TEHRAN—The UNESCO-registered Shazdeh Garden is to be more atmospheric at night by gaining benefit from a new lighting system, Kerman province’s tourism chief said on Monday.

“Installation of a new lighting system has entered the implementation phase as credit required for the project has been secured,” Freydoun Fa’ali said.

Fa’ali said the garden's lighting system is old and in bad condition. “Over the past couple of years, we faced problems in providing proper lighting for the garden as its lighting system was old, with a significant part of it dating back to the 70s,” the official stated.

“The implementation phase is expected to come to an end within the next three months as studies for the mentioned project are done,” the official said.

This historical garden hosts numerous tourists and nature enthusiasts throughout the year, and we hope to see more of the beauty of this historical garden at night after the completion of the lighting system, he concluded.

Last week, the official said 200 billion rials (some $690,000) was allocated to improve the tourism infrastructure in Mahan’s Shazdeh Garden.

Shazdeh Garden forms an enigmatic green oasis in the heart of a barren desert. Many visitors consider Shazdeh Garden a miracle due to its location.

The garden was constructed under the command of Mohammad Hassan Khan, the ruler of Kerman, during the Qajar era (1789–1925). Apart from the beauties of the garden, two-story mansions in the western and eastern parts of the garden perfectly represent Persian architecture. The main material used in them is brick, and the art of tiling is easy to recognize.

In 2011, a selection of nine Iranian gardens, including Shazdeh Garden, which bears important architectural, traditional, and cultural elements, were collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list under the title of “The Persian Garden.”

One outstanding feature of Persian gardens is the arrangement of a pond in the center of the structure. The dance of fountains in the middle of Shazdeh Garden has given an admirable view of it that leaves everyone in wonder and appreciation.

For millennia, Iranian gardens have combined the magic of nature with the aesthetic qualities of art and architecture to create a symbolic representation of paradise on Earth.

A typical Persian Garden interweaves natural elements with manmade components to embody the idea of creating a paradise on Earth by the means of artistic, philosophical, figurative, and religious notions.

According to the UN cultural body, the flawless design of the Persian Garden, along with its ability to respond to extreme climatic conditions, is the result of an inspired and intelligent application of different fields of knowledge, i.e. technology, water management, and engineering, architecture, botany, and agriculture.

AM