TEHRAN – On Monday, Switzerland’s chargé d’affaires Kim Sitzler visited some tourist attractions in the western Iranian province of Kordestan. 

Sitzler, who was accompanied by the provincial tourism chief Yaqub Guylian, toured Khosro-Abad Palace Museum and Sanandaj Anthropology Museum among other sites, CHTN reported on Tuesday. 

There are many historical and natural sites of value in this province, which is one of the most beautiful tourist areas in Iran, Sitzler said. 

There are plenty of natural resources and antiquities in this province, which makes it an attractive place for foreign tourists, he added. 

Kordestan province has the ability to brand handicrafts in the world proportionally to its resources in the handicrafts industry, he mentioned. 

Tourism is a great way to gain knowledge of each other’s cultures, and Kordestan and other Iranian provinces with their tourist attractions and historical landmarks, could showcase their culture and art, he concluded. 

Kordestan also spelled Kurdistan, is bounded by the Iranian region of Azarbaijan on the north, and it borders Iraq on the west. The name Kordestan means “Country of the Kurds,” referring to the region’s principal inhabitants. After the Turkish invasion of Iran in the 11th century CE (Seljuk period), the name Kordestan was applied to the region comprising the northwestern Zagros Mountains.

It was during the reign of the Safavid monarch, Shah Abbas the Great, 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/MG