TEHRAN -- Construction of 64 shops on the perimeter of the Soltanieh Dom is threatening the Ilkhanid monument, which has been registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The construction permit for the shops has been issued by the monument’s former and present officials, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday.
“The officials issued the license for over 60 shops at the first grade perimeter of the monument… so this many lead UNESCO to add it to the list of Endangered World Heritage,” Soltanieh Dom Cultural Heritage Center Director Hassan Mohebb-Ali said.
The projects are being constructed in the Talebieh area, under which a part of the ruins of the historic city of Soltanieh and its congregational mosque are buried.
Excavation for the foundations of the buildings, which recently led to the discovery of the ruins of the city, was halted by the Zanjan Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department (ZCHTHD).
“The grading has resulted in destruction of part of the ruins of the city. The excavation has been refilled, however the construction is still currently underway,” Mohebb-Ali stated.
“Only the ZCHTHD can file a lawsuit against the culprits and our center has informed them about the case,” he added.
The Soltanieh Dome is an Islamic monument that was registered on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 2005.
Soltanieh, the mausoleum of Oljaitu, was constructed from 1302 to 1312 in the city of Soltanieh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols.
Situated in Zanjan Province, Soltanieh is one of the outstanding examples of the achievements of Persian architecture and a key monument in the development of its Islamic architecture. The octagonal building is crowned with a dome 50 meters in height covered in turquoise blue faience and surrounded by eight slender minarets. The mausoleum has the tallest dome in the Islamic world.
It is the earliest existing example of a double-shelled dome in Iran. The mausoleum’s interior decoration is also outstanding and scholars such as A.U. Pope have described the building as “anticipating the Taj Mahal”.