TEHRAN –A special office is being built for the Great Wall of Gorgan, which the country pursues its possible inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage.

Stretched across Iran’s northern Golestan province, the defensive wall is about 200 km in length and it was built to prevent the invasion of the northern tribes. It is said to be the longest architectural work of ancient Iran, which was built in 90 years.

So far, construction of the office providing tourism, protection, and research services has progressed by 40 percent, the provincial tourism chief Rahman Farmani said on Sunday.

Constructing such an office, while archaeological studies and restoration projects are underway, seems necessary due to the huge scale of the wall and its related facilities as well as providing the necessary foundation for the possible global registration of the wall, the official added.

A budget of 29 billion rials ($102,000) has been allocated to the project, he noted. 

“Covering an area of 900 square meters and a rectangular plan, the one-story office will be similar to the castles of the wall.”

Various sections of the office will be comprised of a lecture and film room, an exhibit of archeological objects, a photo exhibition, a demonstration of handicrafts, a prayer hall, and a tea room to show off the activities in the region, he mentioned.

Also known as Red Wall, which in some ancient texts is referred to as the Red Snake, this wall is the longest brick ancient barrier between Central Europe and China, longer than Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall put together and the third-largest wall in the world after the walls of China and Germany.

Most parts of the gigantic monument are still hidden underneath the surface through some segments that have so far been unearthed and even restored to former glory.

ABU/AFM