TEHRAN – Restoration work has begun on a selection of 30 historical sites and aging buildings in Tehran province to mark the national cultural heritage week, which started on Wednesday. 

A budget of 120 billion rials ($414,000) has been allocated to the collective restoration project, the deputy provincial tourism chief has said. 

The highlights are Varamin Jameh Mosque, the historical bridge of Jajrud-Pardis, Haj Kamal Caravanserai, and Badrud Tower, CHTN quoted Mohsen Sa’adati as saying on Saturday. 

Hugging the lower slopes of the magnificent, snowcapped Alborz Mountains, Tehran is much more than a chaotic jumble of concrete and crazy traffic blanketed by a miasma of air pollution. This is the nation's dynamic beating heart and the place to get a handle on modern Iran and what its future will likely be.

The metropolis has many to offer its visitors including Golestan Palace, Grand Bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Carpet Museum of Iran, to name a few.

Among all these monuments in Tehran, Golestan Palace is the only one listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. The palace complex, which is located in the heart and historic core of Tehran is one of the oldest in the Iranian capital, originally built during the Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) in the historic walled city.

Following extensions and additions, it received its most characteristic features in the 19th century, when the palace complex was selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family (1789-1925). At present, the Golestan Palace complex consists of eight key palace structures mostly used as museums and the eponymous gardens, a green shared center of the complex, surrounded by an outer wall with gates.

As mentioned by UNESCO, the complex exemplifies architectural and artistic achievements of the Qajar era including the introduction of European motifs and styles into Persian arts.

The first time Tehran is mentioned in historical accounts is in an 11th-century chronicle in which it is described as a small village north of Ray.

Ray, in which signs of settlement date from 6000 BC, is often considered to be Tehran’s predecessor. It became the capital city of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century but later declined with factional strife between different neighborhoods and the Mongol invasion of 1220.

Various exhibitions, meetings, workshops, and festivals have been organized to mark Iran’s rich heritage from the early civilizations through to the modern era.

Iran played a leading cultural role as a source of innovation, as a melting pot and cultural powerhouse connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe. Highlights are the pre-Islamic empires of the Achaemenids and Sassanids, the formation of a Persian-Islamic culture, and the artistic masterpieces of the 9th to 13th centuries as well as the heyday of the Safavids to name a few.

ABU/AFM