SHOUSH, Khuzestan Prov. Some 55 Italian and French tourists visited historical sites in Shoush on Tuesday. Director general of the provincial Cultural Heritage Office Gholamali Bagheban-Kuchak told IRNA here on Tuesday that the tourists visited ancient hills, `Apadana' palace, ruins of the palace of Dariush I, castle of Shahi City and Chaghazanbil Temple. Bagheban-Kuchak said that number of foreign tourists visiting Iranian historical and religious sites has considerably increased following president Mohammad Khatami's call for dialog among civilizations.

He said that a total of 814 tourists from the U.S., Britain, Italy, France, Ireland, Spain and Asia have visited ancient city of Shoush during the last two months. More than 200,000 Iranian and foreign tourists visited the city last year. (IRNA)