Kandolus () is a village in Zanus Rastaq Rural District of

Kojur District Kojur District () is in Nowshahr County, Mazandaran province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Pul. History After the 2006 National Census, the village of Pul was elevated to the status of a city. After the 2011 census, the village of Ko ...

Nowshahr County Nowshahr County () is in Mazandaran province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Nowshahr. History After the 2006 National Census, the village of Pul was elevated to the status of a city. After the 2011 census, the village of Kojur Kojur ...

Mazandaran province Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is bordered clockw ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The village is located in the

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

mountain range in the along the Zanos valley in North of Iran .

History

Kandolus is recognized as one of the oldest human settlements in the Mazandaran province. The village also has a

Qajar era The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

bathhouse. The Museum of Anthropology, abundant waterfalls, the Museum of Medicinal Plants, the old bathhouse that dates back to the Qajar era, and handicrafts and souvenirs are among the other attractions that have caused this village to be nominated for registration on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the village had a population of 115 individuals in 45 households. There were 915 people in 273 households in the following 2011 census. The 2016 census recorded a population of 1,092 residents in 378 households. It was the most populous village in its rural district.

Museums

The Kandolus Anthropology Museum Anthropology Museum is one of the non-governmental museums of Mazandaran province, which was established between 1981 and 1988. The museum is the result of the efforts of Dr. Ali Asghar Jahangiri, a resident of this village who spent his childhood in Kandolus It houses diverse collection of artifacts such as agricultural tools, paintings, pottery, and utensils dating from the second millennium BCE to the Qajar period. Additionally, the museum preserves written materials, such as

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

, books, copies of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, poetry collections, marriage contracts, and various official decrees. Founded in 1986 by the Kandolus Agricultural Complex, the Museum of Medicinal Plants (also known as the

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

) was established in order to cultivate, breed, produce, and package medicinal and aromatic plants and extract plant essences and oils.

Global recognition

In 2023, Mehdi Bahvarand, an official from the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, announced that Kandolus was nominated as one of the eight Iranian villages being considered for the title of Global Village, awarded by the

World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

(

UNWTO The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

). This recognition highlights a village's cultural and historical value. Mohammad Valipour, head of the

Cultural Heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by socie ...

Handicrafts A handicraft is a traditional main sector of craft making and applies to a wide range of creative and design activities that are related to making things with one's hands and skill, including work with textiles, moldable and rigid material ...

, and Tourism Department of Noshahr, has confirmed that the village's dossier has been submitted to the

UNESCO World Heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Notes

References

External links

Kandelous website
Populated places in Nowshahr County Tourist attractions in Mazandaran province {{Nowshahr-geo-stub