TEHRAN – The tourism authorities of the Iranian capital plan to offer special tours during the Noruz holidays, which officially starts on March 21.

Visitors could enjoy one-day tours exploring the historical sites and natural sights of the city, an official with Tehran Municipality said on Sunday.

Free night tours as well as different walking tours will also be offered, Amir Qasemi added.

Moreover, several parks across the city are being prepared to accommodate the travelers, he noted.

Hugging the lower slopes of the magnificent, snowcapped Alborz Mountains, Tehran is much more than a chaotic jumble of concrete and crazy traffic blanketed by a miasma of air pollution. This is the nation's dynamic beating heart and the place to get a handle on modern Iran and what its future will probably be.

The metropolis has many to offer its visitors including Golestan Palace, Grand Bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Carpet Museum of Iran, to name a few.

The first time Tehran is mentioned in historical accounts is in an 11th-century chronicle in which it is described as a small village north of Rey. It became the capital city of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century but later declined with factional strife between different neighborhoods and the Mongol invasion of 1220.

ABU/AM