TEHRAN –A vast tourist complex in the central province of Yazd was inaugurated on Wednesday in a bid to develop aerial tourism in the region.

A budget of one trillion rials ($2 million) has been spent on the project, which has created 14 direct job opportunities, CHTN reported on Friday. 

It is vital to focus on the general aviation sector and use its potential for developing tourism, said Yazd’s general-governor Mehran Fatemi during the opening ceremony. 

This tourist complex is an ideal place for anyone interested in the world of aviation as it offers an opportunity to learn about aviation, he added. 

Developing an air emergency and air taxi services are also crucial for the region and should be enhanced gradually, he noted.  

Built by a private investor, the complex covers an area of 12 hectares and has restaurants and coffee shops, as well as educational and recreational flight services.

Recreational flights involve people flying a plane with the pilot, experiencing the scenery and atmosphere of the area while listening to pilot tips along the way. They can fly 10 to 50 miles away from the airport.

Last October IRNA reported that by facilitating the investment process and not raising the price of the airplane and passenger insurance, the government encouraged private investment.

Five companies have invested in such airports to conduct recreational and educational flights in the last one or two years, the report added.

By deploying about 20 two-seater airplanes, these companies made recreational and educational flights possible for passengers and enthusiasts.

By launching and developing this tourism branch, in addition to earning a great deal of money, stable employment and further prosperity for the tourism industry would be created.

In July 2017, the historical structure of the city of Yazd was named a UNESCO World Heritage. Wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain, the oasis city enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras.

Yazd is usually referred to as a delightful place to stay, or a “don't miss” destination by almost all of its visitors. It teems with mud-brick houses that are equipped with innovative badgirs (wind catchers), atmospheric alleyways, and many Islamic and Iranian monuments that shape its eye-catching city landscape.

It is a living testimony to the intelligent use of limited available resources in the desert for survival. Water is brought to the city by the qanat system. Each district of the city is built on a qanat and has a communal center.

Buildings are built of earth. The use of earth in buildings includes walls and roofs through the construction of vaults and domes. Houses are built with courtyards below ground level, serving underground areas. Wind catchers, courtyards, and thick earthen walls create a pleasant microclimate.

Partially covered alleyways, together with streets, public squares, and courtyards, contribute to a pleasant urban quality. The city escaped the modernization trends that destroyed many traditional earthen cities.

It survives today with its traditional districts, the qanat system, traditional houses, bazaars, hammams, water cisterns, mosques, synagogues, Zoroastrian temples, and the historic garden of Dolat-Abad. The city enjoys the peaceful coexistence of three religions: Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism.

ABU/AM