TEHRAN - A selection of ten cultural elements practiced in West Azarbaijan province have been added to the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts on Tuesday announced the inscriptions in separate letters it submitted to the governor-general of the northwestern province, CHTN reported.

The skills of making local dishes and an indigenous performance were among the elements added to the significant list.

West Azarbaijan embraces a variety of lush natural sceneries, cultural heritage sites, and museums including the UNESCO sites of Takht-e Soleyman and Qareh Klise (St. Thaddeus Monastery), Teppe Hasanlu, and the ruined Bastam Citadel.

The region was home to several ancient civilizations. According to Britannica, it was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC and was named Atropatene after one of Alexander’s generals, Atropates, who established a small kingdom there. Ultimately, the area returned to Persian (Iranian) rule under the Sasanians in the 3rd century CE.

AFM