TEHRAN – The historical Seyyed Jafari Ab-Anbar (cistern) in the city of Lar, the southern province of Fars, has undergone some rehabilitation works, a provincial tourism chief has said.

The project involves repairing the dome of the cistern, which has collapsed over the years, Mohammad Ebrahim Kian announced on Tuesday.

The budget of the restoration project has been provided by a benefactor, the official added.

Dating back to the Safavid era (1501–1736), the cistern with a depth of about 20 meters from the ground and a storage capacity of five million liters of water, is one of the biggest of its kind in southern Iran.

The cistern was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1976.

The term Ab-Anbar is common throughout Iran as a designation for roofed underground water cisterns. It associates with water management systems in arid areas that are reliant on permanent springs or on seasonal rainwater.

Such underground reservoirs or Ab-Anbars are parts of the iconic qanat systems, which rely on snow-fed streams flowing down from surrounding mountains.

Qanats, according to UNESCO, provide exceptional testimony to cultural traditions and civilizations in desert areas with an arid climate.

ABU/MG