The first permanent workshop for the conservation and restoration of historical monuments in Ardabil Province has been set up at the Sheikh Safi Khaneqah and Shrine Complex.
The workshop is adjacent to the Ardabil Anthropology Museum, said Karim Lotfi, who heads the province’s historical heritage restoration group, ISNA reported.
UNESCO’s regulations call for a workshop for conservation and restoration of historical monuments near the research center of Sheikh Safi Complex.
Thanks to the efforts of head of Ardabil’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department, Karim Hajizadeh, in cooperation with experts on restoration of historical monuments, the workshop was inaugurated early this week.
Lotfi said Hajizadeh and ICHHTO experts have agreed to work closely to identify and restore monuments and relics in Ardabil.
Sheikh Safi Khaneqah and Shrine Complex was a spiritual retreat in Sufi tradition. Built as a small microcosmic city, it includes bazaars, public baths, a library, a mosque, a school, mausoleums, a cistern, a hospital, kitchens, a bakery and some offices. There are well preserved and richly ornamented facades and interiors in the complex, which belong to medieval Islamic architecture.
