Masouleh

Masouleh (in Persan: ماسوله) is a village of the province of the Gilan in Iran. The historical names of the village are Maasalar and Khortab . The village was founded at the 10th century and its current population is estimated at 900 inhabitants.

Geography and climate

Masouleh is to approximately 60 km in the south-west of Rasht and with 25km in the west of Fuman. The village is located 1050 meters at the top of the sea level in the châine of the Elbourz, beside the southern littoral of the Caspian Sea. The village in him even with a unevenness of more than 100 meters.

The fog is the prevalent climate of Masouleh.

Structure

The architecture of Masouleh is single. The buildings were built with mountainside and are connected between them. The courses and the roofs are used as spaces pedestrians in the same way that the streets, since the roof of a house is used as court at the house which is located at the lower part. Masouleh does not authorize the access to the motorized vehicles, because of its single design. It is the only village in Iran to be had such a prohibition. The narrow streets and the many staircases would in any event not make it possible the vehicles to circulate in the village.

The outside of the buildings is covered with clay of ocher/yellow color. That allows better a visibility in the fog.

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