Tabas is one of the old and beautiful cities in South Khorasan, which is one of the important destinations for tourism in this province due to its many historical and natural attractions. Tabas used to be a city in Khorasan province, which was handed over to Yazd province in 2001 in some divisions, but in 2012 this city was returned to South Khorasan.

There are spectacular attractions in this city, one of which is the Shah Abbasi Arch or Shah Abbasi Dam. This dam is one of the great examples of Iranian creativity at a time when there was not much technology. This dam is amazingly built between two high walls and every tourist is recommended to visit it. It is said that this dam dates back to the Safavid era and its main task is to control the upstream floods to reach their downstream with less and controlled flow. In this way, low-risk floods pass freely under the arch. But in larger floods, some of the flood volume is stored behind the dam and will slowly pass through. In this way, for hundreds of years, the Abbasi Dam has protected the downstream areas from the floods of the Nahrin River.

To visit Shah Abbasi Dam in Tabas, you have to travel to Kharv village, 27 km away from Tabas city, somewhere near Morteza Ali hot spring. After about 1 hour of walking through a valley with high walls, Morteza Ali hot spring will appear. From here, the walls get closer to each other and a big dam appears shortly after Morteza Ali spring. You will need at least 3 hours to visit Abbasi Dam and you should be ready to walk on the riverbed. For this purpose, bring proper shoes and enough water and food as a precaution.

Mehdi Gholami.