Iran’s historical city Masouleh is to be announced as UNESCO Historical Heritage Site in September 2015. A heritage tourism site, Masouleh is visited by thousands of tourists every year with a population of 554 individuals from 180 families according to the 2006 census. Although the town has been entered in the National Heritage List of Iran in 1975 but the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has not finalized its registration in the list of World Heritage Sites yet.
In 2003, a delegation of experts from the UNESCO visited the town and documented the historical features of the place for registration procedure followed by the visit of UNESCO’s regional envoy in 2010 and the launch of an office for registration in 2011 but after years of bureaucracy the result has not been achieved.
The historical town of Masouleh, having an attractive nature and a wonderful architecture with an antiquity of more than 1000 years, is situated at a distance of 35 km from Fooman and 60 km from Rasht, and 1050 m. above the Caspian Sea. Masouleh is registered as historical towns in the historical & cultural heritage register under the number 1090.
This beautiful complex, remained from history with traditions, manners and customs, handicrafts, and many natural and historical sites, is the host of thousands of eager guests and travelers every year.
Masouleh is a city in and the capital of Sardar-e Jangal District, in Fuman County, Gilan Province, Iran. The village itself has a difference in elevation of 100 meters. Its population has declined since the latter half of the 20th century, reducing from 3,500 to 900 at the turn of the century. The native people of Masouleh speak Talesh, a Northwestern Iranian language spoken in the northern regions of Gilan, Ardebil and the southern regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Masouleh-Rudkhan is the river passing through the village with a waterfall 200 meters away from the village. Many other springs are also found around Masouleh which is surrounded by dense forests from valley to mount. Fog is predominate weather feature of Masouleh. Due to its location, the climate of Masouleh village is different from much of Iran. Warm, moist air blowing southwest from the Caspian is blocked by the Alborz Mountains, creating heavy precipitation and fog on the seaward side of the mountains (this ecoregion is known as the Caspian and Hyrcanian Mixed Forests). Further inland, the landward side of the Alborz receives very little rainfall and rapidly becomes arid.
