TEHRAN—A team of international rally drivers from Germany, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Italy has arrived in Iran in the middle leg of their journey that is destined for Magnolia.

A group of 20 people arrived in Iran on Sunday morning (27th August) crossing the Bazargan border, according to the Touring and Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The motorists of the “Silk Road Rally” started their intercontinental journey from Budapest in Hungary on August 19th on seven classic four-wheel-drive cars over 25 years old and a 1200cc motorcycle, the TACI added.

For their Iran journey, the team is set to visit a wide variety of attractions situated in the provinces of West Azarbaijan, East Azarbaijan, Zanjan, Qazvin, Alborz, Tehran, Mazandaran, Golestan, North Khorasan and Razavi Khorasan.

So far, they have passed through Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey and will leave Iran on an itinerary that goes to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia.

After navigating the 12,000 km route and reaching the finish line, the vehicles present in this international event will be put up for sale and the proceeds will be used for charity, the club said.

The rally is intended to highlight the ancient Silk Road, which connected empires, kingdoms, reigns, and societies for millennia. According to UNESCO, the Silk Road enriched the countries it passed through, transporting cultures, religions, languages, and of course material goods into societies across Europe, Asia, and Africa, and uniting them all with a common thread of cultural heritage and plural identities.

The Touring & Automobile Club of the Islamic Republic of Iran is an institution affiliated with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts. Its tasks include facilitating the travel of owners of vehicles abroad or foreign tourists who are traveling to Iran in their own vehicles. The institution also helps develop tourism by establishing tourism information offices at home and abroad, as well as developing infrastructures and tourism services.

AFM