TEHRAN – On Friday, an exhibition of Iranian handicrafts and traditional arts was inaugurated at the UNESCO-registered Kazan Kremlin, a historical citadel in the city of Kazan, Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan. 

Some 120 artworks by Iranian artisans are on display at the exhibit, which will run for two weeks, IRNA reported on Saturday. 

The craftspeople are showcasing their handmade products in the fields of miniature, metalwork, enameled objects, mosaic, inlay, and marquetry in the exhibit titled “My Iran”, the report added. 

There are three UNESCO world heritage sites in Tatarstan—Kazan Kremlin, Bulgarian State Museum-Reserve, and Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk. The annual growth rate of tourist flow to the republic is on average 13.5%; the growth rate of the volume of services in the tourism sector is 17.0%. Tatarstan is located in the center of the East European Plain, approximately 800 kilometers east of Moscow.

The value of Iran’s handicraft exports stood at $400 million during the first ten months of the Iranian calendar year 1401 (Mar. 21, 2022 – Jan. 20, 2023), the deputy tourism minister said in February.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, the figure represents some 30 percent growth, Jalali said.

“The Islamic Republic exported $400 million worth of handicrafts during the first ten months of the current year, which shows a 30 percent increase year on year.”

Iran exported some $320 million worth of handicrafts during the Iranian year (1400), the official stated.

The Islamic Republic has the most cities and towns registered with the World Crafts Council (WCC), followed by China with seven, Chile with four, and India with three designated ones.

The WCC-Asia-Pacific Region designated Shiraz, Malayer, Zanjan, and the village of Qasemabad in January 2020, bringing the total number of craft cities and towns in Iran from 10 to 14. Shiraz has been dubbed “the world city of [various] handicrafts.”

Malayer became a center for woodcarving and carved wood furniture on a global scale. The designation “world city of filigree” was given to Zanjan. The village of Qassemabad, which is renowned throughout the country for its traditional costumes, was also promoted to a major handicrafts center on an international scale.

Ceramics, porcelain, handwoven clothing, jewelry, and semi-precious stones are among Iranian handicrafts traditionally exported to Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, the U.S., and the Persian Gulf coastal states, to name a few.

ABU/AM