TEHRAN – The Khorasan Razavi Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance has organized a five-day congress to commemorate the poets Ferdowsi (940-1020) and Omar Khayyam (1048-1131).
A number of literati, cultural figures and officials attended the congress in Mashsahd on May 13 to celebrate National Ferdowsi Day two days early due its coincidence with the death anniversary of Hazrat Zainab (SA), the daughter of Imam Hussein (AS).
Several art and cultural scholars and experts on Ferdwosi were honored during the first day of the congress.
The University of Mashhad hosted a seminar on Ferdowsi’s magnum opus Shahnameh on the second day.
The congress will continue in Tus and Neyshabur with several more programs including theater and music performances, as well as poetry recitation at the Mausoleum of Ferdowsi in Tus.
Street theater performances and naqqali (a traditional form of dramatic storytelling in Iran) have also been arranged during the event.
The congress will come to an end at the Mausoleum of Khayyam in Neyshabur on May 17, on the eve of Iran’s National Khayyam Day (May 18).
RM/YAW
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