TEHRAN—The tourism directorate of Rey is arranging free-of-charge sightseeing tours of the ancient city in commemoration of the national tourism week which starts on Sep. 23.

These package tours will be offered for free on three routes from September 1 to 30, Rey’s tourism chief said on Monday.

The program is organized for those interested in the cultural heritage of Rey, Noruz Taqipour said.

Last month, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami said Rey held the potential to become one of the country’s tourism hubs. “The city of Rey is the heart and soul of the Iranians. Their religious roots are here, so its capabilities should be acknowledged,” he noted.

Rey was one of the capital cities of the Parthian empire (3rd century BC–3rd century CE) and it was captured by the Muslim Arabs in 641 CE. During the reign of the Muslim caliph al-Mahdi in the 8th century, the city grew in importance until it was rivaled in western Asia only by Damascus and Baghdad.

According to Britannica, Islamic writers described it as a city of extraordinary beauty, built largely of fired brick and brilliantly ornamented with blue faience (glazed earthenware). It continued to be an important city and was briefly a capital under the rule of the Seljuks, but in the 12th century, it was weakened by the fierce quarrels of rival religious sects. In 1220, the city was almost destroyed by the Mongols, and its inhabitants were massacred. Most of the survivors of the massacre moved to nearby Tehran, and the deserted remnants of Rey soon fell into complete ruin.

AM