Zurkhaneh – The House of Strength
Pahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e pahlavāni (Persian: آیین پهلوانی و زورخانهای, “heroic sport”) or varzesh-e bāstāni (ورزش باستانی; varzeš-e bāstānī, “ancient sport”), a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia) and adjacent lands. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. Recognized by UNESCO as the world’s longest-running form of such training, it fuses elements of pre-Islamic Persian culture (particularly Zoroastrianism, Mithraism and Gnosticism) with the spirituality of Shia Islamand sufism. Practiced in a domed structure