TEHRAN—Tatarstan’s Minister of Culture, Irada Ayupova, and tourism officials of Tabriz discussed expanding ties on Monday, including sharing cultural heritage restoration and holding joint seminars and exhibitions.

“Necessary arrangements are being made to organize a joint cultural heritage week between Tabriz and Kazan,” IRNA quoted Ayupova as saying on Monday.

In this regard, the exchange of academic professors and architects, who are experts in the restoration of historical sites and buildings, should be on the agenda, the minister said.

The 15th-century Blue Mosque of Tabriz (better known as Masjed-e Kabud) and Qajar Museum (Amir Nezam House) were among the sites Ayupova toured during her visit to the northwestern city.

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz embraces several historical and religious sites, including the Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and the UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex, to name a few. The city became the capital of the Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Ghazan (1295–1304) and his successor. Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, took it in 1392. Some decades later, the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen made it their capital. It was when the famous Blue Mosque was built in Tabriz.

The city retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548 when Shah Tahmasp I relocated his capital westward to Qazvin. During the next two centuries, Tabriz changed hands several times between Persia and the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the city was temporarily occupied by Turkish and then Soviet troops.

AM