TEHRAN – The annual strawberry harvest festival has the potential to promote tourism in Kordestan, the provincial tourism chief has said. 

Over the years, the festival has been able to play an important role in the development of the economy, the creation of handicrafts, and the sale of agricultural products in the western Iranian province, Yaqub Guylian explained on Monday.

The upcoming festival, scheduled for May 17 and 18, aims to introduce the tourism potential of Kordestan and to revive and preserve the old traditions and pass them on to the next generation, the official added. 

It also aims at providing tourists with an insight into the province’s tourism infrastructure, and promoting the agricultural prosperity of the region, he noted. 

The name Kordestan refers to the region’s principal inhabitants. After the Turkish invasion of Iran in the 11th century CE (Seljuq period), the name Kurdistan was applied to the region comprising the northwestern Zagros Mountains. It was during the reign of Abbas I the Great of Iran’s Safavid dynasty (1501–1736) that the Kurds rose to prominence, having been enlisted by Abbas I to help stem the attacks of the marauding Uzbeks from the east in the early 17th century.

ABU/AFM