Turkish, Iranian agencies to promote cultural ties
Iran’s Embassy in Ankara and Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry held a conference titled ‘Iran, Our Neighbor’ in which Turkish professors highlighted the cultural interaction between Turkish and Iranian literature throughout history.
Speaking at the conference, renowned historian Ilber Ortayli underlined the inàuence of Iranian literature in Turkish poems since the pre-islamic period, which dates to 600 CE and said, “Iranian literature is as important for Turkey as the Greek literature is for Europe.”
Ortaylõ said Turkish people have developed ‘growing’ interest in Persian language and Iranian culture in recent years, “Iran takes its place in the lives of Turks again.”
Another professor, Adnan Karaismailoğlu said that on cannot draw a clear line between Turkish and Iranian poems, adding culture in Mideast geography should not be limited to formal frontiers, aa.com.tr reported.
He pointed to the similarities between Turkish and Iranian poets, citing examples from Rumi, the famed 13thcentury Muslim poet.
Iran’s recently appointed Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Farazmand said cultural relationship between the two countries should be developed and sustained.