The Historical Town of Masuleh Registered as National Heritage of Iran No. 1090

The historical town of Masuleh has been registered as National Heritage of Iran under number 1090. It is said that if someone has visited Masuleh once, they would undoubtedly consider this ancient town not only one of the most beautiful places in Iran but in all of the East. This gem of the Gilan region, with its stunning adobe buildings located on the slopes of lush, high mountains, is set to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List by next year. Masuleh, which has a history of over a thousand years, is located 25 kilometers from Fuman County (part of Rasht). According to Fraser in his travelogue, this historical town served as a residence or base at the foot of a pass that was the route between Gilan and Khalkhal. The livelihood of the people, in addition to livestock farming, was supported by providing transportation services to caravans and travelers passing through this route. Hossein Atefi, the director of the Iran Tourism and Travel Administration in Gilan Province, emphasized the importance of registering this town in the UNESCO list, stating, 'The planning and efforts of the tourism group in Gilan Province are based on the principle that we can register Masuleh with UNESCO next year.' He also added, 'The efforts made in this regard include holding multiple meetings with UNESCO representatives and organizing a special festival for Masuleh in May next year, which are initial steps towards registering this town.' Atefi further noted that registering this town in the UNESCO list would attract foreign tourists and clarified, 'We intend to preserve the existing hotels in this town instead of building new ones and use the equipped houses of the people of Masuleh to host domestic and foreign tourists.' The historical town of Masuleh has been registered as National Heritage of Iran under number 1090.