TEHRAN – The main and the tallest badgir (windcatcher) of the Qajar-era (1789–1925) Nematollahi mansion in the central province of Yazd has undergone some rehabilitation works, a provincial tourism chief has said.

Badgirs are the traditional air-conditioning systems of local houses around the desert in Iran, which are the essential elements at the residential structures.

The restoration project aims at reviving, preserving, protecting, and strengthening the historical structure, Ali Asghar Samadiani said, CHTN reported on Saturday.

Building’s architecture follows the traditional characteristics of the structures of the buildings in desert areas with the materials of raw clay, mud and brick, and plaster.

The mansion has wind catchers, a hall, five-door and three-door rooms as well as summer and winter rooms and a central yard. 

The historical house was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 2008.

In July 2017, the historical structure of the city of Yazd, which is the capital of Yazd province, was named a UNESCO World Heritage. The oasis city is wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain ringed by mountains. Its historical structure enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras.

The city of Yazd is usually referred to as a delightful place to stay, or a “don't miss” destination by almost all of its visitors. It is teemed with mudbrick houses that are equipped with innovative badgirs (windcatchers), atmospheric alleyways, and many Islamic and Iranian monuments that shape its eye-catching city landscape.  

The province has an interesting mix of people as well, some 10 percent of whom follow the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism.

Yazd Jameh Mosque, Dowlatabad Garden, the Yazd Atash Behram, also known as Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Towers of Silence, and adjacent desert landscape are among its tourist sites.

ABU/MG