TEHRAN, July 20--Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) has lodged a protest with the Awqaf (Endowments) Department in the holy city of Qom against construction works at the ancient mound of Qoli Darvish.
The organization said in a statement that the mound is a cultural heritage site and the Awqaf Department has no right to construct an office building at Qoli Darvish mound, reported CHN.
An official in charge of archeological excavations at Qoli Darvish mound, Siamak Sarlak criticized Awqaf Department for destroying the cultural heritage site for the sake of building an office.
“Qoli Darvish has a history which dates back to the Iron Age. Excavations at the site have, for the first time, unfolded the mysteries of Iron Age architecture. It also led to the unearthing of the first chimney of iron melting workshop indicating an age-old civilization which can be traced back to the Iron Age,“ Sarlak said.
He deplored that a major section of the unique mound was leveled while building the Qom-Jamkaran highway.
“More than 90 percent of the hill was leveled while building the highway and unfortunately, Awqaf Department is destroying the ancient hill by engaging in construction works in the area,“ he added.
“In the course of excavations at the mound last year, we unearthed structures representing Iron Age architecture and the site is of high significance in terms of archeological studies,“ the official said.
Qoli Darvish ancient hill has been registered with ICHTO as a cultural heritage site and the body is entitled to take action to preserve it, Sarlak concluded.

TEHRAN, July 20--A commemoration ceremony for the great Persian poet Bidel Dehlavi will be held here on Thursday and Friday.
According to the Persian daily Iran, Dehlavi’s poetry gained prominence during studies conducted by Iranian researchers in the 1980s.
Dehlavi’s poetry is composed in style of Khorasani lyrics, Iraqi and Indian romantic poems.
“In the beginning, some believed that Dehlavi’s poetry was difficult to understand, but, at the same time every language needs great poets to survive. Dehlavi is one of the great Persian poets,“ said Hadi Saeedi Kiasari, director of the Persian Literature Center.
He added that Dehlavi put forward a new initiative for Persian poetry and opened a colorful window not only for lyrics, but also, for Persian poetry as a whole.
He said that the commemoration ceremony for Dehlavi will be held at Andisheh Cultural House, Tehran. “About 15 to 20 essays will be delivered on Dehlavi’s personality and poetry recited by guests from India, Pakistan, Italy, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.“
Hossein Sarahang will also recite poems by Dehlavi at the ceremony.
Dehlavi has left behind a collection of prose and poetry in Persian language.

Jaafar Panahi (c) with his filming crew (ISNA Photo)

TEHRAN, July 20--Well-known film director Jaafar Panahi has completed shooting his new film ’Offside’ and is currently putting finishing touches to it before submitting it to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance for obtaining a screening permit.
According to ISNA, the film is about a girl who is emotionally affected by the deaths of several football fans at Azadi Stadium during a stampede following the Iran-Japan football match in Tehran.
She decided to go to the stadium to watch Iran-Bahrain football match which, like all other football fans, was very sensitive for her.
She dressed up as a boy to escape notice since girls were banned from entering the stadium. However she is detected by the police and put into temporary detention along with other girls who had used the same ploy to gain entrance to the stadium.
Panahi, who is credited with directing internationally-acclaimed films including ’Circle’ and ’Crimson Gold’, said that his new film challenges the ban on the entry of girls to the stadium.
“Once I took my daughter with me to a football match. The police did not allow her to go in to watch the game. We returned home. She told me later that once she had managed to go to the stadium in the guise of a boy to watch football,“ Panahi said.
“I was concerned about this for a long time. After reading an interview with a sports correspondent Ataollah Behmanesh in a weekly, I was inspired to make a film about the ban on girls’ entry to stadium. Behmanesh had told the weekly that in 404 BC in Greece, women were banned from going to stadium. He narrated that a Greek woman goes to stadium in the guise of a boy to cheer her boy friend who was an athlete. Police arrested her and the penalty for this was death,“ Panahi said.
Panahi said that part of the film is documentary with slides from Iran-Bahrain football match in which Iran beat Bahrain 1-0.

TEHRAN, July 20--Growing ties between Iranian sculptors and their foreign counterparts in recent years have had a positive impact on young artists as is evident from the high participation in the Fourth Sculpture Biennial, reported CHN.
Expressing this view, Secretary of the Fourth Biennial of Contemporary Sculpture Saeed Shahlapour said that exhibits of works by foreign artists in Iran so far and Iranian artists participation in foreign festivals have contributed to the progress in the field of sculpture and helped young Iranian artists express themselves to the world art communities.
Appreciating the government’s policy in the field of art, he pointed out that the government has created grounds for the active participation of Iranian artists in foreign festivals and this has been effective in encouraging artists to work hard.
He sought financial support for artists and noted that the most important state entity which can promote sculpture is the municipality. He said that bronze sculpture workshop has been shut down for the time being due to financial constraints.
He expressed confidence about the success of the fourth sculpture biennial.

Mohsen Rastani

TEHRAN, July 20--A collection of photos by Mohsen Rastani will soon be published in a book by Aks (Picture) Magazine and available in book stores by March.
According to ISNA, the arrangement of photos in the book will be designed by Reza Abedini.
The collection includes pictures from the eight-year Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, Rastani’s travels and social documentary photos from all over Iran, Eastern European countries, Central Europe, Middle East as well as Beirut and Bosnia.
A title has not so far been chosen for the book, which is to include at least 150 of his top white and black photos as well as an interview with the editor-in-chief of the magazine, Masoud Amir-Louei.
Rastani is now mainly involved in making documentary films, the latest of which is ’Eastern Panorama’.
He is currently producing a seven-episode serial on Malaysia, the order for which was placed by Al-Aalam Television network.
In this serial, he has conducted interviews with former Malaysian prime minister Mahatir Mohammed, Dr. Mozaffar, a noted philosopher in the Islamic world as well as economists and chancellors of that country’s universities on a variety of topics ranging from Chinese influence in Malaysia, crisis in East Asia, tourism, banking system and an introduction to Islamic international universities.

TEHRAN, July 20--On the occasion of the World Children’s Day, the Organization for Beautification of Tehran will select wall paintings by children for installing in different parts of the capital.
Urban and Architecture News Agency (UANA) said that the organization will arrange a festival of paintings for children in the 6-12 age group.
Those interested in taking part in the festival have until August 11 to submit their paintings to the festival’s secretariat at the Organization for Beautification of Tehran.
The festival will be open for both individuals and groups involved in the field of children’s painting.
The final selection process of the paintings will be held on October 1-4.
Three top paintings will be introduced and painted on the walls in different parts of Tehran.

TEHRAN, July 20--Gabbeh, a traditional handicraft of Bushehr province, is not only a work of art but also a merchandize.
Gabbeh, which is hand-woven textile made of colored threads, is often produced at home by girls particularly during their summer holidays, CHN said.
Lovers of Iranian art works in Europe appreciate the beauty of Gabbeh and other kinds of handicrafts such as Kelim, Mo’araq and pearl crafts.
Masoud Nobakht, a handicraft expert, said that the sector can be very effective in creating jobs for the people of the province.
He called for providing low-interest loans to craftsmen so that they can buy equipment and raw materials.
Nobakht said at the same time that the provincial handicrafts department should also be provided with enough credit for conducting training workshops for craftsmen to help them acquire modern techniques in their own branch of activities.
He said that the craftsmen should also be provided health insurance and retirement benefits.