TEHRAN -- Scholars on Persian literature from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran were honored during the First International Festival of Shahriar Cultural Awards, which was held at Tabriz University on Tuesday, the organizers announced.

Qasim Aliyev and Issa Hebib Beylu from Azerbaijan, Ali Guzelyuz from Istanbul University, Nimet Yildirim from Ataturk University and Iranian expert Rasul Esmaeilzadeh received the awards during a ceremony.

The honorees were selected from among 84 scholars, mostly from Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The festival was established by the Shahriar International Congress to honor foreign and Iranian experts on poet Hossein Behjat Tabrizi (1906-1988), known as Shahriar.

The congress organized the ceremony with support from the Azerbaijan Studies Institute.

“Shahriar had a deep affection for the region and this fact is seen in his poetry,” Tabriz University Director Mohammadreza Purmohammadi said in a short speech during the ceremony.

He expressed his hope that the festival could help cultural exchanges increase in the region.

“Heidar Babaya Salam” is Shahriar’s most famous Azari language poetry collection, which is dedicated to his birthplace, the village of Heidar Baba. His poems are mainly influenced by Hafez.

He published his first book of poems in 1929, with prefaces by Persian literature scholars Mohammad-Taqi Bahar, Saeid Nafisi and Pejman Bakhtiari.

Iranians commemorated Shahriar on his death anniversary, September 18, which is also Iran's National Day of Poetry and Literature.

Iranian and international experts on Persian literature also came together at the Shahriar International Congress in Tabriz on Wednesday to commemorate the poet during the three-day meeting.

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