Hormozgan begins restoration studies for Kalat Behdeh Castle
The director-general of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization of Hormozgan Province has announced the start of restoration studies for the historic Kalat Behdeh Castle in Parsian, in a move aimed at protecting national heritage, reviving cultural identity and strengthening social resilience in the local community.
Adel Shahrzad said the project had been defined as a national initiative following sustained efforts by civil institutions, support from local communities and backing from provincial authorities. He described it as a key step toward preserving indigenous architecture, revisiting the region’s history and promoting sustainable tourism in the hinterland of the Persian Gulf.
He added that the study phase would lay the groundwork for the physical restoration of the fortress while also enabling archaeological teams and cultural heritage researchers to examine the site’s untapped potential. According to Shahrzad, the process could help strengthen residents’ sense of belonging and attachment to place, ultimately contributing to greater social resilience in the area, according to chtn.ir.
He also highlighted the project’s economic importance, saying the restoration studies were not merely an effort to save a stone structure, but could mark the beginning of locally driven development based on heritage tourism. The initiative, he said, could create jobs, support small businesses and help sustain the village population.
Describing Behdeh village, Shahrzad said it is one of Hormozgan’s leading tourism villages and has ranked sixth nationally in official evaluations of tourism villages. He said the settlement, with its long history, contains layers of heritage dating from the pre-Islamic era to the medieval Islamic periods, making it a living museum of civilization, livelihoods and the perseverance of communities living in the Persian Gulf hinterland.
He said Kalat Behdeh is a castle built atop a mountain of the same name in the heart of the village. The site, whose remains are attributed to periods spanning from the Sassanid period to the Islamic era, was added to Iran’s national heritage list in 2009.
According to Qajar-era historical texts and travel accounts, the castle once featured six towers, two reservoirs and a deep well known as “Dilav,” reflecting the engineering skill of earlier generations in providing security and managing water resources at high elevation.
Shahrzad said the wider area also contains a range of heritage assets, adding with careful implementation of restoration studies and the use of specialist expertise, officials hope Kalat Behdeh Castle and the surrounding heritage complex can become a successful model linking place-based memory, social resilience and sustainable tourism development in Hormozgan Province.