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Iran
is a vast land with a long
history of civilization and
significant contributions to the
entirety of human civilization.
In a span of several thousand
years, many wondrous monuments
have been created in Iran;
monuments that would make us
stand in awe and wonder,
watching for hours and hours. In
1979, Iran joined the UNESCO
World Heritage Convention —three
years after its adoption in
1972. Three monuments in Iran
were registered in UNESCO World
Heritage List in the same year.
As of 2009, Ten Iranian
monuments are officially
registered as world heritage
properties and several other
monuments are nominated for
registration in the near future.
Two Iranian manuscripts are also
nominated for registration in
UNESCO Memory of the World List.
Persepolis
It was one of the first Iranian
sites to be registered in UNESCO
World Heritage List. The
Persepolis compound, known to
Iranians as Takht-e Jamshid, is
a very remarkable example of
ancient monuments of Iran. The
structure is built in the
ancient city of Parseh which was
built by the order of Daruis I
the Great of Achaemenid dynasty.
Xerxes, his son and successor,
built the Gate of All Nations
and added a few other places to
the city of Parseh and it was
then that Persepolis reached its
legendary glory.
Today you can see the remains of
the glorious Gate of All Nations
on which the images of the
representatives of different
nations are carved into the
stone. As you walk up the
stairs, stone carvings of
humans, plants and animals still
communicate the ancient
Persians’ ideals of Life, Peace
and Beauty to you.
Tchoghazanbil
The
TchoghaZanbil site holds the
remains of the world’s largest
ziggurat built in the ancient
Elamite city of Dur Untash. The
site is located near Susa
(Shush) in southwestern Iran.
Constructed in about 1250 BC,
the ziggurat temple was
dedicated to Elamite deity
Ihushinak. The receding stairs
of the ziggurat lead to a temple
of the second millennium BC,
where in the flashing of an eye
one can get immersed in a world
of ancient mysteries. The site
was added to UNESCO World
Heritage List in 1979, in the
same year Persepolis was
registered.
Meidan-e Emam
Known also as Naghsh-e Jahan,
the square is a masterpiece of
urban construction situated at
the heart of the legendary city
of Isfahan. Built in the 17th
century CE by Shah Abbas of the
Safavid dynasty at the time of
flourishing of Isfahan, the
compound consists of bazaars,
mosques and government
headquarters.
Its name, Naqsh-e Jahan means
“image of the world” in Persian.
The compound has been described
as a Persian equivalent to Saint
Mark’s in Venice. Two beautiful
mosques of Masjed-e Imam and
Masjed-e Sheikh Lotfullah
situated at the sides of the
square would charm your eyes
with their intricate but simple
design and decoration. The
Aliqapu compound situated on the
other side of the square is a
six-storey Safavid structure
with exquisite design and
decoration. The Naqsh-e Jahan
square was registered in UNESCO
World Heritage List in 1979,
together with Chogha Zanbil and
Persepolis.
Takht-e Soleyman
Near the town of Takab in West
Azarbaijan lies a unique
memorial to Persian history,
philosophy and art. The Takht-e
Soleyman Complex comprises
monuments from the Sassanid
(224-420 CE) to Il-Khan eras
(13th century CE).
There are remains of Sassanid
royal architecture and a holy
place where tow sacred elements
of Zoroastrian philosophy, fire
and water, are brought together.
This is the Azargoshasp Fire
Temple, one the three largest
fire temples of ancient Iran
which was built for warriors. In
Takht-e Soleyman you’ll be an
eye-witness to an enchanting,
mysterious place whose name was
mentioned in several old
documents and diaries.
Pasargadae
Here is the Holy Land of
Pasargadae. The burial place of
Cyrus The Great: the founder of
the Persian Empire, a man who
denounced slavery and forced
labor and believed in religious
freedom, a monotheist of the
ancient world who labored to
promote goodness and justice as
attested by the cuneiforms he
ordered to be written on the
Cyrus Cylinder in the ancient
Babylonia.
The site contains monuments from
5000 years ago as well as the
ruins of several royal palaces,
the trace of a royal garden and
several towers. Pasargadae is
located a few kilometers away
from the Persepolis (Takht-e
Jamshid). The Pasargadae complex
was registered in UNESCO World
Heritage List in 2004
Pasargadae
Here is the Holy Land of
Pasargadae. The burial place of
Cyrus The Great: the founder of
the Persian Empire, a man who
denounced slavery and forced
labor and believed in religious
freedom, a monotheist of the
ancient world who labored to
promote goodness and justice as
attested by the cuneiforms he
ordered to be written on the
Cyrus Cylinder in the ancient
Babylonia.
The site contains monuments from
5000 years ago as well as the
ruins of several royal palaces,
the trace of a royal garden and
several towers. Pasargadae is
located a few kilometers away
from the Persepolis (Takht-e
Jamshid). The Pasargadae complex
was registered in UNESCO World
Heritage List in 2004
Warm Welcome
As an American I was somewhat
concerned about visiting Iran,
despite assurances that
Americans are warmly welcomed.
Indeed I was! My status as an
American was never an issue and
actually seemed to delight those
who approached me. Nor was my
gender a deterrent. Iranian
women are full participants in
society and with my headscarf
firmly in place, I was too. I
had the privilege of visiting
Iran in November 2006. Never has
a ... More
Attractions
World Heritage Sites
Bam and its Cultural Landscape
The horrible 2003 earthquake
drew the attention of the world
to Bam, the city holding the
world’s largest brick structure.
The Arg-e Bam is spread on a
land area of about 20 hectares
and its Cultural Landscape
encompasses an area of about 492
hectares where you can find many
palm groves, subterranean water
canals – the traditionally made
aquaducts or Qanat in Persian---
and several other natural
attractions. In Arg-e Bam,
several monuments from
prehistoric times to the Islamic
era have been discovered. As you
pass the gate of Bam, you step
to a silent city. With the help
of your imagination, however,
you can still hear the sounds of
life—the sounds of people in the
streets, houses and commerce
buildings—for the echo is
forever preserved in Bam’s clay
buildings.
Bam and its Cultural Landscape
were registered in UNESCO World
Heritage List following the
devastating 2003 earthquake that
destroyed over 90 percent of the
clay structure.
Soltaniyeh
Forty kilometers to the City of
Zanjan lies Gonbad-e Soltanieh,
the mausoleum of Il-Khan ruler
Oljeitu. The brick structure was
created in mind-fourteenth
century in Il-Khan capital city
of Soltanieh.
This is the world’s highest
brick dome. The dome is 50
meters high and its octagonal
base is 25 meters wide. An
interesting feature of the
compound is ten thousand square
meters of plaster-work and
painting. A wide array of
ornamental works such as
plaster-work, tile-work,
painting on plaster and mosaic
would meet the eye. Soltanieh is
one of the world’s highest
domes, along with Santa Maria
dei Frari Church in Venice and
Hagia Sophia Cathedral in
Istanbul.
Bisotun
Thirty kilometers east of
Kermanshah lies Bisotun
Mountain. In Bistun and nearby
mountains you can see traces of
human endeavor to record the
history of a nation. The site
contains about 200 culturally
significant monuments from
prehistoric times to Il-Khan
period. Examples include a
Median temple, a Median city, a
Sassanid city and a Safavid
caravanserai etc.
The most important monument of
the site, however, is an
Achaemenid bas-relief depicting
Darius The Great and a group of
rebels. Under the bas-relief,
there is a large inscription
dating back to 520 BC. The
inscription, which is one of the
world’s most famous and reliable
historical documents, is a
narration of historical events
during the reign of Darius I as
well as the names of Iran’s
neighboring countries and
geographical regions of the time
in three ancient languages. The
rectangular cuneiform
inscription is 21 meters long
and 8 meters wide. This was the
first cuneiform inscription to
be translated to modern
languages. Bisotun was
registered in UNESCO World
Heritage List in 2006.
This is the world’s highest
brick dome. The dome is 50
meters high and its octagonal
base is 25 meters wide. An
interesting feature of the
compound is ten thousand square
meters of plaster-work and
painting. A wide array of
ornamental works such as
plaster-work, tile-work,
painting on plaster and mosaic
would meet the eye. Soltanieh is
one of the world’s highest
domes, along with Santa Maria
dei Frari Church in Venice and
Hagia Sophia Cathedral in
Istanbul.
Memory of the World and
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Memory of the World is a UNESCO
program aiming at preservation
and dissemination of valuable
archive holdings and library
collections worldwide. Two
exquisite Iranian manuscripts,
namely the Shahnameh
Bayasonghori and Rab’ I-Rashidi
Endowment were registered in
UNESCO Memory of the World List
in June 2007.During the meeting
of The Inter-governmental
Committee for the Safeguarding
of the Intangible Heritage of
the United Nations, held between
28 September – 2 October 2009 in
Abu Dhabi, Nowrūz and The Radif
of persian Music were officially
registered on the UNESCO List of
the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity .
Baysanghori Shanhnameh:
It is a copy of the Book of
Kings or Shahnameh by famous
Iranian poet Ferdowsi made in
1430 at the request of Prince
Bayasanghor (1399-1433). The
manuscript is written Master
Ja'far Bayasonghori, a renowned
calligrapher of the Timurid era.
The book is beautifully
illuminated and illustrated. It
has been published several times
inside and outside Iran.
The deed for endowment (Rab’ I-Rashidi):
Deed written by Rashid al-Din
(1247-1318), Persian statesman
and historian who built a huge
complex on the outskirts of
Tabriz comprising schools,
hospitals, libraries, hammams,
caravanserai, workshops, etc,
known under the name of Rab’ I-Rashidi.
Nowrūz: The greatest Iranian
festival
It is at least 3000 years the
Iranian people celebrate the
first day of spring –when the
Sun enters the point of Vernal
Equinox-- as the beginning of
the Persian New Year. The Nowrūz
(lit. New Time) is one of the
oldest national festivals of
Iran surviving to the present
day. It has played a significant
role in helping preserve the
continuity of the Persian
culture.
In spite of Iran's eventful
history from 1000 BC to the
present day, there is reason to
believe that the celebration of
Nowrūz has not experienced any
significant changes since the
ancient times. It is thus a
means of maintaining cultural
concord among the people of
Iranian plateau and the entire
Persian-speaking world. Today,
No wrūz is celebrated in the
same way in numerous parts of
the globe. It is also revered by
Iranians as a symbol of their
national identity and cultural
heritage.
The legend says King Jamshīd
celebrated the rushing fires of
spring after the last glacial
period was over. An account of
this age is given in the Avesta:
"There were ten months of winter
there, and two months of summer,
and these were cold for the
waters, cold for the earth, cold
for the trees."
The ancient people thought it
was the best day of the year
because it was a day of renewal
for the Nature.
Persian mathematician,
astronomer and poet Omar Khayyām
in his Norūz Nāmah (The book of
Nowrūz) writes that King Jamshīd
celebrated Norūz because of the
Sun's entry into the point of
the Vernal Equinox.
In 534 BC, Cyrus the Great made
Nowrūz an official festival. The
military officers would receive
promotions on Nowrūz, the
convicts would receive amnesty
and the natural environment
would be purified of pollutions.
The Radif of Iranian music
The classical music of Iran is
based on the Radif, which is a
collection of old melodies that
have been handed down by the
masters to the students through
the generations. Over time, each
master's own interpretation has
shaped and added new melodies to
this collection, which may bear
the master's name.
The preservation of these
melodies greatly depended on
each successive generations'
memory and mastery, since the
interpretive origin of this
music was expressed only through
the oral tradition.
To truly learn and absorb the
essence of the Radif, many years
of repetition and practice are
required. A master of the Radif
must internalize the Radif so
completely to be able to perform
any part of it at any given
time.
The Radif contains several
different Maqam's which are
distinguished from each other by
their relationship of note
intervals and the form of the
movement of the melodies within
them. A Maqam portrays a
specific sonic space. A Dastgah
may contain approximately from
10 to 30 gousheh's (melodies).
The principle Gousheh's of the
Dastgah specify the different
Gaqams within that Dastgah. The
note, upon which the Gousheh is
based and often is the center of
the Gousheh, is called the
Shahead. The Shahead moves when
we modulate between principle
Gousheh's, and this movement
creates a new sonic space.
Rhythm in these melodies takes
three different forms:
symmetric, asymmetric(lang), and
free form. The rhythm is greatly
influenced by the rhythm and
meter of the Persian poetry. The
instrumental and vocal Radif are
different from the rhythmical
point of view; however, their
melodic structures are the same.
The Radif of Iranian music is
the traditional repertoire of
the classical music of Iran and
reflects the cultural and
national identity of the Iranian
people.
The
Armenian Monastic Ensembles in
Iran
Situated in the north-west of
the country, the property
consists of three monastic
ensembles of the Armenian
Christian faith: St Thaddeus and
St Stepanos and the Chapel of
Dzordzor ( also known as Qara
Kelisa) . These edifices - the
oldest of which, St Thaddeus,
dates back to the 7th century –
are examples of outstanding
universal value of the Armenian
architectural and decorative
traditions. They bear testimony
to very important interchanges
with the other regional
cultures, in particular the
Byzantine, Orthodox and Persian.
Situated on the south-eastern
fringe of the main zone of the
Armenian cultural space, the
monasteries constituted a major
centre for the dissemination of
that culture in the region.
They are the last regional
remains of this culture that are
still in a satisfactory state of
integrity and authenticity.
Furthermore, as places of
pilgrimage, the monastic
ensembles are living witnesses
of Armenian religious traditions
through the centuries.
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic
system
Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic
System, inscribed as a
masterpiece of creative genius,
can be traced back to Darius the
Great in the 5th century B.C. It
involved the creation of two
main diversion canals on the
river Kârun one of which, Gargar
canal, is still in use providing
water to the city of Shushtar
via a series of tunnels that
supply water to mills. It forms
a spectacular cliff from which
water cascades into a downstream
basin. It then enters the plain
situated south of the city where
it has enabled the planting of
orchards and farming over an
area of 40,000 ha. known as
Mianâb (Paradise).
The property has an ensemble of
remarkable sites including the
Salâsel Castel, the operation
centre of the entire hydraulic
system, the tower where the
water level is measured, damns,
bridges, basins and mills. It
bears witness to the know-how of
the Elamites and Mesopotamians
as well as more recent Nabatean
expertise and Roman building
influence.
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