TEHRAN – Iran has registered more than 43,000 relics and properties, including more than 14,000 historical buildings, the minister of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts said on Tuesday.

Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri said Iran's tangible heritage, including historic buildings, structures and archaeological sites, together with its written heritage, forms an important part of the country's historical and cultural identity.

“Written heritage and tangible heritage are two important parts of the history, identity and record of the Iranian nation,” Salehi-Amiri told IRIB news agency. He made the remarks during a visit to the center for documents of the Islamic Revolution.

The minister said the two forms of heritage were closely connected and together reflected the history and identity of the Iranian people.

“The values embedded in them can reveal the greatness of this nation and land to present and future generations,” the minister said.

Salehi-Amiri said Iran's cultural identity could not be fully understood without considering its written heritage.

“If we know Iran through its cultural and historical heritage, Iranian culture is also known through its written heritage,” he said, adding that culture serves as a bridge connecting the country's tangible and written heritage.

The minister also referred to the global distribution of manuscripts, saying there were about 2 million [Iranian] manuscripts worldwide, according to available information.

He said nearly 1 million ones are held in the Indian subcontinent, about 500,000 in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and another 500,000 in Iran.

AM