TEHRAN - French nationals composed the largest source of foreign arrivals in the southern Iranian Fars province during the first two months of autumn, provincial tourism chief has said.

During the months of Mehr and Aban (Sep. 23 –Nov.21), 92,683 foreign nationals visited historical and cultural sites [and museums] of the province, with French citizens at the top of the list, Mosayyeb Amiri said on Wednesday.

International tourists visiting Fars province’s historical and cultural sites during the period were mostly from France, Germany, Switzerland, China, Russia, Poland, India and Oman, the official noted.

During the aforementioned period, a total of 580,670 people visited cultural and historical sites in Fars, of whom 487,987 were Iranians, he explained.

Hafezieh (mausoleum of Hafez, an illustrious 14th-century Persian poet), the UNESCO-registered Persepolis, and Sadi mausoleum were respectively the most- visited sites in the period, Amiri added.

The ancient region of Fars, also spelled Pars, or Persis, was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

The capital city of Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking into this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

AFM/MG