Afshin Majlesi

Total:209

  • A traditional rustic cottage in Gilan province, northern Iran. 2020-10-02 19:15

    By Afshin Majlesi

    What are the opportunities for rural tourism in Iran?

    Dotted with tens of thousands of ancient villages, rural tourism perfectly suits the trend of many inbound and even domestic vacationers who are seeking unique natural experiences, unspoiled landscapes, stay in authentic accommodation, and feel local lifestyles.

  • ‘Domus’ Eyes on Iran’ released by Italian Embassy 2020-10-02 19:08

    ‘Domus’ Eyes on Iran’ released by Italian Embassy

    TEHRAN - On October 2, the premises of the Italian ambassador’s residence in Tehran witnessed the inauguration of the latest series produced by the Italian Embassy, entitled “Domus’ Eyes on Iran”.

  • Ready for a time travel? Just cross the threshold of Zaman Museum in Tehran 2020-09-27 23:56

    Ready for a time travel? Just cross the threshold of Zaman Museum in Tehran

    TEHRAN – In lots of places, “time” is just a self-evident concept people designed, and the universe really does not verify that seconds, minutes, or hours really exist. A day on earth is directly measured by the stances of the Sun.

  • World Tourism Day: COVID-19 makes a big difference 2020-09-26 20:37

    By Afshin Majlesi

    World Tourism Day: COVID-19 makes a big difference

    September 27th is a special day for potential travelers and all tourism insiders: It’s World Tourism Day! However, for the first time in the 40-year history of the occasion, it will be held this year with a big difference amid the deep global economic recession, job losses, halted flights, as well as lockdowns and closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Iranian psychologist and globetrotter Mohammad Moghadamshad poses for a photo while in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2020. 2020-09-25 21:01

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Meet Iranian man who couch-surfs around the world in his wheelchair

    TEHRAN - Mohammad Moghadamshad, 44, has been suffering from a genetic muscle condition since he was 20. He is developing muscular dystrophy, an incurable condition that ultimately weakens body muscles over time, to some extent that endangers the functioning of the lungs and heart.

  • Vacations on the edge: a glance of war tourism in Iran 2020-09-20 23:17

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Vacations on the edge: a glance of war tourism in Iran

    On one hand, even talking about war is bitter, particularly for those who went to the second-longest war of the 20th-century after the Vietnam War. On the other, walking through former battlefields or visiting war ruins and relics at a museum may give you a profound impression over the grimy face of war, and deeper insight to whom once involved in the battle.

  •  A combination photo campares, Hafezieh, the mouselim of illusterios Persian poet Hafez in Shiraz, southern Iran, in March 2019 (R) with one picture captured in March 2020. The major tourist destination is deserted over coronavirus fears. 2020-09-18 23:15

    'Smart, responsible traveling' should replace ‘do not travel' recommendations: tourism minister

    TEHRAN – Iranian Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Ali Asghar Munesan has said that if coronavirus-related restrictions persist, the tourism industry of the country will suffer irreparable losses and many tourism insiders will be bankrupt, adding it’s time to replace “smart and responsible traveling” with “do not travel” recommendations.

  • Masuleh, a scenic village where roofs and yards become one 2020-09-16 19:28

    By Afshin Majlesi 

    Masuleh, a scenic village where roofs and yards become one

    With at least a millennium of history, Masuleh is one of the most famous and spectacular villages in Iran.

  • The future of travel in Iran 2020-09-09 19:18

    By Afshin Majlesi

    The future of travel in Iran

    Ubiquitous face masks, partitions, social distances, customer-service protocols, not-yet-fulfilled refunds, and self-quarantined at home on a mass scale, as well as closed borders, canceled events, and changing policies challenge tourism industry insiders to forecast what the lingering impact of the novel coronavirus could be on the way we travel.

  • An undated photo of Ra’is Ali Delvari, a hero of the anti-colonial struggle in southern Iran, surrounded by his comrades.  2020-09-02 20:14

    By Afshin Majlesi

    On the occasion of national day against British colonialism

    Shahrivar 12th (which falls on Sept. 2 this year) marks the national day against British colonialism in Iran, remembering the martyrdom anniversary of Ra’is Ali Delvari, the great hero of the anti-colonial struggle in southern Iran.

  • Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan speaks in an undated photo. 2020-08-27 02:09

    Nonzero: only 74 international travelers visit Iran during spring

    TEHRAN – The number of foreign travelers to Iran has drastically plunged due to the global coronavirus pandemic as the Islamic Republic registered only 74 visits during the spring season.

  • A traveler looks at a massive rock-hewn tomb where a Persian Achaemenid king is laid to rest at the necropolis of Naqsh-e Rostam in southern Iran. 2020-08-22 20:34

    By Afshin Majlesi

    A peek into cemetery tourism in Iran

    Tourism is one of the fastest-growing phenomena in our modern world. It always makes new changes to have unforgettable experiences, to create new travel motivators, and to reach new markets. Such a trend results in new tourist spots which were unthinkable only a few years ago!

  • A painting by French architect Pascal Coste, who visited Isfahan in c. 1840, depicts the main courtyard and two iwans of the Imam Mosque (then the Shah Mosque) in the central Iranian city. 2020-08-22 00:04

    By Afshin Majlesi

    On the occasion of World Mosque Day

    Fifty-one years ago, on August 21, 1969, an extremist set fire to Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, which is of very high significance for Muslims as once being their first qibla or direction of prayer. The fire swept through an area of nearly 1500 square meters of the mosque, burning an ancient pulpit, altar, arches, pillars, walls, and ultimately causing a collapse.

  • Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan speaks in an undated photo. 2020-08-18 19:10

    Coronavirus costs Iran’s tourism $2.8b so far, minister says

    TEHRAN – Iran’s travel sector has suffered a loss of 12 trillion rials (some $2.85 billion at the official rate of 42,000 rials) since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, tourism minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan said on Monday.

  • Want to take your pet on your next journey to Iran? Here is what you need to know 2020-08-17 00:15

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Want to take your pet on your next journey to Iran? Here is what you need to know

    Though a solid majority of the Iranian people are so emotionally attached to pets, as a traveling pet owner you need to make sure that pets, your best friends, don’t get deported or confiscated at the country’s airports!

  •  A view of the Gold Bowl of Hasanlu, ca. 900 BC 2020-08-14 21:54

    By Afshin Majlesi

    The absolutely magnificent ‘Gold Bowl of Hasanlu’: Sixty-three years later

    TEHRAN – Sixty-three years ago, an Iranian man, named Emamqoli Mohammadi Hasanluei, unearthed a millennia-old gold bowl in the debris of a burned building, part of the major architectural complex at Teppe Hasanlu near the city of Naghadeh in the northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, a short distance south of Lake Urmia.

  • A succession of teahouses, restaurants and fruit-conserve stalls are seen in the rocky village of Darband, northern Tehran. 2020-08-12 23:29

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Beat summer heat in these cool destinations near Tehran

    For many people in Tehran, summer vacation may mean to beat the heat at the beach particularly along the Caspian Sea, inside an air-conditioned museum or at a water park, or taking refuge to a cool nearby countryside. For the latter, here are places around the Iranian capital where scorching heat will be nothing more than an afterthought!

  • 20 wonderful, must-see cultural sites in Iran 2020-08-12 00:07

    By Afshin Majlesi

    20 wonderful, must-see cultural sites in Iran

    If you ask foreign visitors to Iran about the most characteristic future they discovered during excursions in the ancient land, the most possible answers may be somewhat like these: “It is the friendliest country on Earth with loads of warm-hearted welcome!”; “It is the jewel in Islam’s crown in terms of architecture”; “Being home to fascinating cultural heritage sites”; or “a land where echoes of ancient civilizations still resonate down through the ages!”

  • Rome’s ambassador to Tehran Giuseppe Perrone in an undated photo 2020-08-08 19:32

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Italian embassy responsible for depicting Tehran-Rome ‘so deep and complete’ cultural ties: envoy

    Italian ambassador to Tehran Giuseppe Perrone has said that his embassy is highly responsible for depicting the richness of so deep and so complete cultural ties, which have long been developed between the two nations.

  • Rome’s envoy unveils coronavirus-era series at Tehran ceremony 2020-08-06 17:02

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Rome’s envoy unveils coronavirus-era series at Tehran ceremony

    TEHRAN – Rome’s ambassador to Tehran Giuseppe Perrone on Wednesday unveiled the first episode of a joint video-theater project, co-performed by Iranian and Italian artists, which turns the spotlight on how the novel coronavirus imposes curbs on everyday life.

  • Protesters outside the Supreme Court in April 2018. (Credit: Andrew Harnik/Associated Press) 2020-07-24 18:14

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Trump’s Muslim ban: For the sake of safer America or anti-Muslim bigots

    House Democrats on Wednesday voted to pass a legislation that would revoke the U.S. President Donald Trump administration’s controversial order banning entry to immigrants from mostly Muslim-majority countries.

  • A peek into Bronze-Age Tepe Gariran, a gateway to the “Old Routes of Western Iran” 2020-07-07 01:03

    A peek into Bronze-Age Tepe Gariran, a gateway to the “Old Routes of Western Iran”

    TEHRAN – In 1931, the renowned British archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862 – 1943) surveyed Tepe Gariran in western Iran along with several others across the ancient land. His views were published in November 1969 in a book titled “Old Routes of Western Iran: Narratives of an Archaeological Journey”.

  • Excavation sheds new light on mysterious capital of Medes in Ecbatana 2020-06-30 19:10

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Excavation sheds new light on mysterious capital of Medes in Ecbatana

    TEHRAN – Archaeologists have unearthed new cultural relics and architectural vestiges that sheds a new light on the mysterious capital of Medes, which is widely believed to be in Ecbatana, an ancient city on the site of which stands the modern city of Hamadan in west-central Iran.

  • United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili 2020-06-23 21:24

    Iran ‘has earned plaudits’ to ease COVID-19 impact on tourism, UNWTO says

    TEHRAN – The United Nations World Tourism Organization has praised efforts made by Iran's tourism ministry to manage the travel industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • File photo depicts a terracotta model of a chariot used by the Kura–Araxes people, 4th-3rd millennium BC. 2020-06-10 18:28

    Excavations reveal rare find of Bronze Age culture in Iran

    TEHRAN – Iran has recently unearthed a rare Bronze Age culture, related settlements and relics following to rounds of excavation in a plain near the north-central city of Qom.

  • File photo depicts people visiting a magnificent Sassanid-era bas-relief in Naqsh-e Rustam, an ancient necropolis near Persepolis in Fars province, southern Iran. 2020-06-09 19:00

    Aerial survey sheds new light on vast ancient city in southern Iran

    TEHRAN – An in-depth aerial survey combined by series of field research has shed new light on remnants of a vast ancient city in southern Iran, which was once in the heart of the mighty Sassanid Empire in its heyday. The discovery has opened up a new window towards the urban engineering and Persian garden arrangements of the time.

  • Travelers sit overlooking the UNESCO-registered Imam Square in Isfahan, central Iran. 2020-06-01 19:09

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Iran’s trump cards to kick-start tourism in post-COVID-19 world

    TEHRAN – As you are well aware, the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has plunged the travel and tourism industry in the global scene, disrupting life in ways that were unimaginable just a few months ago.

  • A view of the modest mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai in the city of Hamedan, west-central Iran. 2020-05-27 21:41

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Explore mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai

    The purported burial site of Purim’s Persian queen and a pilgrimage site for Iranian Jews

    TEHRAN – The mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai is a Jewish shrine in the city of Hamedan, west-central Iran, where, according to Judeo-Persian tradition is the burial site of the two cousins who played a pivotal role in the Book of Esther (also known as the Megillah).

  • Left shoe with lower leg of “Salt Man 1”on display at the National Museum of Iran in downtown Tehran. 2020-05-26 18:43

    Garments of Iran’s salt mummies to be restored using German expertise

    TEHRAN – A team of experts from Iran and Germany will start a project for purifying, cleansing, and restoring garments and personal belongings of ancient salt mummies which were first found in Iran’s Chehrabad Salt Mine in 1993.

  • Iran’s deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri speaks in an undated photo. 2020-05-18 19:20

    By Afshin Majlesi

    Iran tourism industry to rebound sooner than expected: deputy minister

    TEHRAN – The tourism industry of Iran will get back on the right track sooner than expected thanks to measures taken to tackle the spread of coronavirus, deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri has said.