TEHRAN – Tehran’s two iconic historical towers turned off lights on Saturday and will remain dark on Sunday as a sign of paying tribute to Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who was martyred on Friday.

[Exterior] lighting for Tehran province’s historical towers of Tughrul and Shebeli won’t be done on Saturday and Sunday in honor of martyr Soleimani, CHTN quoted provincial tourism chief Parham Janfeshan as saying on Saturday.

Standing tall in the city of Rey, the 12th-century Tughrul Tower is in fact the tomb of Seljuk ruler Tughrul Beg, who died in Rey in 1063. Originally, like other monuments of its time, it was capped by a conical dome which would have added to its height.

Shebeli Tower, which dominates the Damavand’s countryside skyline, is a roofed octagon tomb of Sheikh Shebeli, a Sufi mystic. The structure is a remnant of the Samanid era, making it from the 12th century, at the latest, and is similar in design to extant structures in Bukhara.

General Soleimani was martyred in a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport on Friday morning.

AFM/MG