TEHRAN – A total of 25 restoration projects have been launched across Sistan-Baluchestan since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2020).  

“25 restoration projects have been launched to rehabilitate historical monuments in the cities of Zabol, Zahedan, Khash, and Qasr-e Qand from the beginning of the year up to the present,” a provincial tourism official said on Sunday.  

A budget of over 20 billion rials (some $476,190 at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) have so far been accolated to the missions which have been carried out on mansions, historical houses, ruined castles to name a few, the official explained.

The vast province was long shunned by potential foreign and domestic travelers though it is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert, parts of the latter is situated in Kerman province.

For mainstream Iranians, the name of Sistan-Baluchestan conjures up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, and dust storms. On the international scale, foreigners may consider it a reminiscent of the big red blot on the Iran safety map.

AFM/