The gradual death of the ancient architecture of the villages of West Azerbaijan

The historical context of the villages of West Azerbaijan is taking its last breaths and it can be said with confidence that the ancient architecture of the villages of this province is going to be destroyed forever and this ancient rural treasure will gradually die.

According to IRNA, many years ago, when you entered the village, the ancient architecture, the historical texture, the winding alleys, the color and the smell of the rural life were caressing; Your eyes stared at the houses whose architecture dates back centuries, and brick by brick told a story from the past, from the time of the Russian Golan, the American and British missionaries, and the Jillos; Every house you entered, from the front door to the inside of the house, was steeped in ancient architecture; Nestled courtyards, nested corridors, and pavilions lined with unique brickwork by ancient architects that led to a magnificent palace.

It is safe to say that today’s architect, who has spent his life in universities earning a degree, cannot put together bricks with this elegance and create the most beautiful painting in the world. Truly, the old and historical houses of the villages are not an old building and house, but a beautiful painting of the culture and history of this land.

But it has been a long time since the ruthless ax of these ancient works hit the ground and buried their stories in the ground forever; Today only a small corner of these magnificent houses remain, and some have seldom survived.

Indifference to history, culture and tourism, love of building buildings with urban style and context, villagers’ ignorance of the value of historical context and ancient architecture, the vastness of villages and the little effort needed to identify villages with historical context, the death of ancient architecture and In other words, it has shaped the historical context of the villages of West Azerbaijan.

Due to its multi-ethnicity and being called the rainbow land of ethnicities and religions, West Azerbaijan has villages with unique architecture, but it is unfortunate that only half of the magnificent buildings are left when traveling to them and exploring the streets. While each of these houses is history, and it is possible that many of these houses were inhabited by aliens at different times and there are thousands upon thousands of letters in their lands.

Counting the breath of old architecture and building multi-storey buildings in urban and even European style has robbed the identity of the villages of West Azerbaijan province and shifted their culture and customs to another direction; Other types of dialects, clothing, language, and even food are out of the rural form and have fallen victim to modernity.

The gardens of the villages have not been spared from the sword of changing the face of the village; The vineyards have been turned into multi-storey villas and fenced; With each passing day, not only the face of the village but also the face of the nature of the village and its gardens takes on an urban form and appearance, in other words, it becomes like small towns.

It would not be far from the truth to say that the villages of West Azerbaijan are dying and can no longer breathe; What good is a village that does not have the face and definition of a village? Agriculture and livestock are also closed; The gardens all turn into villas

The change in the historical context of the villages also marks the culture of the village

As the historical context of the village changes, so does the culture and customs; The disappearance of the historical fabric and the collapse of buildings with ancient architecture also targets other aspects of rural life.

Ecotourism expert and in charge of rural and nomadic tourism development of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Tourism of West Azerbaijan told IRNA: “When the village takes the shape of a city, the rural lifestyle will change.” The way of covering, dialect, livelihood and even culture and customs are influenced by urban architecture.

“Unfortunately, our villagers are not yet familiar with the tourism industry and do not know how much income this industry generates, so they themselves are among the factors that cause the destruction of the historical fabric of the villages,” Wadood Fakhari continued.

He stated: The Housing Foundation has been providing loans for the construction and rehabilitation of rural houses in recent years for the rehabilitation of rural houses, but the loan is given, the villager builds a new house according to the style of the day and the old texture of Disappears.

He added: “Of course, the historical context of the villages is preserved and emphasized in a working group of which the cultural heritage and tourism as well as the province’s housing foundation are members, and this process continues, but people’s desire to build modern-style buildings makes them indifferent.” To protect the historical context.

Ecotourism resorts to preserve the historical fabric of the villages

The establishment of eco-tourism resorts is a step by the cultural heritage and tourism to preserve the historical fabric of the villages that have been created in recent years.

Fakhari added: 30 eco-tourism resorts have been set up in different villages of the province to help preserve the historical fabric of the villages; Residences that have preserved the old face of the village.

He continued: “Loans have also been given by the province’s cultural heritage and tourism to people who have houses with a historical texture and are interested in turning them into eco-tourism residences, and even under an agreement with the Housing Foundation, they are supposed to be in eco-tourism residences.” Use a wooden roof.

He stressed: other institutions should help cultural heritage and tourism; The measures taken are commendable, but it is not enough. All relevant agencies, especially the people, should enter the field, but unfortunately, the villagers do not have a positive view of tourism.

The ecotourism expert in charge of rural and nomadic tourism development of the cultural heritage and tourism of West Azerbaijan added: “We have to explain to the villagers that the income of tourism is far beyond agriculture, as traditional canteens using local food can be a good source of income for They be.

He continued: “If this thinking is institutionalized among the villagers, without a doubt, their interest in preserving the historical context and ancient architecture and turning them into a place for tourists to visit will increase.”

Profiteers have taken over the outskirts of the villages

There are no more straw walls, blue windows and beautiful views of rural houses, and this trend is increasing day by day.

Anthropologist, expert and researcher of Urmia believes that some projects implemented and being implemented by some organizations in the villages, destroy the shape and appearance of old alleys and houses, although these projects are designed to support It is the villagers, but it inadvertently changes the face of the village.

“Isa Aziznejad” continued: “On the other hand, profiteers and brokers have also taken control of the outskirts of the villages, as colorful villas appear as you approach the village, and in other words, these villas replace agricultural gardens.”

He continued: “Agricultural gardens and historical context are both factors that attract villages. When agricultural gardens become villas and the historical context becomes a victim of urban architecture, there is nothing left for the village.”

Relevant devices should be put together to protect the historical context of the villages

Aziznejad stated: Although the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Tourism of the province, in order to protect the historical context of the villages, has set up eco-lodges and is increasing its efforts every day, but all relevant agencies, including Jihad-e-Agriculture, Housing Foundation and districts, should be included. To be together.

Reconstruction of rural houses was not to be done with brick and marble

Urmia researcher and anthropologist added: Reconstruction and strengthening of rural houses with bricks and marble is not going to be done.

The alarm of the destruction of the villages has been sounded

Urmia researcher and sociologist also told IRNA in this regard: “The alarm of the destruction of villages has been sounded, no doubt in the future many villages will lose not only their true face but also many of their traditional jobs and in a word They will be neither cities nor villages, but we will be wandering between the two.

Mohammad Asgari added: “Villages today have less traces than in the past, if these valuable monuments could be preserved, unfortunately, many of the purest historical textures are hidden under the soil, while these textures could attract thousands of tourists annually.” کردن.

According to IRNA, West Azerbaijan, with 2,800 villages, has 49 villages targeted for tourism, ie villages with historical monuments, but the rest of the villages with beautiful historical context and ancient architecture are still unknown.

Every day they die one by one, maybe one day only a pile of soil from the ancient architecture of the villages will remain and this is not a good record for West Azerbaijan.