Chahar Nimeh Dam in Zahedan, Sistan-Baluchestan was rerouted 250 meters away from its original site so as to save Dahaneh Gholaman City.
Announcing this, director of Shahr-e Shukhteh (Burnt City) and Dahaneh Gholaman City’s Research Station Ali Reza Khosravi said that the directive to this effect was issued by the provincial governor general Habibollah Dah-Mardeh.
Describing the decision as unique in the history of cultural heritage, he further said that the governor general made the decision to ease the water shortage in the region.
Dahaneh Gholaman is one of the most important cities from the Achaemenid era (648-330 BC) that is among the significant Achaemenian cities after Persepolis, Shoush and Saard.
So far, more than five rounds of excavations have been undertaken in the city which led to the discovery of places of worship and several administrative buildings, he concluded.

Publicizing artistic products is the duty of the government, a cultural official said.
In an interview with Fars, deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance for artistic affairs, Mohammad Hossein Imani-Khoshkho said that there are many definitions for ’economy of art’ and ’privatization’ but the main one is to present art in a way that consumers spend money to buy it given the role money plays in the supply-demand cycle. Therefore, he noted, purchasing theater tickets should be included in the families’ cultural basket.
The economy of art can be applied to theater, music and visual arts sectors, he said, adding, “In case of theater, box office sales are not sufficient to support this branch of art. Therefore, the sector needs a patron. In most of the countries, municipalities support the theater industry but in a country such as Iran, the government is considered as a supporter of theater.“
Turning to visual arts, Imani-Khoshkho said that economy of art can also be materialized in this arena since a tableau is a commodity from the economic perspective. A tableau can have a price and purchaser and be included in a family’s cultural basket, he noted.
However, the government should also help promote the culture of buying paintings, he said.
He further stated that in the field of music, economy of art is limited to the release of albums, the permits for which are issued by the government.

A senior official with Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry has said that piracy of films has inflicted a loss of 1,000 billion rials on the cinema industry.
According to Fars, deputy minister for cinematic affairs Mohammad Reza Jafari-Jelveh said this will lead to many Iranian cineastes quitting the field.
“The presence of State Disciplinary Court is strongly felt and we should pave the way for its involvement in the field,“ he said.
He further stated that executive bodies including Security Police, Islamic Republic of Iran Police’s Office for Supervising Public Places, State Disciplinary Court and Judiciary should have the highest level of cooperation on this.
Jafari-Jelveh further said that decisive actions by IRIP and the Judiciary as well as proper information dissemination can restrict illegal activities in the field of cinema.
“At present, safeguarding the economy of the Iranian cinema tops our agenda,“ he said.
Making the ambience safe for the cineastes will help win their satisfaction with the status quo and forge a deep relation between them and cinematic officials.
Stating that combating illegal distribution of cinematic products will also have its impacts on the cultural sector, he pointed out that the network is also engaged in the distribution of obscene films and it is possible it may produce counter-revolution products to meet the opposition parties’ goals.

A congress to introduce cultural heritage collections attended by scientific and cultural intellectuals was held at Tehran’s Homa hotel on the occasion of Cultural Heritage Week (May 18-24).
Speaking at the ceremony, Head of Anthropology Encyclopedia Center Mohammad Sadeq Mahfouzi noted that some 70,000 cultural, historical and research works are being maintained at the center which is deemed a reliable source by international organizations such as the United Nations cultural body UNESCO and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said a press release faxed to Iran Daily by the event’s Public Relations Office.
He added that the center’s research and encyclopedia section delves into humanities while research on hand-written works is conducted in the manuscripts division.
Mahfouzi stated that his personal interest lead to compiling such a reliable database which today serves as a written heritage.
Referring to recent anti-Islam actions such as the remarks of Pope Benedict XVI and production of films such as ’300’, Mahfouzi said, “The best response to those who have introduced Islam as a violent religion can be sought in the written heritage including famous inscriptions at Pasargad, which feature divine reflections as well as books, coins, seals and tablets including texts highlighting the cordial aspects of Islam.“
Meanwhile, Seyyed Hassan Amin, chairman of Iran Encyclopedia Foundation, said that following the designation of 2007 as ’Year of Molana’ by UNESCO, several congresses were held on this Iranian poet and mystic worldwide. This, he said, indicates the undeniable influence of culture and written heritage in forging solidarity of Iranian national identity. “Therefore, we must value the existing cultural roots and exhibit different art works to preserve their real status,“ he said.

Charles Henri de Fouche Cour

The 16th literary and historical award named after prominent Iranian literary figure Mahmoud Afshar-Yazdi will be presented to French Iranologist Charles Henri de Fouche Cour in a ceremony on June 20.
According to ISNA, Fouche Cour, born in 1925, has translated Hafez Anthology into the French language.
He has served as a professor of Persian language and literature in National Institute of Languages and Eastern Civilizations affiliated to Sorbonne University.
The retired professor has spent two periods totaling eight years in Iran studying Persian manuscripts and directing the Iranian Studies Section of the French Embassy in the country. His doctoral thesis deals with ’Nature in Fifth Century’s Lyrical Poetry’.
The award earlier went to the prominent literary figures including Najib Mayel Heravi, an Afghan anthropologist and an expert on antique books, Nazir Ahmad, a professor with Aligarh University in India as well as Iranian personalities such as Gholamhossein Yousefi, Mohammad Dabir-Sayaqi and Abdelhossein Zarrinkoub.

Iranian pianist Ramin Bahrami performed several pieces from the well-known German composer Johann Sebastian Bach in London late on Sunday.
According to ISNA, Bahrami is considered one of the leading researchers on Bach’s works in the 20th century.
British Internet News Sources said that Bahrami performed some pieces from Bach for the first in a ceremony to commemorate Rosalin Tork in November 1999, which was held in different European cities due to the enthusiastic reception it received.
He has also released a CD featuring Bach’s works and published his researches in the field in a book in 2006.

Governor General of Khorasan Razavi province in a meeting with Deputy Head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Television and Radio Broadcasting expressed the province readiness to establish a Persian-language radio station in Issyk-Kul tourist site.
Mohammad Javad Mohammadizadeh described Issyk-Kul region as one of the country’s beautiful tourist attractions and said, “Since many Iranians visit this tourist resort, it is useful to launch a Persian-language radio station in the region,“ Central News Bureau reported.
Referring to the cultural commonalities between Iran and Kyrgyzstan, the official said that Khorasan Razavi has many cultural, economic and technical capabilities which it can make available to Kyrgyzstan to expand bilateral ties.
Mohammadizadeh further said that development of cultural and infrastructural ties between any two nations endures when it is based on their common culture.
The Kyrgyz official, for his part, expressed satisfaction over expansion of relations with Khorasan Razavi and said that Kyrgyzstan is ready for all-out cooperation with Iran.

Love letter by Napoleon, words of comfort from John Donne and a plea for tolerance from Mahatma Gandhi are among the treasure of a private collection up for auction in London next month, Christie’s auctioneers said Monday.
According to AP, the extensive collection, estimated to sell for two million pounds ($4 million) at the July 3 sale, was quietly amassed over three decades by the late Albin Schram, who kept them in a filing cabinet in his home in Lausanne, Switzerland, according to Christie’s.
The letter from Napoleon to Josephine, given to Schram by a family member in 1973, was the inspiration for his extraordinary collection, Christie’s said. Schram pursued his new passion in auction rooms in London, Paris and Germany, usually bidding in person, said Thomas Venning, director of Christie’s books and manuscripts department.
Napoleon’s letter, one of three to his future wife that are known to survive, was given to Schram in 1973 by a family member, Christie’s said. Its sale price was estimated price at up to 50,000 pounds ($100,000).
But the star of the collection is a letter by Donne, the celebrated priest and poet, which Christie’s said is “the finest manuscript by his hand in existence“ and is estimated to sell for 120,000 pounds ($240,000). Donne wrote to Lady Kingsmill in 1624, offering consolation for the death of her husband.
A letter from Gandhi, estimated to sell for up to 12,000 pounds ($24,000), was written 19 days before his assassination.

Well-known Iranian author Mahmoud Dolatabadi’s novel titled ’In Memory of Salouch’ translated into English by Kamran Rastegar will be published in the US in June by Melville House.
Dolatabadi told ISNA that the novel has been translated into English for the first time and is likely to be released in other English-speaking countries as well.
It seems that the job of translating ’In Memory of Salouch’ into French has been completed and it is ready for publication.
The author added that he is currently editing one or two of his works. However, he has not yet decided whether to publish them or not, he stated.
Some of his works have been translated into German, Swedish, Dutch and Arabic.
’Desert Layers’, ’Phoenix’, ’Solomon’s Migration’, ’Journey’, ’Josef’s Day and Night’, ’Kaleidar’ as well as a number of dramas are among Dolatabadi’s works which have been published.