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

Heads of associations of travel and tourism agencies from all over the country, some artists, correspondents, and prominent documentarians have been invited to the tour, which will be held on July 15 and 16, CHTN quoted provincial deputy tourism chief Seyyed Amin Qasemi as saying on Sunday.

The decision, however, comes in a time when the country is still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic and the government has taken measures to curb the virus such as mandatory requirement for wearing masks in public places and covered spaces. Over the past couple of months, the fear of the virus has emptied thousands of exhibition halls across the globe.

Over 1.5 million visits were paid to tourist attractions and museums in Lorestan during the past Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended March 20).

Lorestan was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. The region was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid dynasties.

AFM/MG