Iran Daily - Panorama - 04/08/06: "Ilam Handmade Kelims Unique
Fine hand-woven Kelims have always been precious souvenirs which tourists can take home from the western Ilam province, IRNA reported.
Ilami artisans have always been famous for skillfully weaving austere Kelims.
In 1987, a Kelim artist from Zanjireh village in Shirvan-Chardavol city, named Sahar Chelangar, designed a new weaving style. She crafted Kelims inspired by designs of Persian rugs.
As evidenced by studies, the Kelim designs are much similar to rugs woven in ancient China.
A handicraft expert in Ilam, Hamid Bakhtiari, believes that the newly-designed Kelims are like a valuable gem among other provincial handiworks.
He is of the opinion that the handicraft has the potential to secure a foothold in overseas markets, provided there is official support.
Bakhtiari said Ilam’s colorful and finely-designed Kelims serve as nice souvenirs.
The expert insisted that Kelims woven by Ilami artists are of high quality and are as valuable as handmade Persian rugs from an aesthetic perspective.
He stated that foreign merchants are keen on purchasing Ilami Kelims.
Bakhtiari reiterated that Kelim-weaving could become a lucrative source of revenue for the western province, provided there is adequate sponsorship."
Friday, April 28, 2006
Iran Daily - 2006 World Cup Carpet Woven - 04/13/06
2006 World Cup Carpet Woven
A great Persian Tabriz Rug
The carpet themed 2006 Football World Cup, measuring 2 meters by 2.5 meters, has over two million Turkish knots and 120 colors. (IRNA Photo)
TABRIZ, East Azarbaijan, April 12--An embossed carpet on the theme of 2006 Football World Cup was woven by a talented Tabrizi carpet weaver, Hossein Kazemi Hamed, IRNA reported on Wednesday.
Kazemi, who has previously woven special carpets for the 1998 World Cup (held in France) and 2002 World Cup (jointly held by Japan and South Korea), said that his main incentive in weaving the new carpet was his personal desire to continue the previous trend.
The carpet, measuring 2 meters by 2.5 meters, has over two million Turkish knots and 120 colors.
Kazemi, who also designed the carpet, noted that the preliminary work and design took over six months.
He said that the flags of 32 countries competing in the 2006 Football World Cup are on the right and left sides of the carpet.
“Images of the World Cup, FIFA Chief Sepp Blatter, the person in charge of the international event, Franz Beckenbauer, Berlin Stadium (the venue for the inaugural game) and also Brandano Gate are embossed on the carpet,“ he said.
The weaver further said the flags of Germany and Iran as well as the symbols of the 2006 Football World Cup and FIFA have been woven on the upper right and left corners of the carpet.
Kazemi concluded by saying that the carpet will be taken to Germany before the start of the international sports event"
Iran Daily - Rasht Bazaar - 04/26/06
Iran Daily - Panorama - 04/26/06: "Sightseeing
Rasht Bazaar
Rasht is known for its unique cuisine, particularly its seafood and traditional rustic lifestyle. This can be best observed during the day in its open air bazaar, with its many small food stores and vendors from surrounding villages offering fresh produce, eggs, live chickens and ducks, olives, fish... and shoppers busy bargaining in the packed alleys of the baazar and adjacent streets.
The uncovered bazaar is bounded by Imam Khomeini and Shariati streets. Little of any great antiquity remains, since most of the bazaar was burned by the Bolsheviks in 1920. If you are looking for caviar, persistent but discreet inquiries at the bazaar may be rewarded. Iranians believe that this is the best place to buy it. Prices here should be a little lower than in Tehran."
See my Persian Rugs: Notes on Resht Textiles
Rasht Bazaar
Rasht is known for its unique cuisine, particularly its seafood and traditional rustic lifestyle. This can be best observed during the day in its open air bazaar, with its many small food stores and vendors from surrounding villages offering fresh produce, eggs, live chickens and ducks, olives, fish... and shoppers busy bargaining in the packed alleys of the baazar and adjacent streets.
The uncovered bazaar is bounded by Imam Khomeini and Shariati streets. Little of any great antiquity remains, since most of the bazaar was burned by the Bolsheviks in 1920. If you are looking for caviar, persistent but discreet inquiries at the bazaar may be rewarded. Iranians believe that this is the best place to buy it. Prices here should be a little lower than in Tehran."
See my Persian Rugs: Notes on Resht Textiles
Iran Daily - Persian Rugs Will Adorn Oman Palaces 04/11/06
Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 04/11/06: "Persian Rugs Will Adorn Oman Palaces
Iran exported $370 million worth of fine rugs and carpets during March 2005-January 2006.
TEHRAN, April 10--Palaces in the Persian Gulf Sultanate of Oman will be adorned with fine Persian rugs, said a carpet industry official here on Monday.
Seyyed Jalaleddin Bassam, who heads the Carpet Joint Stock Company, told Fars news agency that the company has received orders for weaving nine rugs for Omani palaces.
He said the contract is worth $440,000 for the 250 square meters of fine hand woven carpets.
The contract has been signed officially with the government in Muscat.
“Some 45 weavers will work on the project and the carpets will be woven in the northwestern city of Tabriz,“ where the finest Persian rugs are produced.
He said the company has launched an international marketing campaign for promoting its works, stressing that Oman is one of the traditional customers of Iranian rugs.
Iran exported $370.5 million worth of fine rugs and carpets during March 2005-January 2006.
Some 67 percent of the consignments went to Germany, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Japan.
Germany imported $89.6 million worth of carpets from Iran in the period, exports to the US reached $67.2 million while the figures for UAE, Italy and Japan stood at $34.3 million, $33.1 million and $24 million, respectively.
Iran exported a total of $248 million worth of rugs to the five countries. The figure was 10 percent higher compared to the same period in the previous year."
Iran exported $370 million worth of fine rugs and carpets during March 2005-January 2006.
TEHRAN, April 10--Palaces in the Persian Gulf Sultanate of Oman will be adorned with fine Persian rugs, said a carpet industry official here on Monday.
Seyyed Jalaleddin Bassam, who heads the Carpet Joint Stock Company, told Fars news agency that the company has received orders for weaving nine rugs for Omani palaces.
He said the contract is worth $440,000 for the 250 square meters of fine hand woven carpets.
The contract has been signed officially with the government in Muscat.
“Some 45 weavers will work on the project and the carpets will be woven in the northwestern city of Tabriz,“ where the finest Persian rugs are produced.
He said the company has launched an international marketing campaign for promoting its works, stressing that Oman is one of the traditional customers of Iranian rugs.
Iran exported $370.5 million worth of fine rugs and carpets during March 2005-January 2006.
Some 67 percent of the consignments went to Germany, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Japan.
Germany imported $89.6 million worth of carpets from Iran in the period, exports to the US reached $67.2 million while the figures for UAE, Italy and Japan stood at $34.3 million, $33.1 million and $24 million, respectively.
Iran exported a total of $248 million worth of rugs to the five countries. The figure was 10 percent higher compared to the same period in the previous year."
Iran Daily - 46th Hotel Opens in Kish - 04/05/06
Iran Daily - Panorama - 04/05/06: "46th Hotel Opens in Kish
The 46th hotel of Kish Island, Parmis, went on stream at a total cost of 180 billion rials.
Managing director of Tourism Promotion Institute, Ali Ghamkhar, said at the inauguration ceremony of the 9-story hotel that hotel industry is one of the basic pillars of tourism programs in Kish Free Zone, ILNA reported.
He reiterated that apart from accommodation facilities, tourism infrastructure including sightseeing and recreational attractions, transportation and services sectors should expand in the Persian Gulf’s most popular island.
Ghamkhar said tourism promotion cannot be achieved unless by employing a scientific, broad-based and logical strategy.
“Hotel industry in Kish has experienced a remarkable growth in terms of quantity. However, the quality of services has not grown in tandem which means more efforts need to be made to provide premium quality services,“ he noted, adding private resources should be exploited to turn the island to a major tourism hub.
According to Masoud Arbab, one of the hotel’s managers, the facility has a built-up area of 16,000 sq.m.
Constructed through private entrepreneurship, Parmis Hotel has 170 rooms, close to 500 beds, seven restaurants and coffee shops, Internet cafŽ, gyms, sauna and swimming pool, handicrafts store, beauty parlor and laundry.
Kish Island, stretched across 93 square kilometers, receives more than one million Iranian and foreign tourists a year."
The 46th hotel of Kish Island, Parmis, went on stream at a total cost of 180 billion rials.
Managing director of Tourism Promotion Institute, Ali Ghamkhar, said at the inauguration ceremony of the 9-story hotel that hotel industry is one of the basic pillars of tourism programs in Kish Free Zone, ILNA reported.
He reiterated that apart from accommodation facilities, tourism infrastructure including sightseeing and recreational attractions, transportation and services sectors should expand in the Persian Gulf’s most popular island.
Ghamkhar said tourism promotion cannot be achieved unless by employing a scientific, broad-based and logical strategy.
“Hotel industry in Kish has experienced a remarkable growth in terms of quantity. However, the quality of services has not grown in tandem which means more efforts need to be made to provide premium quality services,“ he noted, adding private resources should be exploited to turn the island to a major tourism hub.
According to Masoud Arbab, one of the hotel’s managers, the facility has a built-up area of 16,000 sq.m.
Constructed through private entrepreneurship, Parmis Hotel has 170 rooms, close to 500 beds, seven restaurants and coffee shops, Internet cafŽ, gyms, sauna and swimming pool, handicrafts store, beauty parlor and laundry.
Kish Island, stretched across 93 square kilometers, receives more than one million Iranian and foreign tourists a year."
Iran Daily - Gilan 3rd Art, Culture Festival Planned - 04/17/06
3rd Art, Culture Festival Planned
Traditional handicrafts, dishes, costumes and rural life utensils of Gilan will be showcased during the event.
Gilan’s Third Artistic and Cultural Festival dubbed Reyhaneh will be held in the Caspian province during May 13-19.
Head of Public Relations Office of Gilan Culture and Islamic Guidance Department said the event aims to provide an insight into the capabilities of local women in religious, artistic and cultural arenas, ISNA reported.
Mohammad Jaddehkenari added the art section of the festival includes paintings, calligraphy, films, photos, music and theater.
According to the official, books translated or authored by Gilani women as well as female-oriented publications will be put on display at the cultural section.
Provincial cities of Rasht, Astan-e Ashrafieh, Lahijan, Roudsar, Langeroud, Amlash, Anzali, Fouman, Shaft, Siahkal, Roudbar, Some’ehsara, Astara, Talesh and Rezvanshahr have pavilions in the fair, he expanded.
Jaddehkenari stated that traditional handicrafts, dishes, costumes and rural life utensils of Gilan will also be showcased.
He called on Gilani women, especially university students, to submit their research projects and papers on women’s hijab (Islamic dress code), women and social security, women in Islamic culture, women’s role in Islamic and Western countries, women and education, women and politics, women and social rights and finally creation of women in Qur’an to the festival’s secretariat.
Iran Daily - Panorama - 04/17/06:
For the Best in Oriental Rug Cleaning in the State College and Williamsport Pa area visit Doug's Rug Spa
Traditional handicrafts, dishes, costumes and rural life utensils of Gilan will be showcased during the event.
Gilan’s Third Artistic and Cultural Festival dubbed Reyhaneh will be held in the Caspian province during May 13-19.
Head of Public Relations Office of Gilan Culture and Islamic Guidance Department said the event aims to provide an insight into the capabilities of local women in religious, artistic and cultural arenas, ISNA reported.
Mohammad Jaddehkenari added the art section of the festival includes paintings, calligraphy, films, photos, music and theater.
According to the official, books translated or authored by Gilani women as well as female-oriented publications will be put on display at the cultural section.
Provincial cities of Rasht, Astan-e Ashrafieh, Lahijan, Roudsar, Langeroud, Amlash, Anzali, Fouman, Shaft, Siahkal, Roudbar, Some’ehsara, Astara, Talesh and Rezvanshahr have pavilions in the fair, he expanded.
Jaddehkenari stated that traditional handicrafts, dishes, costumes and rural life utensils of Gilan will also be showcased.
He called on Gilani women, especially university students, to submit their research projects and papers on women’s hijab (Islamic dress code), women and social security, women in Islamic culture, women’s role in Islamic and Western countries, women and education, women and politics, women and social rights and finally creation of women in Qur’an to the festival’s secretariat.
Iran Daily - Panorama - 04/17/06:
For the Best in Oriental Rug Cleaning in the State College and Williamsport Pa area visit Doug's Rug Spa
CHN | Kashan Preparing for “Rose and Rosewater Festival
CHN | News: "Kashan Preparing for “Rose and Rosewater Festival”
Kashan city will be the host of thousands of tourists during its annual “Rose and Rosewater Festival”.
Tehran, 27 April 2006 (CHN) -- Every year, the city of Kashan and its neighborhood districts are the host of hundreds of thousands of tourists during the festival of Gol-o-Golab (Rose and Rosewater), in which rosewater is extracted from the sweet-scented Mohammadi Rose, indigenous to Iran, during special and traditional ceremonies.
Kashan has abundant numbers of Mohammadi Rose from which high quality rosewater is extracted. The smell of this flower is amazing. Every year Kashan sends large amount of this rosewater to the holly city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia as a gift to wash the Kaba* with it.
This year the festival will be held from 16-24 of May and since this year has been called “Holy Prophet Mohammad Year” in Iran, some special programs will be held during this festival, including the seminar entitled “from rosewater to essence”, the ceremony of extracting rosewater from the flowers, the ceremony of dusting off pilgrimage places and washing them by rosewater, and the seminar of improving and developing flower breeding.
Kashan, Qamsar, Mashhad Ardehal, Niasar, and Joshaghan cities will be the hosts of tourists who are interested in observing this ceremony closely during these days. Abyaneh, a famous village near Kashan, which is famous for its traditional culture and special architectural style, is also one of the places which will host a lot of tourists during this time.
According to Abbas Motevali, head of public relations office of Kashan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, the seminar of “From Rosewater to Essence” will be held during the first day of the festival in Kashan University. Ceremony of extracting rosewater from rose flower which is the main part of this festival will be held in Mohammadi flower Garden in Qamsar on the second day, the same thing will be held in Ghale Tepe entertainment site during the fourth day, in the garden of Niasar City Hall in the fifth day and in Joshaghan in the sixth day of the festival.
In addition, the ceremony of dusting off the pilgrimage places and washing the shrine of Ali ibn Mohammad Bagher Mausoleum will be held during the third day of the festival.
The seminar on improving the agriculture and developing flower breeding will be held in Kashan in the last day of the festival.
Motevali has estimated the number of the inbound tourists during this festival to Kahsan province to be some 1,370,000 individuals.
Kashan is a city in the province of Isfahan. The history of Kashan dates back to the Elamite period. The etymology of the city name comes from the Persian word Kashi, which translates into the English word “tile”. Kashan is internationally famous for manufacturing carpets, silk and other textiles.
See my Guide to Kashan Rugs
_____________
* Kaba is a cubed-shape building constructed by Prophet Abraham in present day city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This has been the case since the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) over 1400 years ago. Each year and during the Hajj ceremony, Muslims from around the world gather in the holly city of Mecca and perform the ceremony by walk around the building seven times and praising God for his blessings.
For more information about the Kaba and its history click here: www.soundvision.com/info/hajj/kaba.asp"
Kashan city will be the host of thousands of tourists during its annual “Rose and Rosewater Festival”.
Tehran, 27 April 2006 (CHN) -- Every year, the city of Kashan and its neighborhood districts are the host of hundreds of thousands of tourists during the festival of Gol-o-Golab (Rose and Rosewater), in which rosewater is extracted from the sweet-scented Mohammadi Rose, indigenous to Iran, during special and traditional ceremonies.
Kashan has abundant numbers of Mohammadi Rose from which high quality rosewater is extracted. The smell of this flower is amazing. Every year Kashan sends large amount of this rosewater to the holly city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia as a gift to wash the Kaba* with it.
This year the festival will be held from 16-24 of May and since this year has been called “Holy Prophet Mohammad Year” in Iran, some special programs will be held during this festival, including the seminar entitled “from rosewater to essence”, the ceremony of extracting rosewater from the flowers, the ceremony of dusting off pilgrimage places and washing them by rosewater, and the seminar of improving and developing flower breeding.
Kashan, Qamsar, Mashhad Ardehal, Niasar, and Joshaghan cities will be the hosts of tourists who are interested in observing this ceremony closely during these days. Abyaneh, a famous village near Kashan, which is famous for its traditional culture and special architectural style, is also one of the places which will host a lot of tourists during this time.
According to Abbas Motevali, head of public relations office of Kashan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, the seminar of “From Rosewater to Essence” will be held during the first day of the festival in Kashan University. Ceremony of extracting rosewater from rose flower which is the main part of this festival will be held in Mohammadi flower Garden in Qamsar on the second day, the same thing will be held in Ghale Tepe entertainment site during the fourth day, in the garden of Niasar City Hall in the fifth day and in Joshaghan in the sixth day of the festival.
In addition, the ceremony of dusting off the pilgrimage places and washing the shrine of Ali ibn Mohammad Bagher Mausoleum will be held during the third day of the festival.
The seminar on improving the agriculture and developing flower breeding will be held in Kashan in the last day of the festival.
Motevali has estimated the number of the inbound tourists during this festival to Kahsan province to be some 1,370,000 individuals.
Kashan is a city in the province of Isfahan. The history of Kashan dates back to the Elamite period. The etymology of the city name comes from the Persian word Kashi, which translates into the English word “tile”. Kashan is internationally famous for manufacturing carpets, silk and other textiles.
See my Guide to Kashan Rugs
_____________
* Kaba is a cubed-shape building constructed by Prophet Abraham in present day city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This has been the case since the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) over 1400 years ago. Each year and during the Hajj ceremony, Muslims from around the world gather in the holly city of Mecca and perform the ceremony by walk around the building seven times and praising God for his blessings.
For more information about the Kaba and its history click here: www.soundvision.com/info/hajj/kaba.asp"
Monday, April 24, 2006
Kerman to establish Iran's largest carpet museum
Kerman to establish Iran's largest carpet museum: "Tehran: 19:30 , 2006/04/24
Kerman to establish Iran’s largest carpet museum
TEHRAN, Apr. 24 (MNA) -- Iran’s largest carpet museum is to be established in the George Thimou Garden in Kerman, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.
The director of the Kerman Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said that the museum dedicated to Kerman carpets will be established in the 100-year-old garden in a space of four hectares.
According to Ali Karnama, the garden was converted into a carpet weaving and importing workshop almost one hundred years ago by British businessman George Thimou.
The garden is currently supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and the Kerman Carpet Corporation. It houses several old buildings, and the old equipment for producing carpets has been left untouched.
He explained that the museum will be established through the cooperation of the Kerman Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department and the Ministry of Commerce, adding, “The ministry, the department, and the Kerman Carpet Corporation will allocate a sum of 200 billion rials to purchase the old carpets of Kerman from different regions for display at the museum.”
Karnama said the details will be discussed in May during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Kerman, and the project will begin after the necessary funding is allocated.
Kerman carpets mostly feature floral designs. Many have rich central medallions, the motifs of which are also used on the borders and in the corners. On the larger Kerman carpets there are animal designs or repeating patterns. The smaller ones are often decorated with vase patterns or pictorial subjects."
Kerman to establish Iran’s largest carpet museum
TEHRAN, Apr. 24 (MNA) -- Iran’s largest carpet museum is to be established in the George Thimou Garden in Kerman, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.
The director of the Kerman Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department said that the museum dedicated to Kerman carpets will be established in the 100-year-old garden in a space of four hectares.
According to Ali Karnama, the garden was converted into a carpet weaving and importing workshop almost one hundred years ago by British businessman George Thimou.
The garden is currently supervised by the Ministry of Commerce and the Kerman Carpet Corporation. It houses several old buildings, and the old equipment for producing carpets has been left untouched.
He explained that the museum will be established through the cooperation of the Kerman Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department and the Ministry of Commerce, adding, “The ministry, the department, and the Kerman Carpet Corporation will allocate a sum of 200 billion rials to purchase the old carpets of Kerman from different regions for display at the museum.”
Karnama said the details will be discussed in May during President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s visit to Kerman, and the project will begin after the necessary funding is allocated.
Kerman carpets mostly feature floral designs. Many have rich central medallions, the motifs of which are also used on the borders and in the corners. On the larger Kerman carpets there are animal designs or repeating patterns. The smaller ones are often decorated with vase patterns or pictorial subjects."
Saturday, April 22, 2006
The Hindu : International : Bringing back the magic of Iranian carpet-weaving
The Hindu : International : Bringing back the magic of Iranian carpet-weaving: "Bringing back the magic of Iranian carpet-weaving
World's biggest carpet to come from three villages
6,000 sq m, 48 tonnes
To have 2.2 billion knots
Weavers are all women
BAGHSHAN: More than 1,200 village women have set to work weaving a giant carpet worth $8.5 million (about Rs. 38.25 crores).
Iranian experts claim that it will be the world's largest hand-woven floor covering ever. It was commissioned for the Sheik Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Iran has a long and legendary tradition of carpet-making.
Jalalledin Bassam, director of the Iranian Government-owned Iran Carpet Co., said weaving the carpet — 6,000 sq m and weighing about 48 tonnes — will take at most 14 months for villagers who will work two shifts daily.
A symbol
"The carpet will be a symbol of Iranian handicraft art," he said. "It is decorated with traditional Persian designs and natural colours and is made of 2.2 billion knots."
The weaving began last month here, a village northeast of Tehran, and two nearby villages. The weavers are all women between ages of 15 and 60. They are supervised by 50 men acting as technical experts. These men will later travel to Abu Dhabi to join the pieces together at the mosque once the carpet is completed.
The project has revived the carpet economy in northeastern Iran at a time when carpet prices have plummeted.
"This project has given us a new life. We are happy," said Sakineh Tajik, 36, one of the weavers. "We are proud of our art," she said. Her husband is one of the experts supervising the work.
Until this carpet was commissioned, the world's largest was in the Qabus Azam Mosque in Muscat, Oman. It also was the work of Iranian carpet weavers and shipped to Oman in 2000. That carpet had a surface of 5,000 sq m, weighed 22 tonnes and was valued at $5.2 million.
Big export item
Carpets are one of Iran's biggest non-oil export items, accounting for $500 million annually. In the 1990s, Iran was the world's biggest carpet exporter but the industry has been hit by cheaper Pakistani, Chinese and Indian copies of traditional Iranian patterns.
Iran's carpet trade with the West began seriously in the 16th century when European kings and courtiers began importing the tribal works from Persia, modern-day Iran. — AP"
World's biggest carpet to come from three villages
6,000 sq m, 48 tonnes
To have 2.2 billion knots
Weavers are all women
BAGHSHAN: More than 1,200 village women have set to work weaving a giant carpet worth $8.5 million (about Rs. 38.25 crores).
Iranian experts claim that it will be the world's largest hand-woven floor covering ever. It was commissioned for the Sheik Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Iran has a long and legendary tradition of carpet-making.
Jalalledin Bassam, director of the Iranian Government-owned Iran Carpet Co., said weaving the carpet — 6,000 sq m and weighing about 48 tonnes — will take at most 14 months for villagers who will work two shifts daily.
A symbol
"The carpet will be a symbol of Iranian handicraft art," he said. "It is decorated with traditional Persian designs and natural colours and is made of 2.2 billion knots."
The weaving began last month here, a village northeast of Tehran, and two nearby villages. The weavers are all women between ages of 15 and 60. They are supervised by 50 men acting as technical experts. These men will later travel to Abu Dhabi to join the pieces together at the mosque once the carpet is completed.
The project has revived the carpet economy in northeastern Iran at a time when carpet prices have plummeted.
"This project has given us a new life. We are happy," said Sakineh Tajik, 36, one of the weavers. "We are proud of our art," she said. Her husband is one of the experts supervising the work.
Until this carpet was commissioned, the world's largest was in the Qabus Azam Mosque in Muscat, Oman. It also was the work of Iranian carpet weavers and shipped to Oman in 2000. That carpet had a surface of 5,000 sq m, weighed 22 tonnes and was valued at $5.2 million.
Big export item
Carpets are one of Iran's biggest non-oil export items, accounting for $500 million annually. In the 1990s, Iran was the world's biggest carpet exporter but the industry has been hit by cheaper Pakistani, Chinese and Indian copies of traditional Iranian patterns.
Iran's carpet trade with the West began seriously in the 16th century when European kings and courtiers began importing the tribal works from Persia, modern-day Iran. — AP"
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil
Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil: "Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil
Six Muslim women visit U.S. on State Department-sponsored program
Azerbaijani educators told a U.S. audience recently that their small country on the Caspian Sea can contribute much more than oil to the rest of the world.
Azerbaijan blends Islamic tradition and religious tolerance at a geographic and cultural crossroad linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East. While seeking more contacts with other nations, Azerbaijanis also want to preserve their country's unique balance of tradition and tolerance, the educators said.
"We are all for integration. Not Westernization, but integration," said Sevinj Ruintan, a history professor at Baku State University. "We do not think that we are the only ones who can learn" from cultural exchanges with other countries, she said. "We think that others can learn from us as well."
Ruintan was among six Azerbaijani women scholars and teachers, all Muslims, who visited the United States March 27-April 14 in a State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership program, where they looked at religion and education in this country.
During a March 29 roundtable discussion on Islam in Azerbaijan and Europe, four of the six visitors wore traditional head scarves and two wore Western-style business clothes. They said the majority of Azerbaijani women lead a secular lifestyle and do not wear head scarves in public.
ISLAM IN AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijanis rediscovered their Islamic heritage after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet the resurgence of religion has not undermined the country's acceptance of other faiths nor its fair-minded treatment of women, members of the group said, speaking through an interpreter. For example, they said, Azerbaijanis have valued the education of women and girls for well over a century, and many teachers and scholars are women.
"Azerbaijan has always been a very multiethnic nation," said Naila Suleymanova, a rare manuscripts researcher at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. Until the Soviet Union takeover in 1920, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in Baku. "We have never had any conflicts with non-Muslims," Suleymanova said. "Everybody in a way back in Soviet times fought for his or her faith. Communists were closing mosques and churches and the synagogues." Beginning in 1990, "representatives of all the ethnic groups began to return to religion."
Azerbaijan is bordered by Armenia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. The country has an ethnic Turkic heritage that also blends elements of ancient Persian culture. Despite shortcomings during a presidential election in November 2005, U.S. officials support democratic efforts in the former Soviet republic. (See related article.)
"Azerbaijan has a chance to emerge as a secular democracy that has a predominantly Shiia population," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 5.
Thomas Goltz, a professor at the University of Montana who was a journalist in Azerbaijan during the early 1990s, said the country's rediscovery of Shiite Islam once created the potential for an Islamist revolution. "The most interesting thing to me is that it didn't happen," Goltz said during a lecture in January at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
During the lecture, Goltz showed a film he made in 1994 documenting the rise of Shiite Islam as Azerbaijanis cast aside 70 years of Soviet dominance. "We preserved our religion like a precious flower," one Azerbaijani said in the film, which showed fervent gatherings of worshippers. Goltz, who was an observer during the November 2005 elections, said the country has political flaws but appears to have struck a balance between modernity and its cultural identity.
Although the government of neighboring Iran is dominated by theocrats, even religious-minded Azerbaijanis say they are not interested in Iran's approach to Islam. "We are not on the level of Islam seen in Iran," Sevda Hasanova, editor of Hesabat, a social-political magazine, said during the State Department roundtable. "Our people would never want to live the kind of Islam as practiced in Iran."
"The overall mentality of the Azeri people is clearly intertwined with Islam," said Ulduza Fataliyeva, an observant Muslim who teaches ethics for the nonprofit Center for Religious Studies in Sumgayit, north of Baku.
"That applies to all people, whether they adhere to the rules of Islamic law or not," said Fataliyeva. "As an ethnic Azeri, everyone knows the rules of Islamic conduct. Whether we worship according to the Islamic ritual or not, that doesn't change our Islamic identity."
Zakiyya Abilova, a rare manuscripts researcher for the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences, said she chooses to wear a head scarf as an outward sign of her faith. "We can't say people do not have any religion if they do not pray," Abilova said. "We all have God in our heart."
Abilova learned Arabic as part of her university studies, and she said her doctoral dissertation was related to sharia, Islamic law. "Islam is a true light that enriches the human spirit, and I am really proud to be an Islamic scholar," said Abilova.
The decision whether to wear a head scarf does not influence the way women are treated in public, the educators said. "In our country, whether or not you're covered or uncovered, the attitude men have toward women is good," said Suleymanova, who is also a manuscripts researcher at the Academy of Sciences.
NATION OFFERS "RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE"
In discussing what Azerbaijan has to offer the world, the women were concerned that outsiders tend to view their country only in light of its petroleum reserves. Azerbaijan became an important oil-producing region more than 100 years ago and was a major oil and gas supplier to the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Azerbaijan signed multibillion-dollar agreements with Western companies. The 1,610-kilometer $4 billion Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline - built with U.S. backing - is scheduled to begin regularly pumping oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey's Mediterranean coast later this year.
"Unfortunately, the integration of Azerbaijan has started with the oil agreements and it has ended with them," said Hasanova, the magazine editor. She said she hopes the government of Azerbaijan will put its oil wealth to work for the people. And she noted that some experts predict the oil boom will last no more than 45 years before petroleum reserves begin to run dry.
Azerbaijan lies on the traditional Silk Road and is a crossroad between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences includes unique volumes of Muslim medical texts, including 363 manuscripts that have been entered in the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register, which preserves world heritage documents. (See related news release on the Web site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.)
"Much of the world could benefit from these global treasures," said Abilova, one of the Academy researchers.
Also, many well-known carpet styles from modern-day Iran use Azerbaijani patterns, Ruintan said. In 1828, Azerbaijan was divided between the Russian and Persian empires. The portion north of the Aras River, which was ceded to Russia, eventually became today's Republic of Azerbaijan. A larger portion south of the Aras, to include the city of Tabriz, remains an ethnic Azerbaijani region of Iran. Hence, ethnic Azerbaijanis weave many Iranian carpets.
"So what we could give to the world," said Ruintan, "is our rich cultural heritage. We could try to present our culture on a global basis."
Source: U.S. Department of State
judythpiazza@gmail.com"
Six Muslim women visit U.S. on State Department-sponsored program
Azerbaijani educators told a U.S. audience recently that their small country on the Caspian Sea can contribute much more than oil to the rest of the world.
Azerbaijan blends Islamic tradition and religious tolerance at a geographic and cultural crossroad linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East. While seeking more contacts with other nations, Azerbaijanis also want to preserve their country's unique balance of tradition and tolerance, the educators said.
"We are all for integration. Not Westernization, but integration," said Sevinj Ruintan, a history professor at Baku State University. "We do not think that we are the only ones who can learn" from cultural exchanges with other countries, she said. "We think that others can learn from us as well."
Ruintan was among six Azerbaijani women scholars and teachers, all Muslims, who visited the United States March 27-April 14 in a State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership program, where they looked at religion and education in this country.
During a March 29 roundtable discussion on Islam in Azerbaijan and Europe, four of the six visitors wore traditional head scarves and two wore Western-style business clothes. They said the majority of Azerbaijani women lead a secular lifestyle and do not wear head scarves in public.
ISLAM IN AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijanis rediscovered their Islamic heritage after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet the resurgence of religion has not undermined the country's acceptance of other faiths nor its fair-minded treatment of women, members of the group said, speaking through an interpreter. For example, they said, Azerbaijanis have valued the education of women and girls for well over a century, and many teachers and scholars are women.
"Azerbaijan has always been a very multiethnic nation," said Naila Suleymanova, a rare manuscripts researcher at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. Until the Soviet Union takeover in 1920, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in Baku. "We have never had any conflicts with non-Muslims," Suleymanova said. "Everybody in a way back in Soviet times fought for his or her faith. Communists were closing mosques and churches and the synagogues." Beginning in 1990, "representatives of all the ethnic groups began to return to religion."
Azerbaijan is bordered by Armenia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. The country has an ethnic Turkic heritage that also blends elements of ancient Persian culture. Despite shortcomings during a presidential election in November 2005, U.S. officials support democratic efforts in the former Soviet republic. (See related article.)
"Azerbaijan has a chance to emerge as a secular democracy that has a predominantly Shiia population," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 5.
Thomas Goltz, a professor at the University of Montana who was a journalist in Azerbaijan during the early 1990s, said the country's rediscovery of Shiite Islam once created the potential for an Islamist revolution. "The most interesting thing to me is that it didn't happen," Goltz said during a lecture in January at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
During the lecture, Goltz showed a film he made in 1994 documenting the rise of Shiite Islam as Azerbaijanis cast aside 70 years of Soviet dominance. "We preserved our religion like a precious flower," one Azerbaijani said in the film, which showed fervent gatherings of worshippers. Goltz, who was an observer during the November 2005 elections, said the country has political flaws but appears to have struck a balance between modernity and its cultural identity.
Although the government of neighboring Iran is dominated by theocrats, even religious-minded Azerbaijanis say they are not interested in Iran's approach to Islam. "We are not on the level of Islam seen in Iran," Sevda Hasanova, editor of Hesabat, a social-political magazine, said during the State Department roundtable. "Our people would never want to live the kind of Islam as practiced in Iran."
"The overall mentality of the Azeri people is clearly intertwined with Islam," said Ulduza Fataliyeva, an observant Muslim who teaches ethics for the nonprofit Center for Religious Studies in Sumgayit, north of Baku.
"That applies to all people, whether they adhere to the rules of Islamic law or not," said Fataliyeva. "As an ethnic Azeri, everyone knows the rules of Islamic conduct. Whether we worship according to the Islamic ritual or not, that doesn't change our Islamic identity."
Zakiyya Abilova, a rare manuscripts researcher for the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences, said she chooses to wear a head scarf as an outward sign of her faith. "We can't say people do not have any religion if they do not pray," Abilova said. "We all have God in our heart."
Abilova learned Arabic as part of her university studies, and she said her doctoral dissertation was related to sharia, Islamic law. "Islam is a true light that enriches the human spirit, and I am really proud to be an Islamic scholar," said Abilova.
The decision whether to wear a head scarf does not influence the way women are treated in public, the educators said. "In our country, whether or not you're covered or uncovered, the attitude men have toward women is good," said Suleymanova, who is also a manuscripts researcher at the Academy of Sciences.
NATION OFFERS "RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE"
In discussing what Azerbaijan has to offer the world, the women were concerned that outsiders tend to view their country only in light of its petroleum reserves. Azerbaijan became an important oil-producing region more than 100 years ago and was a major oil and gas supplier to the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Azerbaijan signed multibillion-dollar agreements with Western companies. The 1,610-kilometer $4 billion Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline - built with U.S. backing - is scheduled to begin regularly pumping oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey's Mediterranean coast later this year.
"Unfortunately, the integration of Azerbaijan has started with the oil agreements and it has ended with them," said Hasanova, the magazine editor. She said she hopes the government of Azerbaijan will put its oil wealth to work for the people. And she noted that some experts predict the oil boom will last no more than 45 years before petroleum reserves begin to run dry.
Azerbaijan lies on the traditional Silk Road and is a crossroad between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences includes unique volumes of Muslim medical texts, including 363 manuscripts that have been entered in the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register, which preserves world heritage documents. (See related news release on the Web site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.)
"Much of the world could benefit from these global treasures," said Abilova, one of the Academy researchers.
Also, many well-known carpet styles from modern-day Iran use Azerbaijani patterns, Ruintan said. In 1828, Azerbaijan was divided between the Russian and Persian empires. The portion north of the Aras River, which was ceded to Russia, eventually became today's Republic of Azerbaijan. A larger portion south of the Aras, to include the city of Tabriz, remains an ethnic Azerbaijani region of Iran. Hence, ethnic Azerbaijanis weave many Iranian carpets.
"So what we could give to the world," said Ruintan, "is our rich cultural heritage. We could try to present our culture on a global basis."
Source: U.S. Department of State
judythpiazza@gmail.com"
Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil
Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil: "Educators Say Azerbaijan's Culture Is More Important than Its Oil
Six Muslim women visit U.S. on State Department-sponsored program
Azerbaijani educators told a U.S. audience recently that their small country on the Caspian Sea can contribute much more than oil to the rest of the world.
Azerbaijan blends Islamic tradition and religious tolerance at a geographic and cultural crossroad linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East. While seeking more contacts with other nations, Azerbaijanis also want to preserve their country's unique balance of tradition and tolerance, the educators said.
"We are all for integration. Not Westernization, but integration," said Sevinj Ruintan, a history professor at Baku State University. "We do not think that we are the only ones who can learn" from cultural exchanges with other countries, she said. "We think that others can learn from us as well."
Ruintan was among six Azerbaijani women scholars and teachers, all Muslims, who visited the United States March 27-April 14 in a State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership program, where they looked at religion and education in this country.
During a March 29 roundtable discussion on Islam in Azerbaijan and Europe, four of the six visitors wore traditional head scarves and two wore Western-style business clothes. They said the majority of Azerbaijani women lead a secular lifestyle and do not wear head scarves in public.
ISLAM IN AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijanis rediscovered their Islamic heritage after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet the resurgence of religion has not undermined the country's acceptance of other faiths nor its fair-minded treatment of women, members of the group said, speaking through an interpreter. For example, they said, Azerbaijanis have valued the education of women and girls for well over a century, and many teachers and scholars are women.
"Azerbaijan has always been a very multiethnic nation," said Naila Suleymanova, a rare manuscripts researcher at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. Until the Soviet Union takeover in 1920, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in Baku. "We have never had any conflicts with non-Muslims," Suleymanova said. "Everybody in a way back in Soviet times fought for his or her faith. Communists were closing mosques and churches and the synagogues." Beginning in 1990, "representatives of all the ethnic groups began to return to religion."
Azerbaijan is bordered by Armenia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. The country has an ethnic Turkic heritage that also blends elements of ancient Persian culture. Despite shortcomings during a presidential election in November 2005, U.S. officials support democratic efforts in the former Soviet republic. (See related article.)
"Azerbaijan has a chance to emerge as a secular democracy that has a predominantly Shiia population," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 5.
Thomas Goltz, a professor at the University of Montana who was a journalist in Azerbaijan during the early 1990s, said the country's rediscovery of Shiite Islam once created the potential for an Islamist revolution. "The most interesting thing to me is that it didn't happen," Goltz said during a lecture in January at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
During the lecture, Goltz showed a film he made in 1994 documenting the rise of Shiite Islam as Azerbaijanis cast aside 70 years of Soviet dominance. "We preserved our religion like a precious flower," one Azerbaijani said in the film, which showed fervent gatherings of worshippers. Goltz, who was an observer during the November 2005 elections, said the country has political flaws but appears to have struck a balance between modernity and its cultural identity.
Although the government of neighboring Iran is dominated by theocrats, even religious-minded Azerbaijanis say they are not interested in Iran's approach to Islam. "We are not on the level of Islam seen in Iran," Sevda Hasanova, editor of Hesabat, a social-political magazine, said during the State Department roundtable. "Our people would never want to live the kind of Islam as practiced in Iran."
"The overall mentality of the Azeri people is clearly intertwined with Islam," said Ulduza Fataliyeva, an observant Muslim who teaches ethics for the nonprofit Center for Religious Studies in Sumgayit, north of Baku.
"That applies to all people, whether they adhere to the rules of Islamic law or not," said Fataliyeva. "As an ethnic Azeri, everyone knows the rules of Islamic conduct. Whether we worship according to the Islamic ritual or not, that doesn't change our Islamic identity."
Zakiyya Abilova, a rare manuscripts researcher for the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences, said she chooses to wear a head scarf as an outward sign of her faith. "We can't say people do not have any religion if they do not pray," Abilova said. "We all have God in our heart."
Abilova learned Arabic as part of her university studies, and she said her doctoral dissertation was related to sharia, Islamic law. "Islam is a true light that enriches the human spirit, and I am really proud to be an Islamic scholar," said Abilova.
The decision whether to wear a head scarf does not influence the way women are treated in public, the educators said. "In our country, whether or not you're covered or uncovered, the attitude men have toward women is good," said Suleymanova, who is also a manuscripts researcher at the Academy of Sciences.
NATION OFFERS "RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE"
In discussing what Azerbaijan has to offer the world, the women were concerned that outsiders tend to view their country only in light of its petroleum reserves. Azerbaijan became an important oil-producing region more than 100 years ago and was a major oil and gas supplier to the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Azerbaijan signed multibillion-dollar agreements with Western companies. The 1,610-kilometer $4 billion Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline - built with U.S. backing - is scheduled to begin regularly pumping oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey's Mediterranean coast later this year.
"Unfortunately, the integration of Azerbaijan has started with the oil agreements and it has ended with them," said Hasanova, the magazine editor. She said she hopes the government of Azerbaijan will put its oil wealth to work for the people. And she noted that some experts predict the oil boom will last no more than 45 years before petroleum reserves begin to run dry.
Azerbaijan lies on the traditional Silk Road and is a crossroad between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences includes unique volumes of Muslim medical texts, including 363 manuscripts that have been entered in the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register, which preserves world heritage documents. (See related news release on the Web site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.)
"Much of the world could benefit from these global treasures," said Abilova, one of the Academy researchers.
Also, many well-known carpet styles from modern-day Iran use Azerbaijani patterns, Ruintan said. In 1828, Azerbaijan was divided between the Russian and Persian empires. The portion north of the Aras River, which was ceded to Russia, eventually became today's Republic of Azerbaijan. A larger portion south of the Aras, to include the city of Tabriz, remains an ethnic Azerbaijani region of Iran. Hence, ethnic Azerbaijanis weave many Iranian carpets.
"So what we could give to the world," said Ruintan, "is our rich cultural heritage. We could try to present our culture on a global basis."
Source: U.S. Department of State
judythpiazza@gmail.com"
Six Muslim women visit U.S. on State Department-sponsored program
Azerbaijani educators told a U.S. audience recently that their small country on the Caspian Sea can contribute much more than oil to the rest of the world.
Azerbaijan blends Islamic tradition and religious tolerance at a geographic and cultural crossroad linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East. While seeking more contacts with other nations, Azerbaijanis also want to preserve their country's unique balance of tradition and tolerance, the educators said.
"We are all for integration. Not Westernization, but integration," said Sevinj Ruintan, a history professor at Baku State University. "We do not think that we are the only ones who can learn" from cultural exchanges with other countries, she said. "We think that others can learn from us as well."
Ruintan was among six Azerbaijani women scholars and teachers, all Muslims, who visited the United States March 27-April 14 in a State Department-sponsored International Visitor Leadership program, where they looked at religion and education in this country.
During a March 29 roundtable discussion on Islam in Azerbaijan and Europe, four of the six visitors wore traditional head scarves and two wore Western-style business clothes. They said the majority of Azerbaijani women lead a secular lifestyle and do not wear head scarves in public.
ISLAM IN AZERBAIJAN
Azerbaijanis rediscovered their Islamic heritage after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, yet the resurgence of religion has not undermined the country's acceptance of other faiths nor its fair-minded treatment of women, members of the group said, speaking through an interpreter. For example, they said, Azerbaijanis have valued the education of women and girls for well over a century, and many teachers and scholars are women.
"Azerbaijan has always been a very multiethnic nation," said Naila Suleymanova, a rare manuscripts researcher at the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. Until the Soviet Union takeover in 1920, Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in Baku. "We have never had any conflicts with non-Muslims," Suleymanova said. "Everybody in a way back in Soviet times fought for his or her faith. Communists were closing mosques and churches and the synagogues." Beginning in 1990, "representatives of all the ethnic groups began to return to religion."
Azerbaijan is bordered by Armenia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and the Republic of Georgia. The country has an ethnic Turkic heritage that also blends elements of ancient Persian culture. Despite shortcomings during a presidential election in November 2005, U.S. officials support democratic efforts in the former Soviet republic. (See related article.)
"Azerbaijan has a chance to emerge as a secular democracy that has a predominantly Shiia population," Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 5.
Thomas Goltz, a professor at the University of Montana who was a journalist in Azerbaijan during the early 1990s, said the country's rediscovery of Shiite Islam once created the potential for an Islamist revolution. "The most interesting thing to me is that it didn't happen," Goltz said during a lecture in January at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington.
During the lecture, Goltz showed a film he made in 1994 documenting the rise of Shiite Islam as Azerbaijanis cast aside 70 years of Soviet dominance. "We preserved our religion like a precious flower," one Azerbaijani said in the film, which showed fervent gatherings of worshippers. Goltz, who was an observer during the November 2005 elections, said the country has political flaws but appears to have struck a balance between modernity and its cultural identity.
Although the government of neighboring Iran is dominated by theocrats, even religious-minded Azerbaijanis say they are not interested in Iran's approach to Islam. "We are not on the level of Islam seen in Iran," Sevda Hasanova, editor of Hesabat, a social-political magazine, said during the State Department roundtable. "Our people would never want to live the kind of Islam as practiced in Iran."
"The overall mentality of the Azeri people is clearly intertwined with Islam," said Ulduza Fataliyeva, an observant Muslim who teaches ethics for the nonprofit Center for Religious Studies in Sumgayit, north of Baku.
"That applies to all people, whether they adhere to the rules of Islamic law or not," said Fataliyeva. "As an ethnic Azeri, everyone knows the rules of Islamic conduct. Whether we worship according to the Islamic ritual or not, that doesn't change our Islamic identity."
Zakiyya Abilova, a rare manuscripts researcher for the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences, said she chooses to wear a head scarf as an outward sign of her faith. "We can't say people do not have any religion if they do not pray," Abilova said. "We all have God in our heart."
Abilova learned Arabic as part of her university studies, and she said her doctoral dissertation was related to sharia, Islamic law. "Islam is a true light that enriches the human spirit, and I am really proud to be an Islamic scholar," said Abilova.
The decision whether to wear a head scarf does not influence the way women are treated in public, the educators said. "In our country, whether or not you're covered or uncovered, the attitude men have toward women is good," said Suleymanova, who is also a manuscripts researcher at the Academy of Sciences.
NATION OFFERS "RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE"
In discussing what Azerbaijan has to offer the world, the women were concerned that outsiders tend to view their country only in light of its petroleum reserves. Azerbaijan became an important oil-producing region more than 100 years ago and was a major oil and gas supplier to the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, Azerbaijan signed multibillion-dollar agreements with Western companies. The 1,610-kilometer $4 billion Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan pipeline - built with U.S. backing - is scheduled to begin regularly pumping oil from Azerbaijan to Turkey's Mediterranean coast later this year.
"Unfortunately, the integration of Azerbaijan has started with the oil agreements and it has ended with them," said Hasanova, the magazine editor. She said she hopes the government of Azerbaijan will put its oil wealth to work for the people. And she noted that some experts predict the oil boom will last no more than 45 years before petroleum reserves begin to run dry.
Azerbaijan lies on the traditional Silk Road and is a crossroad between Asia, the Middle East and Europe. The Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences includes unique volumes of Muslim medical texts, including 363 manuscripts that have been entered in the UNESCO "Memory of the World" register, which preserves world heritage documents. (See related news release on the Web site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.)
"Much of the world could benefit from these global treasures," said Abilova, one of the Academy researchers.
Also, many well-known carpet styles from modern-day Iran use Azerbaijani patterns, Ruintan said. In 1828, Azerbaijan was divided between the Russian and Persian empires. The portion north of the Aras River, which was ceded to Russia, eventually became today's Republic of Azerbaijan. A larger portion south of the Aras, to include the city of Tabriz, remains an ethnic Azerbaijani region of Iran. Hence, ethnic Azerbaijanis weave many Iranian carpets.
"So what we could give to the world," said Ruintan, "is our rich cultural heritage. We could try to present our culture on a global basis."
Source: U.S. Department of State
judythpiazza@gmail.com"
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