TEHRAN — A 400-year-old iconic mosque in
Iran’s central
city of Isfahan listed as a UN World Heritage Site has been
damaged during restoration work, officials said Monday.
اضافة اعلان
The 17th century Shah Mosque, also known as the
Royal Mosque, was built during the “golden age” of Isfahan, the capital during
Safavid dynasty.
“Supervisors and
restorers realized there was damage, especially in the upper part of the dome,”
said Alireza Izadi, head of the heritage for the city, according to state
media.
The mosque forms one of four dramatic buildings in
the vast Naghsh-e Jahan Square in the heart of the city, also known as Meidan
Imam. The square complex was listed by the UN cultural organization UNESCO as a
World Heritage Site in 1979.
UNESCO says the mosque is of “particular interest”,
and “remains the most celebrated example of the colorful architecture which
reached its high point in Iran under the Safavid dynasty”.
Experts quoted in Iranian media said the designs of
flowers on the restored tiles do not match each other, and the patterns on the
dome are not aligned.
“We are going to replace the dome tiles, because the
weight of the scaffolding has damaged their edge,” Izadi told the official IRNA
news agency.
The restorer of the project, Mehdi Pakdel, told
state television he had acknowledged “mistakes” had been made, while noting
that his “work was not yet finished”.
Pakdel said problems with the scaffolding used
during restoration work, as well as the challenges of working high on the dome
up to a height of 54m were “among the causes” of the mistakes.
“The contractor of the project, who is one of the
veterans of restoration in Isfahan, has said he is ready to take the necessary
measures to repair the defects as soon as possible,” Izadi added.
Isfahan, the third biggest city in Iran, is one of
the key tourist destinations in the country.
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