TEHRAN –The UNESCO World Heritage Status of the Uraman rural landscape is expected to be confirmed by the end of the current Iranian month of Tir (July 22), the tourism minister has said.

Kordestan and the region’s livelihood could be developed with such registration, while they used to be little-known and low-income in the past, CHTN quoted Ali-Asghar Mounesan as saying on Tuesday.

For his part, Pouya Talebnia, the director of the cultural landscape said that Uraman’s dossier prepared for the global registration was particularly strong in the preparation of three-dimensional maps.

In this regard, some 45 historical buildings and seven mosques in the region were also fully restored, he added.

The Cultural Landscape of Uraman, which was previously assessed by visiting panels of experts from the UN body, will formally be evaluated during the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will be held in China’s Fuzhou from July 16 to 31.

Last September, Hessam Mahdi, the representative of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), announced that the case for the inscription of the Uramanat cultural landscape on the prestigious list had been well prepared and he was “impressed” by the status of the rural landscape. He made the remarks on the sidelines of a visit to the western province of Kermanshah. “I am proud of being chosen to assess the case and traveling to Iran as I could visit the local people in the region,” he said.

Stretched on the slopes of Sarvabad county, the rural area embraces dense and step-like rows of houses in a way that the roof of each house forms the yard of the upper one, a feature that adds to its charm and attractiveness. As the cultural landscape covers 300 villages and in terms of architecture and landscape, it is one of the most beautiful and presentable heritages in the world.

Local officials believe that inscription of the property on the prestigious list of the UN body could jumpstart tourism in the region and also look at it as a tool for better conservation of its natural landscapes and unique cultural scenes for the next generations, saying its unique rural texture, architecture, lifestyle, and agriculture is a prominent example of the integration of man into nature.

Iran submitted the UN body a dossier for the Uraman cultural landscape in 2019. Some eighty experts in various fields compiled and developed the dossier in terms of anthropology, archeology and history, natural sciences, architecture, historical documents, and other related fields.

Uraman is considered a cradle of Kurdish art and culture from the days of yore. Pirshalyar, which is named after a legendary local figure, is amongst time-honored celebrations and rituals that are practiced annually across the region.

ABU/MG