The aqueducts of Kish date back to 2500 years ago and provided the islanders' drinking water.  Today, they have been transformed into an amazing underground city, with an area of 10 000 square meters. 

 

The painstaking redecoration helps to keep its historic fabric while providing new uses during its renovation.  It is now called Kariz-e Kish.  In its first phase, Kariz underground city will be functional with its handicrafts stands from Iran and the world, traditional and modern restaurants, amphitheatre, conference hall, and art galleries.  The city is located 14 meters under ground.  Its ceilings are eight meters high and mostly covered by fossils, shells, and corals estimated to be 270 to570 million years old.  Each one has been identified and they all have official IDs.  Its advocates believe two of its characteristics will place it among world registered structures.  Firstly, Kariz is situated in the heart of the only coral island in the world.  Secondly, it is the only structure with a ceiling of natural shells and corals, for which there were only two ways to be sees– natural museums or scuba diving in free waters.  And now, Kariz has opened up a new exceptional chapter for all nature lovers who are able to visit the largest coral collection directly.  

 

Temperature inside the tunnels of the underground city is fixed at 22-25 degrees centigrade and has added to the attraction of the complex for visitors, especially in hot season.

The main center of Kariz, which is intersection of three aqueducts and has an area of 10,000 square meters, is located at Olympics Square of Kish Island and is used to introduce Iranian and foreign visitors to aqueduct as a valuable cultural heritage of Iran.

The old aqueduct of Kish contains 274 wells of which 74 wells are situated at the site of the underground city of Kish.

 

Mansour Haji-Hosseini, founder of this cultural and tourism complex, who has been living in Germany for 30 years, maintains that location of the city at the heart of the coral island, the possibility of seeing mollusks and corals from the depth of the ocean, the fresh water flowing inside the aqueduct, cool air at a depth of 14 m below the surface, and the coral ceiling which is full of prehistoric fossils, are major attractions which make this part of the island unique in the world.

 

Launching Persian Gulf museum, most of which has been dedicated to display of documents related to the name of the Persian Gulf during various historical junctures as well as introducing fossils found in Kish after they have been studied by University of Munich in Germany, is another part of the development plan for Kariz cultural and tourism complex in Kish.

 

The most important part of the development project for the complex is construction of Shahnameh Tunnel which aims to make tourists familiar with the great epic work, Shahnameh, and the story of Seven Labors of Rostam as told by Ferdowsi, the world-famous Iranian poet.

 

According to current plans, boats will be moored along the canals of the underground city to take tourists inside Shahnameh Tunnel, where water is still flowing.

 

Tourists and visitors to the underground city of Kish will flock aboard a boat inside Shahnameh Tunnel and listen to the story as told by Ferdowsi.

 

Other parts of the development plan for the underground city include construction of restaurant, teahouses, stands for presenting handicrafts, and a museum.

Construction of an Iranian garden including an entrance hall along with an exhibition of films and photos, pavilion, two old castles, a nursery, a playhouse for performing plays about various Iranian ethnic groups, an amphitheater, a playground for children as well as residential suites are other parts of the development plan for underground city of Kish which will be built over an area of more than 100,000 square meters.

 

The ground above Kariz will be transformed into a large park with two high hills.  These hills are from the excavated grounds of Kariz and will turn into a unique view of Kish Island.