Iran is one of the great civilizations of the ancient world. Some of Iran's cultural sites and natural phenomena are listed in the World Heritage list of UNESCO. In this article, we try to Introduce Iran sites in UNESCO site to help people who travel to Iran to enrich their to-do list.
1.
Armenian
Monastic Ensembles of Iran (2008.(
It is located 15 Km northwest of
Julfa (Northwest of Iran) in a deep canyon along the Aras River on the Iranian
side of the border between Azerbaijan and Iran. This site protects the rich
culture of Armenian Christians. It was built in the 9th century and was rebuilt
in the Safavid era after several earthquakes damaged it.
2.
Bam and
its Cultural Landscape (2004).
Bam is the world's largest mud-brick building near the city of Bam in Kerman province in southeastern Iran and
its Cultural Landscape is an outstanding example of a Central Asian trading
settlement. The town had its heyday from the 7th to 11th centuries.
The ancient citadel of Arg-é Bam
probably has a history dating back around 2000 years ago but most buildings
were built during the Safavid dynasty.
Bam was almost completely
destroyed in an earthquake on December 26, 2003.
3.
Bisotun
(2006.(
It is located along with a historical
trade route in the Kermanshah Province of Iran.
Its primary monument is the
Bisotun Inscription, made in 521 BC by Darius I the Great when he conquered the
Persian throne. The inscription is written in 3 languages: Elamite, Babylonian and
Old Persian. It is to cuneiform script what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian
hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost
script. A British army officer, Sir Henry Rawlinson, had the inscription
transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843
4.
Cultural
Landscape of Maymand (2015.(
Meymand is a very ancient village
which is located near Shahr-e Babak city in Kerman Province, Iran.The Cultural
Landscape of Maymand covers a dry desert valley in Central Iran, which is home
to semi-nomadic people. They practice a three-phase transhumance system. In
winter, they live in troglodytic houses carved out of soft stone rocks. The
designated area contains houses, animal shelters, water collection points,
agro-pastoral systems, and rock-art.
5.
Golestan
Palace (2013).
Golestan Palace, Tehran relic of a
historic palace, the residence of the kings of the Qajar dynasty and the most
beautiful and oldest buildings in the capital of the bicentenary of the counts.
The palace buildings were built at different times. Its name is derived from
the Hall of Golestan in building output. The site comprises 8 palace complexes
around a garden. Notable features include: Marble Throne (Takht-e marmar), Hoze
Khaneh, a summer chamber with a cooling system, Talar-e Aineh (Hall of
Mirrors),Shams-ol-Emareh (Edifice of the Sun), Several museums.
6.
Gonbad-e
Qabus (2012).
Gonbad-e Qabus/ Kavus is a monumental
tomb tower and is located in Gonbad-e Qabus city, Golestan province, in north
of Iran.
The architectural style is a secret
way and the building is one of the world's tallest brick towers all over the
world. The 53 meters high tower was constructed using unglazed fired bricks.
Its form is cylindrical, with a conical roof and standing on a stellar plan. It
became the prototype for the construction of tomb towers in the history of
Islamic Architecture.
The tower is the only part that
remains of the historic town of Gorgan. It stands on a domed hill in a park in
the center of the current city Gonbad-e Qabus.
7.
Masjed-e
Jamé of Isfahan (2012).
Masjed-e Jâme' of Isfahan
represents a condensed history of Iranian Architecture. It displays
architectural styles of different periods in the country's Islamic architecture.
The mosque was built in the
four-iwan architectural style, placing four gates face to face. It later became
a prototype for the mosque and dome design.
Located in the historic center of
Isfahan, it is the oldest Friday mosque in Iran. It was developed from the 9th
century onwards.
8. Emam/ Imam square, Esfahan (1979)
Imam square/ Naghshe Jahan square, in Esfahan is one of the
largest city squares in the world and
Built by Shah Abbas I the Great at the beginning of the 17th century
.The square is surrounded by important historical buildings from the Safavid
era. The Shah Mosque is situated on the south side of this square. On the west
side, you can find Ali Qapu Palace. Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque is situated on the
eastern side of this square and the northern side opens into the Isfahan Grand
Bazaar. They are an impressive testimony to the level of social and cultural
life in Persia during the Safavid era.
9.
Pasargadae
(2004).
Pasargadae was the first dynastic
capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II the Great, in Pars, the homeland of the Persians, in the 6th century BC. Its palaces, gardens and the
mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal
Achaemenid art and architecture and exceptional testimonies of Persian
civilization.
10. Persepolis (1979).
Persepolis was an ancient ceremonial capital of the second Iranian dynasty, the Achaemenid Empire.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest remains of Persepolis date
from around 518 BC. It was Darius the Great who built the terrace and the great
palaces.
The surviving ruins of Persepolis
today are a mere shadow of Persepolis' former glory. The importance and quality
of the monumental ruins make it a unique archaeological site
.
11. Shahr-i Sokhta (2014.(
Shahr-i Sokhta ("Burnt
City") is an archaeological site of a Bronze Age urban settlement. It is
associated with the Jiroft culture, an "independent Bronze Age
civilization with its own architecture and language", intermediate between
Elam to the west and the Indus Valley Civilization to the east. Covering an
area of 151 hectares, Shahr-i Sokhta was one of the world's largest cities at
the dawn of the urban era. In the western part of the site is a vast graveyard.
It contains between 25,000 to 40,000 ancient graves
The settlement appeared around
3200 BC. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three
times before being abandoned in 2100 BC. The site was discovered and
investigated by Aurel Stein in the early 1900s.
12. Sheikh Safi al-din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble in
Ardabil (2010).
The Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah
and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil is a Sufi spiritual retreat dating from between
the early 16th century and late 18th century. The complex is a fine example of
medieval Iranian architecture.
The site includes a library, a
mosque, a school, a mausoleum, a cistern, a hospital, kitchens, a bakery and
some offices. The floor of the shrine is covered with a reproduction of the
most famous carpet in the world - the Ardebil Carpet.
13. Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System (2009)
Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic
System, is an island city from the Sassanian era with a complex irrigation
system.
The river was channeled to form a
moat around the city, while bridges and main gates into Shushtar were built to
the east, west, and south. A system of subterranean channels called Qanats,
which connected the river to the private reservoirs of houses and buildings,
supplied water for domestic use and irrigation, as well as to store and supply
water during times of war when the main gates were closed. Traces of these
Qanats can still be found in the crypts of some houses. This complex system of
irrigation degenerated during the 19th century
14. Soltaniyeh (2005)
The ancient city of Soltaniyeh was
the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty (13th and 14th centuries), which was
founded by the Mongols. The main feature of Soltaniyeh's several ruins is the
Mausoleum of Il-khan Öljeitü, traditionally known as the Dome of Soltaniyeh. It
is a key monument in the history of Islamic architecture. The structure,
erected from 1302 until 1312, boasts the oldest double-shell dome in the world.
The octagonal building is crowned with a 50m-tall dome covered in turquoise
blue faience and surrounded by eight slender minarets.
15. Susa (2015)
Susa was an ancient city of the
Elamite and Achaemenid empires. It is one of the oldest-known settlements of
the region, dating from as early as 4395 BCE.
The archeological site is located
in the lower Zagros Mountains. It comprises two components: Susa archaeological
complex and the area of Ardeshir's Palace.
16. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex (2010)
The Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex
is one of the oldest bazaars of the Middle East and the largest covered bazaar
in the world. Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity and
its historic bazaar complex is one of the most important commercial centers on
the Silk Road.
17. Takht-e Soleyman (2003(
Takht-e Soleyman, "The Throne
of Solomon", is the holiest shrine of Zoroastrianism and the former
Sassanid Empire.
The partially excavated site
consists of the following locations:
- Takht-e Suleiman, the main focus of the nomination with a Zoroastrian Fire Temple and the Anahita temple
- The mountain to the east of the previous
served as a quarry for the construction of the site
- Zendan-e Suleiman (‘Solomon’s prison’), a
small volcano with ancient shrines around the top- Tepe Majid, an
archaeological mound culturally related to Zendan-e Suleiman
- Belqeis Mountain with a citadel (named after
Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother)
The archaeological site of Takht-e
Soleyman, in north-western Iran, is situated in a valley set in a volcanic
mountain region.
18. Tchogha Zanbil (1979).
The ruins of the holy city of The Kingdom of Elam, surrounded by three huge concentric walls, are found at
Tchogha Zanbil. Founded c. 1250 B.C., the city remained unfinished after it was
invaded by Ashurbanipal, as shown by the thousands of unused bricks left at the
site
19. The Persian Gardens (2011)
"The Persian Garden" comprises nine
gardens from different epochs and climates. They derive from the Chahar Bagh
model: the division of a site into 4 sectors, opening out into the 4 cardinal
directions. This dates back to the 6th Century BC.
The tradition and style in the
garden design of Persian gardens has influenced the design of gardens from
Andalusia to India and beyond. The design is dominated by geometry and the use
of water as a central element.
The 9 designated gardens are: Royal
Garden of Pasargadae, Bagh-e Eram in Shiraz (Eram Garden), Chehel Sotun Garden, Bagh-e
Fin in Kashan, Bagh-e Dolat Abad in Yazd, Bagh-e Pahlavanpur in Mehriz (Yazd), Bagh-e Shahzadeh in Mahan (Kerman), Bagh-e Abbasabad in Behshahr, Bagh-e Akbariyeh in Birjand.
20. Iranian Qanat (2016)
A Qanat (Kariz) which literally
means ‘channel’ in Persian is a sloping underground tunnel that transport water
from an aquifer or water well to surface for irrigation and drinking, acting as
an underground aqueduct. This is an old system of water supply from a deep well
with a series of vertical access shafts.
Qanat is a symbol of civilization,
tradition, and culture in desert regions with an arid climate and an outstanding
example of using architectural complicated systems in Iran.
21. Lut Desert (2016)
Dasht-e Lut was included in the
list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on 17 July 2016. The Dasht-e Lut, a large salty
desert in Iran, is the 25th largest desert in the world.
The surface of the sand was
measured at temperatures up to 70 ° C (159 ° F), and is one of the driest and
hottest places in the world.
One of the most beautiful
phenomena in the Lut desert is Kaluts/ Kalouts. These high and strange cliffs that are
shaped by centuries of water and soil erosion create spectacular desert scenery
giving a real scene of isolation.
Dashte Lut extends over 52,000
square kilometers to the east and south-east of Iran
.
22. Historic City of Yazd (2017)
Yazd province dating back to
pre-Islamic times; besides the world's oldest adobe building, it has the
tallest windmills and minarets of Iran, the longest Qanat in Iran and the only
six windmills in the world. It has also Iran's only circular inn and the world's
first safe deposit box. The historical city of Yazd also has the most extensive
historical residential area of Iran with a surface area of 700 hectares.
Yazd's historical texture is a balanced combination of old alleys, houses, suburbs, and adobe buildings that
have all the potential for personal and social life and have led to the
globalization of Yazd.
23. Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region (2018)
The most important ancient and the historical route in Fars province was listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List
of Iran in the year 2018 as the Sasanian Archaeological Collection. This route
passes through the cities of Firouzabad, Kazeroon, and Sarvestan including
monuments and landmarks such as Bishapour, Shapur Cave, Sassanid Sarsan Palace,
Ardeshir Khor Ancient City, Ardeshir Babkan Palace, Dokhtar Castle, the Statue
of Victory of Ardeshir Babakan against Ardavan and so on.
24. Hyrcanian Forests (2019)
Hyrcanian forests in the common
and popular language of the Iranian people are called northern forests and they
form the most dense forest area of Iran. These forests, located in the south of
the Caspian Sea, are common between Iran and Azerbaijan. Hyrcanian forests have
been around for many years, and some even say they equate their lives with dinosaurs
(the third geological period.
The age of these forests and the
inadequacy of plant tissue and the type of its trees prompted them to apply for
UNESCO World Registration. At first, the Republic of Azerbaijan made this
request, but since most of the forests were located in Iran, Iran proposed a
joint request with Azerbaijan and the request was filed with UNESCO.
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