TEHRAN – Some 100 Iranian travel marketers and tour operators have been invited to explore East Azarbaijan province on a familiarization tour, the provincial tourism chief has said.

The three-day tour, which will begin on Tuesday, aims at introducing the northwestern province to the tourism industry professionals and promoting it as a travel destination, Ahmad Hamzehzadeh explained on Monday.

It will also familiarize the participants with the tourist attractions of the province such as a historical bazaar, cultural heritage museums, and the rocky village of Kandovan, the official added.

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz, the capital of East Azarbaijan, embraces several historical and religious sites, including the Jameh Mosque of Tabriz and Arg of Tabriz, and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex to name a few. The city became the capital of the Mongol Il-Khan Mahmud Gazan (1295–1304) and his successor. Timur (Tamerlane), a Turkic conqueror, took it in 1392. Some decades later, the Kara Koyunlu Turkmen made it their capital. It was when the famous Blue Mosque was built in Tabriz.

The city retained its administrative status under the Safavid dynasty until 1548 when Shah Tahmasp I relocated his capital westward to Qazvin. During the next two centuries, Tabriz changed hands several times between Persia and the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, the city was temporarily occupied by Turkish and then Soviet troops.

Tabriz was declared a world craft city of carpet weaving by the World Craft in 2016. It also bore the title of the Islamic Tourism Capital in 2018.

ABU/AM