Fashion and Clothing Replaced ‘Book’ / Mashhad City Management’s Promise in Golestan Passage Not Fulfilled
IBNA (Iran’s Book News Agency) Provincial Services, by Seyyed Ehsan Mostafizadeh: In December 2024, in a series of reports published by IBNA on the fate of Mashhad’s Golestan Book Passage (ibna.ir/x6vvb), we addressed the repetitive and various promises made by different officials from Mashhad Municipality and City Council over recent years for the re-utilization of this book market in the cultural heart of Mashhad.
These promises were contradictory, different, and somewhat idealistic, but they all had one common feature: they were never fulfilled! The fate of this market, after years of closure, deterioration, and becoming a place of corruption, has now reached a new path, far from books.
Although city officials had explicitly promised in various reports that this passage would remain dedicated to the field of books, the CEO of Mashhad Municipality’s Urban Business Organization, in an interview with the municipality’s media, announced the launch of a specialized “Iranian-Islamic Fashion and Clothing” event in this passage, without mentioning that this market has been a haunt for cultural enthusiasts, book lovers, and booksellers for years!
Aref Abbasi stated that the specialized “Iranian-Islamic Fashion and Clothing” event in Mashhad’s Golestan Passage aims to effectively support local producers, promote Iranian-Islamic clothing production, and revitalize dormant urban spaces between Ebn-e Sina Street and Daneshgah 19. It began on December 3rd and will continue for 10 days.
He further elaborated on the process of reactivating Golestan Passage and the objectives of this program, adding: “With the municipality’s mandate to productive use of unused spaces and transform them into event and economic hubs, the plan for the revival and scientific utilization of this passage was put on the agenda. After official handover in October, preparation operations were carried out in a short period.”
Abbasi added: “In this event, more than 50 clothing producers, including chador, abaya, manteau, Iranian-Islamic clothing, bags, and shoes, as well as handicraft artists and home-based business owners, will present their products in thematic and organized booths so that citizens can buy directly from producers.”
He noted: “The organization’s approach in this period is to create a cultural, family-friendly, and safe environment with the promotion of Iranian-Islamic identity as its focus, so that Golestan Passage, as a historical axis on Ghare Khan Canal and along linear and local parks, can become one of the sustainable centers for urban events and specialized exhibitions.”
According to IBNA, Mashhad’s Golestan Book Passage, a street located in the cultural heart of Mashhad, has been written and spoken about so much that all readers are now familiar with its strategic location: on one side, it is adjacent to the former Faculty of Literature of Mashhad and the current Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (Jahad Daneshgahi); on another side, to Mashhad’s large and old cinema complex; and on yet another side, to the city’s old bookstores. However, the fate of this passage is perhaps, in a way, the biggest weakness of the current urban management of the country’s second metropolis and spiritual capital concerning books and culture. Long-term neglect, indecisiveness, passing the buck between different departments, cancellation of past contracts, eviction of booksellers, disregard for the demands of book enthusiasts, and many other issues constitute a list of ‘masterpieces’ of Mashhad’s urban management in the field of books and reading, which has led the fate of this market, after years of being kept in limbo, towards hosting a specialized “Iranian-Islamic Fashion and Clothing” event!
