Handicrafts exports from the lesser-known Sistan-Baluchestan province surpassed $3 million during the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended on March 19).
“Handicrafts valued at 3,078,586 dollars were exported from the province over the past year,” deputy provincial tourism chief Mohammad-Behrouz Isazehi announced on Sunday.
The handicrafts were mostly composed of needlework, traditional textiles, earthenware, and potteries exported to littoral Persian Gulf states, Iraq, Tajikistan, Germany and other countries, the official noted.
Last August, Sistan-Baluchestan tourism department announce that exports from the southeastern province rose by 195 percent since one of its villages, Kalpourgan, was named a world village of pottery by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR). The village is widely famous for being a living museum of potteries, where the in-house expertise has been passed down generations to generations over the course of history.
Needlework (Souzan-douzi in Persian) is a very common occupation among people of the southeastern province. It is the art of drawing images on plain fabrics by sewing delicate stitches using needle and colorful yarns. They are mainly used to embellish women’s clothes, however, such works are applied to decorate bracelets, necklace, bags and scarfs.
For mainstream Iranians, the name of Sistan-Baluchestan conjures up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, and dust storms. On the international scale, foreigners may consider it a reminiscent of the big red blot on the Iran safety map.
The vast province was long shunned by potential foreign and domestic travelers though it is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert, parts of latter is situated in Kerman province.
Source: Tehran Times
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