TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) –- Russian Daily “Russkaya Gazeta” printed in Moscow, in an article entitled “10 Days Around the Caspian Sea”, narrates the views of a Russian journalist on his trip to the beach cities around the Caspian Sea. “No one has ever thought of spending his holidays in Iran, and if it were not for the Volga Passage Conference, I would not have even thought of the stay.” “On my trip to Bandar Anzali, I found it a highly developed trade zone with no similarity with Russian ports.”

“In Tehran, I was amazed to see it as a modern megacity with skyscrapers. It seems that Tehran is larger than Moscow, but they share the problem of air pollution,” continues the article. “Isfahan enjoys the most tourist attractions in the country. If Tehran is over 200 years old, Isfahan dates back to thousands of years.” “There are not many European tourists in the city, due to the recent U.S.-led war against Iraq, highly damaging the tourism industry of Iran, although it seems that Iranians are not very worried on this score.” “Iran is a developing country and is not dependant on tourism industry. Considering the climate and architecture, Tehran is like Samarqand and Bukhara (presently in Uzbekistan), and the industry of handicraft of the city is also developing.”

“The city enjoys numerous potentials to turn into a tourism site attracting thousands of tourists,” the article concludes.