Iran in World Heritage Site (UNESCO)

Iran in World Heritage Site (UNESCO)

The number of UNESCO World Heritage registered events, occurrences, sites, customs and natural sites of a country prove the Historical, cultural, anthropological and natural features of it. In addition to the great historical record of this vast territory, embracing 19 registered sites as UNESCO World Heritage is a fundamental feature which have had the most influence on historical concept of Iran.

Historical name and concept of glorious former Iran, had been mentioned as Persia and the residences who had been lived through this territory, had been called Persians. The Persians are first Historical People; Persia was the first Empire that passed away, according to the Hegel’s words.

 

Iran as one of the most ancient world’s country

As one of the most ancient world’s country, Persians are considered as the pioneers of developed civilization, great architecture and cultural features and marvelous talent and brave people who bright like a shining diamond through Iran history.

Latest researches indicate that, Iran was inhabited by human, before the rise of earliest civilizations in Mesopotamia. The written history of Iran dates back to 3200 BC which has been begun with the early Achaemenids, the dynasty whose under the first Iranian world empire blossomed.

Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia Empire and the first establisher of human rights. In this period Iran stretched from the Aegean coast of Asia Minor to Afghanistan, as well as south to Egypt. The Achaeamenid Empire was overthrown by Alexander the Great in 330 BC and was followed by The Seleucid Greek Dynasty.

Through these thousand years of historical record, many dynasties have been appeared and overthrowned; some ones in a short period some others in a long ruling duration. The only remained characters of these gone dynasties, are just memorials and monuments indicating to the glory of each dynasty in a significant period.

 

Related: Iran cultural tours 

 

 

The number of UNESCO World Heritage registered events, occurrences, sites, customs and natural sites of a country prove the Historical, cultural, anthropological and natural features of it. In addition to the great historical record of this vast territory, embracing 19 registered sites as UNESCO World Heritage is a fundamental feature which have had the most influence on historical concept of Iran.

 

1. The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran

The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran, in the north-west of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor. Bam and its Cultural Landscape.

 

2. Bam and it’s cultural landscape

 

Bam is situated in a desert environment on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau which can be traced back to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC).

 

 

3. Bisotun

Bisotun is located along the ancient trade route linking the Iranian high plateau with Mesopotamia and features remains from the prehistoric times to the Median, Achaemenid, Sassanian, and Ilkhanid periods.

 

4. Golestan Palace

The lavish Golestan Palace is a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences. 

 

5. Gonbad-e Qābus

The 53 m high tomb built in ad 1006 for Qābus Ibn Voshmgir, Ziyarid ruler and literati, near the ruins of the ancient city of Jorjan in north-east Iran, bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and the ancient civilization of Iran.

 

6. Historical city of Yazd

Yazd has mentioned many breathtaking features and ancient attractions as the largest settled adobe city all around the world, embracing many ancient and historical sites, being the home to ancient Persian Ghanat and Persian Garden (Dowlat Abad Garden) registered as UNESCO World Heritage.

 

7. Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan

Located in the historic center of Isfahan, the Masjed-e Jāmé (‘Friday mosque’) can be seen as a stunning illustration of the evolution of mosque architecture over twelve centuries, starting in AD 841.

 

8.Imam Square (Naqsh-e Jahan)

The world greatest ancient square which contains many great historical monuments around. It dates back to Safavids era.

 

9. Pasargadae

Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II the Great, in the 6th century BC.

 

10. Persepolis

The capital of Achaemenid Empire founded by Darius I in 518 B.C based on Mesopotamian models. It was built on an immense half-artificial, half-natural terrace, where the king of kings created an impressive super splendid palace complex inspired by Mesopotamian architectural elements. The importance and quality of the monumental ruins make it a unique archaeological site.

 

11. Shahr-i Sokhta

Shahr-i Sokhta, meaning ‘Burnt City’, is located at the junction of Bronze Age trade routes crossing the Iranian plateau. The remains of the mud brick city represent the emergence of the first complex societies in eastern Iran.

 

12. Sheikh Safi al-din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil

Built between the beginning of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century, this place of spiritual retreat in the Sufi tradition uses Iranian traditional architectural forms to maximize use of available space to accommodate a variety of functions including a library, a mosque, a school, mausoleum, a cistern, a hospital, kitchens, a bakery, and some offices.

  

13. Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System

Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic System, inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius, can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C.

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is an island city from the Sassanid era with a complex irrigation system situated in Iran's Khuzestan Province. It has been registered on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 2009 as Iran's 12Th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nations' list. The Shushtar water mills ones are the best ones which operation in order to use water in ancient periods. These include a collection of dams, tunnels, ancillary canals watermills which utilized as Industry–Economic collection.

 

14. Soltaniyeh

The mausoleum of Oljaytu was constructed in 1302–12 in the city of Soltaniyeh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols.

 

15. Susa

Located in the south-west of Iran, in the lower Zagros Mountains, the property encompasses a group of archaeological mounds rising on the eastern side of the Shavur River, as well as Ardeshir’s palace, on the opposite bank of the river.

 

16. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex

Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity and its historic bazaar complex is one of the most important commercial centers on the Silk Road.

 

17. Takht-e Soleyman

Takht-e-Soleyman (meaning ‘The Throne of Solomon’) is located in West Azerbaijan, in the north-western corner of Iran. The site is located in a valley about 2000m (6500ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by high mountains.

Between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD, the country now named Iran was part of the Sasanian Empire, Rome’s great rival in the East. Under this empire, Zoroastrianism was recognized as the state religion, and numerous Zoroastrian sanctuaries were built by the Sasanian rulers as a sign of their piety. One of the most important of these sanctuaries is found at a site known as Takht-e-Soleyman.

 

18. Tchogha Zanbil

The ruins of the holy city of the Kingdom of Elam, surrounded by three huge concentric walls, are found at Tchogha Zanbil which have been founded at 1250 B.C.

 

19. The Persian Garden

The property includes nine gardens in as many provinces. They exemplify the diversity of Persian garden designs that evolved and adapted to different climate conditions while retaining principles that have their roots in the times of Cyrus the Great, 6th century BC.

 

20. The Persian Qanat

Throughout the arid regions of Iran, agricultural and permanent settlements are supported by the ancient qanat system of tapping alluvial aquifers at the heads of valleys and conducting the water along underground tunnels by gravity, often over many kilometers.

 

21. Lut Desert

The Lut Desert, or Dasht-e-Lut, is located in the south-east of the country. Between June and October, this arid subtropical area is swept by strong winds, which transport sediment and cause Aeolian erosion on a colossal scale.

Related: Desert tours in Iran 

 

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