TEHRAN – Three historical mansions in Davarzan, northern Khorasan Razavi province, were restored in collaboration with the private sector, provincial tourism chief Mohammad Abdollahzadeh-Sani said on Saturday, CHTN reported. 

Khalili and Mohammadi mansions in Mazinan village and Moein al-Sharieh mansion in Sadkharv village were restored in a bid to become tourist destinations, he added. 

Khalili mansion belonged to the 20th-century Iranian pilot and poet Colonel Mohammad-Taqi Khan Pesyan, while Mohammadi mansion dates back to Qajar era (1789–1925).

The 150-year-old Moein al-Sharieh mansion was inscribed on the National Heritage List on 2005. 

Over the past couple of years, tens of historical places and monuments have been temporarily ceded to the private sector under the supervision of the Revitalization and Utilization Fund for Historical Places.

Affiliated with the tourism ministry, the Fund is in charge of concession with the aim of historical sites receiving better maintenance by repurposing them into thriving boutique hotels, eco-lodges, traditional restaurants or other profitable niches.

The country boasts hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 22 being inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

ABU/MG