Norooz New Year festivities in Iran were held in Persepolis in Fars Province this year with more than 5,000 people taking part.
The Mehr News Agency reports that his was the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic that Norooz was celebrated there.
Persepolis is the ruins of the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled Iran 2,500 years ago, and it remains a stark symbol of Iran’s pre-Islam history, which the Islamic Republic has tried to suppress over the past 30 years.
Music and various performances were part of the program, while the customary Haft Sin table spread was spread out by mountain climbers at the top of Ab Sefid Zardkouh Mountain in the Zagros Mountain Range.
Meanwhile, the General Assembly of the United Nations hosted Norooz festivities for the states that embrace the ancient New Year celebrations, welcoming representatives from Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Last night, Norooz celebrations were also held at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, and numerous Iranians took part.
