TEHRAN – Iran's nomination dossier for the Cultural Landscape of Alamut, centered on the historical Alamut fort and a network of related fortresses, has completed the required preparations for consideration by UNESCO and will be reviewed at the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in South Korea in July, a cultural heritage official said.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is scheduled to meet from July 19 to 29 in Busan, where member states will examine nominations for inclusion on the World Heritage List.

Alireza Izadi, director-general of the office for the registration of historical monuments at Iran's Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said the Alamut nomination dossier would be assessed during the upcoming session. "The nomination concerns Alamut fort and a number of associated fortresses," Izadi told ISNA on Monday. 

He said Iranian authorities have undertaken a range of measures in preparation for the evaluation, including archaeological excavations, restoration work, site enhancement projects, visitor route management, installation of information signs, public awareness initiatives, and improvements in villages located along access routes to the fortresses.

Izadi added that local community participation has been incorporated into management plans prepared for the nomination.

According to the official, UNESCO evaluators had requested a series of technical and management requirements that needed to be addressed before the committee meeting. He said those measures are being finalized and relevant reports will be submitted to UNESCO.

Located near the village of Gazor Khan in Qazvin province, about 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Tehran, Alamut fortress occupies a dramatic rocky outcrop overlooking the Alamut Valley. The fortress stands on a cliff rising approximately 220 meters above the surrounding terrain at an elevation of 2,163 meters above sea level on the southwestern foothills of the Alborz Mountains.

The site gained historical significance in 1090 when it was seized by Hassan-i Sabbah, leader of the Nizari Ismaili community. For more than 160 years, it served as the political, intellectual and strategic center of a semi-autonomous state.

The fortress, which covers roughly 10,000 square meters, was constructed on multiple levels carved into the steep cliff. Remains of walls, towers and defensive structures built with stone and gypsum mortar are still visible. Historical accounts by the 13th-century Persian historian Ata-Malik Juvayni compared the mountain ridge to a sleeping camel, while British-Italian explorer and travel writer Freya Stark later likened its shape to a ship extending toward the northwest.

Stark documented her travels in the region in her 1934 book “The Valleys of the Assassins”, helping introduce Alamut and its history to a wider international audience.

AM