The Arg-e Bam is one of the largest adobe structures in the world and arguably the most impressive earthen architecture on the planet. Built over two thousand years and expanded and elaborated through the Sassanid, Islamic, and Safavid periods, the citadel covered an area of roughly 200,000 square metres at its peak — a complete walled city with bazaars, residential quarters, a mosque, a governor's palace, watchtowers, and the great citadel keep rising above everything. It was occupied until the early 19th century, when it was abandoned following a siege.
What the 2003 earthquake left was ruins. What reconstruction has produced since then is something remarkable: craftsmen working with traditional tools and materials, rebuilding walls and vaults using centuries-old techniques, guided by archaeological evidence and satellite imagery of the pre-earthquake structure. The site is open to visitors and you can walk through sections that are fully reconstructed, sections under active reconstruction, and sections that remain as stabilised earthquake ruins. The contrast between the three states tells the story of the disaster and the recovery simultaneously. The view from the upper citadel across the surrounding date palm oases to the desert beyond is extraordinary.