TEHRAN -- A Turkish cultural festival opened at the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) in Tehran on Saturday.

IAF Director Majid Sarsangi, the director of Turkey’s Yunus Emre Cultural Center in Tehran, Samil Öcal, Turkish filmmaker Dervis Zaim, Turkish critic and writer Ihsan Kabil, and several other Turkish artists attended the opening ceremony of the festival.

“We believe that if Iranians learn about Istanbul and Anatoly, and if Turkish people become familiar with Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Mashhad, Tabriz and other Iranian cities, they will feel greater affinity and closeness toward each other,” Öçal said in a short speech during the opening ceremony of the festival.

“We prefer that the understanding between the two countries should be achieved through meetings between the artists and writers from the two countries,” he added.

He said that connections between artists and writers of the countries would lead to understanding between the governments of the two nations.

“I can travel to Turkey whenever I want and I feel at home when I am there,” Sarsangi said.

“I think the great people of the country have a similar feeling when they visit Iran,”

Several art shows, film screenings and meetings about new Turkish cinema have been arranged for the festival, which will run until October 6.

Photo: Art fans visit a photo exhibition during a Turkish cultural festival at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on October 3, 2015. (Honaronline/Alireza Farahani)

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