Motorcycle rally sets off to denounce attacks on Iran’s cultural heritage
Iran’s Touring and Automobile Club launched a two-day motorcycle rally on April 30 from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts in Tehran toward Lorestan Province, organizers said, to condemn recent attacks on the country’s historical sites and rally support for their protection.
Branded the “Falak-ol-Aflak” tour, the event brought together 40 motorcycles organized by the club’s National Motorcycle Tourism division. Riders set off from the capital, heading southwest through Qom and Markazi provinces en route to the ancient Falak-ol-Aflak fortress in Khorramabad, a site that sustained damage during the recent 40-day conflict, IRNA reported.
Participants are due to gather at the fortress on May 1, the rally’s second day, to amplify the slogan “Cultural heritage is the red line of history and human identity,” framing the convoy as both a symbolic protest and a mobile campaign for preservation.
Organizers described the initiative as part of a broader series of cultural responses to what they called “aggression” targeting Iran’s historical assets, which they said form an integral part of the shared heritage of humanity. “This is about safeguarding memory,” one organizer said, calling protection of cultural patrimony a “global duty.”
According to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, around 149 historical sites across the country were damaged or destroyed during the recent hostilities, with estimated losses reaching roughly 7.5 trillion tomans.
The rally follows a similar event held in Tehran on April 24, when dozens of classic cars toured the capital under the same slogan, turning city streets into a rolling display of cultural advocacy and underscoring calls for heightened international awareness of heritage preservation.