Isfahan Plans Chogan Performance

Plans are underway to perform chogan, the UNESCO-inscribed traditional polo, at Isfahan's Naqsh-e-Jahan Square during the Iranian New Year holidays (March 21-April 2).

According to Fereydoun Allahyari, the head of the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, traditional games have been played in a symbolic manner in Naqsh-e-Jahan over the past three years and this year, the globally-inscribed game will be performed again, ISNA reported.

"A report of past years' programs was sent to Governor General [Mohsen Mehralizadeh] and he insisted that the games should be played in the square as a tourist attraction," he said.

The program can be a motivation for travelling to Isfahan.

According to Allahyari, the time of the performances will be announced soon so that travelers can plan their trips.

"The games will be played only in certain parts of the square and not in the form of a real game, but a symbolic performance."

In its New Year plans, the provincial ICHHTO is focusing on Isfahan's intangible heritage. Chogan, a traditional horse-riding game accompanied by music and storytelling, was inscribed in 2017 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

With a history of over 2,000 years in Iran, chogan has mostly been played in royal courts and urban fields.

Pictures of its past performances, which were sent along with its dossier to UNESCO, are thought to have helped its inscription.