Mashhad starts as 2017 Cultural Capital of Muslim World

Northeastern Iranian holy city of Mashhad has officially started programs as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World in 2017.

The opening ceremony was attended by Iranian Culture Minister Seyyed-Reza Salehi-Amiri, Khorasan Razavi Province’s Governor Ali Rashidian and a number of other officials on Monday.

The logo of ‘Mashhad, 2017 Cultural Capital of Muslim World’ was also unveiled during the event.

The culture minister and other officials paid a visit to the holy mausoleum of Imam Reza (PBUH).

The selection of Mashhad was decided in 2007 during a summit of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) member states in Algiers.

Arrangements in some cultural projects, such as filming, authoring books and other works in art, have been done to prepare the city.

Among the other world cities, the Iranian historical city of Isfahan had been selected earlier as the cultural capital in 2006.

Since Mashhad hosts the mausoleum of Imam Reza, the eight Imam of the Shia Muslims and is considered one of the tourism centers in Iran, more than 27 million Iranian and some two million foreign pilgrims travel to the city annually.

Established by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in 1979, ISESCO is one of the largest international Islamic organizations and specializes in the fields of education, science, and culture.

ISESCO has 52 member states and its headquarters are based in Rabat, Morocco.

MG/AI