HERAT CITY (SW): An historical site’s wall collapsed in the western Herat city on Saturday claiming the lives of six people, this however is not the first incident of the sort.
Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, spokesman for the provincial police department said those killed in this tragic incident were pedestrians who happened to be passing the site at the time of the collapse. The historical site is located in Sultan Agha district.
Aria Ofyaan, Head of provincial information and culture department told SW the site named “ Bara” is one of the many heritage sites in Herat that have been subject to continuous wear and tear over the years that eventually resulted the accident.
This is the second incident of this sort in this historical province.
Herat authorities have registered some 700 historical sites that need care and preservation. Some 70 percent of Herat’s historical sites are faced with threats of destruction due to carelessness on the part of authorities, insecurity and other factors.
One among these sites, the The Citadel of Herat also known as the Citadel of Alexander, and locally known as Qala Iktyaruddin is located in the center of Herat. It dates back to 330 BC, when Alexander the Great and his army arrived here.
Many empires have used it as a headquarters in the last 2,000 years, and was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries.
This historic citadel was saved from demolition in the 1950s, and was excavated and restored by UNESCO between 1976 and 1979.From decades of wars and neglect, the citadel began to crumble but in recent years several international organizations decided to completely rebuild it. The National Museum of Herat is also housed inside the citadel, while the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture is the caretaker of the whole premises.
ENDS
