Delegation from the City of Tabriz Visits the Municipality of Ilidža

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - On the occasion of the traditional event Days of Iran in BiH, organized by the Iranian Cultural Center, a delegation from the Iranian city of Tabriz, led by Deputy Mayor Ahmad Hamidiji, visited Sarajevo and the Municipality of Ilidža. The Days of Iranian Culture began with a concert of traditional Iranian music at the City Hall, and will last in Sarajevo and Banja Luka from February 5 to 11. The Ilidža audience was presented with their program on February 6 at the Multimedia Center.

Before the concert, the delegation held talks with the Mayor of Ilidža Municipality, Prof. Dr. Senaid Memić. He informed them about the potentials of the Municipality of Ilidža and the development projects of this local community, emphasizing that many similarities in culture, art, customs, tradition, as well as religious and human values have brought the peoples of Iran and BiH closer.

- You are true friends of this country, and you cherish culture and tradition just like we do. Ilidža is your friend, and any form of cooperation is unquestionable - stated Mayor Memić.

- We want to present the culture and art of the ancient city of Tabriz, one of the oldest cities in Iran, which was declared a city of culture and tourism for 2018 precisely because of its cultural and historical features, to the Ilidža audience this year - said the Deputy Mayor of Tabriz, Ahmad Hamidiji, among other things, and expressed hope that such cultural and artistic events will not only contribute to the improvement of relations between the peoples of the two countries in this field but also create preconditions for increasing political and economic exchange.

The delegation also included Dr. Mahdi Mohammadzadeh, Vice-Rector at the University of Islamic Arts in Tabriz, and Mehdi Hassankhani, Director General of Cultural and Artistic Cooperation of Tabriz. The visit was also attended by Ali Ameri, Cultural Consul at the Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Tabriz is one of the larger and oldest Iranian cities. It is the capital of the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan and has a population of 1.6 million. The city of Tabriz has a 4,000-year-old history during which it was the capital of Iran three times. It is also known as a city of science and universities, with over 200,000 students.

The first university in Tabriz was opened 800 years ago, during the flourishing of Islamic culture and science. For three consecutive years, it has been declared the cleanest city in Iran, which, through various projects with the non-governmental sector, has managed to remove all homeless people and addicts from the streets.