TEHRAN (IFILM) -- Yakhchal is a Qajar-era mudbrick ice storage that was mainly built and used in Persia.
Some of the Yakhchals that still remain standing can be found in the northcentral Iranian city of Garmsar in Semnan Province
They have been repurposed into a museum to preserve the historical structure of the monument.
Yakhchal-e Qatul was used to supply ice slabs to the neighboring towns and villages for decades.
Above ground, the structure had a domed shape with a subterranean storage space. It was used to store food as well.
When there was no electricity, no refrigerators, and no appliances, people kept a huge amount of water next to the high walls of Yakhchal, which cast a shadow that kept the water cool.
The water turned into ice during the wintertime. Then, people cut the ice into many portable parts and put them in the ice house and covered the surface of the ice with special local grass.
The Yakhchal of Qatul has been inscribed on the National Heritage list.