The difficult heritage of the salt men

Today families still live near the salt mine. Are they distant descendants of our salt men? The villagers of Hamzelooh protect the ancient salt mine. Yet life in this salt-rich region is anything but easy. The soil and the drinking water have a very high salt content. Like salty food, the water is not potable.

It is difficult to practice agriculture here. In order to get less salty, drinkable water, it is necessary to dig deep or to build a plant that filters the salt out of the water. Both require know-how and technical means that the villagers cannot finance on their own. For this reason, many families have left the village in recent years to earn their living in the cities.

With a new water supply and new business ideas, people are coming back.

Far away from the stress and hectic of the big cities, but still well connected to Tabriz and Zanjan in terms of transport, this region is still full of potential Nature, culture, tradition - you can still find them here in their authentic form. A team of geologists and hydrologists started the attempt to find water sources, build wells and install a water treatment plant. The aim is to improve the water supply for the inhabitants. First ideas for a tourist and educational center have already been outlined. Visitors from cities, other regions and countries can come to this place and get to know the home of the famous salt men.

Further Information?

Here are some useful links:

• Patrimonial Projects
• Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt: About Brooms
• Projectwebsite of Archäologisches Museum Frankfurt

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