7Berkeh – Raheleh Bahador: The first Ahmed Eghtedari Prize ceremony for studies of the Persian Gulf and the south of Iran was held at the defense hall of Medical Sciences College in Gerash in the rainy evening of 2 May, 2024. It is a biennial scientific prize named after Professor Ahmed Eghtedari, known as the father of the Persian Gulf Studies, held on the National Persian Gulf Day (read more here).
Dr. Younes Sadeghi, Ph.D. in Iranology from Shahid Beheshti University, won the prize in the first period with his doctoral thesis entitled Thought Currents of Warm Regions of Fars from Seventh to Tenth Centuries A.H. Dr. Sadeghi defended this thesis, supervised by Dr. Mohammad Bagher Vosouqi, in 2022.
“Fortunately, in the first period, a diverse range of scientific works including 21 books, 14 scientific papers, M.A and Ph.D. thesis were sent to the secretariat from different cities and provinces,” said Dr. Sadeq Rahmani, the president of the prize, in a short speech in the beginning of the ceremony, “and based on the consensus of the jury committee, five final candidates were announced”.
Accordingly, the following final candidates and their works were honored alongside Sadeghi’s thesis which won the main prize.
- Dialect and Culture of Sirooeiyeh (Hormozgani Culture), written by Sadegh Salar Hosseini (Arshadan: 2023)
- Roots of Backwardness in Jooyom Region, written by Keramatollah Taghavi (Analhagh: 2023)
- D. thesis in Archeology entitled “A Research on the Technique of Building the Ragged Domes from the Ilkhanid Era to the end of Safavid Era, case studies: Kohkelooyeh and Boyerahmad, Fars, Bushehr and Hormozgan Provinces”, written by Maryam Haghiri (Tarbiyat Modarres University: Defense year 2022)
- A paper titled “Archeological Researches of Hormozgan: Nine Decades Later”, written by Sepehr Zarei (in Collection Papers on Archeological Narration of Pars Sea“, Dr. Mahmood Afshar Press: 2021)
Two Special Awards for Researches about Gerash and Architecture
There also were two other scholars who were honored during the ceremony. Mohammad Hassan Roustaei, a researcher of folk literature from Gerash had participated in this period and his paper titled “The meaning of the word Gerash” was commended and awarded by the City Council and the municipality of Gerash as a local study. Dr. Maryam Haghiri received the particular award of Mehrab in architecture for her doctoral thesis, too. Mehrab Award is dedicated in commemoration of Taghi Mehrabi, the old proficient architect of traditional water reservoirs and houses in Gerash.
Ahmad Habibi, the Culturist of the Persian Gulf
Also, every two years a researcher who has dedicated her or his life to cultural and research activities in the Persian Gulf region will be honored with the title of “The Culturist of the Persian Gulf”. In this period, Ahmed Habibi, writer and researcher from Bastak, Hormozgan province, received this honorary award.
Sadid, a Documentary Film
Before the main ceremony, a documentary film, “Sadid: The Father of Persian Gulf Studies”, produced by Persian Gulf Broadcasting Center was shown in the conference hall. Sadid Al-Saltaneh Kababi Minabi Bandar Abbasi was among the first researchers who studied the culture, customs, traditions and politics of cities along the Persian Gulf coast and wrote several books on this field. Dr. Ahmed Eghtedari edited and annotated his books including Itinerary of Sadid Al-Saltaneh and he was the one who revived Sadid after his death in 1941.
Sponsors of the Prize
Ahmad Eghtedari Prize is a biannual scientific prize initiated by Haft-Berkeh Art and Culture institute. In the first period, the City Council and the Municipality of Gerash, The Culture and Islamic Guidance Office of Gerash, Noubahar Cultural Foundation, Gabric Furniture, Mehrabi Family, Shabab ol-Barakah Charity Institute, and Mr. Abedin Ghasemzadeh sponsored the ceremony.
