Hamedan Walkway Overhaul Proposed

The project on converting the historical Imam Square to a walkway has been censured for ignoring the need for vehicle tracks.

According to Mohammad Hassan Talebian, the deputy for cultural heritage at Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, officials seem to have failed to provide a tactful overhaul plan to remove its shortcomings, ISNA reported.

"Shop owners at Hamedan's old bazaar need at least a small path to drive their vehicles across the age-old structure of Imam Square, although it is being turned into a walkway," he said.

To solve the issue, a short-term solution proposed by ICHHTO suggests vehicles could use the entrance gate of Ecbatana historical site as a temporary passageway to the old bazaar, although the gate is designated for tourists and the entry of vehicles is against cultural heritage rules.

The official said the current arrangement will be in force until the organization's experts survey the site and come up with modifications.

Emphasizing the fact that such plans should be fully studied before implementation, Talebian proposed that the project could be changed to combine both walkway and vehicle path for removing the plan's shortcomings.

The idea was first proposed last year when the heritage and municipality officials of the province called for highlighting Hamedan's historically valuable monuments, particularly Imam Square and Ecbatana ancient city to become a tourism base.

Amir Fat'hian, the mayor of Hamedan's District 1, said last year that based on the initial plan, taxi and bus stations were supposed to move to the adjacent streets to facilitate the walkway.

However, other possible solutions will also be suggested and studied by officials in the near future.

Ecbatana was an ancient city in western Iran and the capital of the ancient Median empires. Excavations have revealed tools and pottery dated 1400 to 1200 BC.