Last week, Culture Days of the Islamic Republic of Iran were held in the Turkmen capital, co-organized by the Cultural Center of the Iranian Embassy in Ashgabat and the Ministry of Culture of our country. A grand opening ceremony of the Days was held in the Mukam Palace of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan. Among the ceremony participants were representatives of creative spheres, the general public, the diplomatic missions accredited to Ashgabat, the mass media, teachers and students. The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran consisted of heads and specialists of cultural institutions, musicians, artists, masters of folk crafts. In his speech at the opening ceremony, the head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization of the IRI Abuzar Ebrahimi Torkaman has stressed that the cultural event is aimed at strengthening the friendship, mutual understanding and trust-based dialogue of the Turkmen and Iranian peoples, who have the long-standing history of good neighborly relations. In his address, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Turkmenistan Seyed Mohammad Musa Khashemi Golpayegani expressed confidence that Culture Days of Iran in Ashgabat would contribute to further enrichment of the Turkmen and Iranian peoples’ cultures, the development of professional contacts of the two countries’ artistic intelligentsia. Then, the concert of masters of culture and art of the Islamic Republic of Iran was held on the stage of the Mukam Palace. The program included performances of famous Iranian folk musicians and singers, who presented magnificent improvisations of classical epics (destans) and old lyrical songs (verses by Oriental poets set to music). In the frames of Culture Days of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Turkmenistan, an exhibition of fine, decorative and applied arts of the friendly country was held in the Exhibition Hall of the State Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan. Residents and guests of the capital became acquainted with the works by renowned Iranian painters, photographers, masters of applied art - calligraphy, miniature painters, engravers, carpet weavers, wood and stone carvers. Traditionally, the large exhibition featured vivid miniatures, illustrating the works by classical Persian poets, original sculptures, filigree wooden crafts, ceramics, samples of calligraphy and decorative calligraphy, hammered ironwork and enamel painting, tapestries, national costumes, a variety of souvenirs. Among the exhibits were printed materials, photographs and video materials about the present day of the neighboring country, as well as colorfully illustrated publications of prominent Turkmen poets and philosophers, books on culture and art of Iran, albums and posters of famous Iranian painters and miniaturists, educational and scientific literature. A folk group gave a performance in the “Vatan” Cinema and Concert Center; amateurs of cinematic art had an opportunity to watch recent Iranian feature films of different genres in the “Ashgabat” Cinema Center. Prospects for cooperation in the field of culture were discussed in the course of a reception of the official delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan. The closing ceremony of Culture Days of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a joint concert of the two friendly countries’ artists were held in the “Turkmenistan” Cinema and Concert Center. In the frames of the cultural program of the forum, guests became familiar with our country’s historical and cultural monuments, expositions of the Turkmen capital’s museums and its sights.