INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
five other houses will become destinations for sightseers, the official said.The restoration projects are underway in collaboration with the
private sector, Qasemi said.The massive fortress and its environs were almost completely brought down to earth due to a devastating
earthquake on December 26, 2003
Since then, the citadel has undergone a series of restoration projects to regain its former beauty.Called Arg-e Bam in Persian, the citadel
dated from the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC) and even beyond
The heyday of the citadel was from the 7th to 11th centuries, being at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production
of silk and cotton garments.According to UNESCO, Arg-e Bam is the most representative example of a fortified medieval town built in
vernacular technique using mud layers (Chineh), sun-dried mud bricks (khesht), and vaulted and domed structures.Bam and its Cultural
Landscape represents an outstanding example of an ancient fortified settlement that developed around the Iranian central plateau and is an
exceptional testimony to the development of a trading settlement in the desert environment of the Central Asian region
This impressive construction undoubtedly represents the climax and is the most important achievement of its type not only in the area of Bam
but also in a much wider cultural region of Western Asia.The cultural landscape of Bam is an important representation of the interaction
between man and nature and retains a rich resource of ancient canalizations, settlements, and forts as landmarks and tangible evidence of
the evolution of the area.The UNESCO-designated Bam and its Cultural Landscape is situated on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau
close to the Pakistan border.AFM
