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UNESCO nominates Shiraz world's 2nd City of Literature

Shiraz, Fars prov, Jan 3, IRNA-UNESCO has nominated Iranian city of Shiraz as the world's second City of Literature, local cultural official in Shiraz Saeed Zahed, who heads the Farsology (Persian Studies) Foundation, said on Wednesday.

Ghoraan Gate

He told IRNA that UNESCO national commission has recently provided a large number of documents about the city's rich literary heritage for the Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the purpose.

Tomb of Hafez in Shiraz (photo by Syma Sayyah)

He said that the national commission has offered UNESCO to make final decision on registering Shiraz as a creative city and the world second City of Literature after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.

The city, 924 km southern the capital of Tehran, is also known by the commission as an "productive" city due to its rich cultural and artistic heritage, Zahed added.

Tomb of Saadi in Shiraz (photo by Syma Sayyah)

He expressed hope that the city would officially be announced by the UNESCO as the world second City of Literature by the end of the current Iranian year (to end March 19, 2007).