As one of the most ancient countries of the world, Iran is a perfect destination for people who are inspired by history. After the latest edition (2019) of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran, Iran has now 24 World Heritage Sites listed. 

What does UNESCO World Heritage even mean?

As UNESCO mentioned on their website, World Heritage is the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy. Places as diverse and unique as the Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, the Taj Mahal in India, the Grand Canyon in the USA, or the Acropolis in Greece are examples of the 1007 natural and cultural places inscribed on the World Heritage List to date.

How many UNESCO world heritage sites are in Iran?

After that the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in Iran was updated in 2019, there are now 24 world heritage sites in Iran, adding Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests.

The complete list of Sites In Iran:

1. Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran (2008)
   There are three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith in the north-west of Iran: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzorn. Saint- Thaddeus is assumed to be the location of the tomb of the apostle of Jesus Christ.
   
   

   The Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran is located in the West Azerbaijan and East Azerbaijan provinces in Iran.

2. Bam and its Cultural Landscape (2004)
   Bam is situated in a desert environment in south-eastern Iran. Bam’s location was very strategic in terms of trade back in the time. Bam’s heyday was from the 7th to 11th centuries, known for the production of silk and cotton garments, and being at the crossroads of important trade routes. Arg-e Bam is one of the most representative examples of a fortified medieval town. Bam also preserves some of the earliest evidence on Qanats in Iran.
   
   

   The origins of this Bam complex can be traced back to Achaemenid or Parthian eras, although it continued to live as a residential area up to the late Qajar period.

3. Bisotun (2006)
   Darius I, the ruler of the Persian Empire in 521 BC, ordered the bas-relief and cuneiform inscription located in Bisotun. The inscription describes the battles Darius carried out to regain control over his empire and is written in three languages.
   
   

   The town is at the foot of Bisotun mountain, the flank of which is the location of an important historical site.

4. Cultural Landscape of Maymand (2015)
   Maymand is a self-contained arid valley in the south of Iran. The villagers are seasonal migrants who raise their animals on mountain pastures, living in temporary settlements in spring and autumn. The cultural landscape of Maymand is a significant example of a migration system that appears to have been more widespread in the past and involves people moving rather than animals.
   

   Meymand is a very ancient village which is located near Shahr-e Babak city in Kerman Province, Iran.

5. Golestan Palace (2013)
   Golestan Palace, located in the heart of Iran’s capital, Tehran, is a masterpiece of the Qajar era. The palace is a combination of Iranian and western architecture. Since Golestan Palace was the seat of government of the Qajar family, It became a center of Qajari arts and architecture. Golestan has remained a source of inspiration for Iranian artists and architects until today.
   
   

   The Golestan Palace is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran’s capital city, Tehran.

6. Gonbad-e Qābus (2012)
   The 53 m high tomb built in ad 1006 is located in what used to be the ancient city of Jorjan. Ever since the city was destroyed by Mongol conquests in the 14th and 15th centuries, The tomb is the only remaining evidence of Jorjan’s civilization. This historical monument declares the progress of science and mathematics in the Muslim world at that time.
   
   

   The modern name, meaning “the tower of Kavus”, is a reference to the most imposing ancient monument in the city.

7. Hyrcanian Forests (2019)
   Stretching 850 km along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, Hyrcanian forests form a unique forested massif. This forest is home to 180 species of birds typical of broad-leaved temperate forests and 58 mammal species including the iconic Persian Leopard. The history of these broad-leaved forests dates back 25 to 50 million years ago.
   
   

   The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania.

8. Historic City of Yazd (2017)
   The City of Yazd is located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, 270 km southeast of Isfahan, representing a distinguished example of surviving under limited resources in the desert. Unlike many traditional earthen towns, Yazd has escaped modernization and succeeded in retaining its traditional districts, the qanat system ( The water supply of the city built underground), bazars, hammams, traditional houses, mosques, synagogues, Zoroastrian temples and the historic garden of Dolat-Abad.
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   Yazd, the city of wind catchers, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 9th, 2017.

9. Lut Desert (2016)
   The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut, is located in the south-east of Iran, in the provinces of Kerman, and Sistan and Baluchestan. Among the world’s largest deserts, Lut Desert is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. This large salt desert is swept by strong winds between June and October. Therefore, the site presents some of the most dazzling examples of aeolian yardang landforms (massive corrugated ridges). Lut desert represents an outstanding example of ongoing geological processes.
   

   The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut, is the world’s 27th-largest desert.

10.  Masjed-e Jame of Isfahan (2012)
    Masjed-e Jāmé, literally meaning Friday mosque, is a stunning illustration of the evolution of mosque architecture in Isfahan. It is the oldest preserved edifice of its kind in the country, and also the first Islamic building to portray the four iwan layout. The mosque also features significant decorative details representative of stylistic developments over more than a thousand years of Islamic art.
    

    The mosque is the result of continual construction, reconstruction, additions and renovations on the site from around 771 to the end of the 20th century.

11. Meidan Emam, Esfahan (1979)
    Meidan Emam, also called Naqsh-e Jahan, one of the largest city squares in the world, is known for the Royal Mosque, the Mosque of Sheikh Lotfollah, the magnificent Portico of Qaysariyyeh and the 15th-century Timurid Palace. These monuments are evidence on the level of cultural and social life in Persia during the Safavid era. As a prominent paradigm of Islamic and Iranian architecture, Meidan Emam is Built by Shah Abbas I the Great at the beginning of the 17th century.
    
    

    Naghsh-e Jahan Square, also known as Shah Square or Imam Square, is a square situated at the center of Isfahan, Iran.

     

     

12. Pasargadae (2004)
    Founded by Cyrus II the Great, Pasargadae was the capital of the first great multicultural empire in Western Asia. Ranging from the Eastern Mediterranean and Egypt to the Hindus River, Achaemenid is considered to be the first empire that respected the cultural diversity of its different peoples.
    
    

    A limestone tomb there is believed to be that of Cyrus the Great.

     

    UNESCO World Heritage Sites In Iran (Part II)