Shushtar (Iran): Historical Hydraulic System

Source - http://iranfrontpage.com/

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is an island city from the Sassanid era with a complex irrigation system. Located in Khuzestan Province, the site was registered on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 2009, as Iran’s 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nation’s list.

Shushtar, Historical Hydraulic System, inscribed as a masterpiece of creative genius,  can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C. It involved the creation  of two main diversion canals on the river Kârun one of which, Gargar canal, is still  in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply  water to mills. It forms a spectacular cliff from which water cascades into a  downstream basin. It then enters the plain situated south of the city where it  has enabled the planting of orchards and farming over an area of 40,000 ha.  known as Mianâb (Paradise) [Credit: Mostafa Gholamnejad/ Tasnim News Agency]

The site dates back to the time of the Achaemenid king Darius the Great in the 5th century BCE. It involves two main diversion canals on the Karun River, one of which, Gargar canal, is still in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply water to mills.

The property has an ensemble of remarkable sites including the Salâsel Castel, the  operation centre of the entire hydraulic system, the tower where the water level is measured,  damns, bridges, basins and mills. It bears witness to the know-how of the Elamites and  Mesopotamians as well as more recent Nabatean expertise and Roman building  influence [Credit: Mostafa Gholamnejad/Tasnim News Agency] The system forms a cliff from which water cascades into a downstream basin and enters south of the city enabling people in Shushtar to plant orchards and create farms over an area of 40,000 hectares.