TEHRAN – During the holy month of Ramadan, the central province of Qom is hosting a series of astronomy tours, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

A variety of astronomy workshops are being held for various age groups during these tours, CHTN quoted Alireza Arjmandi as saying on Sunday. 

Observing the moon and stars as well as holding astronomy training courses at the holy shrine of Hazrat-e Masumeh (SA) are among the program highlights of the tours, the official added. 

The desert of Qom offers good opportunities for observing the night sky and developing astronomical tourism, he mentioned. 

Astronomical tourism represents a less-studied segment of sustainable tourism, where a dark night sky is an underlying resource, and this branch of tourism could lead to sustainable development in rural areas.

Illuminated only by the stars and having a clear sky, Iranian deserts are dream places for astronomy enthusiasts and sky lovers to experience dark night observatories.

The country is home to wide deserts in its central lands including UNESCO-tagged Lut Dessert as well as several historical caravanserais hosting astronomical tourists from ancient eras to the present. 

Astronomy has a long and rich history among Iranians. Stars have fascinated humans for ages, while some have worshiped them Iranians have studied them and there are world-renowned Iranian scientists in this field such as Nasir ad-Din Tusi, who was the founder of Maragheh observatory, an astronomical observatory established in 1259, with a library, which is said at one time to have held over 400,000 volumes of literature related to astronomy and astrology.

Some countries in the world have used their regional potential to develop the tourism industry in this particular field and have been able to introduce themselves as an attractive destination for astronomy tours.

For several years, Chile has been able to become a leader in astronomical tourism by focusing on this type of tourism. Countries such as Canada, Sweden, Russia, India, and China have also been successful in this industry, and many tourists from all over the world travel to these countries every year.

ABU/AFM