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Work started to restore Shiraz’s war-scarred historic building
This historic building, registered as Iran’s National Heritage List in August 2002 under the name of the Fatemeh al-Zahra (SA) Cultural-Educational Center, currently holds a treasure trove of memories, documents, images, and records of Fars Provinces’ educational history.
Cultural heritage and education represent two human dimensions that numerous international laws defend as immune from military attack. However, in the face of a criminal enemy, many humanitarian and human boundaries have been violated.
Iranian schools have been targeted, children have been killed, 140 historical sites across 20 provinces have been damaged, and missiles have disregarded international laws governing retaliation.
On the night of March 21, a missile from the aggressor enemy struck 20 meters southwest of this building, and its shrapnel hit this Iranian national heritage site. According to the deputy director of cultural heritage for Fars Province, many parts of it were damaged.
Sadeq Zare’ told IRNA that the building’s facade has collapsed, its decorations and plasterwork have been destroyed, parts of the floor and staircase have been damaged, and its historic doors and windows have been blown off.
Regarding the restoration of this damaged national heritage site, he said, “Preliminary damage assessments have been completed and sent to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Crisis Management Headquarters of Fars Province’s General Governorate. The ministry has made the necessary summary and submitted it to national and international bodies to compensate for these damages.”
According to him, once the necessary funding is allocated and secured, the restoration of this historical heritage site of Shiraz will begin.
Over the years, this historic building had become a safe haven for objects and the historical heritage of education, serving as a museum of education open to the public.
According to the Head of Public Relations Office of Fars Provine’s Education Department, the museum displayed old documents, photographs, report cards, and textbooks from past centuries.
He added, “Printing presses, old microscopes, educational aids from decades past, and valuable relics of the province’s education system from the last century were gathered in this museum.”
Today, amid the flames of an imposed war, the rubble of this building — a remnant of Fars Province’s from the last century — is drawing the attention of international bodies worldwide, much like the ancient heritage of Isfahan and Tehran.