Glory of Shiraz in Cultural Capital of Hungary

Tourismonline:  Shiraz Photo Exhibition in Pecs; Cultural Exchange between two Sister Cities on the Eve of 100th Anniversary of Iran – Hungary Relations , Shiraz mayor said.

By: Homa Haseli

Due to efforts of the Communications and International Affairs Office of Municipality of Shiraz, the cultural event of photo exhibition on Shiraz was held in its sister city of Pécs in Hungary with the presence of cultural and diplomatic officials of the two countries, senior urban officials, citizens of this European city and a group of Iranian students of Pécs University.

Péter Hoppál, a member of Hungary’s National Assembly and Head of Iran-Hungary Friendship Group and former mayor of Pécs Mr. Zsolt Páva were among the participants in the opening ceremony of the exhibition too.

 Before the opening of this cultural event, mayors of the two cities, in the presence of the ambassador and parliament member, paid tribute to the bust of Hafez, the great Persian poet with putting wreath of flowers.

Shiraz, the most prestigious and prominent city of Iran during the past millennia

Declaring it is an important day in the bilateral calendar of the sisterhood relationship between Shiraz and Pécs, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Hungary stated in this cultural ceremony: “We have gathered at the beautiful, lovely and historical city of Pécs  to inaugurate the Photo Exhibition  on  Shiraz , the most prestigious and prominent city of my country during the past millennia.”

According to Hamid Arefi, Shiraz has been the cradle of Iran’s civilization and the event shows the common intention and the fruitful path that both sides moving on It.

Appreciating this cultural move, the Iranian ambassador to Hungary expressed hope that warm and sincere relations between the two cities would continue and soon a photo exhibition on Pécs would be held in Shiraz.

Valuable Cultural Exchange between Shiraz and Pécs as Sister-cities in the Eve of 100th Anniversary of Iran – Hungary Relations

The mayor of Shiraz metropolis stated in the opening ceremony of this cultural event, on behalf of heaven -like city Shiraz؛ the city of towering domes, city of science and literature and the capital of culture, art and civilization of Islamic Iran, I am the carrier of the message of peace and friendship of the noble nation of Iran and the intellectual citizens of Shiraz to the honorable and dear citizens of Hungary, especially the precious citizens of the sister city of Pécs.

Referring to the commonalities of the two sister cities of Shiraz and Pécs, Mohammad Hassan Asadi stated: “Shiraz is the city of Hafez whose thought has inspired many of the great literary men of the world, and city  of Saadi, whose book  of Boustan (Garden) is among the top 100 literary books of all time.”

According to this senior official of urban management of Shiraz metropolis Pécs, like Shiraz, has an outstanding scientific position beyond the borders of Hungary, and its rich historical and civilizational background is well-known.

Terming the Pécs  as the city of the firsts in science and culture issues, he declared:” the first university of Hungary as one of the oldest universities in Europe, and the first public library of Hungary has been established in this city.”

Referring to the holding of this event on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic and friendly relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hungary, Asadi said:” Today, a new chapter has opened in valuable cultural exchanges between the two sister cities “.

He also praised the will and determination of the managers of Shiraz and Pécs city to strengthen this deep bond.

Asadi hailed Pécs city’s continuous sisterhood relationship and said: “I sincerely appreciate for holding the event of photo exhibition on Shiraz attractions, which is an opportunity to introduce this city better and renew the memories with Shiraz for my countrymen.”

He hailed choosing the scientific center and regional library of Pécs for holding the exhibition, as a monument which reminds choosing Pécs as the cultural capital of Europe in 2010  which  is the adjacent of  the bust of Hafez Shirazi ,the famous poet , as a symbol of eternal friendship between Shiraz and Pécs.

Shiraz, City of people who love life

Meanwhile mayor of Pécs expressed his satisfaction over holding this ceremony: “It is an honor that the delegation of Shiraz presents its city to our eager citizens with a magnificent photo exhibition.”

Stating that we see images of a metropolis with a lively population, ancient national monuments, a city whose people love life, Attila Péterffy clarified: “We also have historical monuments, rich bio-culture and people who love the city.”

we should not follow differences, but we should find commonalities and similarities within each other, This senior official of Pécs city added, This is true for sister cities relationships too, especially in our sisterhood, Shiraz.

He said that Pécs has the same meanings for Hungary as Shiraz has for Iran; the hub of art, culture and ancient civilization, a university city and an important regional administrative center.

According to the mayor of Pécs, Shiraz and Pécs have been as sister-cities Since 2016, and this relationship has also had tangible results, such as the installation of Hafez’s bust in the courtyard of this building, which is dedicated to honoring Hafez, the famous Shirazian poet of the 14th century, and the bilingual Persian-Hungarian poetry book that contains 50 of Hafez’s sonnets.

Mentioning Hungarian poet Mihály Csokonai, who wrote an ode about Hafez 200 years ago, Attila Péterffy said:” It is one of the first works of European poets in honor of an Iranian poet, and since last year, the memorial plaque of this work has been installed in Hafez’s tomb in Shiraz”.

Adding that every person who comes to this place and sees these photos will get eager to know Shiraz and the people who live there, he said:” it is honorable that the relationship of our sisterhood is enriched with this photo exhibition.”

The mayor of Pécs said:” I am very grateful to you for bringing this experience to our city and your continuous efforts to establish a relationship between Pécs and Shiraz.”

A look at the history of the city of Pécs

Pécs is the fifth largest city in Hungary, which is located in the vicinity of the Musk mountain range in the southwest of Hungary, near the border of this country with Croatia and 220 km from the capital (Budapest). The area where the city of Pécs is located is one of the ancient human settlements and archeological excavations consider it to be about 6 thousand years old.

Pécs is a city with a rich historical and civilizational background and contains valuable buildings from different historical periods, including historical mosques.

The city of Pécs has a sister relationship with 17 cities, among which we can mention Seattle and Tucson in America, Lyon in France, Graz in Austria, Osik in Croatia and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Shiraz and Pecs signed the sisterhood agreement on May 9, 2016, as the world’s oldest cities, Shiraz and Pécs date back to more than two thousand years ago indicating their rich culture.