TEHRAN – Iran is negotiating with Iraq to add the traditional crafts and techniques of al-Mudeif architecture to UNESCO’s list as a joint partner, while Iraq inscribes it on the organization’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023, Iranian heritage officials said.
According to Miras Alia news agency, Alireza Izadi, head of the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage’s Intangible Heritage and Natural Heritage Registration and Preservation Department, said that discussions have been held between the two countries for the past two years to add Iran to UNESCO’s 2023 registration of Iraq’s al-Mudih construction tradition.
“Minister of Culture and Heritage Seyed Reza Salehi-Amiri has held satisfactory discussions with Iraqi officials in this area,” Izadi told reporters. He added that the first approval for Iran’s participation was reached last year.
“Based on this agreement, we will revisit this issue at the next UNESCO convention in France,” Izadi said.
Izadi said cooperation between Iranian and Iraqi heritage authorities is good. “With the support of the World Heritage Committee, this file will be registered in the names of both Iran and Iraq,” he said.
Al-Mudih is a large arched structure made of reed and papyrus that grows in the wetlands of southern Iraq and southwestern Iran. It serves as a communal gathering space for ceremonies, social events, and cultural exchanges.
UNESCO describes Al Mudif as a place where traditional knowledge, craftsmanship and customs are transmitted from generation to generation through practical practices, stories and community participation.
For many Arabs living in Iran’s Khuzestan province, al-Mudih (also known as Mudif) is a relatively large ceremonial structure used by guests and as a gathering place for weddings, funerals, and other events. They serve as gathering places where community members can interact, address conflicts, share experiences, tell stories, and practice cultural activities and social rituals such as weddings, circumcisions, religious ceremonies, and national celebrations.
According to the United Nations cultural agency, mudif is also seen as a place for transmitting traditional knowledge, values, handicraft techniques, norms and customs to children and young people.
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