A view of Tabriz Bazaar

Tabriz Historical Bazaar will be reconstructed and reinforced by Japanese experts.
Announcing this, head of East Azarbaijan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department, Khodaverdi Kariminejad said that an agreement to the effect has been finalized and operations on the monument will begin soon.
According to him, based on an agreement signed between Kyoto University in Japan and East Azarbaijan Teacher Training University, the seven-member Japanese group will undertake to reinforce Tabriz Bazaar to make it resistant to earthquake, reported www.aftab.ir.
The department has given priority to reinforcing historical structures in the region, he noted.
Stressing the need to adopt suitable procedures for reinforcing historical monuments against natural disasters, Kariminejad also said that so far three memoranda of understanding (MoU) have been signed between Tabriz University and East Azarbaijan Teacher Training University on drawing up plans to strengthen the structures.
Tabriz Bazaar, located in the center of the city, is one of the oldest and largest bazaars in the Middle East.
It comprises of some sub-bazaars in various fields, including Amir Bazaar (for gold and jewelry), Mozzafarieh (carpet bazaar) and many other subdivisions for special matters.

Hossein Alizadeh

Iranian musician, Hossein Alizadeh has expressed displeasure about the recently concluded 23rd Fajr Music Festival which he described as ’low quality’.
Speaking to MNA, Alizadeh, who specializes in traditional string instrument ’Tar’, criticized the policies of the organizers of the event.
“Unfortunately in the past two decades, Fajr festival has been organized in a way that never encouraged the participation of distinguished musicians,“ he said.
He added that the need for the presence of influential artists in the cultural event is badly felt and this demands a change in the festival’s policies.
Conductor of Chorus ensemble also criticized the inclusion of pop music in the recent round of the festival and said, “Pop music is typically enjoyed by the masses and has no status in official cultural events.“
He added that performances by towering musicians should be a part of national festivals and pop music must be dealt with in concerts. Alizadeh further said that support should be given to veteran musicians to promote the culture of music.

Veteran writer and radio announcer Hamid Ameli, known as the ’Father of Storytelling’, succumbed to his battle against lung cancer at Tehran’s Kasra Hospital on Sunday.
Born in 1941 in Tehran, Ameli began working for Radio Tehran at a very early age, according to MNA.
He is well-known for narrating stories in famous radio programs including ’Night’s Path’, ’1,001 Nights Stories’ and ’Friday Noon Story’ which he has presented since 1971.
Following the death of veteran narrator, Fazlollah Sobhi, Ameli took over as the father of storytelling.
He was also a regular contributor to a number of magazines, including ’Keyhan-Bacheha’ (Keyhan for children) , ’Roshanfekr’ (intellectual) and ’Etella’at-e Haftegi’ (Weekly Etella’at).
The master was recently honored by Radio Tehran in a ceremony on December 31.
Speaking at the event, Ameli said, “I devoted my entire life to the radio but I am satisfied. I will win the battle against cancer and resume my activities.“
Ameli, the founder of Lyric Literary Association, was commended by Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry as ’Veteran Man of Letters’ in 2003.
He died at a time when storytelling is losing its status not only among the masses but also in the national media.
Ameli bridged the gap between Persian literature and media, and Iranian broadcasters are badly in need of talents like him.

For the first time in the country, two Iranian artists bring together calligraphy and music today at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Complex.
Noted calligrapher Esrafil Shirchi will be accompanied by musician and vocalist, Fazel Jamshidi, reported jamejamonline.ir
Shirchi, who has held a number of such joint exhibitions abroad, contended that calligraphy and music are closely related.
“Calligraphy style ’Nastaliq’ is highly admired by foreign visitors who are not even familiar with Persian language,“ he said.
The artist will display 72 tableaux featuring poems by the great Iranian poet and mystic Molana Jalaleddin Rumi, as well as other noted poets, including Hafez and Khayyam.
The two artists had earlier held a joint exhibition in Dubai, UAE, which was warmly welcomed.
Shirchi will hold a solo exhibition in Dubai for the second time on January 24.
Born in 1962 in Babol, Mazandaran province, Shirchi graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran. He is presently an instructor at the Iranian Calligraphers Association. He has published more than a dozen of his collections so far including ’Tamashagah-e Raz’.

A version of the holy Qur’an translated and interpreted by Karim Zamani will soon be published by Namak and Qatreh publishing houses.
According to MNA, in addition to the translation of the verses, Zamani, a noted researcher on the Qur’an and Molana Jalaleddin Rumi, well-known Iranian mystic and poet, has also provided explanations as well as views of some other interpreters.
He is also working on another book titled ’Explanation of Molana’s Sonnets’ which is to include comments on 3,000 sonnets by the poet.
He has so far completed analyzing of 800 lyrics from Molana.
According to the researcher himself, the book will be compiled in the same procedure used in writing the book ’Comprehensive Explanation of Masnavi’.
Masnavi is a masterpiece by Molana Jalaleddin Rumi.

Second round of excavations on Surena Mound, named after an Achaemenid commander, at Nourabad Mamasani in Fars province was undertaken jointly by Iranian and Australian archeologists to develop a better understanding of the region.
According to www.aftab.ir, head of Archeology Research Center, Hassan Fazel-Nashali said that the undertakings are sponsored by the center and Sydney University.
He further said that excavations began on December 31 and will continue until February 19.
Nourabad is a city in Fars province in southwestern Iran. It is the seat of Mamasani county. It was named so because of the existence of a temple named ’Nour’ near the city.
Nourabad boasts of many relics from pre- and post-Islamic eras.

Noted pianist Peyman Yazdanian gave a recital in Vahdat Hall late on Friday.
According to ISNA, some pieces from Ludwig Van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist, and Franz Liszt, a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer and Sergey Rachmaninov, a Russian pianist and composer, were performed at the event.
Yazdanian has so far written 40 pieces for piano and plans to publish them in a collection.
The pianist has composed music for a number of films including ’A Piece of Bread’ (Kamal Tabrizi), ’One Night’ (Niki Karimi), ’Friday Conscripts’ (Masoud Kimiaei), ’Transit CafŽ’ (Kambozia Partovi), ’Abandoned Station’ (Ali Reza Raeisian), ’Ancestral Farm’ (Rasoul Mollaqolipour), ’Water and Fire’ (Fereidoun Jeirani), ’Wind Will Carry Us’ (Abbas Kiarostami) and ’Turtle’ (Ali Shah-Hatami).
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer. Also, a recital may have many participants, as for a dance recital.
The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt.

Berlin Culture House is currently screening four Iranian documentaries in a program ’Culture and Policy in the Middle East’.
According to bonniefilm.daily.com, the program is part of the plan ’Europe in the Middle East, the Middle East in Europe’ which is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and the Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in Berlin.
The films include ’Songs of Freedom’ produced by Mina Saeidi, as well three works by Bahman Kiarostami, namely ’I Have Been to Shoush’, ’Passion Play’ and a documentary about Jahangir Razmi, who won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography.

Persian translation of ’Wit’, a play by Margaret Edson, an American playwright, was published by Nila Publishing House. The play won Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1999.
According to ISNA, the 76-page book rendered into Persian by Rahim Qasemian was printed in 2,200 copies.
Meanwhile, the publisher has also published Persian translations of the plays ’Home’ written by Janos Glowatsky, a Polish playwright, and ’The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden’ by Thornton Wilder, an American playwright.
Wilder won Pulitzer Prize for his novel ’The Bridge of San Luis Rey’.
His plays ’Our Town’ and ’Skin of Our Teeth’ are among his best works.