UNESCO assessors to visit Uraman landscape in Kurdistan

A team of experts affiliated with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is scheduled to visit Iran assessing Uraman landscape for possibly listing of the historical region as a World Heritage.

Houshang Bazvand, the governor general of the western Kermanshah province on Saturday said that a dossier on Uraman landscape has previously been submitted to the UN cultural body. Saying that UNESCO has already agreed with the case of Uraman, Bazvand added that the UNESCO experts are expected to pay a visit to the region in the near future.

The official also pointed out that tourism can play a significant role in the economic development of the western province, adding the Uraman region is a natural region untouched by humans with a lot of sceneries that can help tourism blossoming industry in the province.

Local officials believe that inscription of the property on the prestigious list of the UN body could jumpstart tourism in the region and also look at it as a tool for better conservation of its natural landscapes and unique cultural scenes for the next generations, saying its unique rural texture, architecture, lifestyle and agriculture is a prominent example of integration of man into the nature.

Tourism development can lay a ground for accelerating economic development across the province, Bazvand noted.

Some eighty experts in various fields compiled and developed the dossier in terms of anthropology, archeology and history, natural sciences, architecture, historical documents and other related fields.

Uraman is considered a cradle of Kurdish art and culture from the days of yore. Pirshalyar, which is named after a legendary local figure, is amongst time-honored celebrations and rituals that are practiced annually across the region.

Stretched on a steep slope in Uraman Takht rural district of Sarvabad county, the village is home to dense and step-like rows of houses in a way that roof of each house forms the yard of the upper one, a feature that adds to its charm and attractiveness.