TEHRAN, Feb. 11--First provincial museum will be set up in the picturesque city of Isfahan, the Persian daily Iran reported.
Announcing this, head of Isfahan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department for cultural and communications affairs Abdelhamid Ekochian said that Isfahan has pioneered the establishment of such a museum because of the facilities available in the city.
The provincial museum will be established in Safavi State Complex, which sprawls over several hectares in Isfahan and includes Sepah Street, Darvazeh Dolat, Chahar-Bagh, Goldasteh Garden, Amadegan Street, Naqsh-e Jahan Square as well as the Bazaar, he said.
Stating that since all the buildings were used as palaces and not designed for museums, various applications for the local museum have been considered.
Each monument or building is used according to its application, he pointed out, adding that a research plan will specify which buildings or monuments are to be devoted to Islamic architecture, handicrafts, archeology, book and documents, religious texts, photo and film, contemporary arts, science and industry, Isfahan luminaries, inscriptions, children and natural historical museums.
Ekochian added, “Revival of Safavid State Complex in the form of provincial museum will help materialize our global and civilizational view as a great cultural Emperor.“
Establishment of provincial museum is a cultural undertaking which aims to make the silent monuments talk and unravel their secrets, he concluded.

MASHHAD, Khorasan Razavi, Feb. 11--Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) has been given three years to compile necessary documents on the historical city of Tous, near Mashhad, for submission to the UN cultural agency, UNESCO.
According to CHN, the organization should also remove the obstacles near the city before the deadline.
Head of the city’s cultural heritage station, Siyavash Saberi, further said that historical city of Tous has been enlisted on the ICHHTO’s temporary list and it can introduce a monument to UNESCO each year for registration.
Based on the current state of affairs, the historical city of Tous can be introduced to the UN cultural body for registration within three years.
This is while Khorasan Razavi province Electricity Company’s decision to set up pylons in the coming years can create problems for the site to meet the conditions for registration on the global heritage list.
The pylons will reportedly set up in the precinct of Tous and this will spoil the historical city’s landscape.
Saberi added that the sensitivity of UNESCO in reducing the height of Jahan Nama Tower should serve as wake-up call for officials and experts in removing any obstacle for registration of the historical city of Tous.

An example of traditional Iranian dress

TEHRAN, Feb. 11--The book ’8,000 Years History of Iranian Ethnic Costumes’ was unveiled in a ceremony here at Artists’ House on Thursday, ISNA reported.
Speaking at the gathering, author of the book, Mehrasa Gheibi said that she is happy to see her book being published after eight years of efforts and research works.
“In recent years, I felt the need to compile a comprehensive book on clothing to meet the demands of researchers and students,“ she noted.
The book aims to introduce the genuine Iranian models in different historical eras, she said, noting that it also can serve as a reference for researchers and students in the world.
Ali Dehbashi, a researcher, also said that the ceremony coincides with the 51st birth anniversary of the late Hamid Baqerzadeh, director of Hirmand Publishing House and this is an auspicious event.
Another researcher, Manuchehr Daneshpajouh, also said that Baqerzadeh spent his life in promoting culture and literature of the country. He published good books in the field of history, literature and art.

TEHRAN, Feb. 11--Photographs played a major role in retelling the events which took place during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war from different angles.
Head of the Islamic Revolution and Sacred Defense Photographers Association told the news headquarters of the Second Seminar for Honoring Ashura Photographers that there should be an association and harmony between subject of photography, photographer and the writer on the same subject, the Persian daily Jaam-e Jam reported.
“Reporters who closely reported the incidents of 1979 Islamic Revolution succeeded in providing a truer picture about the incidents of that time,“ Abbas Mirhashemi added.
He noted that for entering the areas that are inherently dangerous, courage is also needed in addition to expertise in photography.

TEHRAN, Feb. 11--Historical and archeological studies by Iranian experts on Bronze Age will be published in a 15-volume encyclopedia of the Association of Far East and East Mediterranean Archeological Monitors by 2012, CHN reported.
Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization’s Research Center Hassan Fazeli-Nashali, who is currently in Germany to contribute to compiling the encyclopedia, said that historical and archeological information about the Bronze Age, which contain important materials, especially those about the development of cities in the Middle East, will be published based on the agreements made earlier.
“The encyclopedia will be printed in 15 volumes, one of which will be devoted to materials about Iran,“ he said.
Fazeli-Nashali put the number of Strategic Committee for Compiling the Encyclopedia member at 12 and said that representatives from all the countries on which historical information will be incorporated in the collection are present in the several-day meeting.
Association of Far East and East Mediterranean Archeological Monitors includes European member-countries and will soon launch a website.
Presenting significant historical and ancient sites on three-dimensional maps in the site is one of the future programs of the association to offer information about the Bronze Age.
Some of the information to be included in the encyclopedia is based on excavations conducted by foreign experts while others are from the findings of Iranian archeologists, Fazeli said.

Some 200 items pertaining to the 7,000-year-old history of Iran up to the Sassanid era will go on display at the exhibition.

TEHRAN, Feb. 11--Curator of Iran National Museum said that the exhibition titled ’Glory of Persian Civilization’ in Japan will provide a suitable opportunity for the Japanese to become familiar with Iranian civilization.
Mohammad Reza Kargar, who had visited Japan to attend the inaugural ceremony for the third exposition featuring the Persian civilization in Sapporo, told IRNA on Thursday that coincidence of the exhibit with the Ice Statues Festival as well as International Ski Contest has created conditions for hundred of the tourists to come to the exhibit.
’Glory of Persian Civilization’ was earlier held in Aichi Nagoya Museum for two months and in Tokyo’s Metropolitan Museum for the same period, he said, adding it is scheduled to be held in five major Japanese cities, including Sapporo.
Following this, the exhibition will move on to Fukuoka and Osaka, he noted.
According to the Japanese, this is the largest exhibition featuring the thriving Persian civilization to have been held in the country so far.
The last exhibit on ancient Iran was held in Japan 50 years ago. For this reason, one can say that the Japanese have once again found another chance to become acquainted with Iran’s ancient civilization.
The ongoing exhibition displays some 200 items pertaining to the 7,000-year-old history of Iran up to the Sassanid era (226-650 AD).
All objects on display have been put at the disposal of Japanese officials by the National Museum.
Kargar also said that the museum, which maintains some 300,000 articles, intends to display the items for foreign and local visitors.

TEHRAN, Feb. 11--An international conference titled ’Hafez and School of Love’ will be held in London.
According to the Persian daily Etemad, London’s Exeter University will host more than 40 oriental experts and researchers at the event on March 30.
The experts and researchers will deliver speeches on different aspects of Hafez poetry, the Persian daily Etemad reported.
The ’Hafez and School of Love’ conference hopes to introduce historical, aesthetic, literary and metaphoric aspects of Hafez poetry to those interested in oriental culture and civilization. Professor John Lake, one of the organizers of the conference, commented on the relationship between Hafez and love said that in Hafez’s poetry love is so copious that it can be interpreted freely.

BEIJING, Feb. 11--China will launch a four-year geographical survey of the Great Wall, which is on the World Heritage of UNESCO, in April to determine its exact length, layout and current conditions, reported Xinhua.
The Great Wall, an ancient defense facility in China, has been widely known to stretch more than 5,000 kilometers. Field research of the section built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) will finish in the early half of next year. Its results will be announced in a few months, according to China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) and State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM).
Field research results of the Great Wall built in earlier periods will be announced in the following two years.
The survey will be conducted in 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipality, including Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
In 220 BC, sections of earlier fortifications in north China were joined together to form a united defense system against invasions from the northern nomadic tribes. Construction continued up to the Ming Dynasty, when the Great Wall became the world’s largest military structure. Local governments have been gathering statistics on the Great Wall since the 1980s. But due to limited knowledge and technology, much of the Great Wall is still a mystery.
Archaeologists and historians had urged the government to organize a scientific survey so people in the world can have a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the Great Wall.