TEHRAN – The historical garden of Falahat in Khorramabad, the capital of western Lorestan province, has undergone some rehabilitation works, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

The project that aims at reviving the garden as a tourist attraction, involves an irrigation system, water lines, and flooring, Seyyed Amin Qasemi said on Wednesday. 

A budget of 500 million rials (about $12,000 at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been allocated to the project, the official added. 

Dating back to the early Pahlavi era (1925-1979), the garden has been inscribed on the national heritage list. 

For millennia, Iranian gardens have combined the magic of nature with the aesthetic qualities of art and architecture to create a symbolic representation of paradise on Earth.

A selection of nine Iranian gardens, which bear important architectural, traditional, and cultural elements, have been collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list under the title of “The Persian Garden.” 

The genuine concept of the Persian Garden that is deeply rooted in time interweaves natural elements with manmade components to embody an idea of creating a paradise on Earth by the means of artistic, philosophical, figurative, and religious notions.

The UNESCO website asserts that the flawless design of the Persian Garden, along with its ability to respond to extreme climatic conditions, is the result of an inspired and intelligent application of different fields of knowledge, i.e. technology, water management and engineering, architecture, botany, and agriculture.

Lorestan, which is a region of raw beauty, was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid dynasties.

ABU/AFM