Iran's Sirjan sealed as world rug city

Non-profit, non-governmental organization World Crafts Council has agreed to register the Iranian city of Sirjan as the World City of Rug.

Announcing the news on Sunday, Director General of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Kerman Province Mahmoud Vafaei said 17,000 rug weavers are active in Sirjan.

The director general said registration of a city or village at WCC has three phases; first, a dossier must be prepared to be sent to the council; second, assessors visit the nominated cities; and third, a voting process takes place to register a venue internationally.

He also noted that considering the report of assessors who visited Iran, the WCC agreed to register Sirjan as the World City of Rug, Marivan as the World City of Giveh (a traditional hand-woven Persian footwear), and the village of Kalpouregan as the World Village of Pottery.

Vafaei added that Sirjan annually produces more than 50,000 square meters of rugs. About 80 percent of the production gets exported, which brings some 500 billion rials (more than 12 million dollars).

He said a celebration ceremony will be held soon in honor of Sirjan’s registration at the WCC.

Located 180 kilometers west of Kerman City, Kerman Province, Sirjan is the capital of Sirjan County.

Marivan is the capital of Marivan County, Kurdistan Province, Iran.

Kalpouregan in Sistan and Balouchestan Province is the only living pottery museum in the world, keeping the art of pottery from generation to generation for nearly 7,000 years.

Founded in 1964, the WCC is a non-profit, non-governmental organization to promote fellowship, foster economic development through income generating craft related activities, organize exchange programs, workshops, conferences, seminars, and exhibitions—and in general, to offer encouragement, help and advice to the craftsperson around the world.

MG/AI