TEHRAN – On Friday, tens of classic and vintage cars staged a rally in Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Razavi province, which hosted a conference of Iranian and Iraqi tourism activists, the deputy provincial tourism chief has said. 

Over 250 historical and vintage vehicles including ones made by Mercedes Benz, BMW, and American companies took part in the rally during the final day of the conference, Yousef Bidkhori announced on Saturday. 

Attendees of the conference visited the cars, some of which had been transferred from Tehran to Mashhad, the official added. 

The three-day conference was conducted to introduce the province's tourism potentials and attractions to the Iraqi travel insiders as well as deepen the ties between the two countries in tourism.

Earlier this week, the deputy tourism minister Ali-Reza Shalbafian announced that Iran is getting prepared to welcome more Iraqi sightseers, pilgrims, and medical travelers.

"The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts seeks to introduce Iraqi travelers to further lesser-known destinations and help increase their stay duration," he noted.

Tehran and Baghdad in September agreed to ease tough visa restrictions as a step forward in broadening bilateral relations.

The announcement came after Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met in Tehran, discussing various issues including visa waiver, a joint railway project, and increasing the level of trade.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Iraqi constituted Iran’s largest source of tourists. In return, hundreds of thousands of Iranian pilgrims head for the holy Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala each year to attend the Arbaeen pilgrimage, aka the Arbaeen trek, to mark an end to the 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

ABU/AFM