Located two kilometers north of Duhok city, the site, composed of a cave containing four pillars that give the site its name, along with other open temples, water channels linked to religious ceremonies, and revered drinking spots, carries immense religious importance in the Zoroastrian faith and dates back to the first millennium BC. It is also referred to as the open fire temple.
"The renovation project was launched at the end of April [2023]. The renovation is being carried out by the German WADI organization, with the help of UNESCO, under the supervision of the Duhok Antiquities and Heritage Directorate,” Dr. Ammar Zebari, the supervising engineer said.
Zebari noted that: "Daily, 20, 40 to 50 construction workers work at this site."
“The importance of this project is that it is both a heritage and tourism spot at the same time. The project is 85% close to completion," he said, adding more than $800,000 has been allocated to the site’s renovation.
Charstein has previously been renovated twice by the Kurdish government, once in 1999 and once in 2013.
UNESCO in Iraq, the EU, and some other European NGOs have been supporting the Duhok antiquities authorities in renovating heritage sites and discovering additional ones.
Local Duhok authorities have long been trying to get UNESCO to officially add several archeological sites in the province such as Lalish Temple, the ancient houses of Akre, Halamata cave reliefs, and Charstein to the list of world heritage sites.
According to statistics produced by Duhok’s archeology directorate, 456 archeological sites in the province and 4,000 artifacts are preserved in the Duhok museum.
