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Cyrus the Great Day 2015

Cyrus_day_-poster.2jpgThis year, the twenty-ninth day of October 2015, coincides with the annual celebration of “Cyrus the Great Day” by Iranian people and many friends of culture across the globe. In 2005, the Pasargad Heritage Foundation – the first international NGO for preservation of the cultural heritage of Iran- that introduced the idea. At the time, Cyrus’ mausoleum in Iran- a monument registered on the UNESCO’s world heritage list – was in danger of being inundated and eventually destroyed. However, the hard work of this Foundation and timely intervention of UNESCO, human rights activists and organizations removed the danger and led to a world-wide recognition of Cyrus’ seminal contribution to the survival of our common human civilization. Such recognition has been further evidenced by the exhibition of Cyrus cylinder in a number of museums in major cities in United States of America. 

October 29, the “Cyrus the Great Day” and the anniversary of the first declaration of human rights. Twenty six centuries ago, when savagery was the dominant factor in human societies, a civilized and compassionate declaration was written on clay and issued to the “four corners of the world”, addressing important issues relevant to human rights; the very same issues that today we face and could also inspire and mobilize those who believe in human dignity and rights. 

This document, known as “The Declaration of Cyrus the Great,” emphasized the removal of all racial discrimination and slavery, and bestowing to all people, freedom to choose their places of residence, and practice their own chosen faith and religion, therefore, attempting to create peace amongst all nations. This Declaration could actually be considered a present from the Iranian people to all humanity, expressed through the words of Cyrus, the founder of the first empire in the Iran. In 1971, the general assembly of the United Nations recognized this declaration as the first Declaration of Human Rights.

A Lecture on Sultanieh Dome

soltaniaAccording to the Iranian Cultural Heritage News Agency, Marco Giovanni Brambilla, PhD in architecture and Urban development, and a professor in Harvard and Penn Universities, gave a lecture on the Sultanieh Dome, in Iran. The lecture is to be convened in the Study Center of Farhangestan-e Honar, an academic setting for art studies.

This is important due to the fact that, after the Islamic Revolution, the historical heritage of Iran was neglected systemically and their repair and up-keeping were commissioned to unprofessional repairing teams. Thus, most of the repair-works done in important historical sites such as Pasargad Mausoleum, Persepolis, Bisotun and many others were handled unprofessionally and in an ugly manner.

Discovery of a 2,400 year old Ancient Shrine in Cairo

Egypt-Iunu-templeA team of Egyptian and German archaeologists discovered the remains of a limestone colonnade and a well-preserved ceiling in Cairo’s modern district of Mataria. The 2,400-year-old building is thought to have been a shrine that was surrounded by a mud brick wall and located in the ancient capital city of Heliopolis, or Iunu. “The shrine belonged to the 30th Dynasty Pharaoh Nectanebo I (379 B.C. – 360 B.C.),” Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced in a press conference reported in The Cairo Post. Nectanebo I founded the 30th Dynasty, which was the last Egyptian royal family to rule Egypt before it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.