TEHRAN – - The number of foreign visitors to Ardebil’s heritage museums jumped some 97 percent during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21), corresponding to the same period last year.

“A total of 381,710 people toured Ardebil’s heritage museums during the first seven months of the year, of whom 10,872 were foreign nationals,” provincial tourism chief Nader Fallahi said, CHTN reported on Saturday. 

The official put the total number of visitors and foreign visitors at 270,725 and 5,516 respectively for the same period in the past year, saying “the number of foreign visits to museums has jumped 97.1 percent year on year.”

Sprawling on a high, windswept plateau, Ardebil is well-known for having lush natural beauties, hospitable people and its silk and carpet trade tradition, it is also home to the UNESCO-registered Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble.

AFM/MG