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Iran Daily
December 5, 2014 Friday
Some countries claim Iranian cultural heritage
While the baking of Lavash bread will be registered under the name of
Armenia and silk scarf will be attributed to Azerbaijan on UNESCO's
World Heritage List, Uzbekistan is claiming Molla Nassreddin as its
own legacy.
While Iran intends to register Rituals Related to Prayer for Rain
under its name, the neighboring nations are seeking to register
spiritual heritage of their lands on the World Heritage List.
For example, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have prepared a joint dossier
themed "Construction of Turkish Tribal Houses" for UNESCO.
Turkey seeks to present the dossier of "Marble Works".
However, out of 59 dossiers submitted for registration at UNESCO,
three have been intertwined with Iranian culture.
When Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Arev Samuelian announced that
her country sought to register Lavash on World Heritage List, many
Iranian professors and cultural heritage experts reacted against the
decision.
Because, according to the remaining documents, Lavash is being baked
in Iran since the Arsacide era.
Even some Chinese and Roman globetrotters, who had visited Iran during
the Arsacide era, wrote about Lavash. This is a proof that Lavash is
an Iranian bread.
However, Armenia also showed evidence that Armenia's Lavash belongs to
hundreds of years before the Common Era.
Archeologists identified an oven and an oval stone in one of the
historical sites of Armenia. It indicated that thousands of years ago,
Lavash or Pita bread (in Armenian language) used to be baked in this
region.
Armenians consider Lavash as sacred and have many fables about it.
Armenia even built a cartoon movie, namely "Magic Pita" in 1988, which
was renowned as a training film for a long time.
In another development, Azerbaijan seeks to present the dossier named
"Traditional Technique for Manufacturing Silk Scarf" for registration.
This dossier has commonalities with the culture of Iran, Turkey,
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
People of all four nations believe that silk scarf belongs to their
own country. For example, as one of the most influential regional
nations with regard to women's hijab (Islamic dress code), Iran
considers Osku in East Azarbaijan as the capital city of Azari Silk
Scarf.
Ataturk's efforts for making women discard the veil led to the
resistance of Turkish people to preserve their traditions. So, the
Turkish people are also claimants of "Silk Scarf" dossier.
Also, Armenia is the other claimant. Silk scarf is one of the famous
handicrafts of Yerevan.
Azari Silk Scarf differs from other scarves. It is made of silk yarns
in diverse colors. Designs are printed on four sides of the scarf.
However, out of tens of dossiers presented to UNESCO, one could be
controversial more than others.
Uzbekistan is one of the claimants of Molla Nassreddin. Uzbeks call
him Nassreddin Khoja. A big statue has been established in Bukhara in
his honor.
The pottery dolls of Nassreddin Khoja are sold to tourists as
Uzbekistan's handicraft and souvenir.
Iranian officials should prepare documents to present to UNESCO to
prevent the Molla Nassreddin dossier from facing the same fate that
met distinguished Iranian personalities like Molana and Avicenna.
December 5, 2014 Friday
Some countries claim Iranian cultural heritage
While the baking of Lavash bread will be registered under the name of
Armenia and silk scarf will be attributed to Azerbaijan on UNESCO's
World Heritage List, Uzbekistan is claiming Molla Nassreddin as its
own legacy.
While Iran intends to register Rituals Related to Prayer for Rain
under its name, the neighboring nations are seeking to register
spiritual heritage of their lands on the World Heritage List.
For example, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have prepared a joint dossier
themed "Construction of Turkish Tribal Houses" for UNESCO.
Turkey seeks to present the dossier of "Marble Works".
However, out of 59 dossiers submitted for registration at UNESCO,
three have been intertwined with Iranian culture.
When Armenia's Deputy Culture Minister Arev Samuelian announced that
her country sought to register Lavash on World Heritage List, many
Iranian professors and cultural heritage experts reacted against the
decision.
Because, according to the remaining documents, Lavash is being baked
in Iran since the Arsacide era.
Even some Chinese and Roman globetrotters, who had visited Iran during
the Arsacide era, wrote about Lavash. This is a proof that Lavash is
an Iranian bread.
However, Armenia also showed evidence that Armenia's Lavash belongs to
hundreds of years before the Common Era.
Archeologists identified an oven and an oval stone in one of the
historical sites of Armenia. It indicated that thousands of years ago,
Lavash or Pita bread (in Armenian language) used to be baked in this
region.
Armenians consider Lavash as sacred and have many fables about it.
Armenia even built a cartoon movie, namely "Magic Pita" in 1988, which
was renowned as a training film for a long time.
In another development, Azerbaijan seeks to present the dossier named
"Traditional Technique for Manufacturing Silk Scarf" for registration.
This dossier has commonalities with the culture of Iran, Turkey,
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
People of all four nations believe that silk scarf belongs to their
own country. For example, as one of the most influential regional
nations with regard to women's hijab (Islamic dress code), Iran
considers Osku in East Azarbaijan as the capital city of Azari Silk
Scarf.
Ataturk's efforts for making women discard the veil led to the
resistance of Turkish people to preserve their traditions. So, the
Turkish people are also claimants of "Silk Scarf" dossier.
Also, Armenia is the other claimant. Silk scarf is one of the famous
handicrafts of Yerevan.
Azari Silk Scarf differs from other scarves. It is made of silk yarns
in diverse colors. Designs are printed on four sides of the scarf.
However, out of tens of dossiers presented to UNESCO, one could be
controversial more than others.
Uzbekistan is one of the claimants of Molla Nassreddin. Uzbeks call
him Nassreddin Khoja. A big statue has been established in Bukhara in
his honor.
The pottery dolls of Nassreddin Khoja are sold to tourists as
Uzbekistan's handicraft and souvenir.
Iranian officials should prepare documents to present to UNESCO to
prevent the Molla Nassreddin dossier from facing the same fate that
met distinguished Iranian personalities like Molana and Avicenna.