TEHRAN – Months of ongoing restoration work in Makhunik is seen as a step forward to put Iran’s village of little people on the map of sightseers.

Restoration of walls and internal spaces, reinforcement of foundations and rooftops and modification of water channels are amongst the rehabilitation plans, which will continue until late July this year, IRNA reported on Monday.

The scheme also funds a feasibility study on tourism development projects in the region, the report added.

The village plays host to some 8,000 domestic travelers and a few hundreds of foreign sightseers per annum, based on data compiled by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.

Some experts believe that the unique architecture of the village and its historical background are still untapped potentials for tourism.

Makhunik was inhabited by people of very short stature until about a century ago. Currently, it is home to roughly 200 adobe dwellings many of them are of exceptionally low height.

Located 143 km away from Birjand, the capital of South Khorasan province, its domestic architecture is dominantly characterized with exceptionally low-height houses with narrow doorways most of which cannot be entered without stooping down.

PHOTO: A boy stands by a tiny house in Makhunik

AFM/MQ/MG