TEHRAN--Khorasan, as a large civilizational area, has the capacity to play a leading cultural role in the region by holding international events and conferences of Naqqali performance and Shahnameh recitation.

According to Miras Aria, Khorasan Razavi Governor-General Gholamhossein Mozaffari stated on Sunday: “It has been said many times in private, administrative and even non-administrative meetings that Khorasan, as a civilizational area, and we who are in Mashhad and Khorasan Razavi today, are facing high expectations and demands. In a sense, we have both a heavy responsibility and mission, we must do great things and we are facing backwardness and neglect that have caused us to forget what we have and pay less attention to them.”

He said: “Today, from whatever angle we look at Khorasan, there is an issue and a capacity. The reality is that neither justification nor additional explanation is necessary. We do not even have a written plan in this regard. Everything depends on us making a serious decision together.”

“Iran expects something from Khorasan and the Khorasan civilization area, from Mashhad today. Without any pretense, in the trips we have had to the surrounding countries over the past year, despite all the political and geographical demarcations, our eyes are on Khorasan and Mashhad, and everyone expects something serious to happen here.”

He clarified: “The point we should pay attention to today is that our assets are very valuable and expensive. The main question is what we have done with these funds and what we should do. We should have dozens of places for naqqali performance and Shahnameh reading. I wish such programs were held every day and every week. The naqqali field should be expanded to the parks and different spaces, and the beginning of this path should be from schools. Even if there are some restrictions in terms of regulations, cultural work is not difficult and many of these obstacles can be solved by ourselves.”

Referring to the capacity of cultural planning, Mozaffari, stated that Kheradsaraye Ferdowsi is on the verge of its 20th anniversary, and this shows that similar collections can be created.

“My suggestion is that from now on, for next year and for the days leading up to Ferdowsi the Great, we should plan national and even international events and have a clear output throughout the year in all cultural layers, from research to Shahnameh reading and storytelling. We should also pay attention to new arts such as animation and film and be able to activate the art economy from this huge capacity.”

Mozaffari added: “The world creates history and stories for itself to generate income, but we have all these assets at our disposal.

Khorasan has a very large capacity; both in terms of human resources and civilizational layers. Our greatest capital is these assets and these thoughts that you have. If these capacities are put together, great things can be done. Khorasan should not only solve its own problems, but also be able to lift the burden of the country in the field of civilization and culture and chart a clear path in the region.”

Referring to the regional interactions, he noted that in the neighboring countries, from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan, there is a special look at Shahnameh and common cultural figures. “During our trip to Kyrgyzstan and attendance at the country's international exhibition, we witnessed how cultural commonalities such as Rostam and Manas (the epic hero of Kyrgyz people) can be used for regional ties. If we want to strengthen our security, economy, and regional ties, the way to do that is to pay attention to these cultural assets.”

KD