Iran to present three intangible heritage nominations at UNESCO meeting in China

TEHRAN – Iran will present three nominations for inscription on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage lists at the 21st session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, scheduled to take place in Xiamen, China, from November 30 to December 5.

Iran, Armenia to establish joint committee to ease tourist travel

TEHRAN – Iran and Armenia have agreed to remove obstacles to land travel, increase direct flights and expand health tourism cooperation, with plans to hold their sixth joint technical tourism committee meeting in Tabriz, Iran’s deputy tourism minister has said.

Hotel-based medical care facilities to boost health tourism in Fars province

TEHRAN – Fars province is exploring plans to establish hotel-based medical care facilities and expand accommodation services for patients and elderly people as part of efforts to strengthen its position as a health tourism destination.

Nomadic families move to winter pastures in Iran’s Golestan province

TEHRAN - Some 2,300 nomadic Kurdish households from North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan provinces have begun their seasonal migration to winter pastures in northeastern Iran’s Golestan province, where they will stay until mid-May.

Rafsanjan presidential museum added to Iran’s national heritage list

TEHRAN – The building housing the documents center, library and presidential museum of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in Rafsanjan, Kerman province, has been inscribed on Iran’s national heritage list, the provincial tourism chief has announced.

Dafineh museum group proposes intl. council of Islamic world museums

TEHRAN – The Dafineh museum group has proposed establishing an “international council of museums of the Islamic world” to strengthen cooperation among museums in Muslim countries, with the initiative expected to be examined by Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO).

Mount Damavand named among world’s top geological heritage sites

TEHRAN – Mount Damavand, Iran’s highest peak and a prominent volcanic landmark in the Alborz Mountains, has been included in the International Union of Geological Sciences’ (IUGS) list of the world’s 100 top geological heritage sites.

Italian-made facsimile of Shahnameh presented to Iran

TEHRAN – An Italian-made facsimile of a rare and exceptionally complete copy of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh has been presented to Iran’s Cultural Heritage Ministry following a joint project involving Italian specialists and Iranian authorities.

Water heritage links ancestral wisdom to Iran’s sustainable future: official

TEHRAN – Iran’s traditional water-management practices can help address water scarcity, strengthen community resilience and promote regional cooperation, Atousa Momeni, head of the Tehran-based Regional Research Center for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in West and Central Asia, said at a ceremony marking the World Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Maqbarat-o-Shoara: A literary sanctuary in Tabriz

TEHRAN - Nestled in the historic Sorkhab district of Tabriz, Maqbarat-o-Shoara, or the Mausoleum of Poets, is one of the city’s most distinctive cultural attractions. 

By Afshin Majlesi

Iran, India explore reviving historic Spice Route 

TEHRAN - Iran and India are exploring new cultural, tourism and economic cooperation through an initiative to revive the historic Spice Route, with Kerman province emerging as a focal point for the proposed partnership.

Semnan’s oral heritage: a living reflection of history and cultural identity

TEHRAN - Semnan province, with its ancient history and remarkable cultural heritage, is home to a rich collection of Iran’s oral traditions, customs, traditional arts and local narratives.

Domestic, intl. tours visit saffron farms in northeast Iran

TEHRAN - Fifteen domestic and international tourism tours have visited saffron farms and specialized saffron facilities in Torbat-e Heydarieh and Zaveh in northeastern Iran as part of agricultural tourism programs during the harvest season, a local tourism official said on Monday.

Restoration of Vank Cathedral underway ahead of UNESCO World Heritage bid

TEHRAN - Restoration work on the southern and eastern sections of Vank Cathedral in Isfahan is underway as part of efforts to prepare the historic Armenian church for a potential nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, a provincial heritage official has said.

Dafineh museum group to offer free admission to students on Student Day

TEHRAN - Students at all educational levels across Iran will be admitted free of charge to museums affiliated with the Dafineh museum group on Nov. 4, marking Student Day.

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Practical conservation workshop held at ruined Sassanid palaces

TEHRAN - A practical training workshop on emergency conservation and restoration at the Palace of Ardashir and Qal'eh Dokhtar (“Maiden Castle”) near Firuzabad, southern Iran, has brought together heritage conservation specialists and university students to provide hands-on experience in protecting historic structures.

Qeshm launches multimedia documentation project to preserve island’s intangible heritage

TEHRAN - Qeshm Island has launched a multimedia documentation project to record and preserve its indigenous knowledge, oral history and intangible cultural heritage, with the aim of passing the island’s traditional knowledge and cultural practices on to future generations.

Sasanian-era rock carvings of human hands discovered in Marvdasht

TEHRAN - Archaeologists have identified previously undocumented Sasanian-era rock carvings depicting human hands without accompanying figures in the historic Marvdasht Plain in Fars province, southern Iran.

Tabriz Blue Mosque to mark 561st anniversary with focus on Qara Qoyunlu tilework

TEHRAN - A specialist meeting marking the 561st anniversary of the establishment of Tabriz’s Blue Mosque will explore the history of the Qara Qoyunlu dynasty and the distinctive tilework associated with its period of rule.

South Khorasan’s traditional oil-fried bread added to intangible heritage list

TEHRAN - The traditional skill of making Nan-e Roghan-Jushi, an oil-fried bread deeply rooted in the cultural and religious traditions of South Khorasan province, has been inscribed on Iran’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

ICOMOS continues evaluation of Masuleh’s UNESCO World Heritage nomination

TEHRAN - The evaluation of Masuleh and its cultural landscape for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List is continuing, with an international expert from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) conducting field assessments and attending specialist meetings on the Iranian town’s architectural, archaeological, ecological and socio-economic heritage.

Sassanid-era ossuary inscription discovered near Naqsh-e Rostam

TEHRAN - A newly identified Sassanid-era inscription has been discovered during recent archaeological surveys around Naqsh-e Rostam in Fars province, southern Iran, marking the “fifth ossuary-related inscription” documented in the latest investigations of the area.