The friendly Lion Mascot, the symbol of 17th World Cup, with his own stamp

TEHRAN, June 12--An exhibition of football stamps opened at the Stamps and Banknotes Museum of the holy shrine of the eighth Imam of the household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad, northeastern Iran concurrent with the 17th World Cup Football Games 2006 in Germany.
The museum’s curator, Mohammad Hossein Yazdinejad told CHN that the exhibit will continue for 10 days to honor the Iranian national team which is taking part in the World Cup Games. Football stamps printed in 24 countries are on display at the exhibit.
He said that stamps from Russia, Cuba, Egypt, Yemen, Nicaragua, Congo, Cambodia, Paraguay, Rwanda and Iran are among those featured at the event.
Yazdinejad said that the best collection is from the Central American state of Nicaragua which ranges from 1340 to 1890. The stamps, he pointed out, portrays the development of the popular sport known as football.
He said that the stamps from the former Soviet Union, Germany and Mexico feature their national footballers in the 1970s. Pictures of Brazilian football legend Pele and champions of the earlier rounds of the World Cup Games are featured in the stamps including three-dimension stamp about World Cup Football Games in Germany in 1974.
Stamp honoring the Iranian national team has been printed by Iran Post Company on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Establishment of the Federation of International Football Association, FIFA introducing Iranian footballer Ali Daei, the master of goal of the world. He has scored more than 100 goals for the national team during his career which is unprecedented in the lifetime of any outstanding footballer at the international level.
He said that the Museum of Stamps and Banknotes holds a rich collection with more than 100,000 pieces of stamps from 180 countries.

TEHRAN, June 12--A cemetery dating back to the seventh and eighth centuries Hejira in the city of Lamard, Fars province, has been destroyed to make way for apartment construction, reported ISNA.
Archaeologist Iraj Mohammadi said that the ’Fal’ Graveyard in Lamard which was famous for its precious tombstones with Persian and Arabic inscriptions were demolished and a housing project was carried out in that location.
He deplored that the precious tombstones have been scattered in the area and the people living in the newly-built houses do not care for the archaeological significance of materials which were dispersed by bulldozers while preparing the ground for the construction project.
The archeologist said that Fars province’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department had notified Lamard municipal officials about the significance of the ancient graveyard.
“It is surprising that despite earlier notice from ICHTO about the historical significance of the graveyard, city officials have destroyed it smashing the tombstones into pieces carelessly.“
He proposed that the ancient tombstones be collected and put on public display.

TEHRAN, June 12--A festival of play script will be held here at Molavi Hall on July 1, according to ISNA.
The secretariat of the festival has so far received 66 play scripts which it will review from June 15 to 19. The selected pieces will be declared several days later.
The jury of the festival includes literary figures such as Mohammad Baqer Ghahremani, Payam Foroutan, Shokr-e Khoda Goudarzi, Mehdi Makkari, and Abbas Aqsami. The first session of reciting the drama scripts will most probably be held on July 1.
The final stage of the festival will be held on September 21 with the selection of three drama scripts.
The drama scripts will be read out once. So, two play scripts will be recited each week.
The second round of play script recital at Molavi Hall has been designated for Iranian texts. A meeting for survey and critical review will also be held on the sidelines of the event. Every group will invite a critic and expert.
Meanwhile, Shokr-e Khoda Goudarzi is representing the Art and Culture Organization of Tehran University which is the sponsor of the festival.

Embossed painting by Masoud Arabshahi on the walls of Taleqani Park

TEHRAN, June 12--Embossed paintings by prominent artist Masoud Arabshahi which were installed on the walls of Taleqani Park in Tehran have been stolen.
According to ISNA, Tehran Municipality’s Third District purchased the paintings from the artist 10 years ago and installed them on walls of the park located on the intersection of Haghani-Modarress highways.
It said that about five square meters of the painting have been stolen.
Asked to comment on the theft, Arabshahi expressed dismay at the incident and said that he would rather not to speak about it.
He said that at first, he thought that theft has taken place, but, later he thought that sabotage may have happened.
Meanwhile, head of the Arts Division of Tehran Municipality’s Beautification Organization, Mahmoud Shoeibi said that his office had made no decision on removing the paintings from the walls. He said that guards at the park have been urged to stop theft of the paintings from the walls.
Shoeibi, a painting and graphic art expert, said that he believed that it was a case of theft. Those involved in the theft, he contended, had full knowledge of the value of the work. “Ordinary people are unaware about the significance of the paintings installed on the walls of the park and will have no incentive for such an action except for sabotage,“ Shoeibi said.
He said that sometimes the municipality decides to remove paintings, but, in this case, no such decision was made. He pledged to pursue the matter through appropriate channels.

TEHRAN, June 12--A regional Sacred Defense museum will be set up in the southern province of Khuzestan to preserve the relics of the eight-year Iraq-imposed war of 1980-1988, reported ISNA.
Announcing this, Head of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in Khuzestan province Sadeq Mohammadi said that the museum will be constructed in an area of 4,000 hectares.
He added that a sum of 50 billion rials has been earmarked for the purpose.
“Relics of the Sacred Defense years (Iraq-imposed war) as well as objects dating back to the Elamite era (2700-539 BC) will be kept in the museum although most of the antiques will be related to the 1980-88 era,“ he added.
Mohammadi further said expert studies are underway for the construction of the museum.

TEHRAN, June 12--A noted Iranian artist believes that the Arts Bureau does not pursue a specific goal and unfortunately, it has no say in the production of artistic works.
Speaking to Fars news agency, Hossein Khosrowjerdi added that the main problem faced by the bureau is the lack of over-all attention to culture.
“Given the fact that various strata with different tastes are involved in the Arts Bureau, each of them has a special trend of activities within the institute, although I believe the bureau does not follow a special procedure,“ he said.
He added that as long as specific amounts are not allocated for the production of genuine artistic works in the State Budget Law, the Arts Bureau and other similar institutes will be driven towards economic activities.
Stating that members of the bureau are not as motivated as they were in the 1970s and 1980s, Khosrowjerdi also said that an artist should not be viewed as an employee who should retire on completion of a certain period.
This is while an artist becomes more competent at any given moment compared to the past, he concluded.

TEHRAN, June 12--An exhibition of paintings by a group of contemporary Iranian women artists is currently underway in the Italian city of Arpaio.
The event sponsored by Umberto Mastroianni Foundation and Iran’s Cultural Office in Italy opened on June 3 in Veroli.
A press release issued by Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts said that an exposition titled ’From East to West’ featuring 16 works by Sharareh Salehi, Jila Kamyab, Susan Nasr, Iran Jahanshahi, Soudabeh Mir-Fasih and Farah Seyyed Abolqasem as well as six paintings by the Italian-based Soheila Vadoudi will be held Arpaio for two weeks.
The works were earlier displayed in Naples in March 2005.
Umberto Mastroianni Foundation was named after the well-known Italian sculptor maestro Mastroianni, who died in 1998.
The foundation, which receives state support, is in charge of maintaining his works and organizing various exhibits of his works throughout the world.
Central office of the foundation is located in Rome.

Gibran Khalil Gibran

TEHRAN, June 12--Third edition of selections of literary works by Gibran Khalil Gibran titled ’Bath of Spirit’ translated by Seyyed Hassan Hosseini has been published by Sureh Mehr Publishing House.
According to ILNA, Gibran Khalil Gibran, a great Lebanese poet, writer and painter was born in 1883 in Bsharri, a mountainous area in northern Lebanon and died in New York in 1931.
He wrote poems, stories and philosophical and mystical articles in Arabic and English, some of which have been translated into other languages.
Gibran is known for his terse and meticulous writings which are dominated by the meanings and concepts rather than form.
In his works the borders of poetry, story and article have been torn down.
He is the writer of concepts. So the translated versions of his works are less affected that the others’ works.
’Bath of Spirit’ contains Persian version of stories, poems, anecdotes, axioms as well as other literary pieces. The cover price of the 156-page book is 15,000 rials.