TEHRAN,Oct. 5 (Mehr News Agency) -- Iranian experts have begun the restoration process of the mausoleum of Rudaki in Panjrud near Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

A group of expert tile craftsmen from Neyshabur Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department will complete the restoration and renovation process of the mausoleum within a month.

The tomb was constructed on an octagon plane with a rotary dome representing the architectural style of Attar's mausoleum in Neyshabur, Khorasan Razavi Province.

The dome covering an area of 100 square meters will be covered with turquoise-colored tiles in the planetarium style.

Born in the village of Rudak (Panjrud) in Khorasan, now located in present-day Tajikistan, Rudaki was the first great literary genius of the modern Persian language who composed poetry in "New Persian," which is written in the Perso-Arabic alphabet script.

Most of his biographers assert that he was totally blind, but his accurate knowledge of colors shown in his poems makes this very doubtful. Of the 1,300,000 verses attributed to him, only 52 elegies, ghazals and quatrains remain.

... Payvand News - 10/05/08 ... --