The Persian Qanats is registered on UNESCO’s list of World Cultural Heritage in 2016. There are eleven qanats in this list representing the intelligence and skills of the builders. A qanat or the Persian name of it, Kariz refers to magnificent underground structures acted like horizontal tunnels to transport underground water from the mother well to the surface for irrigation and other consumes. The word Qanat is derived from Kene which means digging in Persian. Traditionally qanats are built by a group of skilled workers called labourers or (muqannīs or Karizgar). Historically, the occupation was respected by the peoples, they were paid well and it was typically handed down from father to son.
There are different structures related to this system including the rest area for workers, water reservoirs and watermills. Each Qanat includes an almost horizontal tunnel (underground river) with a gentle slope that partly cuts through the aquifer, collecting water from an underground water source with a series of wells to an alluvial fan. The well shafts are sunk at regular intervals along the horizontal tunnel to enable removal of alluvium and allow ventilation.
Here is the list of UNESCO registered Persian Qanats:
- Ghasabe qanat of Gonabad, Khorasan Razavi it is probable to be the oldest qanat in the world with more than 2500 years old.
- Baladeh qanats of Ferdows, Khorasan Razavi has a considerably different method for water distribution.
- Zarch qanat, Yazd, is the longest qanat in the world with 71 Kilometer length.
- Hassan Abad Moshir qanat, Yazd, for its high volume and good quality of water.
- Goharriz qanat, Kerman, registered for its volume of water supply.
- Akbarabad qanat and Ghasemabad qanat, Kerman, the twin qanats of Iran.
- Moun qanat, Isfahan, registered for being the only doubled-decked qanat in the world,
- Vazvan qanat and Mozdabad qanat, Isfahan, two magnificent qanats with underground dam
- Ebrahimabad qanat, Markazi, registered for its conical shape of the qanat.
The qanats provide exceptional testimony to an amazing system of managing water source and civilizations in warm and arid areas.