Markazi province exports over $46,000 of handicrafts

TEHRAN - Handicrafts exports from Markazi province reached $46,400 during the first nine months the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019), compared with $36,000 in the same period last year.

Frozen waterfall attracts ice climbers

An ice climber challenges a frozen waterfall, which is situated adjacent to the prehistoric rock carvings of Ganjnameh, a can’t-miss destination in Hamedan, west-central Iran, January 17, 2020.

Snowfall doesn’t disrupt Imam Khomeini Intl. Airport flights

TEHRAN – Flights at Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) are well underway despite a snow blanketed the airport on Sunday.

Fourfold rise possible in inbound medical tourists to Iran: expert

TEHRAN – An Iranian university professor and researcher believes that the country has the capacity and infrastructure to increase inbound medical travelers by as much as four fold.

Tehran, Athens eye increased tourism ties

TEHRAN – Iranian ambassador to Athens Ahmad Naderi and Greek Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis discussed ways to broaden collaboration in tourism sector, IRNA reported.

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.

Heritage museum inaugurated in ancient city of Izeh

TEHRAN – Iran’s deputy tourism minister on Friday inaugurated a cultural heritage museum in Izeh, southwestern Khuzestan province, with the aim of introducing the rich history and culture of the ancient city.

Gonbad Kavus museum features rare Turkmen rugs, carpets

TEHRAN – If you are a fan of hand-knitted rugs and carpets or pictorial rugs and planning to visit northern Iran, you may put Gonbad Kavus carpet museum into the itinerary of your journey to make it richer and more colorful.

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.

Overnight stays in Ardebil province jump 40% yr/yr

TEHRAN - Overnight stays in Ardebil province rose 40 percent during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019) compared with the same period last year.

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.

Foreign arrivals in Mazandaran surge 38 percent

TEHRAN – The number of foreign visitors arriving in Iran’s northern Mazandaran province surged 38 percent since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019), compared with the same period last year, provincial deputy tourism chief has said.

22 tourism projects worth $60m inaugurated in Mazandaran

TEHRAN – A total of twenty two tourism projects, worth 2,515 billion rials (some $60 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) have been inaugurated in northern Mazandaran province during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019).

Over 1.6 million travelers visit Ilam province in 9 months

TEHRAN – Some 1.63 million travelers visited historical sites and heritage museums across Ilam province, a lesser-known travel destination in western Iran, during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019).

No changes in Iran Air’s flights to European countries except Sweden

TEHRAN – There are no changes in Iran Air’s regular schedule for flights to European countries and vice versa, except the ones to Sweden, which have recently come to a halt.

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”.

New restoration season starts on historical mosque in Zanjan

TEHRAN – A fresh season of restoration has recently started on historical Mirzaei Mosque in Zanjan, west-central Iran, CHTN reported on Saturday.

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.

Paternal house of martyr Soleimani to be turned into museum

TEHRAN – Paternal house of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. terrorist attack on January 3, will be turned into a museum.

Iranians practiced farming, animal breeding 9,000 years ago, experts find

TEHRAN – A group of Iranian archaeologists and researchers have found that farming and animal breeding were practiced some 9,000 years ago around the historical Tepe Ahranjan in Salmas, northwestern Iran.

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.

Iraqi nationals top list of foreign tourist arrivals in Kordestan

TEHRAN – Iraqi travelers constituted the largest source of foreign arrivals in the western Iranian province of Kordestan during the first three quarters of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2019), compared to the same period last year, provincial tourism chief has said.

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.”

Tehran’s historical towers turn off lights to commemorate martyr Soleimani

TEHRAN – Tehran’s two iconic historical towers turned off lights on Saturday and will remain dark on Sunday as a sign of paying tribute to Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), who was martyred on Friday.

3,000-year-old silk spinning still practiced in Iran

TEHRAN – There are silk makers in different parts of Iran, mainly in northern Gilan and northeastern Khorasan Razavi provinces, that still practice the trade their ancestors did some 3,000 years ago.

World’s first curved glass suspension bridge inaugurated in Iran

TEHRAN – A suspension bridge made of curved sheets of glass, which is the first of its kind in the world, has officially been inaugurated in Ardebil province, northwest Iran, IRIB reported on Friday.

Porticos, arches, domes and gardens, key elements of Persian architecture

TEHRAN – Iran has inherited numerous architectural traditions over the course of history. The Elamite, Achaemenian, Hellenistic, and other pre-Islamic and Islamic-era dynasties have left striking stone testaments to their greatness, such as Chogha Zanbil and Persepolis—both of which were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1979.

Wild sheep breeding site set up in northwestern Iran

TEHRAN – A 10-hectare site has been launched in Maku Free Zone located in northwestern province of West Azarbaijan for breeding Armenian mouflon (the mountain sheep), ISNA reported on Sunday.

ECO Cultural Institute seeks tourism boom, new president says

TEHRAN – The newly-appointed president of the Economic Cooperation Organization Cultural Institute said on Monday that development of tourism industry is a priority of her mission through launching joint projects with other member states.