TEHRAN – A fresh restoration project is to commence on the ruined Sassanid city of Belad Shapur, which is situated in Dehdasht, southwestern Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

A budget of 50 billion rials ($173,000) has been allocated to this phase of the project, Saeid Talebipur explained on Tuesday. 

The project involves repairing and restoring the city’s bazaar, mosque, and some public passageways, the official added. 

“Parts of the historical core of the city are planned to be ceded to the private sector to receive better preservation and maintenance,” he noted. 

Despite all the destruction that took place in this historical city in different eras, with an area of more than 45 hectares, it is currently considered one of the largest historical structures in the country in terms of size and number of historical buildings. Inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1985, the ancient city of Belad Shapur is one of the top tourist sites in the province.

The city was built at the time of Shapur I, also known as Shapur the Great, (reigned 241 CE–272), the second king of the Sassanid Dynasty. Under his leadership, the empire stretched from Sogdiana and Iberia (Georgia) in the north to the Mazun region of Arabia in the south; in the east, it extended to the Indus River, and in the west to the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers valleys.

Under Sassanids, Persian art and architecture experienced a general renaissance. Architecture often took grandiose proportions such as palaces at Ctesiphon, Firuzabad, and Sarvestan which are amongst the highlights of the ensemble.

Crafts such as metalwork and gem-engraving grew highly sophisticated, yet scholarship was encouraged by the state. In those years, works from both the East and West were translated into Pahlavi, the language of the Sassanians.

Rock-carved sculptures and bas-reliefs on abrupt limestone cliffs are widely deemed as characteristics and striking relics of the Sassanian art, top examples of which can be traced at Bishapur, Naqsh-e Rostam, and Naqsh-e Rajab in southern Iran. In 2018, UNESCO added an ensemble of Sassanian historical cities in southern Iran -- titled “Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region”-- to its World Heritage list.

Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province is known for its nomads and nomadic life. Sightseers may live with a nomadic or rural family for a while or enjoy an independent stay and assist them with day-to-day life. It also opens up an opportunity to feel rustic routines, their agriculture, traditions, arts, and culture.

ABU/ AFM