This cultural landscape is located in the Alborz Mountains in northern Iran, in the transitional zone between the Hyrcanian Forests and the arid highlands. It is a bowl-shaped area that extends around the historic city of Masouleh. The landscape has been shaped by nomadic and then semi-nomadic pastoralism over millennia, as well as by ancient mining, smelting and blacksmithing activities. The strategic location of Masouleh along important communication routes, yet protected by the steep terrain, turned the area into a refuge for populations from different regions in the plains and into a trading centre. Two living traditions, the semi-nomadic Taleshi herders and sedentary craftspeople and traders, coexist in the historic city of Masouleh.