TEHRAN – A total of 45 historical sites and movable properties, scattered across the western Iranian province of Ilam, have been inscribed on the National Heritage List, provincial tourism chief has said.

Some 39 historical sites, as well as six movable properties of the province, were added to the National Heritage List during the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended on March 20), Abdolmalek Shanbehzadeh announced on Thursday, CHTN reported.

So far 203 archaeological and historical sites have been identified across the province through excavations and surveys conducted by Ilam Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department, he added. 

He also noted that 12 mansions and historical sites in the province underwent some rehabilitation works in the previous Iranian year. 

The national registrations and restoration projects aimed at better preservation as well as help tourism develop in the region, he stated.

Home to almost half of Iran’s UNESCO sites, western Iran is a land of hospitable people, wild extremes, and wilder history, and it may be an independent traveler's adventure playground. The region also witnessed the rise and fall of many great empires once bordering Mesopotamia, Ottoman Turkey, and Czarist Russia.

From the fecund Caspian coast to the stark, mountainous northern borders, and the crumbling desert ruins of the southern plains, the region hosts everything from paddy fields to blizzards to Persian gardens.

ABU/MG