The 4000 Year Old Iranian Is Dying!
Independent Aggregator of Iran-related News/Events, Kodoom.com: Listed as one of the oldest living organisms in the world, the Iranian cedar of Abarghu (or Abarkuh near Yazd) is dying.
Believed to be the world’s third longest-living organism (tree), locally called Sarv-e Abarqu has a girth of 18 meters measured at a height of 1.30 m. Researchers from Japan and Russia first estimated the tree’s lifespan as old as 8,000 years but more recently sources estimate the tree was germinated around the year 2000 BC ± 100, which makes it around 4019 ± 100 years old (Source). Mostafa Khoshnevis, an Iranian environmentalist, believes the tree is no more than 1200 years old.
Cypress has an ancient, deep-rooted tie with the Iranian history, even in pre-Islamic literature and poetry, as a symbol of happiness, beauty, freedom and pride.
Some legends attribute the tree’s origin to Japheth, the son of Noah, while others believe Zoroaster, the ancient Iranian prophet and spiritual leader, had planted it. In some myths, the tree has been described to have a soul that keeps it standing throughout the centuries.
Mythologies aside, the tree’s longevity has been credited to favorable natural conditions of its location. Nowadays, however, with the expansion of cities and tourist and car traffics, the tree’s natural habitat seems to be in serious danger. According to Khoshnevis, the poor health of the Cedar of Yazd, located in a busy urban park, is due to the impact of tourism traffic on the density, permeability and microorganism activity of the soil.
You can see impressive panoramic images from city of Yazd HERE in Travel section of the website.
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