TEHRAN – Iran’s heritage body seeks to remove obstacles for possible inscription of Kandovan village, northwest of the country, on the UNESCO World Heritage list, so as to comply with the UN organization’s requirements and criteria for assuming the privilege.

The issue is related to variety of inharmonious houses that severely distort genuine texture of the village which is filled with scenic troglodyte homes in the shape of stony ice-cream cones in East Azarbaijan province.

A total of 96 residential units have been ruled to be destroyed or repaired across the village based on a national urbanization and architecture regulation, Mehr quoted Morteza Abdar, the provincial director of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department as saying on Friday.

Situated near the city of Osku, Kandovan epitomizes genuine manmade dwellings that have been carved out of substantially eroded rocks and it has been continuously been inhabited since the ancient times.

As to its shape and appearance, Kandovan is highly reminiscent of Turkey’s Cappadocia, a UNESCO World Heritage site that features dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns with traces to human habitat dating back to the 4th century.

PHOTO: An undated photo shows some troglodyte homes carved out of noticeably eroded rocks in Kandovan village, northwest Iran. 

AFM/MG