Experts who are painstakingly rebuilding the Bam citadel after an earthquake destroyed it a decade ago say Iran's architectural masterpiece will never return to its past glory but are hopeful they will restore some of it.
A thousand kilometres southeast of Tehran, the pre-Islamic desert citadel was the largest adobe monument in the world made of non-baked clay bricks.
But it was reduced to rubble on December 26, 2003, when it was hit by a major quake that killed 26,000-32,000 people, according to various estimates.
"Bam will never be rebuilt exactly the way it was," said Afshin Ebrahimi, the manager of the reconstruction project.
The citadel can be traced back to the sixth century BC but reached its apogee from the seventh to 11th centuries as it sat on the crossroads of the Silk Road and other trade routes.
A decade after the quake, only part of the massive site has been rebuilt, while wooden scaffoldings are propped up against most of it and gaping holes can be seen along the outer walls.
"We are not aiming at rebuilding the citadel as it was before the quake. We can never do that," Ebrahimi, who is carrying out the work for Iran's culture and heritage authorities, told AFP.
"The quake, like the local architecture, is part of our history," he said, adding that certain parts of the citadel would be rebuilt while others would merely be stabilised, to reflect the past disaster.
Two rows of arches located a hundred meters (yards) from the entrance give visitors a glimpse inside the work being done. On one side they can see the original architecture and on the other the renovation.
More than 100 people work on the site each day, alongside 20 Iranian experts and others who have come to lend a hand from France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Japan contributed USD 500,000 through UNESCO, and provided equipment to clear the rubble and carry out restoration work.
"We are the best equipped team in the world," said Ebrahimi.
