Sayyid Muhammad Husseini told a closing ceremony of the landmark cultural event that as of the very inaugural day, the fairground got packed with enthusiastic visitors, adding that no other cultural event in the country has ever been accorded the size of welcome.

 

The Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance elaborated that the age of visitors ranged from 18 to 28, adding that the young age of visitors was herald of a bright future in cultural sector.

 

The Minister then expanded his tributes to the record welcome by quoting a third party, namely delegate of Frankfurt Book Fair, who according to the minister had said in his opinion, Tehran Book Fair was of a higher caliber than any other book fair. The Frankfurt delegate has joined Tehran Book Fair for an eighth consecutive time this year.

 

The Minister acknowledged the efforts of his colleagues in the ministry, adding that they were relieved of a work-related exhaustion once they witnessed a smile of satisfaction across the face of a visiting Islamic Revolution Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei.

 

In the same note, Husseini noted that the closing ceremony was actually a start for the ministry's staffs with a next edition of book fair afoot.

 

Husseini in another regard paid tribute to world-acclaimed Persian poet, Ferdowsi, whose millennium was held last week, saying that his magnum opus Shahnama (account of the Crown) was not an account of the Crown alone, rather it recounts people, God, shrewdness and battle as well.

 

Husseini elaborated that the masterpiece speaks a broad range of topics from monotheism to others, adding that the magnum opus has kept Persian afloat.

 

The Minister opined that whereas Sa'adi, renowned Persian poet, has decorated his magnum opera Bustan and Golestan (verbally 'flower gardens') with flowers of literary devices, Ferdowsi (literally 'heavenly') has set up a heaven in his Shahnama where anyone can find whatever he looks for.

 

The Minister then argued that the renowned poet was not paid a due homage in the community he lived, likely because of his several verses in tribute of the Last Divine Messenger, Hazrat Muhammad and his first successor, Hazrat Ali (PBUH). He paralleled the case of Ferdowsi to that of Iran, saying that Iran has been facing a grudge on the part of the world superpowers likely due to a faith held by the country's statesmen.