TEHRAN – Japan International Cooperation Agency is scheduled to hold two workshops on the key themes of tourism development and historical urban landscape in the Iranian city of Tabriz which is currently holding the title of 2018 Islamic Tourism Capital.

The workshops will be set up in collaboration with East Azarbaijan province’s office of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, CHTN reported.

“Upon consultations with top JICA officials last year, JICA specialized teams in the arenas of tourism and cultural heritage will hold training sessions for stakeholders and activists,” Morteza Abdar, the provincial tourism chief, said.

The first workshop will sharpen focus on JICA’s objectives and manners in tourism development by providing examples of sustainable development projects. And the second will touch upon urban planning and conservation of historical urban texture, the official explained.

Last December, JICA picked Tabriz to have a round of cultural heritage and tourism studies on the ancient Silk Road. Tabriz has long been a gateway to Europe and East Asia since antiquity, said Akira Uhara, JICA senior expert for national heritage and tourism.

Soaked in history and culture for millennia, Tabriz hosts abundant historical, natural and religious sites, including Jameh Mosque of Tabriz, the Arg of Tabriz and UNESCO-registered Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex.

Tabriz was named the capital of Islamic tourism for 2018 by the vote of the inter-governmental Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 2015.

AFM/MQ/MG