TEHRAN – A number of literati and scholars gathered at the mausoleum of the classical Persian poet Farid ud-Din Attar (c. 1145-1221) in Neyshabur to mark Attar National Day, which was on April 13 this year. 

Based on an annual ritual, the mausoleum of Attar is adorned with flowers during the ceremony, Persian media reported on Wednesday.

The Mevlana Museum Deputy Director Naci Bakirci from Turkey as well as scholars Reza Ashrafzadeh, Farzad Abbasi, Zahra Ahmadi, Reza Jalili and Mokhadareh Boluki were among the participating guests.

The ceremony, which opened with a message delivered by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, was followed by honoring the veteran traditional architect of the Khorasan region, Mohammad-Qasem Akhavian.

A street theater performance inspired by Attar’s most famous work “The Conference of the Birds” was also performed for the participants during the ceremony.

Attar’s most famous work “The Conference of the Birds” is an allegorical poem describing the quest of the birds, which symbolically represent Sufis, for the mythical Simorgh, or Phoenix. 

Finally thirty birds that have survived the journey realize that they and the Simorgh are one, a clever play on the words Simorgh -- a mystical bird in Iranian mythology -- and “si morgh” -- meaning “thirty birds” in Persian. 

Asrar-Nama, Mosibat-Nama, Elahi-Nama, Mokhtar-Nama, Khosrow-Nama and Tadkerat al-Awliya are among Attar’s masterpieces.

RM/YAW
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