A Night of Naqqāli, Iranian dramatic story-telling, consecrated to the recitation of the poems of Naim Frashëri, Albania’s Persian-speaking national poet, was recently held in Korçë, Albania. The event, organized by the Cultural Center of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Albania and co-sponsored by Korçë municipality, National Theater of Albania, and Cajupi Theatre, was warmly received and also attended by a number of prominent Albanian artists and literary and cultural figures. Prominent Albanian artists performed in the event and recited the entire poems of Frashëri’s book, Tahayyülat, in an almost two-hour program.
The Naqqāli recitation of poems with mostly religious and ethical themes gave the event a special ritualistic aura, described by the Mufti of Korçë and other participating muftis as an outstanding moral event. At the end of the program, a copy of Frashëri’s ‘Tahayyülat’ and a documentary film titled “Iran from My Perspective,” a recent Albanian documentary production, were distributed among participants.
