TEHRAN –The Qajar-era (1789–1925) Hojatieh School in Borujerd, the western province of Lorestan, has undergone some rehabilitation works, the provincial tourism chief has said.

A budget of five billion rials ($10,000) has been allocated to the restoration project, Ata Hassanpur said on Wednesday.

The project involves repairing walls and rooftop as well as doors and windows, the official added.

Last year, the official announced that the school is planned to be repurposed into a creative center for handicrafts.

As a handicrafts center, the school will be able to promote handmade works of local artisans and introduce itself as a tourist destination, he noted.

A region of raw beauty in western Iran, Lorestan was once inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Moreover, Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC.

Lorestan is famed for its ancient Luristan Bronzes for its eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, dating from this turbulent period.

Historically speaking, Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sassanid dynasties.

ABU/