TEHRAN – On Monday, Meybod celebrated becoming a world city for Zilou, a traditional type of floor covering commonly woven across the central Iranian city and its outskirts.

The ceremony was attended by Ghada Hijavi, the head of World Crafts Council-Asia Pacific Region, Ali-Asghar Mounesan, the director of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, as well as clusters of regional officials, artisans and international guests, CHTN reported.

The oasis city won the WCC-APR status last October after a delegation of international experts probed the in-house expertise which has been passed down generations to generations.

At that time, the council also granted same titles to the city Abadeh for its art of “Woodcarving” and the village of Khorashad for the craft ‘Toebafi’ (traditional hand woven fabrics).

The country’s handicrafts exports reached $190 million in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2018), showing 11 percent growth year on year.

Traditional ceramics, pottery vessels, handwoven cloths as well as personal ornamentations with precious and semi-precious gemstones are among Iranian exports to Iraq, Afghanistan and Germany, the U.S., the UK and other countries.

AFM/MQ/MG