The national Khayyam Day in Iran will be commemorated on May 18 with many scholars, litterateurs, and cultural officials gathering at his tomb in Nishabur, Khorasan Razavi Province, in northeastern Iran.
On the same day, several other special ceremonies have been organized, including a poetry congress titled ‘From Tous to Nishabur’, MNA reported.
Khayyam was an Iranian mathematician, astronomer, philosopher and poet of the 11th century. He wrote treatises on mechanics, geography, mineralogy, music and Islamic theology. He also contributed to reform in the Jalali calendar, a precursor to the current Iranian calendar.
His mausoleum, a masterpiece of Iranian architecture is the main tourist attraction in the city, bringing thousands to his tomb annually.
English poet and writer Edward FitzGerald (1809-1883) was the most influential scholar in introducing Khayyam to the West through translation of his quatrains.
