No.1858,Saturday,11 May,2019 Restoration work has commenced on Kashkan Bridge, a ruined Sassanid era (224– . . 651) monument in western Iran, which further suffered from flooding in March. www TOURISMpaper com Built over a river of the same name, the bridge is situated along the ancient route Shapurkhast (today’s Khorramabad) to Tarhan a district in Kouhdasht county in Lorestan province. In an interview with ISNA, provincial tourism chief Amin Qasemi reminded that a recent flood inflicted damage to tens of cultural heritage sites in Lorestan, adding restoration of Kashkan Bridge has been started, however, scien- Restoration Commences tific studies are currently underway for others. The bridge is 300 meters long, and it originally had 11 columns and 12 arches, some parts of which are ruined or wiped on Iran’s Flood-hit away. Its highest varies between 10 to 26 meters. Sassanid Bridge 4

Rice Cultivation cooking Harira, The Moroccan Begins in Soup For Ramadan This is one of the easiest Ramadan soup recipes that is going to offer you Northern Iran the energy that will cover up your whole day’s tiredness due to fasting: ultivation of rice has begun Ingredients in the northern province of C ■ 4 tbsp of olive oil Mazandaran.The photo de- ■ ½ cup of finely minced onions picts paddy fields in the city of Sari, ■ Two stalks of celery, diced capital of Mazandaran. ■ 4 large tomatoes, diced According to the Food and Agricul- ■ 3 cloves of garlic ture Organization of the United Na- ■ 2 tbsp of tomato paste tions, rice is the staple food in Iran. ■ 1 cup brown lentils, cooked The total area under rice is more ■ 2 cups chickpeas, cooked than 600,000 ha and rice is grown in 15 provinces. However, more than 80 percent of rice area is distributed in the two northern provinces of Mazandaran and Gilan. Oriental Institute Ready for Delivery of Ancient Persian Artifacts

he University of Chicago’s Oriental repatriating the artifacts home, the official nial capital of the Persian Empire. However, concerns encounters between the Persian Institute has recently signaled its said, “The process of sending them from the institute has resumed work in collabora- Empire and Greek states, encounters of T readiness to deliver the first batch of the United States to Iran has already been tion with colleagues in Iran, and the return warfare, and diplomacy. Information from ancient Persian clay tablets to Iran, a senior commenced, even needed licenses have of the tablets is part of a broadening of con- the tablets provided one of the first oppor- How To Make: cultural heritage official has said. been issued by the U.S. Department of the tacts between scholars in the two countries, tunities to gather data on the empire from 1. In a large Dutch oven, heat 4 table- “We have just received an email from Chi- Treasury for the return of 1,780 tablets.” said Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Insti- Persian sources. The Persian Empire was spoon olive oil in mild flame. cago’s Oriental Institute, in which the in- “In the meantime, ways of sending and de- tute at the University of Chicago. the largest and most durable empire of its 2. Add the minced onions and cook until stitute has announced its readiness to de- livering the Achaemenid tablets were exam- What these tablets tell us is the economic, time. The empire stretched from Ethiopia, translucent. liver Achaemenid tablets to Iran in Tehran,” ined, yet the Oriental Institute had put for- social and religious history of the ancient through Egypt, to Greece, to 3. Add the diced celery stalks and con- Mohammad-Hassan Talebian, a deputy for ward excuses like insurance and [U.S.-led] Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and Anatolia (modern Tur- tinue to saute. the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tour- sanctions…. Finally, it accepted to deliver the larger Near Eastern region in the key), Central Asia 4.Next, add 4-diced tomatoes to the ism Organization, said in a press release on the first batch to the National Museum of fifth century BC. and to India. oven and cook down for 1-2 minutes be- Tuesday. Iran and concurrently seek to gain license The tablets have been difficult fore adding the minced garlic and 2-ta- Following years of ups and downs, the fate for delivering the rest.” to read because information ble spoons of tomato paste. of Persian tablets, on loan from Iran to the “In response to the email, we coordinated about the Persian Empire 5.Stir to combine, and then add the cups Oriental Institute since the 1930s, was left with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before- had been largely lim- of cooked brown lentils and chickpeas. in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court in hand to declare Iran’s readiness to issue ited to non-Persian 6.For flavor, you may also add ground 2018, this time in favor of Iran. visas [for the institute’s representatives], sources. That spices like cumin, coriander, smoked The court concluded that American citizens which is subject to acceptance of shipping non-Persian in- paprika, cinnamon, black pepper, salt injured in a 1997 suicide bombing in Jeru- and insurance [costs from the U.S. entity],” formation came and red pepper flakes. salem cannot seize the artifacts to satisfy Talebian added. from Greek 7.We suggest adding a little chopped a $71.5 million court judgment against Iran, Archaeologists affiliated with the University writers such as fresh cilantro, mint, and parsley, too. as compensation. of Chicago discovered the tablets in 1930s Herodotus and Latin This intensifies the aroma and flavor. Referring to efforts made by the CHHTO for while excavating in Persepolis, the ceremo- authors, and mostly 8.Pour in a whole carton of lamb broth and bring the entire mixture to a nice boil. 9. Reduce the heat to medium-low and NACO Director Calls cover. Allow for the dish to cook for about 20 minutes. Iran’s New Passenger 10.Finally add chopped fresh spinach, Qamchaqai Castle in Iran’s kale, and small and gently stir to com- Terminal a “Success” bine. 11.Raise the heat slightly and let to cook jell Kloosterziel, the head of steering commit- for 10-12 minutes. tee at the Netherlands Airport Consultants Western Province of Kurdistan 12.When finished, remove from heat K (NACO), paid a visit to a newly-constructed and serve with a lemon or lime wedge. passenger terminal in the Imam Khomeini Interna- amchaqai castle is located 60 km north of Bijar county, Qamchaqai castle is one of the most valuable and historic tional Airport, on a high note on Monday, saying that 1 km north of Qamchaqai village and within the Bijar castles in Iran. Some conjecture the Marling Cup was buried he felt it has been a success. Q protected area. there. According to the experts, the historic castle of Qamchaqai of Qamchaqai’s stones have no specifications that can be used Bijar has an inscription with hieroglyph drawing and in the to accurately determine the time of building of the castle, how- Six Thousand Iraqis Herat script. It is one of the oldest semi-visual inscriptions in ever, it is most likely to be attributed to the BC periods, such Iran and it is comparable to the Sumerian scripts. as the period of Mannaeans and Medes, and the castle was Apply for Iran Visa The height of the walls of this castle is 200 meters and the being used until the Sassanid and Islamic era. only way to connect it with the outside is a narrow passage Based on surveys by experts such as Dr. Reza Moradi Ghia- every Day that one can hardly cross. The castle has an area of 5,000 sabadi and Dr. Mahmud Kardvani, it is known that the original square meters and numerous reservoirs of water are exca- monument of this magnificent castle dates back to the 21st- vated in the rocks, and its underground shelter with a depth 25th centuries BC, meaning that it is more than 4,000 years of 41 steps, carved in the form of a tunnel of stone and led to old. Evidence of this is the existence of an inscription near the the underground of castle. castle, written in a semi-visual (Hieratic) script, and given that The Qamchaqai Castle was also used in the Parthian and the first co-founders of the script were the Sumerian, it pre- Sasanian era. Historically, this castle is very important and is sumes the Qamchaqai castle and inscription were originally used at different times by different ethnic groups; therefore, belong to the Sumerians. The Salaam International Terminal is a success- ful project for the country’s airport industry, Kloost- erziel said. In an interview with IKAC news service Kloosterziel said: “Despite U.S. sanctions against Iran and creating difficult conditions for this country, we are keen on boosting relationship with Iran and I am proud of Iranians for building a new beautiful ome six thousand Iraqi nationals terminal for passengers at the Imam Khomeini Air- apply for the Iranian visa per day, port City.” S according to Iran’s consulate in the “It was a great idea that I am here… the structure city of Basra. The Islamic Republic’s con- of this terminal is very good for passengers… very sulate general in Basra announced that special design and it has a nice view when I came 6,000 Iraqis apply for Iran visas every day to this terminal I was amazing by the columns here.” in order to visit the country, and this figure “I think you can be only proud of your country.” is on the rise, public relations office of the NACO will meet all its commitments between the consulate announced on Monday, ISNA Netherlands’ private sector and Iranian companies, reported. he stated. The new terminal, which has a capacity Back in March, Tehran and Baghdad to provide services to five million passengers, will be agreed to mutually waive visa fees hoping inaugurated in the near future. It is aimed to create to cement tourism, local economies and to a suitable platform for improvement of air services. bring their peoples closer. Imam Khomeini Airport City comprises three sections Some two million Iraqi nationals visited –free trade zones, specially-zoned areas, and the Iran during the first seven months of the airport itself -- which together do much in the way of past Iranian calendar year (ended on expanding the country’s aerial industry. Salaam will March 20), constituting Iran’s largest offer entirely electronic smart services and all pas- source of inbound passengers. sengers are entitled to special services, according to In return, hundreds of thousands of Iranian organizers. Headquartered in The Hague, NACO is pilgrims head for the holy Iraqi cities of Na- an airport consultancy and engineering firm. jaf and Karbala each year.