In the Central District of Osku County, East Azarbaijan Province, Iran, Sahand Rural District, which is 60 kilometers southwest of Tabriz, is home to Kandovan Village. It is well-known for its spectacular, volcanically formed rocky architecture and hand-carved structures.

The hamlet has a distinguished international reputation and is the only rocky village in the world that is still inhabited. It was added to Iran's National Heritage List. The globe has two other uninhabited cliff settlements with comparable architecture: Cappadocia in Turkey and Dakota in America.

Etymology

Kandovan got its name because the village's rocky homes resemble bee hives. The first settlers in the area, according to Kandovan's history, were reportedly people from Hilevar, a village 2 kilometers away. They moved here to flee the Mongols and began to cut the Karans to create a secure haven for themselves.

Architecture

This charming village has a history that goes back 6000 years. Some archeological studies put its age as high as 7000 years old.

One of the attractions of the settlement is the architecture; in some spots, the walls' thickness approaches two meters. The rock serves as an energy-efficient building material, keeping the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. These rocks stand at a height of roughly 40 meters.

This settlement is surrounded by sharp pyramidal cliffs that were formed by volcanic eruptions in the Sahand Mountain Range and have holes on their uneven surfaces. The cliffs are shaped like honeycomb cells, sometimes referred to as Karan. Most of these Karans are typically two stories, but occasionally they have three or even four levels that are separate from one another from the interior.

Every room in the cliff houses, including the kitchens, hallways, and even the pens, was chiseled out of stone by the residents to serve as windows and eventually to hold decorative glasses.

Village

The Kandovan has a fantastic climate, a lot of flora, and beautiful scenery because it is situated on the Sahand Mountain slopes. The region's fertile plains give nomads the opportunity to raise medicinal herbs and honey bees, two lucrative cash crops for the locals. The majority of the residents of this village are farmers and ranchers.

There are currently 117 households residing in the village, making it the only rocky settlement in the world that is still inhabited. The community's amenities include a mosque, a public bath, a school, a mill, gift stores, a buffet, and a restaurant.