Heritage Protection Service
Office of the Governor of Irad
Heritage Protection Service
State Register of Monuments of History and Culture
State Emblem of Irad
Attention! Kara-Suu Canyon mouth: excavation site closed to visitors, no photography (permit No. 07/2026) · Rabat-i-Safed winter hours from 1 November: 10:00-16:00 · Finds of church property made before 1992 must be declared within ten days · Drones prohibited over Cathedral Hill, Iyık Janyl

Questions and answers

Answers to the questions the Service is asked most often by owners of old houses, finders, guides, film crews and visitors.

Owners and works

How do I find out whether my house is a monument or in a protection zone?

Search the State Register on this site; only part of it is published online. For a certain answer ask for an extract on form HPS-1 at office 3. Extracts are issued within ten working days.

Do I need approval to repair my house in the Old City of Talas?

Not for ordinary repairs in the same form and materials. Extra storeys, new openings in street walls, metal roofs, signs, satellite dishes and demolition need the Service's written approval on form HPS-3. See Order No. 6 of 2021.

How long does the Service take to answer an application?

Thirty days for works on monuments and for letters; ten working days for extracts from the Register.

Can I apply online?

Not yet. Print the form, sign it and bring it to the Service, or send it by post. Copies by fax are accepted only for declarations of finds.

Finds and excavations

I have found an old cross in my field. What must I do?

If it is church property made before 1992, declare it to the Service within ten days on form HPS-5, or hand it in at any Gendarmerie post against a receipt. Do not dig further at the place. You will receive a quarter of its valuation.

Can I keep a find if I declare it?

No. Finds of church property made before 1992 are state property until claimed. The finder receives a quarter of the valuation instead.

May I use a metal detector?

Not at registered monuments or in their protection zones without an excavation permit, and never at old chapel sites.

When must excavation permit applications be made?

By 1 March for the season of that year, on form HPS-2. Rescue excavations may be permitted at any time. Season reports are due by 1 February of the following year.

Visiting monuments

May I take photographs at monuments?

For private use, at most monuments, yes. Each Register entry shows the rule for that monument. Photography is not permitted at excavations, in the occupied ravine cells or inside the Church of St. Janyl during services.

We want to film at a monument. What do we need?

A filming permit on form HPS-7, applied for at least ten working days ahead; at the Church of St. Janyl also the written consent of the archeparchy. Drones need a separate permit and are never allowed over Cathedral Hill.

When is Rabat-i-Safed open and what does it cost?

Daily 9:00–18:00; November to March 10:00–16:00. The ticket is 20 som.

Why are some sites not in the Register?

Only part of the Register is published online; extracts for the rest are issued on request. Sites on the tribal side of the Qara-Chik line are not entered: the Service does not work beyond the line.