TEHRAN – An abandoned Ab-Anbar (cistern) has recently been reopened after 50 years of closure in the city of Torbat-e Heydarieh, northeast Iran.

The cistern, which is the biggest in the city, has considerable potential to be a main tourist attraction after fully being restored, CHTN quoted the local tourism chief as saying on Thursday.

The term Ab-Anbar is common throughout Iran as a designation for roofed underground water cisterns. It associates with water management systems in arid areas that are reliant on permanent springs or seasonal rainwater.

Such underground reservoirs or Ab-Anbars are parts of the iconic qanat systems, which rely on snow-fed streams flowing down from surrounding mountains. Qanats, according to UNESCO, provide exceptional testimony to cultural traditions and civilizations in desert areas with an arid climate.

According to archaeological studies, Torbat-e Heydarieh is home to several historical caves due to its favorable habitat conditions and traces of habitation from about 40,000 years have been identified in the caves of the region, the official added. The history of the area stretches back to the Achaemenian Empire from the 6th to 4th century BC and the Parthian Empire from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century CE.

AFM/