TEHRAN - Turkey’s consul general in Mashhad, Murad Erkul, has visited some historical and tourism sites in Neyshabur on an informal family trip, local cultural heritage officials said.

Hassan Giyahi, head of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Office of Neyshabur county, said Erkul toured the Shadiyakh site museum and the mausoleum gardens of Omar Khayyam, Attar of Neyshabur and Kamal-ol-Molk.

According to Giyahi, the Turkish consul also visited local handicrafts shops, where he was briefed on the processing of Neyshabur turquoise.

Giyahi said an official visit by Erkul to Neyshabur is expected to take place in the near future, during which ways to facilitate and expand the presence of Turkish tourists in the city will be reviewed.

Erkul said he chose Neyshabur for his first trip outside Mashhad due to his personal interest and the city’s cultural and tourism features.

“Neyshabur is a civilized city with multiple tourism spaces,” he said, adding that he plans to visit the city frequently during his tenure in Iran to benefit from its cultural atmosphere and climate.

Located about 70 km west of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, Neyshabur is one of the country’s historic cities and dates back to the Sasanian period.

It rose to prominence in the 8th century and was destroyed by invasions and earthquakes in the 13th century. Subsequently, a much smaller settlement was established just north of the old city, and the once vibrant metropolis remained underground until a team of Metropolitan Museum excavators arrived in the mid-20th century.

The city was excavated in 1935 by experts from the Middle Eastern art department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Excavators were drawn to the city because of its fame in the Middle Ages when it flourished as a regional capital and was home to many religious scholars. It was also known as an economic center - Neyshabur was on the trade route known as the Silk Road, which ran from China to the Mediterranean Sea, passing through Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey along the way.

In addition, Neyshabur was a source of turquoise and a center for growing cotton, producing cotton textiles as well as several types of fabric incorporating silk. Furthermore, Neyshabur was a source of turquoise and a center for the cultivation of cotton. One of Neyshabur's most unusual products was its edible earth, which was said to have healing properties. At its height between the 9th and 13th centuries, Neyshabur had a population of around 100,000 to 200,000 people and a development covering an area of ​​around six square miles.

AM