and incorporated into Indonesia in the 20th century. A two-decades long rebel movement to free Aceh from Indonesian governance is ongoing.
Surprisingly, many of the key structures in the city center remain, such as the former sultan's palace and the Great Mosque, which was built by Aceh's most famous sultan, Iskandar Muda, who ruled from 1607-36, as a gift for his wife to be used as her private bathing place.

TEHRAN, Jan. 16--Works of 19 illustrators have been selected for the contest section of the 11th Festival of Book Illustration for Children and Young Adults.
The Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) said in a press release that the jury of the event comprises of Ali Akbar Sadeqi, Abolfazl Hemmati Ahouei and Mohammad Ali Bani Assadi. They have selected 27 books for the festival.
The festival will be held here from January 22-27.
The awards for books published in the past two Iranian years (March 2002-2004) will be presented on January 25.
The jury has selected 27 top books out of 1,400 books submitted to the secretariat of the 11th Book Illustration Festival.