TEHRAN – Construction of a museum featuring elements and properties involving the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which is called ‘Sacred Defense’ in the Islamic Republic, officially began on Monday in Bojnurd, the capital of North Khorasan province. 

The museum will be built near Maqbera Shohada (martyrs’ graveyard), an old structure from the Pahlavi period (1925-1979), CHTN quoted Bojnurd’s tourism chief Ali Davari as saying on Tuesday. 

The monument, which was built to commemorate Reza Shah’s army officers who were killed during the suppression of the Lahak Khan uprising in the area in 1925, has been inscribed on the national heritage list. 

For those interested to visit an epitome of frontlines elsewhere from the former battlefields, Iran embraces several destinations. The most famous ones in Tehran are the Sacred Defense Museum, Tehran Peace Museum, and Behesht-e Zahra—a graveyard where many of the martyrs are buried. The epic-scale Sacred Defense Museum does bargain something different in modern Iranian history where you can delve into wreckages of rockets, tanks, rifles, vessels, mortars, radars, air defense systems, grounded jets, military supplies, and artillery pieces amongst others.

The Sacred Defense Museum is equipped with a state-of-the-art visual system including projections and video walls, while audio recordings relevant to each period contribute to its charm. The complex has vast garden areas, water features, and children’s play areas. Outside, a patchwork of domestically manufactured armaments such as rockets, tanks, and artillery pieces are on show. Currently, some 15 museums related to the Sacred Defense are active across the country.

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the attack nearly 19 months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, setting the stage for an eight year-war. It drew to a close in August 1988 and the United Nations declared Saddam as the initiator of the conflict.

ABU/AFM