The 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee held in Suzhou, China declared at the news conferences on July 1st and July 3rd that the Iranian cultural landscape Pasargade and Bam Citadel were inscribed in the World Heritage List. The above-mentioned sites are the fifth and sixth Iranian sites in this List. The other four sites are: Persepolis (Persian Palace), Chogha-Zanbil Ziggurat, Takht-e-Soleiman (Throne of Soleiman) and Naqsh-e-Jahan (Square of the World). Because of the great damage done by the disastrous earthquake on 26th Dec. 2003 to Bam Citadel, it was also inscribed in the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Mausoleum of King Cyrus, Pasargade

    Pasargade was once the capital of Cyrus Dynasty. And it is also a typical architecture of the early period of Achaemenian Dynasty. The characteristics of Anatolia nomad camps can be found in this site. The main structures including guardroom, main quarter, dwellings and meeting hall are all located in a great yard surrounded by a 4-metre thick stony wall, yet are separate, unadjacent to each other. The meeting hall has a columned corridor and 4 watchtowers at corners. The Mausoleum of Cyrus and the Fire-worship Shrine can also be found within this site.

                                                   Gateway of Bam Citadel                                                                    Overview of Bam Citadel

    The history of Bam city can be traced back to 6th to 4th century B.C. The most famous site in this city is the Bam Citadel, which was build around 11th century A.D. But most of the obelisks in this citadel were built during the Islamic Safavi Dynasty around 500 years ago. The Citadel is the largest unbaked-brick-structure building for its scale in the world, including 38 watchtowers, the governors' quarter, dwellings and masques. However, during the 6.2 degree earthquake at the end of 2003, most buildings inside Bam city were destroyed. The Citadel was also seriously damaged. The inscription of Bam Citadel in the List of World Heritage in Danger may prompt the Iranian Government to take necessary and effective protections to this site.

View of Bam Citadel before and after the earthquake on 26th Dec. 2003