TEHRAN – Golda El-Khoury, who presides over the UNESCO Office in Tehran, has paid a visit to the National Museum of Iran.

Moreover, El-Khoury had a meeting with Jebrael Nokandeh, the director of the National Museum on Wednesday, exchanging views on future joint cultural cooperation.

While welcoming the director of the UNESCO regional office, Nokandeh gave a brief introduction to the National Museum of Iran and cultural activities in the Museum.

He also mentioned the museum's communication and cooperation with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in the Silk Road Heritage Project.

Nokandeh further emphasized the importance of the cultural cooperation of the National Museum of Iran with the countries of the region under the management of the UNESCO regional office.

In this meeting, Golda El-Khouri also talked about the plans and capacities of the UNESCO regional office and promised to expand cooperation and coordination with the presence of the Iranian National UNESCO Commission for joint cultural and museum projects.

She emphasized the strengthening and development of communication between the national museums of the countries covered by the regional office. At the end of this meeting, Golda El-Khouri visited the temporary exhibition for special visitors with disabilities in the Iran Bastan Museum. The visit finished with a visit to galleries of historic periods of the museum.

The regional office of UNESCO in Iran is in charge of coordinating the activities of UNESCO in the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.

Chock-full of priceless objects showcasing the juicy history of the nation, the National Museum showcases ceramics, pottery, stone figures, and carvings, mostly taken from excavations at Persepolis, Ismail Abad (near Qazvin), Shush, Rey, and Turang Tappeh to name a few.

Inside, among the finds from Shush, there’s a stone capital of a winged lion, some delightful pitchers and vessels in animal shapes, and colorful glazed bricks decorated with double-winged mythical creatures. A copy of the diorite stele detailing the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, found at Shush in 1901, is also displayed – the original being in Paris.

AFM