TEHRAN –The 19th-century rock-carved bas-relief in Cheshmeh-Ali, a historical and recreational spot located in the south of Tehran and north of Rey, is planned to be restored and preserved within a comprehensive project. 

An appropriate budget has been allocated to the project due to the increasing trend of erosion and damage to the bas-relief, the deputy provincial tourism chief said on Tuesday.

The artwork that overlooks the Cheshmeh Ali pool was commissioned by the Qajar king Fath Ali Shah who reigned from 1797 to 1834. Cheshmeh Ali also contains an archaeological site estimated to date from the 4 millennium BC.

The restoration and preservation project, which aims at repairing damaged parts with proper materials and strengthening the monument using cob material, will be commenced before the end of the current Iranian year 1399 (ends on March 20, 2021), Morteza Adibzadeh said. 
 
Back in May, Rey’s cultural heritage department director Amir Mosayeb Rahimzadeh announced that the historical complex is planned to be inscribed on the national heritage list. The national registration of the thousands-year-old spring will lead to its better preservation as well as help tourism development in the region, he explained. 

From ancient times Cheshmeh-Ali has been a source of vitality to a historical area of the same name in southern Tehran. Cheshmeh-Ali, literally meaning Spring of Ali, is an underground mineral stream that pours into an open-air pool which has long been a traditional destination for sightseers and a recreational center for the locals. The site is in the neighborhood of the ancient Ebn-e Babveyh cemetery, the 12th-century Tughrul Tower, the historical Rashkan Castle, and next to the aged Rey Castle.

During the summertime, Cheshmeh-Ali and its surroundings are occupied by hundreds of locals who came for swimming and having fun. In the past, locals used to clean their rugs and carpets in the pool that is fed by an underground mineral spring, with the idea that the property of this spring water is good and clean for carpets and make them full lighter color by its mineral water.

Rey was one of the capital cities of the Parthian empire (3rd century BC–3rd century CE) and it was captured by the Muslim Arabs in 641 CE. During the reign of the Muslim caliph al-Mahdi in the 8th century, the city grew in importance until it was rivaled in western Asia only by Damascus and Baghdad.

ABU/AFM