TEHRAN – The ancient city of Hamedan is organizing a huge winter festival, scheduled to be held from February 13 to March 8.

“It would be the 13th edition of a winter festival to be held in Hamedan,” Ali Khaksar, Hamedan’s deputy tourism chief, said on Saturday.

“We intend to hold a different event full of social joy and cheerfulness,” the official said.

There will be both snow-related and non-snow-related programs, as well as craft, souvenir, and culinary exhibitions, a pumpkin festival, health and beauty activities, a coffee and chocolate exhibition, and a snowman-making competition, he explained.

Visitors will be offered discounts on souvenirs and handicrafts, tourism facilities, as well as accommodation, entertainment, and catering centers, he said.

Winter games, making snow sculptures, storytelling sessions, ski trips, puppet shows, and gastronomy events are other programs planned for the festival.

Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations, and there’s a scattering of historical curiosities.

Sprawling on a high plain, Hamedan is graciously cool in August but snow prone and freezing from December to March. In summer the air is often hazy, but on a rare, clear spring day there are impressive glimpses of snow-capped Alvand Kuh (3580m), sitting aloof above the ragged neocolonial cupolas of Imam Khomeini Sq.

It never falls short of offering cultural heritage sites to its visitors. Scenic natural landscapes, traditional restaurants, public gardens, colorful outdoor markets, and more importantly, its hospitable people make for an unexpected slice of the city.

AFM