Wooden Village

The Wooden Village (دهکده چوبی نیشابور) is located in Neyshabur in Khorasan and is a unique attraction of the area engineered by Mr. Mojtahedi. The entire village has been made of wood and has used modern techniques in historical and cultural designs appropriate for the region. The village consists of a museum, library, restaurant, stores, bakery, mosque, gazebos and open green space.  

A two storied wooden building sits adjacent to the mosque, spanning 120 sq. meters and with double layered walls. The first floor of this building is a museum while the second floor is allocated to a library. The restaurant is in the shape of a 200 sq. meter octagon and can comfortably seat 130-140 people. The village has a total of 5 shops, all in the shape of a hexagon. While these shops have a wooden skeletal structure, their outside has been plastered with clay mortar thus giving it a slightly different appearance. The bakery has two wood burning stoves and prepares fresh bread the traditional way. The main difference setting aside the bakery from the other buildings is its chimney in the shape of a lady holding a basket of bread on her head.  

The mosque was originally built in 1946 and after sustaining partial and gradual damage was reconstructed in 1999. It covers 200 sq. meters and is the first wooden mosque to be designed to resists earthquakes up to 8 richters. Another unique feature of the mosque is that it has a sloped roof instead of a dome and slightly sloped walls. Its minarets are each 13 meters tall and are accessible via ladders. In fact from a distance the mosque resembles a flipped ship. The construction of the mosque took 2 years and 40 tons of lumber was utilized.  

One of the biggest challenges of constructing and maintaining this village was overcoming the threat from the high number or termites in the area. Many precautions have been taken in this field, many of which had already been successfully tested on the engineer’s local residence which after 20 years still shows minimal termite damage. To protect the structures from other natural threats such as rain or extreme sunlight, a special type of outdoor lumber has been used.  

The main goal for creation of this astonishing village has been to increase tourist activity in the region and judging by the response thus far this has been hugely successful.