Historic structures and ancient gardens of Neyshabur are neglected by the authorities and left to decay with the excuse such as expansion of urban space. Hold houses and be3autiful historical mansions are located in every corner of the city. In spite of it being considered a special city for many Iranians and foreign tourists, due to its beautiful alleys and unique garden with old trees, such as Attar Garden, Ghadamgah Garden, Mahrouq Garden, and several other gardens and historic houses. Still, it has been neglected for a long time.
Houses that are among the cultural and historic heritage of our country, have been affected by neglect and destruction; to such an extent that out of the 70 old and historical houses of Neyshabur, only half of them are currently standing, but with the present trend they will also be ruined sooner or later; just as the fate of Amin-ol Eslami mansion.
According to historic documents and evidence, Neyshabur, located in Razavi Khorasan, is one of the most ancient cities with an age of several thousand years. According to historic records, it was rebuilt in the Sassanid period, in the mid decades of the 3rd century AD by order of Sassanid Shapur I. So far, more than 400 structures, hills, enclosures, and Historical works have been identified in this city, of which more than 100 works have been registered in the list of national monuments.
At the beginning of the Islamic period Neyshabur was famous as “Metropolis” (Abar shahr) (this name appears on the coins of the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. It was also called “Iranshahr,” which may have been an honorary title for this city. Of course, it was one of the four capital cities of Khorasan. Ferdowsi’s poems take Neyshabur into ancient times and proves the existence of this city in the national mythology of Iran.
Destruction of historic heritage in Neyshabur
Hosting the tombs of world-famous poets such as Khayam and Attar, Neyshabur has turned into a cultural city and attracts tourists from all over the world. This position has placed it in the first rank of the seven tourist target cities in Razavi Khorasan. ISNA has quoted Habibollah Motahedin, an expert in historical and cultural heritage, as saying: “all government departments and judiciary are committed to protect registered historic heritage.”
Stating that historical works are like an encyclopedia with all types of science hidden in it, and considered a country’s spiritual and material asset, Habibollah Motahedin added: “Imam Square to Khayyam Neishabur Square is a historical and tourist axis.”
He stated that 40% of this historical, cultural and touristic center has been walled with local architecture, and pointed out that no car should drive on this street because there are several registered monuments, such as the market, mosque, Robat, caravanserai, and water reservoir.
This expert in historical monuments and cultural heritage added:” Considering the historical context of this area, we have been saying for two decades that cars should not travel on this street and parallel streets should be used, but city officials ignore this issue. All the traffic of Neyshabour city is on this tourist, historical, and cultural street of Neyshabour, and now the cars are driving through an Iranian garden.
Motahedin said: “It is not right to just do work that is simple and easy, with no attention to the historical structures. I am explicitly stating here that a disaster is taking place in a city that is member of the world historical cities Union.”
According to the UNESCO organization, Neyshabur is one of the sustainable cities along with Isfahan and Shiraz, and the considerations of a sustainable city should be implemented in them. Despite this fact, we are witnessing construction of several story buildings around the historic and Iranian style houses of Neyshabur.
He named Neyshabur the city of Iranian gardens and stated: “Although according to the document of 1404, Neyshabur should attract millions of foreign tourists, since we are destroying a historical monument daily, we will not achieve this goal.”
Motahedin added: “In the historic city of Neyshabur heritage destruction has occurred, and culture, art, civilization, economy, has been ruined. As in the past, when commercial complexes have been built on the grounds where a historic market existed, and parks have replaced our beautiful Iranian gardens; in the same way we are not maintaining what we already have.”
He stated that there are more than 12 registered structures on and around Imam Ave. of Neyshabur, upto Khayam, which is not even 1 km, and that this area is considered a spiritual and material wealth of our country.
This expert pointed out: “Heritage destruction in this city is going on non-stop, to that extent that they have also coated the Jameh mosque with stone. Destruction does not only mean that we take an axe and attack a structure, but even with no expert work, we are attacking the roots of historic arrangement.”
Officials do not have a correct understanding of historical monuments
Ahmad Hematabadi, a member of the city council of Neyshabur, insisted that the garden and buildings of this city should be protected in any way possible, saying: “Unfortunately, in the past months, a part of a site of one of the structures was destroyed on the pretext of removing some of the density of traffic.”
Hematabadi noted: Cities similar to Neyshabur, such as Yazd, Kashan, etc., have kept their historical houses like a treasure and are dedicated to tourism and generating capital from it, but we are destroying this authentic and cultural heritage in Neyshabur. Unfortunately, in the past years, we have witnessed the destruction of historical monuments such as the house of Parviz Meshkatian, the mansion of Rais ol-Tojjar, etc. Some officials in Neyshabur do not correctly understand valuable historical, cultural, and heritage concepts.
This city council member added: Once there were more than 70 to 80 unique historical mansions in this city, each of which could be used for the benefit of Neyshabur, but many gardens and historic mansions have been destroyed. Less than 30 gardens are left. Although the historical context of Neyshabur is a vast field, and we are facing some limitations in developing and implementing some projects, this problem should be solved. The mansion, gardens, and historical houses should not be sacrificed for disputes, and we should preserve this heritage for future generations. If we claim to be a historical city and have been defined as a tourist destination in the 20-year vision, we should protect it based on what it has.
