TEHRAN – The Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department of Fars seeks to develop religious tourism across the southern Iranian province.

“We intend to develop the required infrastructure for religious tourism across Fars province, which is home to numerous holy shrines, mosques, theological madrasas, and other spiritual sites,” CHTN quoted the provincial tourism chief as saying on Wednesday.

Benefiting from the capacity of the students of Islamic seminaries who are fluent in foreign languages will be a considerable help to introduce and promote the Iranian-Islamic culture to the visitors of historical buildings, Hadi Shahdoost Shirazi added.

The official noted those students are needed first to attend training courses for tour guides under the supervision of the cultural heritage and tourism department.

With the help of Islamic seminaries, the [capital] city of Shiraz, which is home to the mausoleum of Shah-e Cheragh (“King of Light”), can be a gateway to other religious sites throughout the province, the official explained.

The dazzling shrine of mirrored tiles is where Sayyed Mir Ahmad, one of the brothers of Imam Reza (AS), is laid to rest. Each day, it draws hundreds of the faithful from all over the country or even abroad.

A Cascade of photogenic domes and minarets can be seen in every corner of Iran as inseparable elements of mosques some of which are widely known as timeless benchmarks of Islamic architecture.

The country is home to hundreds of shrines, Imamzadehs, mausoleums, churches, and even fire temples amongst other religious destinations which are dedicated to different faiths. Among the top destinations for international tourists to Iran are the religious cities of Mashhad, Qom, Shiraz, and the capital Tehran. These cities are respectively home to the holy shrines of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims; his sister Hazrat Masumeh (SA); his brothers Ahmad and Mohammad; as well as the late founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Rouhollah Khomeini.

A unique time for visiting Iran for religious tourists is during the first ten days of the lunar month of Muharram, when Iranians, who are mostly Shia Muslims, hold special ceremonies to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his 72 loyal companions.

AFM