Bam Citadel Devoured by Savage Earthquake

Witnesses at the scene said that a large part of the Bam Citadel, a tourist attraction, has been destroyed as the result of the quake.

The state TV reported that about 100 percent of the world’s largest mud brick buildings have been destroyed in the city. The report also said that about 65 percent of the historical city has been destroyed.

Located in southeastern Iran, 200 kilometers south of Kerman, the ruined city of Arg-e-Bam has been made entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw and the trunks of palm trees.

The city was originally founded during the Sassanid era (224-651 B.C.) and while some of the surviving structures date from before the 12th century, most of what remains was built during the Safavid era (1502-1722).

During Safavid times, the city covering six square kilometers, was surrounded by a rampart with 38 towers, and had between 9000 and 13,000 inhabitants.

Bam prospered because of pilgrims visiting its Zoroastrian fire temple (dating to early Sassanid times) and as a commercial and trading center on the famous Silk Road.

Upon the site of the Zoroastrian temple, the Friday Mosque of the city was built during the Saffarid dynasty (866-903) and adjacent to this mosque is the tomb of Mirza Naeem, a mystic and astronomer who lived three hundred years ago.

Bam declined in importance following an invasion by Afghans in 1722 and by another invasion by invaders from the region of Shiraz in 1810. The city was used as a military base until 1932 and then completely abandoned. Intensive restorations had been carried on the historical monument 1953.

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