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Historical significance of unique qanat of Dezful
Now, we are planning to visit Dezful, a city in Khuzestan Province, which is home to one of these qanats. However, it’s important to note that in Dezful, qanats have a different name and somewhat different characteristics, IRNA wrote.
Dezful, known as the “Brick City” of Iran for its authentic architecture and layout, is renowned as the land of resistance. If you travel to Dezful, you won’t regret your choice; you will create wonderful memories while exploring various attractions, such as the watermills and the Shevi Waterfall.
Another intriguing site to explore in Dezful is a historical qanat, also known as Qomesh Choqabafan. This unique tourist attraction dates back approximately 400 years.
In the local dialect of Dezful, the underground water tunnels known as qanats and karizes are referred to as qomesh. Near this qanat, there is a mosque that was struck by missile fire during the Iran-Iraq War, resulting in the martyrdom of several individuals. The custodian of this mosque was a man named Sadeq-Qoli Choqabafan, whose name has now been given to this qanat.
To see this qanat, you must pass through the entrance known as sarbataq. After descending 74 steps, you arrive at the Choqabafan Qomesh, where you are greeted by a stunning space that stands out amidst a rainbow of colors, enveloping you in a cool and pleasant atmosphere.
Throughout the qanat, you will find statues of men and women holding jars and water bags. If you are a local of Dezful, these figures will evoke memories of the past. In various corners of qomesh, you can see old items such as bowls, plates, lamps, and jars, lovingly contributed by the townsfolk to preserve their ancestral heritage.
You might be curious about how deep this qomesh is and how long it stretches. This historical qanat is one of the main qanat systems in the region, with a depth of over 50 meters below the surface. Its length, along with other qanats, extends to 8,100 meters, of which 300 meters have been excavated and are now accessible to tourists. This qanat has provided drinking water and irrigation for 1,200 hectares of agricultural land in the area for the past 400 years.
In the city of Dezful, aside from the Choqabafan Qomesh, there are nearly 14 other qanats that have lost their vitality due to urban development and the modern water supply network. These qanats continued to function until the 1950s and 1960s.
In Khuzestan Province, the presence of surface waters like the Dez River allows for the possibility of digging qanats to transfer water from the river to the city for utilization. Our ancestors took advantage of this opportunity by excavating underground channels, which were essentially river qanats, to extract the necessary water, showcasing the intelligence and precise engineering of the people of that time.
Although these qanats function similarly to plumbing systems in transferring water, they actually differ from one another. The distinction lies in that traditional qanats collect groundwater, while qomesh (as they are termed here) harvest surface waters from rivers.