TEHRAN – As a momentous step, an expert team from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has arrived in Masuleh to assess the historical and cultural potential of the ancient village for possible UNESCO registration.

In a recent interview with ISNA, Gilan’s tourism director announced the presence of ICOMOS assessors in Masuleh, mentioning the cultural aspect of the village as one of the major capacities of Iran in an attempt to achieve the UNESCO label.

Vali Jahani further detailed the process, winding the clock back to the World Heritage Committee which was held last year in Riyadh as a turning point in collaboration with ICOMOS.

Regarding the joint effort with ICOMOS, the official highlighted the endeavors of the Cultural Heritage Ministry’s representatives to review and finalize registration files through the medium of ICOMOS consultants in the course of the last couple of months.

Detailing the visit schedule, Jahani pinpointed that the accession trip, which started on March 2, is expected to be continued until March 7 to investigate the capacities within the Masuleh village.

The official added that the ICOMOS team, comprising two experts, has been visiting both the historical and cultural wonders of the region, along with participating in joint meetings regarding reviewing Masuleh’s world heritage registration file.

The International Council on Monuments (ICOMOS) provides the World Heritage Committee with evaluations of properties with cultural values proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List, as well as comparative studies, technical assistance, and reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties.

It's noteworthy that Masuleh was temporarily enshrined in the UNESCO World Heritage roster in 2007. After more than a decade of halt, the registration process resumed as a testament to the village’s special richness.

Home to some of the most stunning landscapes in the country, Masouleh is one of the many stepped villages that are quite common to find around the country, especially in Iranian Kurdistan and around Mashhad. They have been built on a hill so steep that the roof of one house is the pathway to the next.