Bam: a city that shone like an emerald in desert

VIRTUALLY levelled in a devastating earthquake, the historic heart of Bam was one of the wonders of Iran’s cultural heritage, boasting a 2,000-year-old citadel that was the largest mud-brick structure in the world.

Built entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw and the trunks of palm trees, the city’s old quarter dates back to pre-Islamic times, although most of the monuments were from Iran’s modern heyday under the Safavid rulers of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Then, the city occupied six square kilometres, was surrounded by a rampart with 38 towers, and had a population of between 9,000 and 13,000.