CHTHO VP: Tourists Pleased With Hospitality, Security Status In Iran

Kashan, June 18, IRNA –99% of the foreign tourists visiting Iran are fully pleased with Iran’s security status and with the Iranian nation’s hospitality, vice president and head of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) said here Tuesday night. “99% of the European and Southeast Asian tourists who visit Iran are fully pleased with the security status in Iran and with the Iranian nation’s hospitality,” said Mas’oud Soltanifar in a meeting with representative of Supreme Leader and Friday prayer leader of Kashan. “Due to appropriate behavior of the Iranians, upon return from Iran to their home counties the tourists become promoters of our country’s thousands of years old culture and traditions,” he added. Elsewhere in his remarks, Soltanifar said that passing through economic recession calls for paying due attention of the concerned officials to the handicrafts issue. Soltanifar said that the workshops in which the carpets in the Iraqi holy shrines are woven are all in Kashan, adding, “Heeding the needs of the holy shrines has historical roots in our country. Praising Kashan for its religious devotion and generosity in doing so, he said that broadening the dimensions of that move to include the other historical sites will be of significant importance in preservation of the country’s intangible heritage. He said that in terms of development of the handicrafts Iran is one of the most powerful countries in the world, adding that our country is active in 450 handicraft fields, out of 356 such fields in the world and internationally renowned in most of them. The vice president said that the Iranian handicrafts have meanwhile created jobs for some two million Iranians. “Twenty million square meters of carpets are woven in Iran annually, some 3% of it, that is 1.5 square meters, is exported bringing in a noticeable amount of hard currency,” said Soltanifar. Referring to the softening of the international atmosphere towards Iran and the government’s effective détente policy and the fruitful nuclear talks, he said that further development of the Iranian tourism industry will be a great contribution to the Iranian national economy. “Each tourist brings in an average US $2,000 to Iran,” he said. Iran is home to one of the richest art heritages and handicrafts in world history and distinguished in many disciplines, including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stone masonry. Persians were among the first to use mathematics, geometry, and astronomy in architecture and also have extraordinary skills in making massive domes which can be seen frequently in the structure of bazaars and mosques. Iran, besides being home to a large number of art houses and galleries, also holds one of the largest and valuable jewel collections in the world. Iranian Rugs The art of carpet weaving in Iran dates backs to 2,500 years and is rooted in the culture and customs of its people and their instinctive feelings. Weavers mix elegant patterns with a myriad of colours. The Iranian carpet is similar to the Persian garden: full of florae, birds and beasts. The colours are usually extracted from wild flowers, and are rich in colours such as burgundy, navy blue and accents of ivory. The proto-fabric is often washed in tea to soften the texture, giving it a unique quality. Depending on where the rug is made, patterns and designs vary. Some rugs such as Gabbeh, and Kilim have variations in their textures and number of knots as well. Out of about 2 million Iranians involved in the trade, 1.2 million are weavers who produce the largest amount of hand-woven carpets in the world. Miniature and Painting Oriental historian Basil Gray believes “Iran has offered a particularly unique art to the world which is excellent in its kind”. Caves in Iran’s Lorestan province exhibit painted imagery of animals and hunting scenes. Those in Fars province and Sialk are at least 5,000 years old. Painting in Iran is thought to have reached a peak during the Tamerlane era when outstanding masters such as Kamaleddin Behzad gave birth to a new style of painting. Qajarid paintings, for instance, are a combination of European influences and Safavid miniature schools of painting such as those introduced by Reza Abbasi. Masters such as Kamal-ol-Molk further pushed forward the European influence in Iran. It was during the Qajar era when “Teahouse painting” emerged. Subjects of this style were often religious and nationalist in nature depicting scenes from Shiite history and literary epics like Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (Grand Book). Pottery and Ceramics Prominent archeologist Roman Ghirshman said, “The taste and talent of these people [Iranians] can be seen through the designs of their earthenware.” Of the thousands of archeological sites and historical ruins of Iran, almost every one of them can be found to have been filled, at some point, with earthenware of exceptional quality. Thousands of unique vessels alone were found in Sialk and Jiroft sites. The occupation of the potter (kouzehgar) has a special place in Persian literature./end