In These Villages in Iran, Roofs Function As Streets

The Iranian village of Masuleh is carved into the side of a mountain, where roofs serve as streets.

Situated along the Silk Road, in Iran’s Gilan province, the village of Masuleh is one of Iran’s most picturesque location filled with lush greenery and houses that are towered up into billowing mist, stacked as high as possible due to the tough living conditions caused by flooding, strong winds and cold temperatures experienced on lower grounds.

Designed with the unique local climate in mind, the houses in the steep mountainside village are painted bright yellow to ensure that they are visible through the fog.

Masuleh’s architecture is unique, as the buildings here have been built into the mountain and are interconnected. Most extraordinary of all, however, is the village’s ingenious use of public space: there are no marked boundaries, and all rooftops double as courtyards, gardens, and public thoroughfares for the inhabitants on the level above. Terraces are linked to each other by steep winding stairways, narrow alleys, and paths, making the place one massive interconnected, multi-leveled public space that the whole community shares.

Although the staircases are all equipped with a ramp, their only function is to accommodate the wheelbarrows that the locals use for transporting goods. Since the small streets and many stairs simply wouldn’t make it possible for vehicles to enter, Masuleh is actually Iran’s only settlement that is a no-car zone.

The spectacular architecture of Masuleh is known as “The yard of the building above is the roof of the building below”. Buildings are mostly two stories (1st floor and ‘ground’ floor) made of adobe, rods and bole. On the 1st floor, you usually find a small living room, big guest room, hall, winter room, toilet and balcony. On the floor below, a cold closet, barn and stable are located, connected to the upper floor by several narrow steps inside the building.

The village is visited by an ever-increasing number of tourists every year, and the application to list thousand-year-old Masuleh as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is underway.

In the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province of Iran, there is a mountain community by the name Sar Aqa Seyyed which has a very similar architecture. Named after the local Aqa Seyyed shrine, the place is known for its unusual architecture, with its interconnected buildings built into the surrounding mountain. Here, too, the roofs of the buildings serve as courtyards and streets of the buildings above. However, in Sar Aqa Seyyed most homes have no windows and only one door.

Because of the similarity of architecture, the village is called “The Masuleh of Zagros”.

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Apparently, one of the reasons why this town is less known is its geographical position. Sar Aqa Seyyed is located at an altitude of about 2,200 meters above sea level, and access to the town is completely cut off in the middle part of the year. In fact, the town has no road connection to the surrounding towns, since due to the huge amount of rain and snow in autumn and winter, it would not be feasible anyway. So, the village can only be visited in spring and summer, depending on the seasonal weather conditions. The adventurous traveler is paid back by the breathtaking environment and the particular architecture of the town.

Truly amazing places.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4