TEHRAN - Vali Castle, a Qajar-era (1789–1925) monument in the western Iranian province of Ilam, is planned to undergo some rehabilitation works, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

The restoration project will be carried out by experienced traditional restorers under the supervision of the cultural heritage experts, Abdolmalek Shanbehzadeh said on Wednesday. 

The project aims at repairing the walls, the rooftop, and flooring of the castle, which has been turned into Ilam’s Museum of Anthropology, the official added. 

Completed in 1908, the castle is made of stone slabs, bricks, and timber beams and it consists of 25 rooms, a big courtyard, a basement, and a jail, which are decorated by beautiful plasterwork, tilework, and mirrorwork. 

Every room has at least a way to access the next one. There are also four halls and two small terraces in the southern part of the castle. 

Almost half of the castle was ruined during the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). However, after the war ended, the castle was restored preserving its originality and historical values.  

The monument was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1997, Shanbehzadeh added. 

Home to almost half of Iran’s UNESCO sites, western Iran is a land of hospitable people, wild extremes, and wilder history, and it may be an independent traveler's adventure playground. The region also witnessed the rise and fall of many great empires once bordering Mesopotamia, Ottoman Turkey, and Czarist Russia.

From the fecund Caspian coast to the stark, mountainous northern borders and the crumbling desert ruins of the southern plains, the region hosts everything from paddy fields to blizzards to Persian gardens.

ABU/AFM