Pir-e Shaliar: ancient Iranian festival celebrating abundance, good fortune

TEHRAN - Pir-e Shaliar is an ancient annual ceremony, celebrating abundance and good fortune since centuries ago in Uraman Takht rural district, Kordestan province, western Iran.

Sarab-e Qandil: what ambiguous bas-relief hint at Sassanid monarchy?

TEHRAN - Reliefs bear significant testimony to fragments of the history of mankind as well as the art history, itself.  Reliefs can be found more or less in each corner of Iran, and even the globe. Who knows, maybe some of them are still having untold stories.

Ancient festival of mid-winter observed by Zoroastrians across Iran

TEHRAN – A host of Iranian Zoroastrians come together in Taft county, central Yazd province, to observe Jashn-e Sadeh, a time-honored religious festival of mid-winter on January 30, 2020.

Three Iranian cities, one village registered by World Crafts Council

TEHRAN – Three Iranian cities and one village have recently been named as world craft hubs by the World Crafts Council - Asia Pacific Region (WCC-APR), tourism minister announced this morning.

‘Country-size guesthouse of Iran wholeheartedly ready to receive tourists’

TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism minister on Saturday issued a statement, inviting all travelers and holidaymakers to visit the ancient land, saying that the country-size guesthouse is wholeheartedly ready to receive tourists from around the world. 

Iran formulates action plan to get tourism back on track

TEHRAN – Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts has developed an action plan in order to get the country’s tourism sector back on track as it has suffered losses in the wake of recent political tensions in the region.

Iran issues travel warning for China amid coronavirus outbreak

TEHRAN – Tehran’s embassy in Beijing has issued a travel advisory over deadly coronavirus outbreak in China, raising the threat level both for potential travelers and residents, ILNA reported on Friday.

Top Persian Gulf airlines continue using Iranian airspace

TEHRAN – Qatar Airways, Emirates and several other Persian Gulf airlines have been continuing to use Iranian airspace despite propaganda over security issues in the region.

Intl. conference bears witness to Iran being a safe destination

TEHRAN – Holding an international conference with the presence of leading figures in digital tourism marketing is an indicator that Iran is a safe destination to travel, deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri said on Friday.

Sorbonne experts confirm fossilized skull found in Iran belongs to Homo sapiens

TEHRAN – A team of researches and archaeologists from the Sorbonne University has confirmed a fragment of a fossilized skull, which had been found in an Iranian cave, belongs to Homo sapiens, the only extant human species.

Majlis approves handicrafts are VAT-exempt

TEHRAN – The Iranian parliament (Majlis) on Tuesday approved a bill to exempt craftspeople and handicraft producers from paying value-added tax (VAT).

Iran rules out massive cancelation of inbound tours

TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy tourism minister Vali Teymouri on Monday ruled out speculations that inbound tours have been massively canceled in the wake of recent tragic incidents in the country.

Cloudburst closes UNESCO-tagged geopark in Iran’s Qeshm

TEHRAN – Severe rainstorms over the past few days have led to the temporarily closure of Qeshm Geopark in the Persian Gulf, aiming to safeguard eco-travelers and visitors to the UNESCO-registered site.

Iran tourism will rebound despite suffering a severe blow: minister

TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism minister on Sunday said that the country’s tourism industry has suffered a major setback but it will certainly return to “normal”.

Maymand: A very old village of troglodytes

TEHRAN - The term “cave dwellers” conjures up prehistoric images in your mind when caves served as one of the earliest dwellings for human beings. Here we want to take a look at Maymand, an exemplar manmade-cave dwelling in southeast Iran, where people made a living about five or six millennia ago.

Beijing envoy slams Trump for threatening Iran’s cultural sites, saying they belong to all humanity

TEHRAN – China’s ambassador to Iran has censured U.S. President Donald Trump for threatening to launch attacks on Iran’s cultural sites, saying the Iranian cultural heritage belongs to the entire global community.

ICOM, ICOMOS dismiss Trump’s comments on targeting Iranian culture sites

TEHRAN – Since Saturday night, U.S. President Donald Trump has come under fire for threating to target Iranian cultural sites by many international cultural figures, organizations, scholars, artists and politicians, and recently by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

Trump’s threat to target Iranian cultural sites ‘a huge crime against the worldwide civilization’

TEHRAN - Cultural and tourism officials, activists and fans across Iran, have signed petitions and issued statements in the past two days over Donald Trump’s threat to target Iranian cultural sites, emphasizing that it equals a huge crime against the worldwide civilization.

By Afshin Majlesi

World reacts to Trump’s threat to raid Iranian culture targets as ‘a war crime’

TEHRAN - Donald Trump’s new threat to attack 52 important targets in Iran, including cultural sites, has provoked a strong backlash worldwide, with many calling it a “war crime.”

Find out why medical tourism is to be big business in Iran

Nowadays, medical tourism is considered as a booming industry on the global scene as some 20 to 24 million patients are traveling for medical treatments annually. Estimates on market size vary but the Patients Without Borders publishing group puts its value at around €60 to €80 billion worldwide.

Coastal, forest tourism development plan being prepared

TEHRAN – The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts is preparing a comprehensive plan for developing tourism around coastal areas and forests in the country.

Iran considering to give Russian tourists visa-free entry to help boost visitors

TEHRAN – Iran is considering to allow Russian tourists visa-free entry into the country to boost tourism, after it granted same privilege for some other nationals including Chinese and Omani passport holders.

Iran celebrates Hyrcanian Forests becoming World Heritage

TEHRAN – Iran on Thursday held a ceremony to officially celebrate Hyrcanian Forests for being designated as a World Heritage site. Experts say that parts of the woodland date back some 50 million years.

U.S. plots fail to deter foreign travelers from visiting Iran, VP says

TEHRAN – Millions of foreign nationals did not pay attention to the U.S. sanctions and plots, aiming to discourage potential travelers from visiting the Islamic Republic, First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Monday.

Tehran’s tourist street to become more accessible for people with disabilities

TEHRAN – A follow-up plan is being formulated to ensure Tehran’s Si-e Tir historical street and its surrounding museums, travel destinations and historical monuments will be more accessible for the physically challenged people.

Pakistani health tourists encouraged to visit Iran

TEHRAN – A Pakistani health official has encouraged patients to travel to Iran for benefiting from the neighboring country’s experience in this sector.

By Afshin Majlesi

Put your skates on; Yalda is to knock the door!

A new Yalda Night is approaching the hearts of Iranians no matter which part of the globe they live. On that graceful night the winter chill is vanquished and the warmth of love embraces the entire family.

Swiss traveler astonished by charms of Kerman province

TEHRAN – Swiss globetrotter Lola Bernardoni, who has recently toured Kerman, says she was astounded to find such top tourist attractions across the southeastern Iranian province.

Birdwatching can propel tourism growth in Caspian Sea island

TEHRAN – Ashuradeh, Iran’s sole island in the Caspian Sea, and its surrounding wetlands constitute a rich ecological haven for many migratory birds. However, birdwatching has remained somehow an untapped potential for tourism growth in the coastal region.

Tehran, Rome seeking enhanced cultural heritage co-op, Italian envoy says

TEHRAN – Italian ambassador to Iran Giuseppe Perrone on Monday said that the two countries are in talks to deepen bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of cultural heritage.