TEHRAN - For 14 years, the remote eco-friendly village of Qaleh Bala has welcomed wildlife enthusiasts to its unique “Journey to the Habitat of the Iranian Ground-Jay” festival — an annual event where residents and visitors come together to honor and protect one of Iran’s rarest native birds.

The festival is part of the community’s conservation program to protect a bird found exclusively in Iran. The Iranian Ground-Jay—known in Persian as “Zagh-e Boor”, locally referred to by older villagers as “running fool,” and scientifically identified as Podoces pleskei—is a sandy-yellow species that inhabits deserts and semi-desert shrublands, especially tamarisk–saxaul sand plains.

Qaleh Bala Village, located at the gateway to Turan National Park—Iran’s largest UNESCO Biosphere Reserve—enjoys a harmonious coexistence with this bird and with remarkable wildlife including the Asiatic cheetah, the Persian onager, and more.

The village of Qaleh Bala is located in the northeastern part of Iran’s Central Desert, in Semnan province, Shahroud county. Set in a foothill region with a hot, dry climate, the village is renowned for its striking architecture, shaped by local materials such as adobe, mud, stone, and wood—elements that lend its homes a deeply authentic and traditional character.

This year, the Zagh-e Boor Festival was also held in this picturesque village. The celebration came to life with the presence of local residents in traditional dress, visitors from various provinces, environmental activists, birdwatchers, rangers from Turan National Park, and several local and national officials.

In the main square and through the village’s central alleyways, a range of age-old cultural rituals were performed, including the traditional wedding ceremony, the Tal and Mahtal rain-invoking ritual, the wooden-stick dance, performances of local music, and the Rain Doll show. Each of these traditions reflected and revived the cultural identity and intangible heritage of the people of Qaleh Bala.

“This year’s event once again highlighted the villagers’ efforts to present Qaleh Bala as an environmentally friendly village. Initiatives such as unveiling a statue of the Iranian Ground-Jay, made from iron scrap, conveyed a clear message from local artists about recycling, reducing waste, and raising awareness on the importance of protecting the village’s natural resources, especially the Ground-Jay.”

“The use of fabric bags, embroidered with designs of the Iranian Ground-Jay and other traditional, natural, and local symbols, continues to serve as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bags. Crafted by the village women, these bags—recognized as one of Qaleh Bala’s 300-year-old handicrafts—showcase the art, culture, and entrepreneurship of the village’s women.”

The village local markets, organized with the participation of local residents, offer local products based on pomegranate, apple, plum, grape, etc., including grape syrup, Falghel sauce, lavashak (fruit leather), pomegranate paste and sauce, jam, syrup, vinegar, rosewater, and other distillates, as well as medicinal herbs and more. In some stalls, the region's wildlife diversity in Turan National Park was presented by local youth and ecotourism activists.

During the festival, visitors stay in the eco-lodges of Qaleh Bala to experience authentic rural life in one of Iran’s earliest villages to develop community-based ecotourism. After the United Nations launched its 2002 project to protect the Asiatic cheetah, some villagers donated parts of their land to Turan National Park for conservation and, in return, shifted toward tourism and the establishment of eco-lodges. In these traditional adobe houses, guests enjoy authentic local dishes such as abgoosht, gandom-polo, and various traditional and oily breads, along with foods like dano, ashkeneh, digi, ghorouti, and local soups. Natural herbal drinks made from thyme, kakooti, mint, and rose add warmth and sincerity to the village hospitality. Among all these dishes, the special traditional food dano is the most popular and is served to visitors every year during the festival.

AM