TEHRAN – A group of globetrotters from the Czech Republic arrived on Friday in Ayask, an ancient town in Sarayan county, eastern South Khorasan province.

Tourists and globetrotters from the Czech Republic arrived in the town of Ayask, Sarayan county, on July 24 to get acquainted with the culture of the people of South Khorasan and to visit the pristine landscape and tourist attractions of the region, a provincial tourism official noted, IRNA reported.

The six-member group entered the country via the Baku border... and they paid visits to the cities of Tabriz, Shiraz, and Isfahan before they arrive in South Khorasan, the official said.

South Khorasan is an explorer’s delight – lots to discover yet barely another visitor to be found, even at the most important sights (despite a decent infrastructure of recently paved roads). The region intersperses arid mountains and semi-deserts and is famed for saffron and barberries. But there’s also has a wealth of old mud villages that seem to have been left almost complete as though to tempt archaeologists (relatively accessible Old Esfandiar and Old Deyhuk are amongst our favorites).

“The travelers visited margins of a vast tranquil desert, cultural heritage sites, and they also savored local food and souvenirs as well,” the official added.

Castle lovers will swoon over Birjand’s fortress – which might be slightly over-restored but make a great site for a traditional restaurant – and the mountain-top fortifications at Qa’en, especially magical at sunset; Forg is one of the most picture-perfect castle-citadels in Iran. Boshrooyeh’s Qaleh Dokhtar is smaller and more ruinous but clings dramatically to a spike of the lonely desert crag, with some unique, still-functioning traditional waterwheels nearby.

AFM/MG