TEHRAN Deritro Agoli, a well-known contemporary Albanian poet and writer, said that he greatly admires Iranian poetry, adding that it has strongly influenced poets across the globe. The 68-year-old Albanian poet, speaking in an interview with IRNA, said that Iran presented the best poets to the world at the time when there were few poets in the entire Europe. He said that the Iranian poetry is so deep, philosophical and full of mysteries, adding that such poems are of great value and penetrate the people's hearts.

Agoli, who is also a member of the Albanian Parliament, arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a week-long stay along with a famous Albanian musician. They are here at the invitation of the Iranian Foreign Ministry. As for the Persian poetry's impact on Albanian poets, Agoli said that Ferdowsi's Shahnameh was translated into the Albanian language by the Albanian poet Razieh Bokharaei in the 19th century.

Also, another Albanian poet Naeem Ferashi wrote a collection of poems named Dreams in Farsi in the 19th century. Agoli noted that other Albanian poets such as Nazem Barati and Hassan Ziko Kambri, who lived in 18th and 19th centuries, were deeply influenced by the Iranian poetry. Agoli's works have so far been translated into French, Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Macedonian, Serbian and even Arabic.