TEHRAN-A Qajar-era (1789-1925) Haft-Seen table has been put on show at the museum of the holy shrine of Hazrat Masumeh (SA) in Qom.

The museum’s Haft-Seen is composed of historical and valuable items dating back to the Qajar era, the director of the museum has said. 

Such innovative ideas could attract more visitors while introducing Persian rich culture, which is combined with Islamic themes, Mohammad Baqer Meshkati explained on Saturday.

During Noruz, Iranians gather around a Haft-Seen, Haft-Seen table, an arrangement of seven symbolic items, all of which start with the letter ‘S’ in the Persian alphabet. Its items include sabzeh (wheat, lentil, or mung bean sprouts), samanu (a sweet pudding made with germinated wheat), seeb (apple), senjed (the dried fruit of the wild olive, oleaster), somagh (sumak), serkeh (vinegar) and seer (garlic).

Various pastries are placed on the table as a symbol of sweetening the year to come. Common ingredients include flower waters and warm spices like cardamom, almonds, and pistachios (used both whole and ground to a powder), chickpea flour, rice flour, and, of course, plenty of sugar. (Blanched ground almonds are also the main ingredient in toot, which means mulberry in Persian.) Sweets that carry with them all the love, care, and hopes for a sweeter new year.

Situated adjacent to salt-covered deserts, golden dunes, running sands, and jagged mountains, Qom is home to major religious madrasas (schools) as well. 

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

Qom, which its antiquity goes back to the Sassanid era (224 CE–651), has many must-see destinations such as historical mosques, mansions, and natural sceneries scattered across the city as well as towns and villages nearby.

One of the most visited natural spots of Qom is Hoz-e Soltan, an eye-catching salt lake is in the middle of the desert. The visitors could easily walk in the shallow parts and enjoy the shapes created by the salt, however, the center of the lake could be dangerous, as it is muddy and could easily trap people.

ABU/AFM