TEHRAN - The number of international tourists visiting [or passing through] Iran’s West Azarbaijan province rose by 12 percent during the past Iranian calendar year 1398 compared to the year earlier.

A total of 1,255,156 foreign nationals arrived in [West Azarbaijan] province over the past year, which shows a 12 percent growth compared to the past year, CHTN reported on Sunday.

Over the past year, 1,067,611 domestic travelers visited the province, which shows 35 percent growth year on year, the report added.

The cited statistics have been documented and obtained from the relevant authorities, including the province’s customs office.

West Azarbaijan embraces a very changing lush natural sceneries; variety of cultural heritage sites and museums; the UNESCO sites of Takht-e Soleyman and Qareh Klise (St. Thaddeus Monastery); as well as Teppe Hasanlu and the ruined Bastam Citadel both magnificent historical sites.

The Azarbaijan region is bounded on the north by the Aras River, which separates it from Azerbaijan and Armenia, and on the west by Iraq and Turkey. The region was a center of several ancient civilizations. According to Britannica, it was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC and was named Atropatene after one of Alexander’s generals, Atropates, who established a small kingdom there. Ultimately, the area returned to the Persian (Iranian) rule under the Sasanians in the 3rd century CE.

AFM/MG