TEHRAN, Sept. 30--Iran’s Zoroastrian community will celebrate the ancient Iranian festivity called Mehregan, which marks the autumn equinox, on October 2.
According to CHN, the celebrations will be held in 5,000-seat Markar Stadium.
Secretary of Association of Zoroastrians in Tehran, Rostam Fouladi said that the stadium has limited space, so the association could not invite other fellow citizens to the festivity.
He complained that Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) which is responsible for holding such national celebrations, did not help the Zoroastrian Association in organizing the event in a more spacious area enabling them to invite other fellow citizens to join the festivity.
Meanwhile, head of ICHTO Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei said that the organization cannot afford to hold autumn equinox festivity in a bigger way since it is specially for fellow Zoroastrian citizens.
He said that the Special Council for Public Culture is empowered to debate the matter and ICHTO will implement whatever they approve about holding festivity of Mehregan.
The festivity is held every year on the tenth day of the Iranian month of Mehr (September 23-October 22).
“Of course, expert studies should be conducted beforehand,“ he said.
In the meantime, head of Anthropology Research Center Mohammad Mir Shokraei said that the entity plans to study appropriate ways of hold national festivities. “Of course, lengthy debate in the form of holding seminars and giving lectures will be required for this,“ he said.
Mir Shokraei said that ancient Iranian feasts can only be revived gradually through long-term planning.
Member of Majlis on Cultural Affairs Commission Hassan Abbasi said that Islam is the religion of co-existence and welfare and has always had a conciliatory approach toward different cultures to guide them to the better life and prosperity.
He thanked fellow Zoroastrian citizens for holding Mehregan festivity so magnificently and in keeping the ancient feast alive. He called on cultural officials to contribute to such festivities to help the lively atmosphere of the society.
“Customs which contribute to the dynamic aspect of the society and health of thought in the society should be promoted,“ Abbasi said.
He said that autumn equinox festivity is in fact to celebrate friendship with nature.
Secretary of Zoroastrian Youth Organization Rostam Vahidi said that reciting Chapter of Mehryasht from Avesta, the holy scripture of the Zoroastrians, and lectures of monks are on the agenda of the ceremony.

There are 400,000 historical deeds at Golestan Palace depository.

TEHRAN, Sept. 30--Some 400,000 documents maintained at the depository of Golestan Palace will be codified by the experts, reported CHN.
The documents used to be kept in the treasury but were removed because of the threat they faced from inappropriate conditions and storage facilities.
“Papers are prone to decomposition, so any kind of pollution in the treasury will put the documents in jeopardy,“ said the deputy curator of Golestan Palace Museum.
Ahmad Reza Heshmati further said that there are 400,000 historical deeds at Golestan Palace depository.
“Unfortunately, they were maintained there for the past four years. We decided to open the vaults so that experts can codify them, but, for the time being they are being sprayed with disinfectants to prevent further decomposition as the documents have been kept there for a long time,“ he noted.
He said that restoration operations have been completed on 100,000 historical deeds and it will take another eight months to restore the rest.
The official said that 400,000 documents are being kept in a depository located in the former living quarter of Golestan Palace.
The accommodation was built in 1960 on the occasion of a visit to Iran by British Queen Elizabeth II.
Construction of Golestan Palace began under Shah Tahmasp I, a Safavid king. It was rebuilt by Karim Khan Zand and became the court of Qajar kings.
Nassereddin Shah Qajar took up residence at the palace and made several changes in its architecture.
Golestan Palace was used by the Pahlavi kings for public receptions.
Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance was housed in the same compound.

TEHRAN, Sept. 30--Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) will hold special programs called ’Worship and Love’ in all its branches throughout the country on October 1-4 to mark the World Children’s Day
(October 8).
The institute said in a press release that it has chalked out festive programs to mark the occasion beginning on October 1 and culminating with the celebrations on October 8, which is World Children’s Day.
The celebrations, which will be held in 650 branches IIDCYA across the country, will include screening children’s films, holding exhibits of ’Photos of Dolls in Worship and Dolls from Muslim Nations’ and photos taken by children who have taken part in cultural exchange programs between children from Iran and the Netherlands.
Paintings by children and young adults on the subject of ’Worship and Love’ will be presented at the event. IIDCYA said that the subject has been selected due to the approach of the fasting month of Ramadan. World Children’s Day celebrations held in previous years at IIDCYA branches throughout the country were enthusiastically received by children and activists working in the field of education and arts for the age group.
The programs will be held at Children’s Center located on Tehran’s Hejab Street.

Abbas Kiarostami

TEHRAN, Sept. 30--’Roads’, a short film by the well-known Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami is participating in Second International Reykjavik Film Festival in Iceland.
According to a press release by the Public Relations Department of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, it is the first time that the film is taking part in a European festival.
A section of the event devoted to Iranian cinema will also feature other notable films by Kiarostami including ’Where Is Friend’s Home’, ’Life and Nothing Else’, ’Homework’.
Meanwhile, some 58 photographs by Kiarostami will be displayed on the sidelines of the event.
The first screening in Europe section will feature two Iranian films ’Dawn’ by Hamid Rahmanian and ’Transit Cafe’ by Kambouzia Partovi. The human rights defense section will screen the film ’Turtles Also Fly’ by Bahman Qobadi.
The second Reykjavik International Film Festival opened on September 29 and will continue until October 9.

TEHRAN, Sept. 30--Film director Reza Mir Karimi has said that despite the extensive public enthusiasm for cultural films, procedural mechanism adopted by officials in charge of cinema affairs has made their screening impossible.
He told ISNA that his film ’Too Far, Too Close’ was taken off screen in all cinema halls in Tehran except two.
He pointed out that the film ’Weeping Willow’ has also met the same fate.
Mir Karimi said that cultural officials must satisfy the people by screening cultural films as long as there is demand and not restrict their screening.
He said that the public enthusiasm for the films ’Gilaneh’, ’Weeping Willow’, ’Too Far, Tow Close’ and ’Fish Fall in Love’ indicated that the audience welcome cultural films and do want to view humiliating films.
Referring to the screening of the film ’Gilaneh’, he said that he loved the film by Rakhshan Bani Etemad whose social outlook has always influenced him.
He urged cultural officials to reconsider their decision to limit the screening of cultural films in cinema halls.

A scene from 'Don Quixote'

TEHRAN, Sept. 30--Iranian artists will perform the play ’Don Quixote’ by the sixteenth century Spanish playwright Miguel Cervantes in Madrid and Barcelona, IRNA reported.
According to the Barcelona-based daily ’Vanguardia’, Iranian actors are participants at the Asia Festival 2005 and they will perform the drama in Persian language.
The performance will be blended with Iranian culture. Iranian dress code has been observed in the costumes of actors and actresses and at the same time, the play has stuck to the theme of the sixteenth century drama, the daily said.
The play has been translated into several languages including Persian and brought to stage in different countries across the world in the past five centuries.
The Spanish daily said that Asian Festival 2005 will be held in Madrid and Barcelona during which 150 cultural programs will be performed by artists from 15 Asian countries.
“All eyes are focused on how Iranian artists will perform Iranian Don Quixote,“ it said.
Some 12 actors and actresses are scheduled to perform in the play at Madrid Center for Dramatic Arts on September 30 and in Barcelona on October 7.
Some 300 Asian artists have been invited to take part in Asia Festival 2005 in Spain to present their works in the field of film, theater, dance, music, photo and traditional recipes.