Khorasan Razavi Province's office of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization is seeking a trilateral agreement with the municipality of the provincial capital Mashhad and Keshavarzi Bank, to convert the historical bank-owned Baghkhouni garden into a museum. "If a three-way agreement can be reached between the ICHHTO, the Municipality and Keshavarzi Bank we are ready to turn the site into a museum, while the bank would retain ownership," Abolfazl Mokarramifar, head of the ICHHTO office in the northeastern province, said on Wednesday. Renovations have been underway for months at a historical mansion inside the garden, which was inscribed on the National Heritage List in March 2001. Baghkhouni was created early in the Qajar era (1785-1925) over an area of six hectares. It originally contained three large garden houses, two of which have been destroyed. "Major renovations to ensure the preservation of the mansion are mostly complete but the project is set to continue in cooperation with Keshavarzi Bank," Mokarramifar was quoted as saying by CHTN. The municipality pledged to undertake and fund the project to refurbish the garden area, he added.
