Zurkhaneh

As a traditional sport in Iran, Zurkhaneh, a place to practice heroic sports, was registered as an intangible cultural heritage on the UNESCO list. Zurkhaneh is a place to practice sports for not only physical strength and readiness, but also for spiritual sublimation and maturity. This long-held traditional sport in Iran is deeply rooted in both pre-Islamic beliefs and Islamic doctrines, aiming at training some well-built sportsmen who are prepared for battlefields whenever needed and conduct a spiritual life style required for the well-being and welfare of a healthy society. This traditional sport is a combination of martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music; a combination of diverse elements that makes this sport a consummate one.

The roots of this ancient sport can be traced to pre-Islamic period in ancient Persia, with mostly Rostam who was a mythological hero, as a paragon; the ancient society, before modernization, required some prepared skilled battle experts for the potential coming battles. In addition to being a war-preparation sport, this sport adheres to Zoroastrian training that encourages people to enhance their spirituality through both physical and mental growth. This is a training whose traces can be vividly observed n Zurkhaneh as it promotes respect, hospitality, generosity and humbleness as athletes are first expected to be truthful and good-tempered individuals who develop their physical strength as well. With the advent of Islam in Iran, these trainings were infused with Shia moral and religious doctrines and athletes started to prepare themselves physically and spiritually for the time when the imam Zaman emerges to establish peace and justice in the world, so he needs some well-trained warriors to accompany him in his divine mission.

Zurkhaneh, which literally means "the house of strength", is a dome-like structure in which the Persian heroic sport is practiced. Zurkhaneh has an architectural structure that is in harmony with its principles; for instance, the main door through which you enter Zurkhaneh is a low door that forces you to bend down while entering this sacred place. This is a posture to respect the senior sportsmen inside and to promote respect and humbleness, as if you put all your mundane pride and ambition outside. The arena in which the sportsman do their practices is a hexagonal sunken area (called Gowd), about one meter deep in which athletes practice; they do their sports in a lower area compared with others to show their humble position to others. Gowd is surrounded by some stands for spectators to watch the sport and some racks for sports equipment.
In Zurkhaneh, you can see an elevated seat reserved for Morshed, a senior sportsman who accompanies the athletes' practices with playing rhythmic drum and singing Persian poetry. Morshed actually performs a necessary ritual to encourage the sportsmen.

Similar to unique structure and set of beliefs, the equipment belonging to this sport are unique and symbolic. Sportsmen are required to wear a special outfit, a pair of pants stretching to below the knees with some paisley patterns on them; paisley patterns represent the cypress tree, which has long been the symbol of power and resistance in Iranian culture. The athletes use a wooden club (called Mil) to build up their shoulders and arms; this wooden club represents a mace used in wars in the past. Moreover, they use a bow-like equipment (called Kabbadeh to strengthen the upper part of their bodies; Kabbadeh resembles the bows soldiers used to have in ancient time.  The other equipment they use is Stone (called Sang), which represents the shield in ancient wars.