Earthenware excavated from Marlik Hill bear proof that the site was once a residential area.

Two archeological sites of Shahriri in Ardebil and Marlik Hill in Gilan were once settled by humans either simultaneously or with a slight time difference, an archeologist said.
Asghar Nemati who works for Meshginshahr Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in Ardebil told ILNA that tombs in different sizes as well as earthenware excavated from the two sites bear proof that they were once residential areas.
Elaborating further, he said, “As evidenced by excavation of graves in Marlik and Shahriri, the bodies were buried with special ceremonies and rituals and in compliance with religious beliefs. However, the majority of tombs are empty of skeletons due to illegal excavations at the sites.“
He further added no written documents and manuscripts similar to those found at Marlik Hill were unearthed in Shahriri.
“As it seems, the Shahriris might have been one of earliest inhabitants of Iran,“ he concluded.
Shahriri is a stone site stretched across 400 hectares which houses several small hills, one castle, two caves and close to 300 stone tombs.
The tombs have been built into the rock hill in various sizes depending on their location. As per their religious beliefs, those people used to bury valuable objects such as jewelry, silver, gold, brass, earthenware and weapons along with their dead.

Studies on Gavkhooni Swamp in southeast of Isfahan near Zayandeh-Roud River will continue during the current year (started March 21), a senior official with the provincial Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department stated.
Talking to ILNA, head of the department’s Archeology Office said the ancient site had been placed on the radar screen of archeologists last year. More archeological excavations revealed that in ancient times Gavkhooni Swamp was in fact extended over a vast tract of land much larger than its current size.
Experts estimate that during fourth and fifth millenniums BC, Gavkhooni Swamp was ten times larger than what it is at present.
“Gavkhooni which had been a huge lake in ancient times gradually dried up and was changed into the present swamp,“ Mohsen Jaberi, explained.
According to him, various civilizations settled in the area from the fifth millennium BC up until the mid-Islamic era.
Objects found in a historic site excavated near Gavkhooni Swamp recently suggest that the first communities had settled in the area during the prehistoric period and most probably in the Neolithic Age (some 10,000 years ago).
Last year, archeologists came across a Neolithic site near Gavkhooni Swamp.
Throughout history, civilizations have always been established along riverbanks. Therefore, it is probable that ancient civilizations had been formed along the banks of Zayandeh-Roud River.
Meanwhile, he said that excavations would continue in Ashena Hill of Chadegan. Second season of archeological activities will also be carried out at Hassan Abad’s caves. The office has plans to conduct archeological surveys on Freydounshahr, Chadegan as well as Shahreza.
Jaberi concluded that the department has demanded a 4-billion-rial fund from Management and Planning Organization for its archeological projects.

As the greatest Turkmen poet, Makhtum-Qoli Faraghi (in Turkmen language Magtymguly Pragy) is considered as the founder of genuine Turkmen literature by the people who speak the language.
Makhtum-Qoli was born in 1733 in the Haji Qushan village near Gonbad-e Kavous city, now located in the Golestan province. He received his early education in the Persian and Arabic languages from his father Dowletmammet Azady, a leading scholar of the time. He went on to study and write poetry, developing a realistic style of writing about 18th century Turkmen that proved very popular and ultimately caused him to become one of the most cherished Turkmen poets of all time. He was also a devout Sufist who was said to have traveled throughout the lands comprising modern Turkmenistan, teaching and praying for the salvation of his people. He died in 1790 and is buried in Aqtuqay village in northeastern Iran. Iranian government has built a mausoleum over his grave.
He was a spiritual Turkmen leader and philosophical poet whose efforts to secure independence and autonomy for his people in the 18th century figured prominently in the Ruhnama.
He promoted the idea of keeping the Turkmen way sacred, as well as maintaining the unity and integrity of the Turkmen nation. During his lifetime, his efforts had minimal success overcoming the existing tribal loyalties and rivalries. In 1991, the state of Turkmenistan was established and President Niyazov’s writings, the Ruhnama--including some of Magtymguly Pyragy’s writings--began to be forcibly imposed on Turkmen society.
He had a great attachment to the infallible household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as can be witnessed in all his works.
Today, a small number of Iranian Turkmen-speaking people are living in Bandar Turkmen in west of Golestan province, southeast of Caspian Sea.
Every year in mid-May, a great number of Turkmen people gather in the Iranian village Aqtuqai--where Makhtum-Qoli has been buried--to commemorate the revered poet.

Head of Tehran Municipality’s Cultural and Artistic Organization gave news that the municipality would disburse 10 million rials in aid to the capital’s libraries in every season, IRNA reported.
Ali Askari noted, “The municipality has set aside over 4.5 billion rials in the current year (started March 21) to help libraries supply their required books.“
He went on, “TM operates 75 urban libraries. Apart from assisting these libraries, the municipality will provide support to 20 public libraries run by boards of trustees.“
The municipality will also provide 10 million rials in aid to theology schools across the city on a seasonal basis for purchasing new books and references, he added.
Askari recalled, “On the threshold of the 19th Tehran International Book Fair, close to 10 billion rials in aid were paid to libraries.“
The organization shall offer its financial aid to any library in the city which requires help for supplying books, he vowed.
Commenting on libraries run by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, he said, “They are not included in the aid program, because IIDCY financially supports them on a regular basis.“
Asked about how the library assistance fund is secured, he said, “The fund has been incorporated in the organization’s budget for the current year by the municipality.“
Brushing aside comments that the municipality’s aid for cultural centers, gyms, libraries, schools and festivals was equal to interfering in government duties, he said, “Municipalities worldwide are obliged to support libraries and cultural entities. Likewise, all we’re doing is fulfilling our responsibilities,“ Askari concluded.

Statue of the great mathematician, astronomer, poet and researcher Bahaeddin Ameli known as Sheikh Bahaei in Chahar Bagh Avenue of Isfahan (Photo by Asghar Davatgar)

Sistan inhabitants have had 90 different games in old times.

Grand festival of Sistan indigenous games is underway in Zabol, southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, on the occasion of National Cultural Heritage Week (May 18-24), head of the city’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said.
Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi told IRNA that local teams play Sistani games during the weeklong event. Based on evidence, Sistan inhabitants have had 90 different games in old times, the official stated.
He named some of the games as Khasou, Kabadi, Keech Zoor and Catch Wrestling.
Kabadi is a team pursuit sport from South Asia. It is most popular in South and Southeast Asia but is also played in Japan, Korea, and Canada. The name derives from a Hindi word meaning “holding of breath“ that is often used as a chant during the play.
Keech Zoor is also a game which resembles rugby. But teams play with cow bone instead of a ball.
Ebrahimi further said that different programs are currently being organized across the province. Exhibitions of archeological objects found in Sistan-Baluchestan province as well as tours of ancient sites are underway.
The southeastern province has ancient sites going back more than 5,000 years. Zabol city with a population of 400,000 is located 205 km northeast of the capital city Zahedan.
The country’s most important archeological site Burnt City (Shahr-e Soukhteh) is situated 55 km from Zabol on the Zabol-Zahedan Road. Early human settlements in the city date back 5,000 years. The city was the economic nerve center of its time. It is extended over 150 hectares.

Qom is a top provider of domestically printed religious books to foreign countries, second only to Tehran province, head of Qom Post Department’s Public Relations Office told IRNA.
Ali-Asghar Varvani-Farahani noted, “Close to 310,000 volumes of religious books have been sent abroad from the province over the past year.“
He said transport of cultural books and products from Qom and other provinces to overseas destinations has increased by 25 percent against figures from 2004.
The official went on, “Holy Qur’an, Mafatih-ul-Jenan and Islamic instructions are the main books exported to African, Asian, European and American destinations.“
Varvani-Farahani noted that offices of religious authorities as well as cultural-religious institutes supply the provincial Post Department with the ordered books.
He named sending books and publications such as weeklies and dailies and cultural products to provinces as other activities of the department.
“About 490,000 volumes of books per month and 5.8 million per year are posted to other provinces by the department,“ he concluded.

The museum familiarizes visitors with history of TaiwanÕs sugar industry.

Taiwan Sugar Industry Museum, believed to be the first of its kind in Asia, was established at an historical site of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation’s 105-year-old sugar mill in Chiaotou township in Kaohsiung county, according to reports from Taipei, Xinhua reported.
Reports quoted local officials as saying that the museum would let the people understand the history of Taiwan’s sugar industry and its close relationship with Taiwan’s economic development.
More tourists are expected to be attracted by the establishment of the museum and create a boom for local leisure industries, the reports said.
The museum complex covers 16 hectares. Inside the museum is a sugar mill that displays the machinery and entire sugar-making process, plus an audiovisual center for briefing visitors about the development of Taiwan’s sugar industry.
Displays outside the museum also include 19 historical relics and a railway for transporting sugar cane and semi-finished products.

The man had been hospitalized in ICU ward due to brain stroke. When the folks asked his only son about his health, the lad replied, “May his soul rest in peace!“
A few days later, the son’s heart stopped beating in a car accident, while his old man’s ticker was still beating.