Poetry, music in the ancient city of Babylon

Alireza during his participation in the festival

By Alireza Bahrami

BABYLON: Coinciding with World Poetry Day and surrounding days, the Babylon International Poetry and Music Festival was held in the ancient region of the Hanging Gardens and the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.

During this edition of the festival, Alireza Bahrami and Hamidreza Shekarsari from Iran recited poems in Persian, the Arabic translation of which was presented to the audience by Iraqi translators.

Poets from other continents and countries such as Cuba, Egypt, USA, France, Syria, Austria, Switzerland, Sudan, Morocco, Canada, Jordan, Mauritania, Turkey, Algeria and Iraq also recited their poems in various sessions on the occasion of World Poetry Day.

In this one-week event, the Iranian women’s band, including Fatemeh Dehghani (oud) and Farideh Sarsangi (Darbuka), also performed Iranian and Arabic pieces twice.

Book sections, performances by the Iraqi Symphony Orchestra and performances by prominent Iraqi music groups were amkng other parts of this cultural and artistic festival.

Alireza thanked for his participation

The Iraqi Babylonian Festival, which was suspended after the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam in 2003, resumed last year under the direction of Dr. Ali Shalah (Iraqi poet and writer) after an 18-year hiatus; during this period, Alireza Bahrami and Hamidreza Shekarsari, as representatives of Persian poetry from Iran, received the statue of Babylon by attending and reciting poetry at this festival.

Earlier, a collection of poems by Alireza Bahrami, translated into Arabic by Mohammad Hamadi and Joseph Daboul, was published in Egypt and unveiled at the Cairo Book Fair.