TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami has said the long Arbaeen trek should be embraced as a new opportunity for Kermanshah province

“Arbaeen yields a new chapter for Kermanshah's tourism sector,” Zarghami said on Monday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Kermanshah’s governor-general Mohammad Tayeb Sahraei, adding: “This province is like a small Iran in terms of having diverse tourism capacities, cultural heritage, historical buildings and having many good advantages of tourism and handicrafts which are unique in some areas.”

Zarghami reminded Sahraei that Kermanshah is one of the priorities for tourism development in his ministry, saying: “During my trip to this province and after the necessary visits and investigations, decisions were made that can lead to the prosperity of this industry in the province.”

Referring to the Khosravi border crossing, which connects Iran’s Kermanshah to Iraqi soil, the minister noted: “With the capacity of Arbaeen trek, which is a quite new religious tourism for this province, a new advantage can be defined for Kermanshah that will lead to the cultural and economic growth of the province.”

“In this trip, good decisions were made, and we hope that with the support of the governor-general, it will be possible to make up for some of the historical backwardness in this province…”

Sahraei, for his part, underlined joint efforts to be made in favor of tourism development in the western province.

“We hope to use this capacity and advantages properly, considering the special view of the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts on Kermanshah province and the good planning that has happened,” Sahraei said.

The governor-general expressed hope that by following up on the decisions made, its effects can be seen in the tourism boom of the province.

On Saturday, some 35,000 Iranian pilgrims crossed the Khosravi border crossing on their way to Karbala, where Imam Hussein (AS), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is laid to rest.

“Over 35,700 pilgrims, of whom 34,950 were Iranian nationals, passed along the Khosravi border crossing on Saturday,” a local official said on Sunday. “So far, more than 93,100 pilgrims have crossed the border crossing since August 18,” the official said.

The figures released by the Iranian authorities show that over 700,000 Iranian pilgrims have been sent to Iraq from the six border crossings at the shared border with Iraq, showing a 43% increase compared to that of a year earlier.

Last weekend, the Iranian ministers of interior and health visited the shared border crossings to inspect the facilities and relief equipment at the border for Arbaeen pilgrims.

Arbaeen, which falls on September 6 this year, marks an end to the 40-day mourning period following the martyrdom of the third Shia Imam and his loyal companions at the Battle of Karbala on Muharram 10, 680 CE.

AFM