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2026-11-02 17:11
Semnan’s oral heritage: a living reflection of history and cultural identity
TEHRAN - Semnan province, with its ancient history and remarkable cultural heritage, is home to a rich collection of Iran’s oral traditions, customs, traditional arts and local narratives.
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2026-11-01 16:49
Qeshm launches multimedia documentation project to preserve island’s intangible heritage
TEHRAN - Qeshm Island has launched a multimedia documentation project to record and preserve its indigenous knowledge, oral history and intangible cultural heritage, with the aim of passing the island’s traditional knowledge and cultural practices on to future generations.
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2026-11-01 16:39
Sasanian-era rock carvings of human hands discovered in Marvdasht
TEHRAN - Archaeologists have identified previously undocumented Sasanian-era rock carvings depicting human hands without accompanying figures in the historic Marvdasht Plain in Fars province, southern Iran.
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2026-10-30 17:02
Sassanid-era ossuary inscription discovered near Naqsh-e Rostam
TEHRAN - A newly identified Sassanid-era inscription has been discovered during recent archaeological surveys around Naqsh-e Rostam in Fars province, southern Iran, marking the “fifth ossuary-related inscription” documented in the latest investigations of the area.
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2026-10-30 16:58
Qalamkari: The centuries-old art of printing stories on fabric in Isfahan
TEHRAN - In the historic Iranian city of Isfahan, where centuries of artistic ingenuity have shaped one of the country's richest cultural landscapes, an age-old craft continues to bring colour, patterns and stories to life on fabric. Known as Qalamkari, this traditional textile art combines hand-carved wooden stamps, carefully prepared dyes and intricate Persian designs to produce decorative fabrics that are both functional and artistic.
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2026-10-26 17:07
Restoration of Isfahan’s Chehel Sotoun palace awaits UNESCO funding
TEHRAN - Restoration of Iran’s UNESCO-listed Chehel Sotoun palace and garden is awaiting additional funding from the government and UNESCO, as experts assess structural damage to the Safavid-era monument following a 40-day war with the US and Israeli forces, the site’s director said.
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2026-10-25 16:08
Restoration of Sassanid reliefs at Naqsh-e Rostam nears completion after three decades
TEHRAN – The restoration of Sassanid-era bas-reliefs at Naqsh-e Rostam, one of Iran’s most significant archaeological sites, is approaching completion after a conservation effort that began in the 1990s, with work continuing on a relief depicting Shapur II, a site official said.
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2026-10-20 15:59
By Afshin Majlesi
Iran and Uzbekistan: Where shared history comes alive in Tashkent
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - As an Iranian journalist visiting Tashkent, I found myself looking at the huge Islamic Civilization Center from two perspectives. I was a visitor discovering the depth of Uzbekistan’s cultural heritage. I was also an Iranian looking for familiar traces of a civilization that has never respected the borders drawn on today’s maps.
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2026-10-16 16:06
Iran issues post-war tourism recovery and competitiveness strategy
TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism ministry has issued a strategic and operational plan to revive the country’s tourism industry during the transition and post-war periods, with a focus on rebuilding its international tourism brand, improving competitiveness and coordinating recovery measures nationwide.
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2026-10-14 16:53
Bushehr: Where Iran’s history meets the Persian Gulf
TEHRAN - On Iran’s southern coast, where the Zagros Mountains descend toward the Persian Gulf, Bushehr offers a distinctive blend of history, architecture, nature and living traditions. The sea has shaped almost every aspect of life here, from trade and fishing to cuisine, music and the design of traditional houses.
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2026-10-12 17:42
Dozens of possible dinosaur footprints emerge in Iran, researcher urges urgent documentation
TEHRAN – A rock surface bearing dozens of possible dinosaur footprints has been exposed in Iran following a landslide, prompting a paleontologist to call for urgent scientific investigation and documentation to protect the traces from weathering and erosion.
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2026-10-11 17:06
From ancient clay to living tradition: the enduring art of Iranian pottery
TEHRAN - Pottery is among the oldest forms of human craftsmanship, transforming ordinary clay into vessels and objects of practical use and artistic expression.
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2026-10-04 16:54
By Afshin Majlesi
Iran has the attractions, the challenge is turning them into tourism: Javad Gharaei
TEHRAN - Iran does not lack tourism attractions. What it has struggled to do, says Iranian traveler and documentary filmmaker Javad Gharaei, is turn the country’s extraordinary natural and cultural diversity into a tourism industry capable of attracting visitors, generating revenue and properly introducing the ancient country to the world.
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2026-10-03 13:50
Mehregan festival marked in Iran as seasonal tradition endures
TEHRAN - Some Iranians observed Mehregan, an ancient festival associated with Mehr, friendship, and the autumn harvest, on Friday, keeping alive a tradition that has survived in different forms across Iran over centuries.
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2026-09-28 16:51
By Afshin Majlesi
Tehran gallery traces capital’s past, explores future of smart tourism
TEHRAN – A new gallery in Tehran is taking visitors on a journey through the capital’s political, social, cultural and artistic history while using digital technology and artificial intelligence to offer a glimpse of how tourism in the city could evolve in the future.
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2026-09-26 17:31
Conservation project launched for Sasanian King Shapur I statue in southern Iran
TEHRAN – The first phase of a new conservation and rehabilitation project has begun on the monumental statue of Sasanian King Shapur I in Shapur Cave, near Kazerun in southern Iran, the head of the Sasanian Archaeological Landscape of Fars said.
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2026-09-20 14:16
By Afshin Majlesi
In Urmia, the grape is more than a fruit
URMIA, West Azarbaijan Province - By late afternoon, the road out of Urmia was beginning to clog. Our flight had landed around 5 p.m., and after a quick check-in at the hotel, we set off for Chi Chest Coastal Village, near Lake Urmia, where the 9th Urmia Grape Festival was underway from Sep.10 to 20.
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2026-09-15 17:16
Newly discovered ‘Sasanian’ rock engravings depict mountain goat, horses in southern Iran
TEHRAN – Needle-engraved rock art depicting a mountain goat and horses dating to the Sasanian period (224–651 CE) have recently been found on the rocky outcrops of the Marvdasht Plain in southern Iran.
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2026-09-12 16:45
Quzlu: A stepped village offering a glimpse of rural Iran
TEHRAN - The stepped village of Quzlu, nestled in the mountainous landscape of northwestern Iran, offers travelers a chance to experience traditional rural architecture, unspoiled nature and a time-honored cultural heritage.
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2026-09-09 16:22
Iran has registered more than 43,000 national heritage sites: minister
TEHRAN – Iran has registered more than 43,000 relics and properties, including more than 14,000 historical buildings, the minister of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts said on Tuesday.
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2026-09-07 16:23
Qom: A province of ancient beacons along historic routes
TEHRAN - Scattered across the mountains, plains and historic routes of Qom province, a group of ancient Meels, standalone beacon towers once used to guide travelers and caravans, offers a distinctive glimpse into the history of travel and communication in central Iran.
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2026-09-02 15:31
4,600-year-old board game, decorated bone comb unearthed at Burnt City in southeast Iran
TEHRAN - Archaeologists excavating the ancient Burnt City in southeastern Iran have unearthed a 4,600-year-old board game, a decorated bone comb and exceptionally well-preserved organic remains, offering new clues about the social and everyday lives of the city’s inhabitants during the third millennium BC.
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2026-09-01 17:29
Karaftou Cave: A timeless sanctuary of history, art, and faith in western Iran
TEHRAN – Karaftou Cave, nestled in the rugged limestone cliffs of Iran’s Kordestan province some 53 kilometers east of Saqqez and 46 kilometers northwest of Divandarreh, stands as one of the country’s most enigmatic and historically significant archaeological sites.
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2026-08-26 17:36
Gonabad: Where ancient water engineering shaped eastern Iran
TEHRAN - Gonabad, a historic city in Khorasan Razavi province in eastern Iran, offers visitors far more than the landscapes of a desert settlement. Its strategic location, ancient water-management systems and references in Iran’s epic and geographical literature have made it an important destination for those interested in the country’s history and cultural heritage.
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2026-08-23 17:46
Ilkhanid-era stone inscription discovered in central Iran
TEHRAN – A stone inscription dating to the Ilkhanid period has been discovered during restoration work at the eastern entrance of the Jameh Mosque in Nimvar, a historic city in central Iran.
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2026-08-17 16:36
By Afshin Majlesi
Tehran municipality official highlights restoration of war-damaged heritage sites
TEHRAN – Ali Shamsipour, head of the Urban Research and Planning Center of Tehran Municipality, has highlighted plans and ongoing efforts to restore heritage sites damaged during the recent war involving the United States and the Israeli regime.
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2026-08-16 17:18
Echoes of the past: Golden-lustre ceramic bowl
The pictured golden-lustre ceramic bowl, which dates from the 7th century AH (13th–14th century CE), is made of a stone-paste (glass-paste) body. It is deep-bodied, with a flat rim, an elongated profile, and a tall, rounded, concave base. Decorative inscriptions adorn both its interior and exterior surfaces.
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2026-08-15 16:43
Four Iranian historic water structures selected for global irrigation heritage recognition
TEHRAN - Four historic Iranian water and irrigation structures -- Si-o-se-pol in Isfahan, Band-e Amir in Fars, the Shadorvan Grand Weir in Khuzestan and the historic hydraulic structures of Siraf in Bushehr -- have been selected for recognition under the World Heritage Irrigation Structures (WHIS) program of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).
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2026-08-08 16:37
Restoration begins at historic Seb castle in central Iran
TEHRAN - Restoration work has begun on the historic Seb castle in Abarkuh county in Iran’s central Yazd province, a local cultural heritage official said on Saturday, as part of efforts to preserve the region’s traditional adobe architecture.
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2026-08-07 20:16
Ancient Iranian wind towers inspire Italian designer for overheated cities
TEHRAN - An Italian designer is developing a concept for mobile wind towers inspired by Iran’s centuries-old wind catchers, locally named a Badgir, aiming to reduce urban heat by directing natural air flows into streets and public spaces affected by rising temperatures.