TEHRAN – On Monday, the National Museum of Iran held a special festival to mark an ancient customary headscarf, which was popular during the Achaemenid era (c.

550 – 330 BC). The festival aimed at promoting and introducing the indigenous handicrafts fields and traditional arts especially the tradition of sporting a customary headscarf called “Golvani”, which is said to date back to the Achaemenid era , the report added. Wearing Golvani is on Iran’s national list of intangible cultural heritage and all efforts are being made to preserve and protect specific fields of handicrafts so they can be introduced to the world under the name of Iran, said deputy tourism minister Pouya Mahmoudian on the sidelines of the festival. A headscarf with beautiful designs and motifs, the Golvani is a symbol of civilization, a symbol of the Zagros region, and a tool for unity and empathy between all Iranians, she added. It is hoped that these festivals will continue to support handicrafts and introduce them to the general public, the official added.With 14 entries, Iran ranks first globally for the number of cities and villages registered by the World Crafts Council, as China with seven entries, Chile with four, and India with three ones come next.

In January 2020, the cities of Shiraz, Malayer, and Zanjan and the village of Qassemabad were designated by the WCC- Asia Pacific Region, putting Iran’s number of world crafts cities and villages from ten to 14.ABU/AFM