TEHRAN – Over 200 aging structures and buildings have been restored across Yazd province, central Iran, since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year 1399 (March 20).

As the coronavirus pandemic has brought the province’s tourism to a standstill and there are no visitors to the historical sites, it seems the best time for the implementation of the restoration projects, said Seyyed Mostafa Fatemi, the provincial tourism chief, CHTN reported on Saturday. 

Most of the restoration projects have been done in collaboration with the private sector as well as volunteer teams of restorers, the official added.

Back in July, the official announced that due to the global coronavirus pandemic, visits to the province has plummeted to one percent during the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year compared to the same period last year.

In July 2017, the historical structure of the city of Yazd was named a UNESCO World Heritage. Wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain, the oasis city enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras.

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

The city is known today with its traditional districts, the qanat system, traditional houses, bazaars, hammams, water cisterns, mosques, synagogues, Zoroastrian temples, and the historic garden of Dolat-Abad. The city enjoys the peaceful coexistence of three religions: Islam, Judaism, and 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