The Karaftu caves ( fa, کرفتو,) are an ensemble of artificially cut rock chambers located between

Saqqez Saqqez ( ; fa, سقز ; ), also known as Saghez, Saqez, Saqqiz, Saqiz, and Sakīz, is the capital city of Saqqez County in Kurdistan Province, in northwestern Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population was 165,258. Etymology The nam ...

and Divandarreh, Kurdistan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The cave complex dates back to the 3rd or 4th century BC and is of major importance due to its

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

inscription; "one of the very few examples preserved

in situ ''In situ'' (; often not italicized in English) is a Latin phrase that translates literally to "on site" or "in position." It can mean "locally", "on site", "on the premises", or "in place" to describe where an event takes place and is used in ...

" in Iran. Alongside the Bisotun Herakles, it represents one of the only extant Seleucid rock-cut artworks. The rock-cut cave complex dates to the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

era, and likely served as a Seleucid garrison.

UNESCO

This cave was registered as one of Iran's national monuments on February 10, 1940 with registration number 330. Also, this cave was registered in UNESCO's temporary world list on November 15, 2022.Natural-Historical Complex / Cave of Karaftoo
UNESCO

Gallery

Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 01.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 12.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 05.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 03.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 10.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 07.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 14.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 15.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 08.jpg, Karaftu Cave 2019-07-09 16.jpg, کرفتو.jpg,

Notes

References

{{AncientGreekWorld-stub Populated places in Kurdistan Province Landforms of Kurdistan Province Caves of Iran Greek inscriptions Seleucid Empire