TEHRAN—Tehran’s Sacred Defense Museum, which is dedicated to the Iran–Iraq War on a landscaped site of 21 hectares, will be offering free admission to its visitors during Sacred Defense Week.

Entry to Tehran’s Sacred Defense Museum will be free of charge during the Sacred Defense Week, which runs from September 22 to 29, ILNA quoted a museum official as saying on Tuesday.

The 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq, known as ‘Sacred Defense’ in the Islamic Republic, was launched by the order of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein nearly 19 months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Amongst many border cities directly involved in the 1980–1988 war, Khorramshahr is highly honored as a symbol of resistance during the war against Iraqi invaders. The port city is high on the ‘will go’ index of adventure travelers interested in such niche tourism.

Re-creation of the liberation of the city of Khorramshahr through virtual exhibits and video projections is among the main features of the Sacred Defense Museum, which houses a replica of the Khorramshahr mosque adorned with creamy and turquoise patterned tiles.

The museum is equipped with a state-of-the-art visual system, including projections and video walls, while audio recordings relevant to each period contribute to its charm. A total of seven halls lead through the history of the sacred defense in forensic detail. The Hall of Butterflies greets visitors on arrival, the place is dedicated to martyrs and victims of the war and filled with personal belongings found on the various battlefields.

Outside, a patchwork of domestically manufactured armaments such as rockets, tanks, and artillery pieces is on show. The complex has vast garden areas, water features, and children’s play areas as well.

Formerly, war tourism destinations were mainly the object of interest of photojournalists appearing solely on pages of crime, but now they can be traced within certain travel books and websites.

According to experts, visitors to war museums are sometimes triggered to make guesses about the stories of people who lost their lives, displaced, wounded, captured, or lost their loved ones in those bitter moments of mankind.

AFM