Historical artifacts safe and sound in recent unrest
Two weeks of ongoing unrest in Iran exposed the country to some damage, but no harm came to the historical artifacts, except for some graffiti on some historical buildings in Isfahan, the capital of the Safavids and Iran’s tourism pole.
Follow-ups in Isfahan Province revealed that the only damage was some graffiti on the walls of the Si-o-Se Pol and parts of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, which were removed with public support.
In Tehran Province, on Friday night, a small number of individuals climbed the walls of the Niavaran and Saadabad palaces to enter the historical-cultural complexes, but were stopped and brought down by the people present in the demonstrations.
This shows the people’s attention to preserving and safeguarding the country’s historical assets as Iran’s national treasures.
Also, in the capital, no damage was observed to the historical artifacts and monuments, specifically Oudlajan neighborhood, adjacent to Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, as the initial nucleus of the formation of Tehran city.
Likewise, cultural heritage activists in southern city of Shiraz reported that no damage, even minor damage, has been done to the historical architecture of Shiraz and the Zandieh complex and other historical artifacts of this city.
The 1945 UNESCO Convention emphasizes that nations and governments are obligated to protect historical artifacts and cultural properties in the event of armed conflicts, wars, and internal clashes.
Fortunately, over the years, awareness-raising by media and cultural heritage activists has been able to commit people to preserving their cultural assets, and people, alongside officials, have successfully protected historical artifacts from any harm in the face of the current conditions.
This approach clearly demonstrates the difference in the behavior of Iranians in dealing with historical artifacts remaining from different historical periods, centuries, and millennia, with the behavior of the Taliban during their first rule with the Buddhas of Bamiyan and historical sites in Afghanistan, or the behavior of Daesh with historical artifacts in Iraq and Syria, such as the ancient sites of Babylon and Palmyra and other historical and religious sites.
Iranians have clearly shown that even in the most intense conflicts, people still respect their history, culture, and ancient artifacts and protect them from any harm.