TEHRAN – Over 10 million people paid visits to tourist attractions of Mazandaran province during the New Year (Noruz) holidays, which ended on April 2, the provincial tourism chief has said.

Historical and natural sights across the province attracted a total of 10,149,854 travelers to the northern Iranian province during the time mentioned, Sadeq Barzegar said on Monday.

Moreover, the vacationers made over 19 million overnight stays at authorized and unauthorized accommodation centers within the province, the official added.

Throughout the year, Mazandaran hosts millions of tourists from all parts of the country due to its many natural sights, such as the forest and the sea.

Sandwiched between the towering Alborz mountain range and the Caspian Sea, Mazandaran has a rich yet turbulent history. An early civilization flourished at the beginning of the first millennium BC in Mazandaran (Tabarestan).

Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed. It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty.

The northern section of the region consists of lowland alongside the Caspian and upland along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains. Marshy backlands dominate the coastal plain, and extensive gravel fans fringe the mountains. The climate is permanently subtropical and humid, with very hot summers.

ABU/AM