TEHRAN –A project has started for the restoration of a Hosseinieh – a place where Shia Muslims come together to observe religious ceremonies – in the historical texture of the city of Yazd, central Iran.

The project involves strengthening the Fahadan Hosseinieh using cob materials, and repairing walls and the structure’s façade, Yazd tourism chief Mohammadreza Falahati said on Friday.

There are two stories to the monument, with the exception of the western side which consists of three stories. On the northern and southern sides are seven halls with dome-shaped arches, and on the western side there are two minarets, the official added.

Fahadan Hosseinieh (or Hussainiya) was inscribed on the national heritage list in 1999.

With grief-stricken hearts, millions of the faithful across Iran along with their fellow Shia Muslims worldwide hold massive mourning ceremonies in the lunar month of Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), third Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Yazd Muharram’s rituals are well-known countrywide and have been held for centuries in a fixed style, which hundreds of men, all clad in black, congregate in Hosseiniehs to beat on their chests according to the rhythm of a sung eulogy. During recent years the ceremonies have been broadcast live on different IRIB channels and have been welcomed by people in other provinces.

Yazd, the cradle of Zoroastrianism, is now one of the unavoidable points of Islamic Iran. Home to thousands of small and big mosques and Hosseiniehs, Yazd has earned the title “Iran’s and world’s Hosseinieh”.

With an area of 945 hectares, the historical texture of Yazd is the only urban texture in the country, whose original mud-brick body is preserved and social life is going on inside it.

In July 2017, the historical texture of the city of Yazd was named a UNESCO World Heritage. Wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain, the oasis city enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras.

With its winding lanes, a forest of badgirs (wind catchers), mud-brick houses, atmospheric alleyways, and centuries of history, Yazd is a delightful place to stay, referring to as a ‘don't miss’ destination by almost all travel associates in the region.

Yazd Jameh Mosque, Dowlatabad Garden, the Yazd Atash Behram, also known as Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Towers of Silence, and adjacent desert landscape are among its tourist sites. 

ABU/MG