TEHRAN – The home of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, when he was living in exile in Iranshahr, southeast Iran, has undergone some rehabilitation works, Iranshahr’s tourism chief has announced. 

Situated in Sistan-Baluchestan province, the modest house was the residence of Ayatollah Khamenei from 1977 to 1978 before the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

The project involves strengthening the structure using cob materials as well as insulating the exterior walls to prevent moisture penetration, Rahman Rigi said on Thursday. 

The house, which is now in use as a Quran museum, is made of clay and mud. Traditional and indigenous architecture of the region can be seen in the house. It has four rooms around a courtyard, a very beautiful pool, which stands out in the middle of it, and a bakery inside the house.

The monument was inscribed on the national heritage list in 2007. 

The collective province -- Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south -- accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. In ancient times, the region was a crossword of the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations.

The province possesses special significance because of being located in a strategic and transit location, especially Chabahar which is the only ocean port in Iran and the best and easiest access route of the middle Asian countries to free waters.

The vast province is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert.

ABU/