Iran launches probe into UNESCO site restoration damage
Iran’s tourism minister says he has ordered a probe into why an iconic dome of a historic mosque in the central city of Isfahan was damaged during restoration works.
Ezzatollah Zarghami said on Wednesday after a Cabinet session that a team will investigate the damage inflicted on the dome of the Imam Mosque, also known as Shah or Jame’ Abbasi Mosque, during a restoration mission that began some 12 years ago.
Zarghami made the remarks in response to a question about concerns raised by the United Nations cultural body UNESCO about damage to the mosque which along three other nearby monuments were listed as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
The Iranian tourism minister said, however, that the probe into the issue was not directly related to UNESCO concerns.
“This is an issue of our own country rather than a matter for the UNESCO,” Zarghami was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
Images published in social media by heritage campaigners earlier this month showed that restoration of tiles on the upper part of Imam Mosque’s dome had affected the structure’s symmetry.
Experts said the tiles used by restorers have also impacted the patterns of the colorful flowers on the dome.
That comes more than a year after reports suggested that low-quality materials had been used in restoration of the dome of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque, another building in the UNESCO-protected Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan.
Isfahan was the capital of the Safavid Empire during its golden era of ruling Iran in the 17th century.
The city is currently a top destination for international tourists visiting Iran.
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