The content of the January Ethnography review program also implied studying and exploring the region, neighboring countries, particularly the culture of Iran. At the initiative of the review coordinator and music teacher Hasmik Matevosyan, we hosted teacher, columnist, editor, translator, journalist, and writer George Abrahamyan. Mr. Abrahamyan gave a lecture, presenting Iranian culture and the Armenian trace in Iran. The meeting was followed by two workshops on Iranian cuisine and embroidery, which were conducted by Narine Grigoryan, George Abrahamyan’s wife. Another branch of Iranian culture, “Iranian miniature,” was presented by our Persian-Armenian parent Melanya Thomas. The passion for these meetings and the received information and experience hadn’t faded when, as a continuation and appreciation of Iranian culture, through George Abrahamyan’s mediation, we received an official invitation from Tehran’s Tourism and Related Industries Exhibition (TITE). We are in Iran with the support of the “Mkhitar Sebastatsi” educational complex. This is Hasmik’s and my first visit to Iran, Tehran. As Rumi would say, “What you seek is seeking you too”… Yes, we really wanted to be in Iran. I knew Iran through its poets – Rumi, Hafez, Ferdowsi, and among contemporaries – Rasoul Yunan, Sare Dastaran, Shahab Mogharabi, Abbas Kiarostami, and others. When I was teaching, I had theater elective activities; Iranian poetry was always present in the literary theater program. As a teacher, I wanted young people to get acquainted with nature, love, beauty, and human pain through poetry in the Iranian profound yet simple language. Besides literary material, there had been another door to Iranian culture, the cinema: directors like Jafar Panahi, Asghar Farhadi, Mohammad Rasoulof, Abbas Kiarostami. And Shirin Neshat is extremely beloved in the field of video art and photography.
Day One
And here I am in Tehran. A country that I’ve known on one hand through Hafez’s poetry, and on the other hand through Kiarostami’s films, Neshat’s created images… At the airport, we were greeted by the hosting party, represented by Mr. Azizmoradi. Hasmik and I were hoping that as soon as we reached the hotel and settled our things, we would have the opportunity to see and walk around evening Tehran. Alas, the journey from the airport to our “New Naderi” hotel took several hours. On the first day, we only saw Tehran through the car window. Nighttime Tehran viewed from the car window seemed like a tale from A Thousand and One Nights. The lights were dancing in the city’s veins while we glided towards our first Persian haven. We needed to sleep, but who could sleep when the heart of the East was beating beyond the walls…
Day Two
The sunrise opened a new page at 7:30… Damavand’s proud peak, like a giant crown placed on Tehran’s head, greeted us in the north. The festival opened like an ancient Persian miniature book, revealing Iran’s treasures page by page. Each pavilion was a world: different regions of Iran were presented with their arts, crafts, national instruments, and rituals.
The potter’s fingers told thousand-year-old colorful stories in the language of clay, the carpenter’s chisel danced on the wood grain, the coppersmith’s hammer sang ancient melodies, the patterns engraved on leather told eastern legends, straw turned into golden miracles in the master’s hands, carpet weavers wove heavenly gardens, embroidery held the poetry of women’s patience, the colors of stained glass told about the love of light and shadow, dolls came alive ready to tell their fairy tales. Each region presented itself as an exclusive tourism zone with all its advantages. Since it was the first day of the festival, and not all regions were represented, we went to eat and take a walk.
And here… the Golestan Palace! Oh my goodness… Golestan… The marble throne, the amazing stained glass windows sang a symphony of colors, and the ceramic halls… They seem like a visual translation of Rumi’s poems. One is left speechless – Golestan must be seen. In the evening, Mr. Azizmoradi led us to a place called “Nature Bridge.” Another miracle by a woman’s hand – an iron lace in the sky. The bridge resembled a giant bird soaring above the city. Below, Tehran’s lights flickered on and off like stars that had descended from the sky and settled on earth. It was an interesting feeling – standing on the bridge, you feel how today’s Iran embraces its thousand-year history – a bridge between past and present, between East and West, between earth and sky.
The day was over, but a thousand secrets still awaited us ahead… As Hafez says: “If you have come to this garden, do not rush, here every flower has a story to tell”…
Day Three
The car moved north. From the window, we caught the beauty of Tehran, which simply flowed through its streets and passages rich with murals. We stayed in a pavilion in Iran’s Lorestan province. Mr. Azizmoradi was from that region. Hasmik and I walked around and admired until government representatives would visit the pavilion of the exhibition. And when the sounds of kopal, daf, and zurna were heard… it was a revelation. Our Armenian songs “Grandma Would Sift Flour” and “Let’s Go Up on Erishta” suddenly found their distant sisters in Persian melodies. The official part turned into a celebration of building cultural bridges.
The Republic of Armenia was represented by the Mkhitar Sebastatsi Educational Complex. In my narrative, I presented our capabilities, interests, and outlined possible cooperation. I presented the calendar of the educational complex, “Art Festival”, Persian language club-elective activities, arts and crafts field, engineering and technical creativity, the educational complex’s international educational exchange projects, College tourism specialty, hikes, travel projects, and our experience. I immediately made proposals – International Persian Language Day is May 15, and on that day, there will be a summary of “Iranian Culture Days” in our calendar of activities. We can focus on Iranian culture for four days – poetry, literature, Persian epics, cuisine, technology-art, and on May 15, Persian Language Day, we will conclude the Iranian culture days with a concert. I mentioned that we would host Iranian masters in our educational exchange residence. I also mentioned that we would master Iranian experience through mutually acceptable formats and workshops, then jointly present a reporting exhibition-fair. We can invite masters to Yerevan fairs after additional organizational clarifications and then jointly present in one pavilion. My presentation was met with applause and greetings.
“Armenia has never been presented so seriously and constructively. The festival is annual, and Armenia has always received an invitation, participated, but we had never found such a constructive response,” said Mr. Amin Taheri Garavand, director of Lorestan province’s “Technopark” and investor.
These words sounded like a new beginning for cultural, educational and technological bridges that will unite our peoples stronger than ever. May 15th, the International Day of the Persian Language, became the anchor of our cooperation. Afterwards, various officials met with us again, and the last meeting was the most touching. The meeting with Iran’s Deputy Minister for Cultural Heritage Preservation turned into an emotional journey into the garden of our peoples’ common memories. Above, I mentioned that we discovered kinship in musical performances at the Lorestan province pavilion, and here, the Deputy Minister confirmed that there had been an Armenian presence in the province – fifteen villages. He told how Armenians were much loved, and Iranian men often fell in love with Armenian women, but since religion didn’t allow it, Armenians wouldn’t give their daughters in marriage to them, and Iranians wrote many epic songs about this unrequited love. And the Deputy Minister sang one for us, and at that moment silence reigned. Who would have thought that our musical similarities had such deep roots? The Deputy Minister also told the listeners how he had saved the province’s Armenian cemetery from destruction, how he stood in front of a bulldozer, insisting that he wasn’t afraid, and if they were to destroy it, they would have to run over him first. Thus, not only did the Deputy Minister save the cemetery, but he also registered it in Iran’s monuments list. After these touching stories, I, as an Armenian, expressed gratitude and asked them to share these epic songs with us, and we would include them in our projects, and they would definitely be performed at our final concert on May 15th. I also extended an invitation, saying that we would visit our Lori together as a sister province. Mr. George also made a proposal that both sides should work on legally recognizing the provinces as “sisters.” Again, applause and greetings.
I also told about the Iranian trace in Yerevan, noting that we more often talk only about the Blue Mosque, but the Kond district is also a clear documentation of the Iranian trace and presence. I talked about the Kond Mosque, telling how I staged a mono-performance in the mosque. This testimony also inspired, and Mr. George said he would support various cultural projects, literary readings, exhibitions to be implemented in the Blue Mosque. He reminded about the hero of the Blue Mosque’s preservation, when in the 1920s the Soviet government decided to destroy all religious buildings, and how Yeghishe Charents, for whom the Blue Mosque was one of his favorite places, made efforts and saved it from destruction by turning it into an oasis for intellectuals. He recalled the mulberry tree planted by him in the mosque’s courtyard, which became one of Yerevan residents’ favorite festivals – “Mulberry Festival” – a celebration to remember and praise Charents. He noted that the festival is no longer celebrated, but Yerevan residents remember that day warmly. In response to this touching narrative, I proposed that we would include the festival in our calendar and restore it, giving new life to the beloved tradition that would also unite us with Charents. New bridges on old traditions… The next meeting was with the “Technopark” team, where possible partnership, educational complex infrastructure, Arates school center, as well as our engineering and technical creativity laboratory were presented. Here too, the team was ready to cooperate with an educational component, as well as with a service provision proposal. I asked them to forward all proposals promising that we would certainly not leave them without response. Our official meetings ended, and we moved to the hotel.
Day Four
In the morning, we were supposed to visit St. Sargis Church and meet Mrs. Alice, a vibrant, cheerful carpet weaver from the Armenian community who managed the museum and gallery adjacent to the church. Only one street separated our hotel from the church and gallery. Mr. Azizmurad offered his help and accompanied us. The rainy weather reflected our mood, as we had grown to love and formed an emotional connection with Tehran, Iran, and Iranians. We had accumulated so much warmth and there was so much we hadn’t managed to see that we didn’t want to leave. Mrs. Alice and her son Razmik greeted us with bright smile. From the first moment, it felt like we had known each other for years – such a feeling of kinship, such warmth! We toured the museum and were impressed by the collection, especially the garments of Armenian queens and princesses. We talked about the Armenian community and its famous cultural figures, and Mrs. Alice also told us about her work and upcoming exhibitions. Mrs. Alice’s stories were so vivid that it seemed as if the characters present in the museum would wake up from their centuries-old sleep at any moment.
We also agreed to organize joint exhibitions and cooperate. Suddenly, Mr. Azizmoradi, who was warmly listening to our conversation, made a beautiful and very touching proposal, saying that he had come with advice and really wanted us to sign our partnership pre-memorandum in the Armenian church… His suggestion to sign the cooperation pre-memorandum right in the church became the crown of our meeting. We entered the church, prayed, met with the priest, and received his blessing. Mr. Azizmoradi humbly waited for us in the church hall, then, as he had advised, signed the document… It was incredibly touching, we sealed a covenant to preserve and develop the cultural ties formed between our peoples over centuries. We parted from Mrs. Alice and Razmik and went to the hotel. With a kind of sadness, but also with anticipation of a new beginning, we headed to the airport. We almost missed our flight, but again our helpful Mr. Azizmoradi, staying true to his friendly mission until the end, got us there just in time… And so, we bid farewell to him too. These three days spent in Tehran became a whole lifetime filled with the subtle combination of Armenian and Persian cultures, sincere smiles, care, and boundless hospitality. Now they are not only warm memories but also determination to turn this meeting into a long and fruitful cooperation. Joint exhibitions, cultural exchanges, and creative projects are waiting their turn. This Tehran business trip became not a period, but an ellipsis – promising a new beginning and unexpected discoveries. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened without Hasmik Matevosyan’s “Festival of Ethnography,” without her unique and conscientious efforts, without Mr. George’s goodwill, his consistent, tireless support, and, of course, without the trust of the educational complex, without the “Trade Union Organization”… Thank you.