Dear INCC
I read about the World Peace Carpet on your website and would appreciate information on who to contact about getting invited to participate. I have contacted several people by email at the UNESCO office in Tehran, but have not heard back from them.
I am an American author who visited Iran in March 2005 to participate in Iran's First International Children's Book Festival. I was a guest of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, invited by the late Hossein Ebrahimi, founder of The House of Translation For Children and Young Adult Books. My novel, set in 19th century Iran, Anahita's Woven Riddle, is about and Afshar carpet weaver. I am pleased to mention that my novel was chosen by the American Library Association as a Top Ten Best Books YA in 2006. It was also the featured book at the Bologna Book Fair by Rizzoli publishers.
I recently read about the Carpet of World Peace. I am a weaver and would like to participate in the making of this carpet. Would it be possible to do so and could I be a guest of UNESCO or receive a letter of invitation for a visa from the Sadabad Historical Society or even your Ministry of Commerce?
I have sent along the cover of my book for your interest, as well as my website.
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Meghan Sayres
This had been sent by e-mail to the center demanding a proper reply to the lady enchanted by Iranian carpet. In her reply, connective channels of Saad Abad Cultural Historical Society in which "Carpet of World Peace" was being woven were introduced and her enchantment of presence in Iran was appreciated.
Some time later she was in Iran.
Lobby of Enghelab Hotel emerged as our place of meeting to talk informally on Persian carpet and its appeal. She spoke to us about her book narrating the life of a carpet weaver, and of her first visit of Persian carpet.
Her novel takes place in 19th century Iran. A young Afshar nomad girl, Anahita, finds herself engaged to the Khan while she hates him, should she marry her apprenticeship to the local dye-master would not be available.
Anahita begs her father to let her choose her own husband, something out of convention in her culture. She presents her father with a plan to facilitate the state of current:" I'll weave a riddle into my qali, my wedding rug, and that the man who solves it would be the man I would marry."
The khan, angered by the reaction, makes life for them difficult. Meanwhile, at one of tribe's stops she meets and falls in love with Arash. Arash is the one to decipher her qali correctly and gives her the right to choose. In the end, it is Arash's name that Anahita stitches onto her qali.
We asked Meghan Sayres that how many trips she had to Iran before her book being published? Whose answer astonished us:" I'd not come until then."
As she put it, she had seen Persian carpet in an immigrant's house in US for the first time and come to know it from her mouth. She then started to study about Iran to be more linked to Iranian culture and art.
Meghan Sayres got so accustomed to Persian carpet that began to learn method of weaving.
She showed one of her weavings, a tapestry on which the image of a woman back to the viewer and faced to a shrine with poems of Rabia (Iranian poetess d.801) all around to us. (See image below).
She was familiar with Rabia and ravishingly talked about Rumi and her interest in Hafiz and Iranian stories translated in America.
She considered culture and art strong connective bridges among nations and countries and pointed to Iranian carpet as a sample.
We were shown the pics of her grown up sheep and given keepsake hanks of wool obtained from those sheep.
Details of her visits to different cities of Iran and enthusiasm in Iranian art and culture encouraging her to write about Iran and an old man from Yazd requires a more extended horizon.