April 7, 2021 Professional training courses on handicrafts are held in Bushehr Province in order to revive the forgotten fields of native handicrafts, an official from the 5 southern province’s Handicrafts Department said, CHNT reported.

Iranica Desk Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts. The UNESCO inscribed the structure – along with 10 he Qasabeh Qanat of Gonabad in Khorasan Raza- other qanats in the country – as a World Heritage Site vi Province, northeast , was built some 2,500 under the name ‘the Persian Qanat’ in 2016. Tyears ago and is one of the most sophisticated “The Persian Qanat system is an outstanding exam- qanats in the world, considered by many experts as an ple of a technological ensemble illustrating significant amazing man-made phenomena and a symbol of perfect stages in the history of human occupation of arid and harmony between the human and nature. semi-arid regions. Based on complex calculations and Qanat is a gently sloping underground channel with exceptional architectural qualities, water was collected a series of vertical access shafts, used to transport water and transported by mere gravity over long distances and from an aquifer under a hill to the surface. these transport systems were maintained over centuries Dating back to the Achaemenid Empire, the Qasabeh and, at times, millennia. The qanat system enabled set- Qanat is the oldest and deepest of its kind. With 480 wa- tlements and agriculture but also inspired the creation of ter wells and a length of 33 kilometers, it has a volumet- a desert-specific style of architecture and landscape in- ric flow rate of 450 liters per second. volving not only the qanats themselves, but their associ- To dig a channel in the depth of 300 meters, which ated structures, such as water reservoirs, mills, irrigation requires removing some 73 million m3 of soil, with systems, and gardens,” writes the UN cultural organiza- minimum error in finding the route and slopping, truly tion on its official website. reflects the genius of Iranian engineering at the time. “The eleven qanats forming this property are still ac- The qanat still provides drinking and agricultural wa- tive water carriers and have retained not only their ar- ter to nearly 40,000 people. chitectural and technological structures but also their The 11th-century Persian poet Nasser Khosrow wrote function. They continue to provide the essential re- about the qanat in his travelogue safarnama and attrib- source water sustaining Iranian settlements and gardens uted its construction to the legendary Iranian king Kay and remain maintained and managed through traditional Khosrow. Contemporary Iranian archeologist Rajab-Ali communal management systems. These management Labbaf believes qanat digging in its true sense first took systems have remained intact and been transferred from place in Gonabad, considering the city as the origin of the distant past thanks to the collaboration of people and qanat civilization. users.” In 2000, the Qasabeh Qanat was given a status on the National Heritage List by the Organization of Cultural ISNA and UNESCO contributed to the report. IRNA

Iran’s Kavir National Park and wildlife Khaju : Famous, old bridge in Iran’s

Khaju Bridge is one of the most beautiful dialects of the people of Isfahan) and distributed to of the world. It is one of the historical bridges on different districts of the city for gardening, and ag- the , the largest river of the Iranian ricultural purposes. Plateau, in Iran’s central province of Isfahan. The bridge’s lower deck has 21 sluices, about Khaju is a name of small district in the neighbor- with three meters wide. At the central part of the hood of the bridge. It is about 132 meters long and upper deck, there is a beautiful pavilion fantasti- 12 meters wide, Tasnim quoted isfahan.ir as writ- cally decorated, which was used by the rulers and ing. royal family. The Khaju Bridge has two decks (floors). This Ornamentation of two sides, facing to river is a bridge was built to work for different purposes. As mixture of brick and tile mosaic work. a bridge, it connected the old Isfahan to villages The Khaju Bridge was built in the 15th century. located on the southern side and also it connected In 1650 the bridge was reformed and constructed Isfahan to Shiraz road in south of Iran. during the time of Shah Abbas the Second, the There are steps in front of bridge. The bridge seventh Safavid king (shah) of Iran, ruling from also functions as a dam. Water canals of the bridge 1642 to 1666. are closed during spring and summer seasons. The bridge was also repaired in 1837. In the past, water was reserved on the western The Khaju Bridge is visited by millions of visi- side of bridge, then diverted to maddies (streams in tors every year. api.iranroute.com Persian panther is the other habitats of Iran’s Kavir National Park. Reputed as “Little Africa”, the wonderful National Kavir Park is one of the most amazing or Bahram Palace Caravanserai (Qasr-e National Kavir National Park is a protected sites for watching wildlife in Iran. Bahram Caravanserai) and the remnants of Ha- ecological zone perched on the western wing The northern mountainous areas of the park ram Khaneh and Ainol Rashid are also located of Dasht-e Kavir, the Great Salt Desert in the are home to ewes, rams, and goats. Further- in this region. middle of the Iranian Plateau. more, Hyenas, caracal, wolves, gazelles, leop- The park is located 120 kilometers south ards, the rare Persian onager, Asiatic cheetah, Shah Abbasi Caravanserai of Tehran. It stretches from the eastern edge and the Persian panther are the other habitats of of Qom Salt Lake, to the boundaries of three the park. Shah Abbasi Caravanserai is a Safavid provinces of Isfahan, Semnan, and Tehran. The Various native birds like see-see partridges, monument dating back to about 500 years largest part of this park is located in Semnan and migratory birds such as flamingoes, ruddy ago. It was erected on the remains of a Sassa- Province, spreading over an area of 440,000 shelducks, mallards, and Eurasian teals make nid palace, known as Qasr-e Bahram (palace hectares, iranroute.com wrote. this park a pleasant bird-watching spot. How- of Bahram). It is a rectangular building with Siahkuh Mountain(black mountain in Per- ever, apart from this richness of flora and fauna four semi-circular watchtowers on each cor- sian), a large, semi-circular rock outcropping species, the park holds no residential areas, no ner. The walls are made of large well-carved sits in roughly the park’s center. mines, and no pasturing license. lime stones extracted from the nearby Siah- kuh Mountain. Similar to other Safavid caravanserais, it displays a four-porched plan (Chahar ayvani) with a central yard. There are two gates on the northern and southern parts of the structure. The main entrance gate (on the north) is sur- kojaro.com mounted with a large, ornamented monolith stone slab. The two rooms on each side of the gate suggest that the entrance complex used to provide shelter for the guards who were re- sponsible for the security of the caravanserai. The courtyard is encircled with 24 two-storied rooms, holding a square-shaped pool in the middle. The western side encloses the main room of the building, shahneshin, fronted by a porch and a cellar (sardab) in the basement. On the east, a spacious courtyard sits with a lofty bar- rel vault. On the rear part of these buildings, chtn.ir several stables, kitchens and sleeping rooms Bahram Palace Caravanserai (Qasr-e Bahram Caravanserai) also known as Shah Abbasi Caravanserai is located in Iran’s Kavir National Park region. can be found. One of the striking features of this site was the way the water was transferred Being among the nine biosphere reserves of The national park is an example of desert to the caravanserai. A nearby water spring, Iran, featuring an unmatched variation of flora and arid type ecosystems. Its scanty rainfall has called Cheshmeh Siah, used to feed the water species, especially those adapted to dry and given rise to some herbal species which have cistern of Qasr-e Bahram Caravanserai via two salty areas (xerophytes and halophytes), such adapted to and withstand the existing condi- channels made of stone and pottery. as: Salt cedars, Zygophyllum, Artemisia Sibe- tions. Qasr-e Bahram Caravanserai is a spot where ria, lyceum ruthenicum, and Alhagi persarum. Ancient, historical monuments such Shah many astronomy tours are operated. It is a suit- MORTEZA SALEHI/TASNIM NEWS AGENCY Also, being the habitat of many rare fauna, Abbasi Caravanserai able place for stargazing away from city lights.