Iran prepares programs in honor of epic poet Ferdowsi

TEHRAN, May 11 (MNA) -- University of Birjand in South Khorasan Province is holding a ten-day ceremony in honor of Ferdowsi beginning on May 8. Iranians celebrate Ferdowsi National Day on May 15.

Expert on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh Azizollah Joveini is due to talk about one of the stories in Shahnameh on May 14, while a group coming from Tehran will perform naqqali, the Persian service of Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported on Tuesday.

Naqqali is a style of storytelling dedicated to epic stories from Ferdowsi’s masterpiece Shahnameh.

Shahnameh, which is known as the “Book of Kings” in English, is the celebrated work of the epic poet Ferdowsi, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. It was completed in 1010. The Shahnameh millennium was accepted on UNESCO’s 2010 calendar of events.

However, Tehran’s Bahman Cultural Center organized a ceremony on Tuesday in honor of Ferdowsi where Iran’s Ferdowsi Foundation director Yaser Movahhedfar and several cultural officials took part.

An exhibition of paintings by Mansur Romaii, calligraphy works by Shamseddin Moradi, photos by Mahmud Aznaveh, graphic designs by Mohammad Yar-Ahmadi with the central theme of Shahnameh opened at the Bahman Cultural Center and will run until May 15.

The Niavaran Cultural Center in collaboration with UNESCO is also arranging a special program in honor of Ferdowsi on May 14.

The Niavaran Chamber Orchestra directed by conductor Nader Mortezapur will perform the composition “Simorgh”. Rasul Najafian is also due to recite excerpts from Shahnameh.

Director of UNESCO Tehran Cluster Office Qunli Han is expected to speak on Saturday and several Iranian literati are due to deliver speeches on the same day.

An exhibition of teahouse paintings is arranged on the side section.