TEHRAN— Bastam Castle, in the north-central Semnan Province, is a lesser-known destination for both domestic and foreign tourists.

Some 37,000 tourists have visited the historical castle since the beginning of the current calendar year (March 20), IRNA quoted Gholam Shirzad, the head of Bastam Castle National Base, as saying on Saturday.

He stated that most foreign tourists were from Austria, Sweden, and Germany, adding that, given that German and Austrian archaeologists have more knowledge of this historical monument, their experts and specialists visit this historical monument every year."

Shirzad continued that, in addition to Bastam Castle, tourists also visited other natural and historical attractions around the castle, such as the Aghchai River, the Kasian Bridge, the Churs Mosque, the Tekyeh of Hazrat Abolfazl (AS), and the Beig Javan Bath.

He noted that private investors have begun constructing an ecotourism residence in Churs village and a traditional restaurant in Bastam village, aiming to encourage longer stays by tourists in this historical location and provide them with necessary amenities.

Shirzad added that 300 billion rials ($300,000) is required for the construction of the ecotourism residence in Churs village and 500 billion rials ($500,000)  for launching a traditional restaurant in Bastam village.

He also noted that Omid Entrepreneurship Bank has allocated 40 billion rials ($40,000) for the traditional restaurant of Bastam village and 40 billion rials ($40,000) for the ecotourism residence of Churs village.

He noted that construction of the specialized archaeological museum at Bastam Castle, which began in previous years, has seen a physical progress of 75 percent and requires 20 billion rials ($20,000) of credit to complete.

Shirzad continued that a private investor is developing the Bastam tourism camp site, adding that the site will include sanitary facilities, parking spaces, residential units, a restaurant, and various other facilities to provide services to the tourists.

The inscription discovered from this castle, written in the Urartian language, is kept at the National Museum of Tehran for study and use by researchers.
This historical monument was registered on the National Heritage List in 1975.

 Bastam, a tourism destination near Shahroud, has recently been added to Iran’s list of historical cities during the second conference of Iran’s historical cities held in Yazd.

The conference brought together representatives from 43 cities to discuss strategies for preserving and promoting urban heritage, according to organizers.

Bastam is one of 54 cities now registered as historical cities in Iran, officials said at the event.

The ancient city, situated in north-central Iran near the Alborz Mountains, is known for monuments clustered around the tomb of Bayazid al-Bastami, a poet and mystic who died in 874 CE.

The town contains a mausoleum, a 12th-century minaret and mosque wall, a 1313 portal, and a 15th-century college. Nearby ruins include a mosque and cloister with stucco work.

Much of Bastam’s historic architecture was built under the Mongol rulers Mahmud Ghazan (r. 1295–1304) and Oljaytu, also known as Mohammad-e Khodabandeh (r.1304–1316).

KD