The 7th edition of Iran's International Bismillah Festival has kicked off, hosting artworks from 16 countries in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Isfahan.

“The event displays nearly 5,000 calligraphy works, calligraphy paintings, logotypes and graphic designs, 740 of which belong to international artists,” festival director Mohammad-Reza Kamarei told IRNA on Wednesday.

The works picture Persian, Arabic, English and French versions of the Arabic word, Bismillah, which is used as the collective name of the phrase bismillahi r-rahmani r-rahim meaning 'In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.'

The 18th International Holy Quran Exhibition opened during a ceremony at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Mosalla on Saturday.

The exhibit, whose motto is “Quran, Book of Life”, began a few days before Ramadan and will be open every day from 5:00 pm to 12 midnight until September 3. The ceremony was

The 6th International Sand Sculpture Festival was inaugurated during a ceremony on the Caspian Sea shore, Babolsar on Tuesday.

The festival is showcasing thirty-one sand sculptures, the head of the Ministry of Culture Office in Mazandaran province Hojjatoleslam Abbas-Ali Ebrahimi mentioned during the opening ceremony.

The 19th Persian Handmade Carpet Exhibition will be held at permanent place of International fairs in Tehran from September 23 to 29.

This year INCC has taken the measure to form a committee including Persian Handmade Carpet Exporters Association, Qom Handmade Carpet Exporters Association, Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, Khorasan, Fars, West Azerbaijan Handmade Carpet Exporters Associations, Central Association of Rural Handmade Carpet Unions, General Association of Persian Handmade Carpet Producers Co-ops, Iran Carpet Co. and Tehran Handmade Carpet Traders Guild Union to limit public sector's incumbency in executive affairs and transfer them to beneficiaries and private sector.

Decisions and enactments by this committee are made at the place of Iranian

In the final changes to the 18^th Tehran international Quranic art competition photography has been added to the visual art section of this years event while family and hijab are new subjects of interest in the exhibitions.

The organizer of the event told reporters that 38 countries are participating in the 18^th exhibition and 300 Iranian publishers along with 30 foreign publishers will display their new works for visitors.

Call for 18th Quran photography competition "Shams' has been announced.

All photographers are invited to send their works to the secretariat of the event by 1st Mordad 1389 ( 21st august 2010).

Subjects are: Qadr nights, Quran beyond borders, youth and quranic teachings, Eid

27th International Quran Competition announced the best reciters and participants in different sections of the event in a ceremony held on Wednesday at Tehran’s Summit Conference Hall.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Minster of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini, as well as several literary and cultural figures attended the award presentation ceremony.

The 27th international competition of the Holy Quran has opened in the Iranian capital Tehran, bringing together representatives from 60 Muslim countries.

The competition is held annually on reciting and memorizing the Holy Quran.

Reciting the Quran with correct pronunciation is a delicate art and memorizing the holy book is also considered very important to Muslims.

This year, more than 90 representatives from 60 countries are taking part in the event, which is also considered an opportunity to further strengthen relationships among Muslims

Tehran is hosting the fifth nationwide exquisite Persian carpet festival to bring different types of Persian carpets under one roof for all to marvel at.

The festival, aimed at introducing Iranian culture, is being held in Tehran's Sa'ad Abad Cultural Complex from July 6 through July 16.

"The main goal of the festival is to display the pure culture and the nomads and showcase the unique collection of Persian carpets," Mohammad Akbari, the organizer of the festival, told Press TV on