TEHRAN – Restoration work has commenced on four historical buildings, which are located in the ancient village of Masouleh, one of the top tourist destinations in northern Iran.

A budget of 6 billion rials (some $12,000) has been allocated to the work conducted in close collaboration with buildings’ private owners, Gilan province’s tourism chief said on Friday.

Referring to restricted government funds for the restoration of all historical monuments, Vali Jahani said Gilan’s tourism directorate hails cooperation and interaction with owners of historical buildings to help safeguard the region’s cultural heritage, Mehr reported.

Although the protection of historical monuments is one of the inherent duties of the tourism and cultural heritage department, their private owners also have the duty to take care of them in a proper way, the official explained.

Last year, Masouleh joined the League of Historical Cities. Iran is hoping to win UNESCO recognition for the mountainous village. According to the UN cultural body, the existence of numerous graveyards inner and outside of the city proves its old texture. The picturesque village is famed for its Lego-shaped earthen houses built on another’s rooftop.

Archaeological evidence indicates the history of human presence in mountains near Masouleh dates back to the late Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC), which is extremely older than previously believed.

Home to some of the most stunning landscapes in the country, Masouleh is one of the many stepped villages that are quite common to find around the country, especially in Iranian Kurdistan and around Mashhad. They have been built on a hill so steep that the roof of one house is the pathway for the next.

AFM