French Journalist Attends Ceremony Hosted by Maghsoud Porcelain
August 6, 2000 - 0:0
TEHRAN The retired French journalist, Bernard Ollivier, on his journey on foot to Samarkand and Turkmenistan was warmly welcomed by managers of the greatest porcelain manufacturer in the Middle East. Ollivier, along with thousands of people including families of Maghsoud Porcelain's employees and well-known cinematic artists, attended a ceremony held by Maghsoud Porcelain in the city of Mashhad on Thursday evening to mark the factory's 6th establishment anniversary.
Talking to the TEHRAN TIMES on the sidelines of the ceremony, Ollivier praised the modernity and efficiency of the Iranian factory, saying that "I was surprised by the quality of the factory's products." The factory is the fourth of its kind in the world enjoying the most modern technology in manufacturing chinaware.
Germany, England and France are other countries which manufacture chinaware through the isostatic method. Ollivier, 62, once traveled on the Silk Road on foot, as was previously done by Venetian Marco Polo (1254-1324). He is now travelling on just a part of Silk Road from Venice to Samarkand on foot.
He has written a top-selling book on his first journey, and he also intends to write new books about the journeys which he makes every year on a different part of the Silk Road. Referring to the reasons for repeating his journey on part of the Silk Road, he mentioned three objectives for doing this. "My first objective is to revisit the Silk Road, through which religion, culture, business and art was transferred for the first time at the time of Alexander the Great. Secondly, I'm going to prove to myself as well as other people that the age of 62 is not too late to walk long distances.
" He said that he had walked some 55km the previous day, adding that he intended to walk about 3,000 kilometers per year. Regarding his third reason, he said, "During the years of retirement, one had better get familiar with people around the world instead of sitting in his armchair watching TV all day." Ollivier further said, "Last year, it took me two and a half months to cross Turkey.
This year, I'm going to spend the same period to cross Iran to reach Samarkand, which is the destination of my this year's journey and the point of my departure for China next year.
" Touching on the renovation of the Silk Road, he said the road's potentials are fabulous, and that it is not too difficult to reopen it to people of the world. The French adventurer expressed pleasure over the welcome he received from the Iranian villagers.
"They invited me to their homes and accommodated me for the night, as there are no hotels for tourists in villages," he said. Ollivier told the TEHRAN TIMES that he had established an association to rehabilitate young prisoners in his country.
"I take them on 2,000km hikes with bags on their shoulders as an exercise," he added. He said with the help of the association, some 60 percent of the young prisoners will be able to return to society and get jobs as rehabilitated individuals.
Talking to the TEHRAN TIMES on the sidelines of the ceremony, Ollivier praised the modernity and efficiency of the Iranian factory, saying that "I was surprised by the quality of the factory's products." The factory is the fourth of its kind in the world enjoying the most modern technology in manufacturing chinaware.
Germany, England and France are other countries which manufacture chinaware through the isostatic method. Ollivier, 62, once traveled on the Silk Road on foot, as was previously done by Venetian Marco Polo (1254-1324). He is now travelling on just a part of Silk Road from Venice to Samarkand on foot.
He has written a top-selling book on his first journey, and he also intends to write new books about the journeys which he makes every year on a different part of the Silk Road. Referring to the reasons for repeating his journey on part of the Silk Road, he mentioned three objectives for doing this. "My first objective is to revisit the Silk Road, through which religion, culture, business and art was transferred for the first time at the time of Alexander the Great. Secondly, I'm going to prove to myself as well as other people that the age of 62 is not too late to walk long distances.
" He said that he had walked some 55km the previous day, adding that he intended to walk about 3,000 kilometers per year. Regarding his third reason, he said, "During the years of retirement, one had better get familiar with people around the world instead of sitting in his armchair watching TV all day." Ollivier further said, "Last year, it took me two and a half months to cross Turkey.
This year, I'm going to spend the same period to cross Iran to reach Samarkand, which is the destination of my this year's journey and the point of my departure for China next year.
" Touching on the renovation of the Silk Road, he said the road's potentials are fabulous, and that it is not too difficult to reopen it to people of the world. The French adventurer expressed pleasure over the welcome he received from the Iranian villagers.
"They invited me to their homes and accommodated me for the night, as there are no hotels for tourists in villages," he said. Ollivier told the TEHRAN TIMES that he had established an association to rehabilitate young prisoners in his country.
"I take them on 2,000km hikes with bags on their shoulders as an exercise," he added. He said with the help of the association, some 60 percent of the young prisoners will be able to return to society and get jobs as rehabilitated individuals.