Angel Orbetsov: Tehran International Book Fair has a very valuable influence on the spread of Iranian culture

Angel Orbetsov (source: Angel Orbetsov)

The special ambassador of the Bulgarian ministry of foreign affairs and Iranian Studies scholar gave an interview to the media of the Tehran International Book Fair

Ketab.ir, 16 May 2024

Angel Orbetsov – the professor of history and Iranology of Sofia University and the special ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria in the Eastern regions gave an interview to the news staff of the 35th Tehran International Book Fair about this exhibition. The Iranian media gives this interview retelling Orbetsov’s answers.

The interview started with Orbetsov telling his own experiences with the book fair in Tehran: In the early 1990s, during my mission to Iran as a diplomat at the Bulgarian Embassy in Tehran, I had the chance to visit three Tehran International Book Fairs in 1990, 1991 and 1992. I was very impressed by the wide participation of numerous publications, both domestic and foreign, as well as the attention paid to this exhibition by the leader of Iran and the heads of the country. This attention certainly represents the innate interest and fascination of the Iranian people for literature and reading. I remember that I bought a number of books from the exhibition, including a 3-volume collection of Mahmoud Dolatabadi’s short stories titled “Karnameh Sepanj”, a 3-volume work on the history of the Persian language by the prominent researcher Parviz Natal Khanleri, and a reprint of the famous French traveler Ms. Jeanne de Lavois’ book called “La Perse, la Chaldee et la Susianne”. If I have another chance to visit the exhibition, I will look for books on contemporary Iranian literature, as well as books on Persian linguistics, history, diplomacy, and Iranian art from local and foreign authors.