Kandelous, A Beautiful Village at the Heart of Mazandaran Province’s Thick Forests

This is a beautiful and blessed village at the heart of Mazandaran Province's thick forests and on the foothill of the Alborz Mountain Range. This village is within Kojour district, and is located 75 kilometers southeast of the city of Noshahr, a coastal city of the Caspian Sea. This village is in a mountainous region, in one of the scenic valleys of Alborz Mountain Range. It is situated at an altitude of 1,650 meters above sea-level. The residents of this village speak in Mazandarani language. The village has a dense residential fiber and is located on the mild slope of the foothill. The roads in this village are tortuous and covered with cobblestone. The old houses are mainly two-storey building and are tin-roofed covered with flat pieces or ceramics. Walls made of mud, small balconies, wooden windows, and simple architecture adds to the beauty of this village. The construction materials used in old houses include stones, mud, sun-dried bricks, and wood. But, in the new houses, construction materials such as cement, plaster, bricks, blocks, and iron bars have also been used.   According to the outcome of the consensus in the year 1385 (March 2006-07), the population of this village has been estimated at 2,500 people. The population of this village drops in winter and rises in summer due to its moderate climate. In fact, it is a summer quarter. The residents of this village make a living through farming, animal husbandry, and horticulture. A number of residents are also engaged in the service sector and production of handicrafts. Wheat and barley are the main crops, and apples, peaches and walnuts are the important orchard products of this village. Traditional animal husbandry and breed of poultry are also common in this village. A group of this village's residents, along with farming, produce handicrafts including socks and felt. In the past, weaving carpets and coarse rugs, making chadors, wood industry, and producing metallic tools have been common in this region. The climate and the appropriate geographical location of this village have set the stage for production of different types of flowers and herbs. Production of herbs is one of the important sources of income of the residents of this village. The clothing of the residents of this village resembles that of other rural regions of Mazandaran Province. But, the women of the village wear local clothes such as pleated skirts, shirts, waistcoats and headscarves in special ceremonies. According to findings of archeologists, this village dates back to the third millennium BC. This village has been witness to different civilizations throughout different historical eras and has accommodated signs of pre-historic civilization, as well as Iran's pre- and post-Islam civilization. The existence of Zoroastrian and Manichean graves and cemeteries, and artifacts that have been recovered from different parts of this region go to show the ancient civilization of this region of Mazandaran Province. Naserreddin Shah of the Qajarid Dynasty has referred to this region in his memoirs. The renowned Iranian painter Kamal ol-Molk, who accompanied the Qajarid Shah in this trip, has drawn a painting of this village, which is currently maintained at the Saheb-Qaraanieh Museum Palace.   This village is located in a beautiful valley and has a unique landscape. Farms of herbs with a variety of colors; orchards; ever-green altitudes of Alborz Mountain Range; moderate climate; and mineral water springs; have brought about a special attractiveness and magnificence for Kandelous Village. In addition to its scenic landscape, the existence of two museums of anthropology and herbs has played a major role in the fame and popularity of this village. In this village, which houses warm-hearted and hospitable residents, the two-storey Kandelous Cultural Complex with a 400-meter foundation, has been beautifully and skillfully built on the foothill. Anyone, who enters this building, first of all sees an inscription that describes the incentive behind establishment of this complex and is considered as an ID card, introducing this village's relics and antiques. This cultural complex has been constructed in a bid to promote the original and domestic regional culture, with the design of engineers and help of the village's residents. The objects maintained in this cultural complex have been classified in different sections. The items include textiles; rural clothing and ornaments; statues; traditional and coffee house paintings; metallic and wooden tools and dishes; ceramic objects and dishes; chinaware; rural tools and equipment as of 2nd millennium BC to the Qajarid Era. Hand-written documents and books, hand written volumes of the Holy Qur'an, books of poems, marriage contracts, and instructions are also included in this treasure. In each corner of this cultural complex there are works of art with precise ID Cards and information that have been arranged next to each other in a beautiful and unique manner, and go to show the culture of tribes residing in Mazandaran Province. In other words, this cultural house displays the beauties and history of Mazandaran's regional people. The other tourist attraction site of this village is its herbs museum. This museum was established in 1987 with the goal of cultivating, producing, and packaging herbs and fragrant plants, producing essences and vegetable oils. For the first time in Iran, a botanical museum was founded in an area of ten hectares. This museum has cultivated 250 different types of valuable genetic plants in Iran, producing and supplying different herbs that are exported to different countries across the world.

Source: irib.ir