Seyed Amin Saneey Mehri

Reviving the glory of Mofakham Mansion and Garden is around corner

January 6, 2019 - 9:45

The city of Bojnord or Bijan Yord as it was called in the past, has been established in 1689 by Tavali Khan II, an Amir from Shadloo tribe, and has experienced many ups and downs during its lifetime.

Mohammad Khan Shadloo is one of the most famous men from this city, who is also called Sardar Mofakham, who built a place (Mofakham Mansion) to live in along with his family in 1921. Mofakham Dar Al-Hokoomeh (Governor’s House) is made of many sections including the mirror house, the mansion, the pavilion, the hoz khaneh (pools house) and the façade, all of which are located in Mofakham Garden with an area of several hectares. 

However, this historical treasure of Bojnord has been ablated during these long years and literary shrank, so that in the last two decades the only remaining buildings of that glorious mansion are the mirror house and the mansion. It should also be noted that urban development has even separated these two buildings and Shariaati St. has cut through them. 

In 1941, the heirs devoted the mansion and its court to a hospital built by Imam Reza Hospital authorities. 

By the passage of each day, the glory of this mansion lost its color. Finally, in 1991, ICHHTO took the responsibility of this building, restored it and exploited it as an anthropology museum. These procedures, insufflated a new spirit to these buildings that were at the verge of being forgotten. After North Khorasan became an independent province in 2005 and an office of ICHHTO was established in Bojnord, the revival of the great garden of Sardar Mofakham flourished and between 2007 and 2013, the surrounding lands of the mirror house were bought by ICHHTO and a small part of the garden was revived. 

Recently, the management of ICHHTO, in collaboration with the governor and urban managers, approved many useful bylaws to revive Mofakham great garden and they are going to discharge the hospital building and had it over to ICHHTO. ICHHTO, along with a number of high-ranking authorities, provincial managers and cultural heritage enthusiasts, are going to demolish the adjoining buildings and revive the 6-hectare Mofakham garden. Shariaati St. is also going to serve as a contributor to the revival of this magnificent garden. 

The revival of this complex can be a turning point for reviving history-making buildings in this province and a road map for other historic buildings to be revived. 
Abdollah Qajar is a name that must be remembered, because it is through his photographs that we can access many information about these historic buildings. People like him have preserved the historical memory of Iranian nation for the future generations. 

Nowadays, many cities are confronting identity crisis, because they have been exposed to many fundamental changes without any link to their past. In fact, identity is connected with the mental savings, and preserving historic buildings can help preserving these mental savings, which are in fact our identity. 
Now, a historical opportunity is provided for Bojnord and if Mofakham garden can be revived, it can contribute significantly to the revival of the history and identity of Bojnord.

In addition, this event can attract many tourists because Bojnurd is located in the main road from north-west to north-east, especially those who are traveling to Mashhad and see Bojnord as a mere passageway. But after the revival, this city can be a tourist destination per se for those who are interested in historical monuments. 

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