ISFAHAN, May 24 (ABC): The famed river bridges of the Iranian city of Isfahan are a beloved tourist draw — but much of the time their stone arches span just sand and rocks, not water.
Drought and upstream water diversions have seen the Zayandeh Rood, “fertile river” in Persian, run dry since 2000, with only rare exceptions.
Sitting on a quay with two friends, 60-year-old Jalal Mirahmadi gazed with melancholy at the riverbed, which became the site of a farmers’ protest late last year.
“When I was a child, the water flowed under the arches of the bridge and sometimes overflowed to spill into the surrounding streets,” he sighed.
The river runs nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the Zagros Mountains in the west to Lake Gavkhouni in the east, making it the longest waterway in central Iran.
On its way through Isfahan, it meanders under several beautifully crafted bridges from the 17th century, the city’s golden age when it was the Persian capital.
“When the water of Zayandeh Rood flows, the bridges have a special appearance and beauty,” said Ali Mohammad Fassihi of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism.
“These historic bridges are meaningless without water.”
Largely arid Iran, like other nearby countries, has suffered chronic dry spells and heat waves for years, which are expected to worsen with climate change.
Iran is sometimes hit by summertime blackouts when the blistering heat drives up air conditioner use while low rainfall reduces the water reservoirs of hydro-electric dams.
The reduced flow of the Zayandeh Rood, however, is also man-made because much of its water has been diverted to supply neighbouring Yazd province.
Last November, tens of thousands of people, including farmers, gathered in the dry riverbed to complain about the drought and blame officials for diverting water.
Security forces fired tear gas when the protest turned violent and said they arrested 67 people.