UNESCO and the Government of Iraq signed a Memorandum of Understanding on June 2007, for the reconstruction of the Al-Askari Holy Shrine which were badly damaged by two attacks.

The Al-Askari Shrine of Imam Hadi (AS) and Imam Hassan Askari (AS) in Samarra are located 120 kilometers north of Baghdad. An explosion on February 22, 2006 caused the collapse of the Al-Askari Shrine’s golden dome, and another explosion on June 13, 2007 destroyed two 36 meter high minarets of the Al-Askari Shrine.

“I submitted three designs to the UNESCO office in Tehran this summer from which the third was accepted,” he said, adding that he later submitted the design to be approved by the Reconstruction Center for Iraqi Shia Religious Sites.

“The marble design with a length of 400 meters and a width of 70cm will cover the interior walls of the shrine. The design bears the traditional Iranian art forms of calligraphy, miniature and illumination. It also bears the name of Imam Hussein (AS) and his 72 companions,” he explained.

“My previous design that I submitted for the entry way to the Imam Hussein (AS) Holy Shrine was enthusiastically received by officials from Ardebil in north-western Iran. “The project is now under construction at a site some 3km from the entrance to the city,” he remarked.

The officials are planning to invite Iraqi officials to visit the site after completion of the project is, and if agreement is reached, the same design will be implemented for entrance of the Imam Hussein (AS) Holy Shrine, Heidari concluded.

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