Some 124 historical buildings and structures in Khorasan Razavi province, northeast Iran, were restored during the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended March 20).

Ferdowsi mausoleum, Tus Tower, Ancient Windmills of Nashtifan, Ghyasieh School and Ribat-i Sharaf are among the restored sites, IRNA quoted Abolfazl Mokarramifar, the provincial tourism chief, as saying on Monday.

He also explained that some of these historical buildings have the potential to be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The restoration projects aimed at preserving, protecting, and strengthening the historical sites, which were damaged over the years, he concluded.

The holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, in the province’s capital city of Mashhad, attracts thousands of pilgrims each day.

The province has also the highest concentration of water parks in the country, and it also embraces a variety of cultural and historical sites which are generally crowded.

Mausoleum of Ferdowsi, the illustrious Persian poet, in Tus is one of the tourist attractions of the region. Many Iranians regard Ferdowsi as the greatest of their poets. Down through the centuries they have continued to read and to listen to recitations from his masterwork, the Shahnameh.

Nashtifan Asbad or ancient Windmills of Nashtifan are vertical-axis windmills that have been in use for several centuries in the Nashtifan region. Such windmills are fueled with strong northern winds blow throughout the year in the eastern parts of the country.

“Asbad is a smart technique to grind grains, a technique which goes back to ancient times when the people living in the eastern parts of Iran, in an attempt to adapt themselves with nature and transform environmental obstacles into opportunities, managed to invent it,” according to UNESCO’s website./T.T/