Iran seeking to attract millions of Chinese travelers, ex-envoy says

TEHRAN - Tehran’s ex-ambassador to Beijing has said Iran is seeking to become a tourist destination for millions of potential travelers from China as the two countries are working on a 25-year comprehensive cooperation plan that includes boosting relations in the field of tourism. 

Gigantic park of anthropology being built near Tehran

TEHRAN – Construction of a gigantic anthropological park, which turns the spotlight of everyday life, traditions, and rituals of a variety of Iranian tribes, has reached its final phase in Karaj, a city some 30 km westward Tehran.

In Focus: Grand Bazaar of Kerman

As one of the oldest trading centers in Iran, the grand Bazaar of Kerman embraces a variety of mazes, intersections, entrances, and passageways.

Iran extends ban on group tours in bid to contain coronavirus   

TEHRAN – Iran has decided to extend a ban on inbound group tours as the country is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri said on Sunday. However, travel agencies can organize business tours for individuals, he added, ISNA reported.

Rare Mandaean bowls put on show at Tehran museum

TEHRAN – A select of rare bowls belonged to ancient Mandaean followers dating from 4th to 7th centuries CE are on show at an online exhibition in Tehran.

Museum featuring splendid Sassanid column capitals inaugurated in western Iran

TEHRAN – A museum dedicated to stone column capitals lavishly carved in the Sassanid era (224–651) was opened to the public on Thursday in Kermanshah province, western Iran.

Iran reassures EASA about county’s “safe” airspace

TEHRAN – Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization has dismissed a recent alert issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency that warns airlines about flying over the Iranian airspace, reassuring the agency about the country’s “safe” airspace.

Open-air museum being set up featuring millennia-old relics in northeast Iran

TEHRAN – A new round of restoration work is due to commence on Tepe Rivi, which has so far yielded magnificent remains of the Bronze Age up to the Sassanid period.

Historical mansion being restored into manuscript museum

TEHRAN – The second season of restoration work has been started on Birjandi Historical House in a bid to turn the centuries-old mansion to a top manuscript museum in Borujerd, Lorestan province, western Iran.

Newly unearthed workshops may push back history of Isfahan by millennia

TEHRAN – Archaeologists have unearthed the ruins of two workshops, estimated to date from the Parthian era (247 BC – 224 CE), in Isfahan in a significant discovery that may push back the history of the central Iranian city in time by millennia.

Visit Jameh Mosque of Ardestan one of earliest Islamic structures in central Iran 

TEHRAN - The Jameh Mosque of Ardestan, which is named after an ancient oasis town of the same name in central Iran, is of high historical importance as it incorporates successive architectural styles of the Sassanids, Buyids, Seljuks, and Safavids.

Veteran tour guide donates Seleucid coins to museum

TEHRAN – A veteran Iranian tour guide has donated seven ancient coins, minted by Seleucids, to the Khorasan Great Museum, the museum director announced on Monday.

Aqueduct heritage in west-central Iran ‘very complex and interesting’, senior archaeologist says

TEHRAN – The ruins of some 100 qanats (subterranean aqueducts), which are stretched beneath the Buin Zahra plain, west-central Iran, along with their associated cultural heritage are “very complex and interesting”, a senior Iranian archaeologist has said.

Carpet-weaving, most common home job in Jiria

A couple weaves a carpet with specific pattern on an old loom installed at their home in the small village of Jiria, Farahan county, central Markazi province, on July 9, 2020.

IranAir to resume Istanbul flights after five-month halt over virus pandemic

TEHRAN – Iran’s flag carrier Homa, known internationally as IranAir, is scheduled to resume Tehran-Istanbul flights following some five months of suspension over the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Iran’s proposal welcomed at COMCEC tourism meeting

TEHRAN – Iran’s proposal concerning the revival of domestic travels in the era of coronavirus has been welcomed at a recent webinar of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC), which is affiliated with the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation.

Travel industry set to reflect true image of Iran’s safety, capability

TEHRAN – Iran has been taking major efforts to guarantee the safety of foreign travelers and reflect a true image of the country and its capacities in the tourism sector, deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri said on Saturday.

Iran eyes to attract more travelers from Turkey

TEHRAN – Iranian travel agencies plan to offer stimulus packages and hold familiarization tours for Turkish agencies, tour operators, journalists, and influencers in a bid to attract more travelers from the neighboring country.

Visit 17th-century museum-like factory in Isfahan

TEHRAN – “Assarkhane” is a Persian word equivalent to a traditional oil-extracting factory where special mills are/were used to grind stuff such as stones, turmeric, and pepper. There were many Assarkhanes operational in every corner of Iran in the time of yore.

Restoration project starts on Bronze-Age objects found in northeast Iran

TEHRAN – A restoration and rehabilitation project has been commenced on 20 Bronze-Age relics which have recently been excavated by a team of Iranian and German archaeologists at Tepe Rivi, an ancient hill in northeastern North Khorasan province.

17th-century masterpiece of Persian architecture undergoes urgent restoration

TEHRAN – Segments of Si-o-Se-Pol, the 17th-century bridge widely known as a masterpiece of Persian architecture, has undergone urgent restoration in Isfahan, central Iran.

Thorough research sheds new light on 21 ancient sites across central Iranian plateau

An aerial photo shows the ruins of a millennia-old human settlement, which along with 20 others, has recently been identified during what is called the ‘most extensive’ systematic field research so far conducted in the central Iranian plateau, July 6, 2020. 

Rice planting commences at paddy fields in Alamut

Farmers plant rice seedlings on paddy fields across Alamut, a semi-mountainous region in Qazvin province, west-central Iran, July 5, 2020.

Iran, ITC developing national tourism export strategies

TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy tourism chief has said that the social, wildlife, historical, cultural, and medical realms of tourism have been selected for the ongoing cooperation between Iran and the International Trade Centre (ITC) in the way of developing the national tourism export strategies for the Islamic Republic.

Lorestan province to hold fam tour despite pandemic

TEHRAN – Lorestan tourism department is scheduled to hold a familiarization tour in a bid to promote traveling to the western province.

Archaeological survey identifies 205 relics, ancient sites in Kerman

TEHRAN – A total of 205 relics and ancient sites have been identified during an archaeological survey in Kuhbanan, the southeastern Kerman province, suggesting that the region has long been a hub for Tutia (vitriol) production and the main corridor for human migration into the eastern parts of the Asian continent.

By Seyed Hossein Hosseiniseddiq

Tanour: A traditional bread baking system in Iran

Bread is known as the blessing of the table and is the predominant food of most Iranians. The aroma of fresh bread will multiply the human appetite. In Islam, the value of this divine blessing is so great that even its crumbs are respectable.

Tehran to host major carpet exhibit in Sept. despite coronavirus concerns

TEHRAN – Tehran will host an international carpet exhibition in September as the event had been postponed for some three months over coronavirus concerns.

Photo: IRNA / Raheleh Hesari

Passed down from generation to generation: Turkmen jewelry designs 

An Iranian craftswoman makes a final inspection on traditional handmade necklaces in her home, which is also house to a small family workshop for crafting personal ornamentations, in Turkmen Sahra, a region in the northeast of Iran near the Caspian Sea, June 30, 2020. 

Museum, featuring objects from 5th BC onwards, inaugurated in northern Iran

TEHRAN – On Thursday, a cultural heritage museum, featuring relics from 5th BC to the contemporary era, was officially inaugurated in the premises of the Ramsar Palace Museum, in Mazandaran province, northern Iran.