A group of artists visited the city of Shushtar in the southern province of Khuzestan and spent time near the Historical Hydraulic System in the city and made paintings of the complex irrigation system.
At an exhibition named “Shushtar Passengers,” the paintings are on display at Pol Art Gallery in Tehran, ILNA reported on its Persian website.
Thirty artists have set up the 10-day show that opened May 11. Their paintings are on canvas and paper depicting various representations of the UNESCO world heritage site.
Hedieh Tavakolian, Fariba Sadraee, Mitra Samadi, Ali-Reza Mojabi and Ardeshir Parsaee are among the participants.
Pol Gallery is located at No. 34, Ferdowsi Alley, Kaboli Street, Seyyed Khandan Bridge. It is closed on Saturdays.
Origins of the Shushtar Hydraulics date back to the 5th century BC when the system was believed to have been built during the rule of Achaemenid king Darius the Great. Water was diverted from the Karun River via man-made canals that sent the flow through tunnels dug in natural rock.
The complete system was likely in place by the 3rd century AD, having incorporated the work and knowhow of various civilizations including the Mesopotamians and the Romans, according to Atlasobscura.com
Through the system of tunnels and pools, water is diverted to the city of Shushtar, powering several mills. At the time of its building the elaborate system of dams, tubes and mills must have seemed like technological wizardry. Today it still inspires awe. The system was in use until the 20th century, albeit probably not as efficiently as it once did and before time and erosion took its toll.
