The Iranian city of Shiraz, the capital of Fars Province, is often referred to as "the heartland of Persian culture." It is one of the top tourist sites in Iran due to its numerous cultural heritage sites, such as the tomb of Hafez and the Delgosha Garden built during the Sassanian Empire.

The Islamic Republic plans on destroying the cultural fabric of Shiraz. They want to demolish dozens of historic houses in order to expand the Shah-e Cheragh Shrine. This is is to fulfill their wish of turning Shiraz into "the biggest pilgrims’ destination in the Middle East.” 

In response, locals began the National Campaign to Save the Historic Structures of Shiraz. As a part of this campaign, a petition "to save the historical Fabric of Shiraz was made for the the minister of cultural heritage, Ezzatollah Zarghami. CLICK HERE TO READ IT AND SIGN!

Here is an aerial view of the area. The buildings highlighted in red are set to be demolished.

 

 

Here are some of the historic sites that will be destroyed. Several of these buildings date back to the Zand and Qajar dynasties. 

 

 

Regarding these plans, Mohammadreza Javadi-Yeganeh, a professor of sociology at Tehran University tweeted “[They are] targeting the Iranian [national] identity again.” 

The international community cannot just stand by and watch as significant parts of Iranian and Persian heritage are erased. If we do, it will only give the Islamic Republic incentive to continue their destruction of Iranian cultures. It will amount to cultural genocide. 

We call on the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and ASOR Cultural Heritage Initiatives.

We ask that they speak out about this destruction of cultural heritage and put pressure on the Islamic Republic to preserve Shiraz. 

Source for photos and information:

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202302097529