TEHRAN – There is a need to provide public access to tourism facilities along the Caspian Sea, Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami has said. 

Some recircled constructions exist within the legally-defined Caspian Sea boundary, which is 60 meters from the shore, which should be demolished or surrendered to the public use, he explained on Friday during his visit to the northern province of Mazandaran.   

However, among these structures are some good and modern facilities, which are a shame to be destroyed, he noted. 

There can be a decision by the government to provide public access to these facilities rather than to demolish them, he added. 

Sandwiched between the towering Alborz mountain range and the Caspian Sea, Mazandaran has a rich yet turbulent history. An early civilization flourished at the beginning of the first millennium BC in Mazandaran (Tabarestan).

Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed. It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty.

The northern section of the region consists of lowland alongside the Caspian and upland along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains. Marshy backlands dominate the coastal plain, and extensive gravel fans fringe the mountains. The climate is permanently subtropical and humid, with very hot summers.

ABU/AFM