Malayer, manifestation of Iran’s rich art and architecture
The city of Malayer in western Hamedan Province is a manifestation of Iran’s rich art and architecture, and is known as the city of the Medes.
The Medes were ancient Persian people who mostly inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran, and spoke the Median language. Around the 11th century B.C., they occupied the mountainous region of northwestern Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia, located in Hamedan (Ecbatana).
According to IRNA, 360 historical monuments and works have been identified in Malayer. More than 240 of them have been registered on the country’s National Heritage List.
Noushijan Hill is located 15km northwest of Malayer. There are ancient temples and a castle on top of that hill. The historic site is estimated to be nearly 3,000 years old.
The 40-meter high castle or fortress has several rooms, a reception hall full of columns, impenetrable walls, and a secret tunnel. There are also two temples there; a western temple and a central temple.
Archaeologists have carried out extensive excavations at this ancient site. Their research indicates that Noushijan Hill was inhabited in the era of the Medes, the Achaemenid era, and the Sassanid period. Silver coins have also been found at this site by archaeologists—the earliest examples of coins in human civilization.
Malayer theme park
Malayer’s Mini World Complex is a theme park which attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists and has turned into a tourist hub in western Iran. It is considered a miniature park, which displays scores of national and international historical monuments such as the Hafez Tomb, Persepolis, Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Great Wall of China. These monuments are built on a small scale and make it possible to travel to different parts of the world in a very short period of time, or, as some say, tourists can travel around the world in 80 minutes by visiting this theme park. Malayer’s Mini World Park is also known as the Park of Nations.
Dozens of other miniature versions of major historical monuments are being designed and constructed in the complex. The Municipality of Malayer says efforts are underway to complete the construction of the tourist site.
Iran’s Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Ezzatollah Zarghami toured Malayer’s Mini World in late December, calling it an exemplary theme park on a world scale.
“The theme park, entertainment, and tourism complex in Malayer can undoubtedly be a very good model for other countries,” Zarghami said during his visit.
Malayer also has a reputation for rug weaving and wood carving. Many people in the city are involved in the production of wooden handicrafts and traditional furniture. Artisans use the wood of beech, walnut and plane trees to make different products such as traditional, classic, steel and sofa furniture. Other products are dining tables, desks, all kinds of chairs, beds and decorative woodwork.
Malayer is also famous in Iran as a hub of grape cultivation.