Keeping history and community rock solid
Content submitted by – Lili
Submited Date : 28/06/2018
Ali Heydari

I am Ali Heydari, fifth and last child of my family, and this is my story…. In fact, we are three families living together. I am from Iran, Khuzestan province, Dasht Azadegan, Bardye village. I am a member of the Iranian ecology network and active in tourism. So much of who we are is reflected in the buildings around us. This is why this place matters to me. The type of structure called Mozif dates back to Sumerian age. Unfortunately, this is the last exact construction. It was destroyed thirty years ago. For the past eight years we have thought of rebuilding it. It was built by residents of this area so long ago, and until today, and it has been visited by many people. Knowing it had a special meaning, we prepared it as a tourist attraction. We worked hard to make sure that the stories of its history, its traditions, were preserved. Slowly, we started to introduce it to our countrymen and people from abroad and make them familiar with an old structure. The building is unique in the province, its construction having been ceased long ago in southwest Iran. Our activities include providing lodging for tourists, local food, traditional music and dance and Arabic coffee. We do what we can to make their visit to this area comfortable, wishing them to stay as long as possible, to learn as much as possible. Cup custom, which is unique and complex, is also presented. We prepare Arabian coffee with traditional equipment and serve it to our visitors. Besides all of this, we can arrange for visitors to visit three international wetlands Shadegan, Hour-al-Azim and Hour- al-Hoveyzeh. We can also have bird watching tours and ecotourism tours in the desert and protected area. Our greatest challenge is the skies. There is no specific problem that we face except the weather. It is hot with high humidity five months a year. For this reason, in that period we cannot serve our visitors inside Mozif. The Mozif has revived as a place to see, and has become one of the greatest tourism destinations our country has to offer. Mozif is listed as a national site. We are happy that we introduced it. It is because of Mozif that I am a tour guide. Tourists are conscious of change after they visit our area. They get better and clearer ideas about the locals and their ways of life. Many tourists from abroad prefer to find residence here instead of five star hotels. We are glad that sustainable tourism is developing in this area. Tourists’ satisfaction is our best happiness. Our goal is to be friendly to them so that they can rest and enjoy their visit.