TEHRAN – The historical mansion of Janani in the northwestern province of Hamedan has undergone some rehabilitation works.

The mansion is planned to be turned into a traditional hotel after being fully restored.

The preservation of the building, which dates back to the late Qajar era (1789–1925) and early Pahlavi period (1925-1979), has been a matter of concern for many years, but since it was privately owned, the tourism ministry could not do anything alone, ISNA quoted Ali Javaheri, the owner of the mansion, as saying on Wednesday.

Last year, however, parts of the building and its walls collapsed due to the heavy rains in the spring and its restoration project has become one of the priorities of the province’s cultural heritage department.

The cost of restoration will be estimated after the work is completed, and it is provided by the province’s cultural heritage department and a percentage is the responsibility of the owner.

Repairing the walls are in process, however, the project is time-consuming as the building is intended to be preserved in its original shape, he added.

Over the past couple of years, hundreds of monuments and buildings, which bear historical values, have been restored by private investors under the close supervision of the state-run Revitalization and Utilization Fund for Historical Places.

The restored, renovated structures go up for auction to be temporarily ceded to the private sector to receive higher productivity and better maintenance being repurposed into hotels, traditional restaurants, or lodging places. According to the cultural heritage ministry, the lack of sufficient government budget for the restoration of all centuries-old sites is the main reason behind the trend.

Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was one of the ancient world’s greatest cities. It was the capital of Media and subsequently a summer residence of the Achaemenian kings who ruled Persia from 553 to 330 BC. Ali Sadr cave, Ganjnameh inscriptions, Avicenna Mausoleum, Hegmataneh hill, Alaviyan dome, Jameh mosque, and St. Stephanos Gregorian Church are amongst Hamedan’s attractions to name a few.

ABU/MG