Qom province is to recognize its first boutique hotel, which is its main structure is a historical mansion featuring gems of traditional Iranian architecture.

“The historical mansion of Salamatiha is to become the first boutique hotel after being fully restored and renovated,” provincial tourism chief Alireza Arjmandi said on Tuesday.

A budget of 180 billion rials ($4.2 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been allocated to the project, which is being carried out by the private sector, the official added.

Upon completion, the project is expected to generate 17 job opportunities, he noted.

In addition to offering accommodations, boutique hotels are notable for their architectural style, aesthetic appeal, and artistic arrangement, he explained.

He also noted that a way to deal with the destruction of historical monuments and houses is by restoring and rebuilding them, as well as changing their purpose.

Over the past couple of years, hundreds of historical sites and monuments across Iran have been temporarily ceded to the private investors by auctions reportedly to gain higher productivity and better maintenance.

Conducted by the Revitalization and Utilization Fund for Historical Places, the scheme is expected to assist a sustainable development for the local communities through fueling a tourism boom along the once flourishing route.

The second-holiest city of the country after Mashhad, Qom is home to both the magnificent shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh (SA) and the major religious madrasas (schools).

Apart from sightseers and pilgrims who visit Qom to pay homage at the holy shrine, the city is also a top destination for Shiite scholars and students who come from across the world to learn Islamic studies at its madrasas and browse through eminent religious bookshops.

The antiquity of Qom goes back to the Sassanid era (224 CE–651) and several historical mosques, mansions, and natural sceneries have been scattered across the city as well as towns and villages nearby. /T.T/

Iranian director Ziba Arzhang’s movie “Sky Sun, Tile Sun” was selected as best animation at the Tracce Cinematografiche Film Fest in Italy.

The festival, which is dedicated to short films, is scheduled to be held from July 13 to 18 at Forte Sangallo Nettuno in Rome. However, the winners were announced a few days before.

In “Sky Sun, Tile Sun”, due to the intensity of the explosion and bombardment of the sun, the tiled wall breaks and it gets dark everywhere. People help each other to build a new sun for the sky.

The Iranian film “Cellmate” directed by Behzad Khodaveisi won an honorable mention in the social film category.

Starring Saba Mohammadi and Qorban Najafi, the film is about Rana, a girl around the age of 10, who spends her day in a courtyard playing with a little bird in a cage, hanging out laundry, or reading books.

The film has previously screened at several festivals and won awards, including the award for its screenplay written by Solmaz Etemad at the Japan Media Arts Festival in Tokyo in 2020.

The film won one of the four Excellence Awards in the Entertainment Division of the annual festival, which has been organized since 1997 by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.

In the free category, “Bernardino da Luina” by Italian director Diego Monfredini was named best film.

“22nd Of April” by Cesare Maglioni from Italy won the Mediterranean Prize in the Social Film section.

The short shows the coronavirus is affecting the entire planet, killing thousands, changing the way we see the world and pushing our societies to rethink their habits deeply. One habit to improve above all others to be able to win the fight against this new common enemy is hand-washing. But what about those places where freshwater is not a given primary commodity?

“Ora Zero” by Fabiana Pernisco from Italy was picked as best social film.

The audiovisual essay Ora zero reflects certain situations of the city of Taranto (Italy) and its inhabitants, focusing mainly on the social and environmental problems suffered by the immediate surroundings of the industrial complex Ilva (today owned by ArcelorMittal), Europe’s largest steel center./T.T/

The first international innovation center of Iran inaugurated in Tehran to attract foreign students to participate in domestic knowledge-based companies and startups, IRNA reported.

The center, called Yas, was inaugurated by Ahl Al Bayt University in cooperation with the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, on Sunday.

During the inauguration ceremony, Vice President for Science and Technology Sourena Sattari said that the innovation center can be a base for exporting Iranian technology and knowledge-based products, while foreign students are ambassadors to introduce the country’s capabilities to the world.

Pointing out that the power of countries depends on the power of technology companies, he said that “If we want to guarantee our power, we must consider the development of knowledge-based companies.”

“We should try to sell Iranian products to other countries and make the world, especially neighboring countries, want Iranian products,” he highlighted.

Supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem, facilitating the process of commercialization of knowledge-based ideas, creating employment, and empowering Muslim students in the knowledge-based economy are among the goals of the center, which seeks to establish contacts with educational and research centers in the Islamic world and attract talented Muslim students across the world.

Accordingly, this innovation center intends to play a key role in empowering and developing the cultural and economic development of Muslims around the world by attracting, organizing, managing, and synergizing accelerators, startups, technology companies, and knowledge-based companies.

Innovation in Iran developed rapidly in 5 years

Knowledge-based companies and creative startups have grown over the past five years, and Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index, according to the UNESCO 2021 Report.

The Global Innovation Index in Iran from 2015 to 2019 has risen from 106 to 61 with continuous improvement, showing 45 steps growth.

The development of accelerators and innovation centers over the last five years has led to a rapid increase in startups and knowledge-based companies.

Between 2014 and 2017, exports of knowledge-based goods grew by a factor of five, before slumping in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015), commonly referred to as the nuclear deal, and re-imposed sanctions.

The report states that innovation in Iran has developed rapidly over the past five years, and by the end of last year, 49 accelerators and 113 innovation centers had provided services to start-ups with the participation of the private sector.

5,000 knowledge-based companies

Currently, some 5,000 knowledge-based companies are active in the country, manufacturing diverse products to meet the needs of the domestic market while saving large amounts of foreign currency.

The fields of aircraft maintenance, steel, pharmaceuticals, and medical equipment, oil, and gas are among the sectors that researchers in technology companies have engaged in, leading to import reduction. /T.T/

The Director of Iran National Carpet Center (INCC) said that country’s export of handwoven carpet in the first two months of the current year (from March 21 to May 21) registered an eighty percent hike in terms of value.

Iran’s export of handwoven carpets in the first two months of the current year (started March 21, 2021) recorded an 84.6 and 275 percent growth in terms of value and weight respectively as compared to the last year’s corresponding period, said Farahnaz Rafe on Tuesday.

Among other 33 countries imported handwoven carpets from the Islamic Republic of Iran, the two countries of Japan and Germany stood at the first and second ranks respectively in this period, she added.

According to the statistics, 50 and 46 percent of handwoven carpets were exported from Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) and Mehrabad Customs respectively while the rest from other customs offices of the country.

The ascending exports trend of handwoven carpets in the first two months of the current year (from March 21 to May 21) indicates that country’s export of handwoven carpets hit 84.6 percent hike in terms of value and also 275 percent growth in terms of weights as compared to the same period of last year. / MNA/

Iranian film ‘The Reversed Path’ directed by Abolfazl Jalili won two awards at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

Written, Directed & Produced by Abdolfazl Jalili, ‘The Reversed Path’ has won the Best Director and Best Actor awards at the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

The synopsis of ‘The Reversed Path’ read, “Emkan is a 17-year-old teenager who has not seen his father for many years and his mother works late at night in a factory. He has a small recording camera and he decides to make a film to give a twist to his routine life, however, he is not very proficient. He tries his best to achieve his goal…”

Pouyan Shokri, Masoud Naji, Mahdiyar Asghari, Mohammad Hossein Pakdaman are among the cast members of the flick.

Founded in 1993, the SIFF is a competitive global event-driven by Shanghai’s efforts to become an international cultural hub. A total of 3,693 films from 108 countries and regions registered for last year’s event.

The 24th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) was held on June 11-20, 2021.  / MNA/

 

Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri announced that the Covid-19 vaccine produced by the IRGC’s University of Medical Sciences will be unveiled in the next few days.

Announcing unveiling the IRGC-produced coronavirus vaccine, Major General Mohammad Bagheri said that all the facilities of the Armed Forces are mobilized to fight the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Defense-produce vaccine is in the second phase of clinical trials, and the vaccine produced by the IRGC’s University of Medical Sciences will be unveiled in the next few days, he added. /MNA/

 

Iran is preparing a comprehensive dossier for the historical bazaar of Arak in central Markazi province to be submitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in near future, the provincial tourism chief has said.

The World Heritage List includes a quota for each country to add its historical sites and buildings, and Iran can also register up to two per year, Mostafa Marzban explained.

Thus, due to the historical value of the bazaar of Arak, it became a priority for inclusion in the global list, the official added.

The dossier, which includes the traditional marketplace, its passageways, stores, and attached buildings caravanserais inside, will be sent to UNESCO for being assessed as a World Heritage by the end of Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 2022), he noted.

He also noted that some 500 billion rials (about $12 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) will be required to restore the bazaar to its former state.

Covering an area of 14 hectares, the bazaar was built during the reign of Fath Ali Shah, a Qajar monarch who ruled from 1797 to 1834, by Yusef Khan Gorji and is considered the main core of the city.

In winter, the air inside the bazaar building is warm and pleasant due to the special architecture, while in summer it is quite cool.

Amongst the UNESCO-designated sites in Iran are “Arg-e Bam” (Bam Citadel) that represents an outstanding example of an ancient fortified settlement, “Bisotun” in western Kermanshah province, which is notable for its Achaemenid-era inscription carved on a limestone cliff, lavish “Golestan Palace” in downtown Tehran which is a masterpiece of the Qajar era (1789 to 1925), and millennium-old “Gonbad-e Qabus” which is a mudbrick tomb tower for Qabus ibn Wushmagir. /T.T/

 

Iranian archer Milad Vaziri will be the country’s only representative in the field at Tokyo Summer Olympic Games.

Based on the athlete’s results in the latest tournaments, Iran Archery Federation has selected him for the Olympics.

The Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, will be held between July 23 and August 8. /MNA/