TEHRAN – Iran has nominated its 12th-century Gonbad-e Alavian (“Alavian Dome”) for inclusion on the cultural heritage register of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Located in Hamedan province, the monument is a prime example of Persian-Islamic architecture of the time.

“A [comprehensive] dossier for Gonbad-e Alavian was compiled and submitted to the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to register the monument on ICESCO list in 2021,” provincial tourism chief Ali-Malmir announced on Wednesday.

The brick tower of the monument remains famous for the whirling floral stucco added in the Ilkhanid Mongol era; this ornamentation is described by British travel writer Robert Byron in his travelogue “The Road to Oxiana”. In its small cellar, there are tombs of two elders of the Alavian family. The interior area is formed of six rooms with arches. Cube-shaved graves covered with turquoise bricks are in the center.

A rectangular plaque with stucco honeycomb patterns and flower motifs is hanged above the entrance of the structure. The outer frame of this plaque bears stucco reliefs of Quranic inscriptions in the Kufic calligraphy hand.

Headquartered in Rabat, the capital city of the Kingdom of Morocco, ICESCO is an international non-profit organization emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, specializing in the fields of education, science, and culture.

AFM