Tehran – The Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the QESHM Free Zone Organization have launched a collaborative effort to promote tourism and cultural infrastructure and to globally register the Raft Historical Area in the central district of Hormozgan.
In this regard, Farhad Azizi Zalani, a senior official at the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, met Adel Peyghami, managing director of Qeshm Free Zone Organization in Tehran.
During the meeting, Ajitsi Zarani said LAFT is one of the focuses to maintain the indigenous architecture and manifestation of the values of urban planning in the South.
The dialogue, he added, will mark the beginning of a successful model of multi-layered partnerships for the physical, cultural and semantic regeneration of this historic port.
He pointed to future projects, saying that improving the quality of physical structures, restoring ancient mansions and monuments, organizing passages and improving the walls and historical parts of the LAFT are on the agenda. These measures will be implemented through the contributions of the Qeshm Free Zone Organization, he added.
Azizi Zalani has continued that the LAFT historic port has been defined as a national foundation under the supervision of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage since 2021, and since then a series of research, conservation and restoration projects have been launched in the field with a specialized perspective.
Support from agencies such as the QESHM Free Zone Organization in the implementation of these projects opened up a new perspective for the development of balanced identity orientation for this texture, he added.
Also, Adel Peyghami, managing director of Qeshm Free Zone Organization, is known as the symbol of Qeshm’s historical identity.
He said that investment in LAFT’s tangible and intangible heritage could guarantee Qeshm’s cultural identity and promote cultural tourism at the national and international level.
The Qashm Free Zone organization is ready to develop management and field cooperation with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, he added.
The national registration of the LAFT base and the plans made to strengthen its global position would not have been possible without the scientific and administrative support of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.
Also, Friday prayer leader and head of Raft’s Islamic City Council, Sheikh Ahmad Powaj said, “The revival of LAFT is not possible without the general participation and support of local institutions. We have been on this path for many years.
Laft is not merely a historic texture, but a living organism cultivation located in the heart of southern Iran, requiring intelligent conservation and global introductions.
As one notable example of traditional livability and sustainable interaction between humans and nature, LAFT’s historical textures have been on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2019 as part of the historic settlements in the Persian Gulf. This continuous program for protection, repair, and organizations of textures is pursued to complete documents and enhance global registration capabilities.
Laft is over 2,000 years old. It is located southwest of Bandar Abbas, on the island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz.
KD