TEHRAN – People in Iran’s Golestan province on Thursday celebrated the 7th registration anniversary of Gonbad-e Qabus on UNESCO World Heritage list.

The one-millennium-old brick tower is of high architectural importance as an exemplar and innovative design of the early-Islamic-era architecture.

July 1 is considered a significant cultural event for Iranians to hold the anniversary of Gonbad-e Qabus UNESCO registration, and the annual celebration is organized by Gonbad Kavus municipality, Mehr reported.

The UNESCO comments that tower bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and the ancient civilization of Iran.

The long-lasting structure capped by an eye-catching conical roof boasts intricate geometric principles and patterns which embellishes parts of its load-bearing brickwork.

Narratives say the tower has influenced various subsequent designers of tomb towers and other cylindrical commemorative structures both in the region and beyond.

Two encircling inscriptions in Kufic calligraphy date the tower to 1006-7 CE while commemorate Qabus Ibn Voshmgir, Ziyarid ruler and literati (reigned 978–1012).

The UNESCO also credits Gonbad-e Qabus as “an outstanding and technologically innovative example of Islamic architecture that influenced sacral building in Iran, Anatolia and Central Asia.”

AFM/MG