TEHRAN –The historical fire temple of Sarmasjed in the ancient city of Masjed Soleiman, southwestern Khuzestan province, will undergo urgent rehabilitation works, a provincial tourism official has said. 

A budget of four billion rials ($95,000 at the official rate of 42,000 rials) has been allocated to the restoration project, Musa Ahmad-Puria said on Saturday. 

In the past years, minor restorations have been carried out on the fire temple, but it requires a full urgent restoration now, the official added. 

Also known as the Javidan fire temple, the massive stone-structure dates back to the Achaemenid era (c. 550 – 330 BC).

The ancient fire temple’s architectural style is very similar to the UNESCO-tagged sites of Pasargadae and Persepolis. 

The fire temple’s original pre-Islamic name is unknown; its modern name has been derived from its location which is on top of a hillock overlooking a region called Sarmasjed.
 
The remaining structure with two sets of stairs, each 25 meters long at each side, with its irregular polished rock stones, broken round pillars, and arched ceilings shows that once a magnificent Zoroastrian fire temple stood there. 

Khuzestan province is home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites of Susa, Tchogha Zanbil, and Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System yet it is a region of raw beauty where its visitors could spend weeks exploring. The province is also a cradle for handicrafts and arts whose crafters inherited from their preceding generations.

ABU/AFM